Glenn

That Acorn Platten weighed in at 2100 pounds. Now to find Whitesmith so he can lift his side, scoot it off the truck, and we can carry it to where it wants to live. :lol:

It is not the kb size but the pizel size that is causing it to widen the page.

To give you some idea of sizing, this image is 600 pixels wide.


This image is 400 pixels wide.


This image is 400 pixels wide.

And if your trying to show a detail, it is always better to take another photo and show only that detail.

The bottom line is to get the image posted first so we can see it. We can always fuss about making it smaller later.

He did not say what method (hammer or wooden handle) he used in his shop. The whole point was to show folks that it did not take a killer blow to make a forge weld.

I just brought Ralph home. Unfortunately, the pathology report came back positive for melanoma in his brain. :-(

We'll be seeing all kinds of doctors and getting another CAT scan this week. Guess we'll learn what the heck the next step is. Thank you again for your prayers and support.

Dawn

You don't pour water on the fire, you baptise it by sprinkling. Just enough to cool the outside coal or coke and keep the fire contained a bit. POURING can crack the firepot, cause steam explosions, steam burns, and thermal shock anything hot.

Each forge is different and takes a different touch. Play with the construction, fuel, air, and fire maiintance to get it to work for you. Others can provide guide lines on size and shapes that work for them.

He did it with such confidence and physical ease that the billet would have been ashamed not to have welded. Both only come from practice and doing something many many times.

I am home from the hospital - Ralph

To show folks that you did not have to use a killing blow from a hammer to get a good forge weld. All you needed was to pop it with the bottom of the headless wooden hammer handle and that would provide enough force to make the weld.

This weekend Billy Marrot of Indiana showed us how he forge welds. He put a hammer handle into the slack tub. He put the assembled billet into the coal fire and brought it up to welding temp. (To me this billet was high yellow, but everyone sees colors differently.)



He then removed the wooden hammer handle (no hammer head attached) and quickly pulled the billet from the fire, delivered it to the anvil and immediately "popped" it with the bottom of the wooden hammer handle. This was not a hard blow, but just a pop. He then popped it a second time, and finally a heavy third strike with the wooden hammer handle. He did mention that you could tell from the pop and the hit if the weld took or not.

From there the billet went back to the fire and was brought back to welding heat. Then he picked up a hammer, finished the weld and started drawing out the billet.

This photo was staged at the end of the third pop with the wooden hammer handle. This will give a visual idea of how much heat was lost during the process and how much heat still remained when it went back into the fire for a second heat.

Billy makes some FINE damascus, hammers, tongs, knives, swords, golf club heads, and the list goes on and on and on.

They must grow some big oaks in Ky. This "Acorn" Platten was just laying there on the side of the road. The fellow said he would like it to find a "good home" where it could be used. He even loaded it onto the truck !!

The truck's 350 v-8 had no problem pulling, but the trucks brakes were lacking in preformance. :wink:
I will try to get it measured and weighed tomorrow, and then formulate some idea of how to unload it - safely. In case you noticed, that IS a full size pallet under the thing.

2100 pounds. Now to find Whitesmith so he can lift his side, scoot it off the truck, and we can carry it to where it wants to live.

I'm exhausted, but I wanted to give you an update on Ralph. He is now in a regular room, after going from ICU to Progressive Care yesterday. He had a tough night, because his pain wasn't being properly managed and he hurt a great deal all night. I think the doctors have finally gotten their act together there. He should rest much better tonight.

We will get the pathology report tomorrow (Monday). I pray the surgeon's visual holds up and there indeed is no melanoma.

Ralph will be able to start taking an anticoagulant on Friday, which won't be at "therapeutic" level, but at least it will be something. They say they are going to take that one day at a time and can't tell me yet if he will EVER be back on coumadin.

I'll report tomorrow how the biopsies come out. Cross your fingers! Thank you for your concern and support. Best wishes, Dawn

Use the Bill Epps' rule for sales.
Lots of things under $20 that look good in a double wide trailer.

Rule #2 the woman controls the wallet. Make it pretty.

Rule #3 Have a few high dollar items for sale. This makes the $20 look very even more reasonalbe in price.

Ralph is continuing to recover, and is expected to go home this week. Thank your all your prayers. Dawn

I'm ecstatic to report that Ralph's surgery went better than anybody could imagine! (Thank you, God!) Even the surgeon was surprised. He thought it would take 4 hours and it only took two hours and fifteen minutes. And the best news of all, while they still have to have some of the material biopsied, they feel certain from visual inspection that there is NO MELANOMA!! WOOHOO!! It was all blood, apparently. He bled into his brain some time ago and then again in the past few days.

