Everything Else

Is there a thread or discussion on IFI that I missed or that someone can point me to thanking all those that are out there saving lives in this pandemic? My next door neighbor is a nurse, I see what she is going through. Pretty special people.

This just in.... Coronal Mass Ejection headed our way. Run! Hide! Stock up on toilet paper! Run around in circles with you hair on fire! Tune in tomorrow for details if the internet isn't fried.

I set my pants on fire with sparks from the angle grinder last week. Finished the cut, though.

Hey folks. I have asked many people for advice already but I haven't made up my mind yet. I want to quit my job to study to become a blacksmith. There's a school in Sweden where you literally study pure blacksmithing for 4 years and then you get the title "Journeyman". After that I'd either wanna work as a helper somewhere or open up my own shop and make tools and gates. The thing is I already have a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering and I've soon worked one year in it. Sitting on a chair 8h/day in front of the computer. Drawing blueprints or editing Excel spreadsheets. I hate sitting all the time and the planning aspect is uninteresting and boring. And then t…

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all. If there is a thread on this, please combine them. Thanks

IFI folks and lurkers., The SLAG has come across a hack that is a brilliancy. Have a can of food but no opener, and you are hungry!! And maybe you are experiencing armageddon? Fear not. "KGB survivalist" has disclosed, a vey clever method to open a can of food and feed yourself and your cat. (dog?) Try, https://www.tips-and-tricks.co/lifehacks/open-a-can-without-a-can-opener/2/ Enjoy, SLAG.

Due to "sponsored content" searching on the web is getting bogged down and much less useful. As you probably want and old fashioned mom&pop place the older tech may be more likely to find it. Frankly I get quite annoyed when I search for EXACTLY what I want and instead get 766 suggestions of things I DON'T want.

I want to offer my sincerest thanks and prayers for all of you who have and are serving. Without you we'd be owned by someone else and milked worse than we are. THANK YOU ONE AND ALL! Frosty The Lucky.

We talk a lot about the downsides of using a loud ringing anvil; but there are some upsides as well. I have found that it lures in folks at demos; and if I hear someone working at an anvil I'll go track them down to say Howdy. I ran across this tidbit on a blog about Old Washington in Arkansas: "Her Grandpa was born in 1855 and was a blacksmith by trade in Stratton, Colorado. Her Dad said that when he was a boy, you could hear his anvil ringing all over town. When it quit ringing you better get home. It was time for supper." In the shop though, ALL my anvils are muted, save for my Fisher. It doesn't need it!

I was reading a book of fantasy short stories at breakfast and had another "Willing suspension of disbelief" fail due to metalworking: They had a strong box made from Cast Iron! with curious locks on it---why bother locking it when a good wallop with a hammer would have shattered the cast iron...(Previous fails involved cast iron hinges and the use of metal fencing in a pre industrial society. That story also had a lot of issues with socio-economic things---like tapestries in a place that could never had afforded them, hidden passageways in structures that would not have been able to "hide" them, etc.) Made me wonder why the editor of the anthology didn't point out …

Had some college students contravene the Covid-19 rules so campus is closed today, Monday. I hope to be back online Tomorrow. (Mooching internet from our church right now!)

Hi guys! It says I do not have access to the blacksmith lessons. Just curious as to why and what I can do to gain access.

It's new to me but with a bazillion posts on this site, may have been mentioned before: In the Greek myth, Procrustes was a son of Poseidon with a stronghold on Mount Korydallos at Erineus, on the sacred way between Athens and Eleusis. There he had a[n iron] bed, in which he invited every passer-by to spend the night, and where he set to work on them with his smith's hammer, to stretch them to fit. In later tellings, if the guest proved too tall, Procrustes would amputate the excess length; nobody ever fitted the bed exactly. Procrustes continued his reign of terror until he was captured by Theseus, traveling to Athens along the sacred way, who "fitted" Procrustes …

How much sparks are dangerous from fire that comes out, if they come in contact with eye (didn't had that expirience) but iam just wondering wil lthat hot burining sparks cause eye blindes if ladned on eye? This topic inspired me yesterday , luckly i have long pole when controling bellows some sparks are flaying around , did anybody had expirience with those sparks that jump out of fire. I know you should have glasses, but i couldn't bought them. Iam asking how much those sparks are dangerous for skin eyes etc.

I just bought a house in Florida, and have a TON of these (I'm assuming wrought iron) gates, doors, window bars, etc. Are they worth anything in their current state, or if they were to be refinished?

Best wishes to JM Shrader on the birth of his new daughter today. I'm sure he'll have a cigar for everybody. George

Howdy fellas. Been a while. Been a really long year, all around. Had the rona back in March. Was down with that for a couple months & really sucked. Got feeling better & was getting back to normal. Then I took a bullet to the knee. Which doesn't tickle much. Down for a couple months with that too. Got back to work for a couple weeks and wham! Injured the same knee again & there goes another month. Finally getting back to a new day job tomorrow, my little fab shop is starting to recover from the inside shutdown & I'm thankfully getting to swing a hammer again. Gots a friend in Moscow who's wanting a chef's knife. Something like a d…

I'm wondering if there is a word in any language for the explosion of fire and scale right after you hit a really hot piece of steel. I'm thinking German or Japanese might have such a word, but it's not something you can really Google. Figured you lot might know.

Does any kind soul know what this tool is? Thanks if not...

I assume this is a regular question but I couldn't find it anywhere. Does anyone have a favorite online source for abrassives? Started trying to find some different belts and it's a jungle.

I work at the "management" end of the construction industry which often has different rules of decorum than the sites do. That being said, I came up in the trades and have many years of field experience. All of which is to say that I've seen quite a few arguments in a lot of different settings. In that time I've spotted a few folks who were very good at resolving conflicts in their favor. Doing what I can to improve myself, I've learned by their example. The other day I was talking with a colleague and he commented on how rude this person was. Now I've watched that person for some time now, and it's doubtlessly true that they aren't always polite. That being s…

Hey Everyone! I'm an amateur blacksmith and engineering student with an upcoming design assignment I'm working on. The assignment is to examine various options for a chosen engineering opportunity and make a recommendation (similar to an engineers recommendation), I've chosen to make mine related to forging. I really want to include information that I've gathered on this forum, and was wondering if any curmudgeons could provide guidance on how I can provide the appropriate attribution in my report. My professors have said they are flexible with citations (i.e. I don't have to follow a specific citation style, as long as the authors are receiving "appropriate credit"…

Hey guys, I don't really have many tools. I grew up around them and usually know what I'm doing with them but for a big chunk of my 20s thy just weren't a priority and when we bought a house a few years ago I realize I basically had none. So I've been slowly building up a collection. My birthday was Saturday and Dad got me a $75 Harbor Freight gift card. The next 3 big things on my wish list are a belt sander/disc sander combo, a drill press, and a welder. The drill press appeals to me because I do not have a steady hand and I have had a number of projects become way harder than expected because I can't for the life of me drill a straight hole. I do own a f…

Dear All, I thought about posting this in historic blades but this is a defense against blades object rather than a blade itself. They have found a nearly complete lorica segmentata at the battlefield of Teutoburger Forest (AD 9) in Germany. Here is the link: http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/59648#comments (you may have to type the address in if it doesn't link directly). By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Hey everyone! I happened upon a lot of these during my evening scavenging run. Can anyone tell me what they are? Thanks!