Glenn

Inside Start by taking an exposure of just the fire and then adding light to the rest of the scene to match that exposure. If you have too much light on the scene the fire will wash out. If you have too little light on the scene it will appear dark. This is compared to the exposure of the fire. Outside To intentionally include the fire in a scene outside, arrange the photo so the fire is against a dark background, shadowed area outside, or something to make the fire jump out against the surroundings. Email me with what equiptment you have to work with, a diagram of the set up, and we can try to figure out a solution to the problem.

Knife has a handle made of mariposite a stone with lots of color, Blade is ATS34 stainless with 416 guard and pins. Rich Hale Knife has handle of giraffe leg bone that has been dyed and stabilized. Blade is ATS stainless with pins and guard of 416 stainless.

I will certainly accept your suggestions. It was worth a shot.

Any chance of a blueprint of the process and the roofing tool you made ?

Show us what followed you home, and from where. Show us the steel, tools, equiptment etc, that followed YOU home. Also where it was found, such as the junk yard, street corner, alley way, flea market etc. And maybe a few details to give the rest of us non-scroungers a little help on how the process works. :?

And where is the fire extinguisher located ?? This question is not just to Hollis, but to all with gassers, as well as coal forges.

Copied to the PL Ed is again having problems with his meds. In addition he has broken a tooth and no one will accept his insurance to repair it. His area of the country is being flooded - again - and they are on a continous watch to keep water pumped out of the basement of the house. I suggested that now would be a good time to add his name to the prayer and am doing so with his permission. If you have any extra room on your prayer list add his wife Bev, as she is putting up with him during these rough times.

Digital Cameras are neat tools. For the internet 480 x 640 x 72 dpi is usually all that is needed. To make a photographic paper print, you need all the megapixels you can get. When looking for a camera, look for one that is easy to use, has OPTICAL zoom, a built in flash, close focus capibilities, and you can EASILY get the image out of the camera and into the computer. * IF it is easy to use, you will use it, if it is NOT easy to use, you will NOT use it. If it is small enough to carry with you, you will carry it, otherwise you are going to leave it at home. * Optical zoom is the lens doing the work, not the software. IF you do not have the information captured and stored (optical zoom), you can not recreate it with software (digital zoom). * Built in flash will add light where it is needed for a better photograph. Without the flash, you are limited to daylight, or situations where there is a light bright enough to illuminate the subject. * Close focus is needed for showing details. Usually a close focus and using the zoom will get you the photograph you want. * If you can not easily get the photograph out of the camera and into the computer, you will not use the camera. It will just be too much trouble. The sales person has practiced making it "look" easy, but it needs to BE EASY FOR YOU to use with YOUR computer. USB connections and direct entry of the media card (stick or whatever) into the computer or printer is worth considering. Like any tool, a camera can be very useful. The easier it is to use, the more you will use it. The faster it is to get the photograph out of the camera and into the computer, the more you will use it. Remember that 36 exposure roll of film that had Christmas photos, Easter, 4th of July, the fall leaves, Thanksgiving, the new years big snow, and the kids birthday in May all on the same roll? AND you had 3 exposures left before you could take it to have it processed? You want to be able to take ONE (1) photo and be able to put it into the computer now, today, so you can send it email to your friend before they have to log off. There are a bunch of good cameras out there in the 3-4 megapixel range that will do a good job. I see no use for an image that takes up megs and megs of storage per EACH IMAGE to have to reduce it to 10k so it can be sent across the internet. But if your going to enlarge and print that image on digital photographic paper (not computer paper at $2.00 per 500 sheets) then you need all the megs you can get. You want to consider the batteries and the storage media of any camera you purchase. At some point the camera WILL run out of juice to power it and need the battery replaced. If it only takes the recharable battery from the manufacture, you will need spares. If it takes a dedicated size battery, where are you going to find that one after hours and on the weekend? You need to carry spares. Before you believe the salesman, call the local drug store or grocery store and ask if they carry that battery - in stock. The storage media is an important consideration. The mega-giga-drive "will be all you need" cause it stores everything - till there are problems. This is where several media storage devices are better. One fails and you can still function by using another one. Or use one for the main subject (the event, party, vacation) and pop in the second one for all the iron work, and interesting details, on the gate you found. Digital cameras are great tools to learn photography and become the best photographer you can be. Taking 500 images, sorting through them and saying "WOW, I GOT ONE!" is fine as long as you delete the other 499. Next trip out try to get two images that are keepers from that 500. Next trip try to get three that are keepers, etc. Keep the good ones and delete the junk. You just showed me 6 GREAT PHOTOGRAPHS that were all keepers! And WOW do they look good !! Excellent work. The others - what others ??

T why not just do a blueprint on the subject ?

I have not heard from Gilly since this was posted Feb 15, 2005 on the IForgeIron prayer list. Till we do hear from her, please keep her on your list. (She has medical problems and Rod, her husband, was severely injured when his welding truck wrecked. There has been no income as he was self employed and last I heard they were very close to loosing their home and land to the bill collectors.) Send a card, note, or letter to Gilly to try to lift her spirits during these trying times. Gilda Rice Box 4 Charlie Lake, BC Canada VOC 1 HO IF you would like to enclose something to assist her, US Postal Money orders or International Money orders should be made out to Gilda Rice. Her bank can handle the exchange.