Now the problem is that he CAN'T be on blood thinner (because of risk of more bleeding) but he HAS to be on blood thinner (because of the blood clots in his chest). His pulmonary doctor and neurosurgeon are going to duke it out and try to find some sort of compromise, maybe an alternative drug (instead of coumadin). So please continue to pray for their wisdom on this!

He will certainly not be on any kind of blood thinners for a while, but they did put a filter into his groin which is supposed to lesson the risk that clotted material will move to his heart or lungs.

I am truly SO GRATEFUL for all the prayers, good thoughts, and well wishes. I had the worst night of my life last night, but by morning, I felt the grace pouring in and I was calm and at peace all day. It was wonderful. I've had less than three hours of sleep in the past 40 hours or so, but I feel terrific.

Our son Nathan, Ralph's Mom, his Dad and his brother all came in on three planes with three airlines, two arriving at the exact same time and the other 18 minutes later, and none of it was coordinated! They got to the hospital 15 minutes after Ralph was back in ICU. So it was perfect timing. We're still working to get our daughter Shannon home from Prague.

Ralph was alert after surgery, though in great pain, as you can imagine. The hole they cut into his skull is as big as the palm of his hand. But at least now the pain will decrease over time and all that nasty stuff is out! And he still managed to make jokes to the nurses and everybody, as he always does.

I just want to say THANK YOU again for all your support!! The next three or four weeks could be a bit dicey, as we walk this double-edged sword, but the most dangerous part is over, and it went so well that I feel very confident now that Ralph will ultimately get through this as he has with everything else, thanks to a marvelous God, amazing doctors, and terrific people like y'all!

Many blessings,
Dawn

Could dirt inclusions be the reason for not sticking? Grease, earth, sand, etc

Ed, I like your tastes in blacksmiths. Quality craftspersons and easy on the eyes. :D

There may be a couple of photos on the PPW hammer in series posted on the opening page of IForgeIron.com

If there is any question on the matter, you can always consult The You might be a blacksmith if ...list

There are over 250 ways listed, but I am sure a few more could be added. :wink:

We found out today that Ralph has a tennis ball sized blood clot (with possible melanoma, too) in the front right lobe of his brain. He is having brain surgery tomorrow afternoon. Because of the blood clot in his chest that almost killed him a few weeks ago, he's been on blood thinners. They are going to do what they can to minimize the risk of bleeding. But there is still old clots in his chest, and now that he can't be on blood thinners for at least a month after this latest surgery...

It doesn't look good. I'm scared to death. It's very possible we are going to loose him. Please pray. Dawn

Put a plate on the counter to in your kitchen and prentend it is a forge. Now put it on the kitchen table and again pretend it is a forge. Next put it on the sear of the kitchen chair (most likely will be too short) and pretend it is a forge. Choose what is most comfortable for you and then adjust to the inbetween heights. Each smith is taller or shorter and adjusts to suit his comfort. If you cut the angle iron legs short, you can always bolt on another short piece of angle iron as an "adjustment" to increase or decrease the height.

Here is you use pipe, select two sizes that one will fit inside the other. Drill a hole once the right height is located and run a bolt through both pieces of pipe to hold that adjustment.

3 legs (think tripod) will always set firm on the ground.

While your in the junk yard, don't forget that angle iron bed rails make good building materials.

As to the fuel, I will have to ask others to chime in as to what and where the fuel is available in your neck of the woods.

I have been present when forges have backfired. The first was a bellows driven forge that backfired like a 12 ga shotgun going off. The forge had been unattended for many minutes and the air/gasses mix just got to the right mix.
The second was a hand cranked blower. The smith took a little longer than normal at the anvil and when he turned the crank and added fresh air the mix was right. Just a whoomph but blew the connection loose at both the blower and the forge. The backfires will get your attention. It seems like a good topic for conversation, so:

How do you prevent backfires and whoomphs at the forge ?

A base for a forge from angle iron is a lot easier to build, just drill holes and bolt it together. It is also a lot easier to more than a masonary forge base.

A fast fix for conducting air between the air source and a forge is 3" flexable metal dryer vent. Lay it on the ground and aim the air source TOWARD the opening. Less air, let some air miss the opening. The opening is lower than the forge and will usually draw air up the pipe naturally.

Demon WP is a wettable powder insecticide that comes packaged in 1# bulk containers and in the more popular tinfoil package containing 4 water soluble pre-measured packets inside. Each one of these packets makes between 1/2 and 4 gallons of finished spray. Costs I have seen are $20 - $28

insecticide information then scroll down

Insecticide Lables pdf format

Clay,
Welcome to the forum and thanks for your information.
Please keep us informed as to your workshops.
Glenn