Kendrick

Is there anywhere someone can buy ore? I'd love to get some for a historical project I have in mind.

I got lucky and picked up a rivet forge with a Champion blower for $60 recently. The forge pan is a bit bent up and all the bolts need replaced but all in all it's sound. The blower turned stiff and squalled when moved. I poured tool oil in it until it was running out the seams and cranked it slowly for a couple of minutes. Now it is going smooth and quiet and blows like a champ. However, before I crank away on it, is there anything else I should do to the blower to ensure longevity? Also, it is dangerously side heavy towards the blower. I have already had it go over a couple of times and luckily nothing broke. For now it's stored on its side. I have thought of clamping weights to the legs opposite the blower. Any other ideas? Thanks, Kendrick

The Tinker's Fire.

I know it's been a long time since I started this, but it's been a cold winter and I haven't been in the shop near as much as I'd like. We have a warm day a while back and I tried another weld like the one I was having problems with. The two things I did different were being far more liberal with the Borax and I used about 1/4 the air I had been and let it heat a lot slower. The weld came out much better. The only problem I had was a small (1/8") crack at the back edge that didn't take, the rest was rock solid. I imagine that's just a lack of experience at work there. Thanks!

I always keep safety glasses and earplugs in the shop. (and use them!) But I grant you, a full face shield is now on my short list of supplies. I wired my wire wheel and disk sander up to a speed control with a foot switch so at least the power gets cut instantly. Apparently I need to dial the speed down a bit when running the wire wheel. Frosty, I know what you are saying about the plane or rotation. I always stand a bit off to the side, which is why it got my shoulder instead on my neck. I guess I need to get the hang of working from the side. That will take some getting used to! Thanks for the concerns and the advice. You guys come up with solutions I don't always see.

Yeah, I figure a dime sized bruise is a small price to pay for that. For some reason I don't think my safety glasses would have held up to that!

While working in the shop a cross that tried to kill me. The wire wheel caught it and threw it back at me. It had enough force left after bouncing off my shoulder to stick in the high density plywood set on my rafters! So much for things always getting throw away.

George, You are certainly in our thoughts. Since we live just down the road, don't hesitate to give me a call if you need anything.

That's priceless!

I'm not sure that this is true anymore where I live. 20# tanks cost around $11 to fill and the cheapest I can find to fill my 40# tank is $26. So I am loosing $4 per fill at the cheap place. It's $29 at the place right by my house which is where I usually go to avoid driving across a town populated with lunatics with a propane tank.

Awesome! I need to have your wife talk to my wife.

When the local scrap man greets you with "What ya looking for today." When your wife goes "We're not stopping for that," when you drive past "junk" set by the road.

Great job on those. Thanks for the blueprint too.

Junk. I think that is by far my biggest collection. Scraps of old shafting, springs, brass plates and so on. I just hope to turn it into not-junk someday. I, too, have 4 vises in a small shop. :)

A coworker of mine's father retired from the railroad a long time ago. (He's 94) He said they would just score the top of the rail and drop it across another rail section and it would break off. Not sure how they scored it, though.