Couple of photos of a Rich Hale Knife The dark handle is snake wood,,,the spacers are african blackwood and nickel with black liners,,,the light piece is oosik

Ed, thanks for the comments. Folks may want to take note of the event and limitations and plan for 2006.

Ok, I'll be the first to say it. They look store bought. Good job.

April 2005 (3rd weekend in April) BGOP Spring Fling Fairfax Wildlife Club near Warrenton, VA BBOP Spring Fling - click here to go

To post in the forum, the photo has to be on the internet somewhere (at present, but we are working on that). If you need it on the internet, email it to me and I will post it for you. - OR http://www.yourimg.com is one location you can store your images on the internet for free. The best size for the image is 400 pixels in either direction with a max of 500 pixels in either direction. Text that you want. Click the "img" button type in the full URL on the image click the "img" button once more to close This is the photo I want to show y'all click "img" http://www.image location click "img" again Be sure this is all one long line with NO spaces. The code should look like this but without the spaces before or after the URL. It tells the forum to look for an image (img) at this location (http://www.etc and display that image (close image - /img) NO SPACES The image should then be posted to the forum. Example below by JimG

Knives by Rich Hale The Bowie is hand forged L-6 carbon steel it has forged damascus S-guard and the metal has been browned, the handle is sambar stag. The small skinner is my own damascus with ironwood handle with an oosic spacer,,guard is damascus also...

I am scheduled for hernia sergury May 9 and will be out of work for about 6 weeks (no hammering says the doc for that long)... Light a candle for me please JJ Copied to prayer list

From the Woody Hanson Family To all my blacksmith friends: The care and concern that my family have received from all of you over this past week is overwhelming. The cards, the phone calls, the flowers from CSI, the all give new meaning to the word brotherhood. I will never be able to repay you all for the kindness that has been extended to me and my family, but I want you all to know that it is sincerely appreciated. A great grief shared among so many is a great burden that was somehow lightened. Thank you all Woody, Rick and Mark Hanson, Heather & Paul Winn,

From the Woody Hanson Family To all my blacksmith friends: The care and concern that my family have received from all of you over this past week is overwhelming. The cards, the phone calls, the flowers from CSI, the all give new meaning to the word brotherhood. I will never be able to repay you all for the kindness that has been extended to me and my family, but I want you all to know that it is sincerely appreciated. A great grief shared among so many is a great burden that was somehow lightened. Thank you all Woody, Rick and Mark Hanson, Heather & Paul Winn,

Fixed Billy Merritt's name. Thanks Tell him we still use his work to show others the quality he produces.

Face the knife straight on - one light left at a 45* down angle to the knife, one light right at a 45* down angle to the knife and then tilt the knife to precent the blade. Put something in the background (gray shirt board or what ever) to reflect instead of the white. The pattern should pop out. A mirror finish on a knife WILL reflect - so give it something to reflect. To show a pattern give it a neutral reflection to cut the glare and show the pattern. This is not exactly fair because the knife did not have a mirror finish. That and it was on location at a hammer in, but it shows the pattern of the knife well. Sunny day, but I moved into the shade, moved and watched the knife till it showed what I wanted, then pushed the button on the camera. Alan you were there and watching. :wink: This will show how just a little different tilt on the knife improves the image. The reverse side of the same knife. All knives were made by Billy Merritt.

I recall from somewhere that a 90* bend in a flue cuts down the draft up to 20% for each 90* (Don't hold me to that till I can point you to a reference.) The horizontal distance between 90* bends should be keep it as short as possible. JJ (James Joyce from Calif) would be a good person to ask about this.

Details of the funeral service are on the IForgeIron.com prayer list.

Coal Production The first reference to coal ( in what is today West Virginia) was in 1742, when John Peter Salley reported an outcropping of coal along a tributary of the Kanawha River. By 1817, coal began to replace charcoal as a fuel for the numerous Kanawha River salt furnaces. The total coal production in 1840 for the State was about 300,000 tons, of which 200,000 tons was used in the Kanawha salt furnaces. BTW the Mason-Dixon line is the boundry of West Virginia/ Pennsylvania, and Maryland/Pennsylvania. This boundry was the division like between those in the "North" and those in the "South" during the war. Therefore Pa was a northern state and WV and Md were southern states. Reference IForgeIron Blueprints BP0051 Coal Additonal references at the bottom of the BP.

Welcome to "Blacksmith Forum" You may read the forum at any time, just point your browser. To post to the forum, you must register, and then reply to the email to confirm a working email address. It is a family forum and the moderators have been instructed to keep it clean. For those folks that have waited patiently for a Blacksmithing Forum to be put on line - this is it !! There may be some adjustments that need made, so give us a little time to hammer out any kinks. Enjoy the new site. Glenn