postleg

I am 53 years, old married to the most supportive woman in the world. She has always encouraged me to fallow my strange callings in life. the latest being blacksmithing.

I come from a long line of very talented and hard working ancestors. My great grandfather came from Denmark in 1888.
He was a blacksmith in Filley, Nebraska. I have photos of his shop and of him standing proudly by his anvil.

My grandfather was a very large influence in my life. My older brother and I spent a lot of our summers staying with him. He always had something for us to build or tear apart. He ran a small fix it shop in Cook, Nebraska. He did T.V repair, watch & clock repair, ran a jewelery store and was also a Dr. of Optometry. He also built violins and violas. He built his own radio station and played the violins he made for the people of Cook in the 20's and 30's.
He once had a letter delivered to him, That was addressed "To the man in Cook that can fix anything except the crack of dawn or a broken heart".

My father was a hardworking man. He worked for Enron for most of his life. He worked as a maintenance man at a natural gas pumping station. He had 4 kids and money was not abundant so when things broke or needed fixed he would do it him self. Always getting me involved and teaching my brothers and me how things worked. He died suddenly at the age of 73. I still find my self when I am building or repairing something asking my self. How would dad have done this. God I miss him.

I have been working in factories since I was 17. I was hired by Hy-gain electronics on my 17th birthday I worked full time 2nd shift while going to high school. We built large military and commercial antenna systems. worked there for 4 years.

I then went to work for Kawasaki Motors mfg. It was the first Japanese manufacturing plant in the United States. I started out making jet ski hulls moved onto welding motorcycle frames. I did cnc production lathe work. I am now a team leader in the laser department. Where I keep 4 laser tube cutters cutting. I have worked for Kawasaki for 33 years. Along the way I have been blessed with 2 great kids. Rebecca who now teaches 3rd grade here in Lincoln, Ne and Matt who does Non-destructive testing in Houston, Tx.

My hobbies are bow hunting,sausage making, old car restoration and now blacksmithing. I have bow hunted all over. Deer and turkeys in here in Nebraska, elk in Montana, wild boar, buffalo and exotics in Texas and 12 days in South Africa.

I have restored a 1951 Chevy 3/4 ton pickup, a 54 Chevy 2dr Belair and now have a 60 T-bird I am working on.

I became interested in blacksmithing after watching a you tube video of a guy making a knife out of a rr spike.
I was telling a friend at work about it and he said he had 2 old anvils and I could have one if I wanted. He brought me a 167 lb peter wright. I started collecting tools and was already in the process of having a new garage/shop built.
The shop was complete last spring. I took a 2 day blacksmithing class at a local community college and loved it. I have had my shop going for a little over a year and have been making tomahawks, knives, crosses and some artistic pieces. I joined the forum in July and check it everyday.

It is a great resource and when ever I need info on how to do something all I have to do is ask. Thanks to all who are a part of this forum.

Paul Miller (postleg)