mike-hr

Tent pegs made from railroad spikes. These are good practice in punching and drifting hammer eyes, you could also weld a ring inside the eye for hitching mules, hammock tying, etc.

Thanks for sharing pictures of the process! Do you have a list of the ingredients?

I don't think medieval smiths could buy flatbar. They would get a lump of 'merchant bar' and pound it into flatbar. Depending on time, budget, and how many friends you have that can swing sledges, I would try forging 1 inch round into approx. 1/4 x 1-1/4 flat. It has a whole different look than storebought flat. If thats out of the question, try grinding some thin lines into an old flea market hammer. It makes a vine-like texture that's pretty nifty when forged into store bought flat.

I really like those! Nice work!

I occasionally see contractors who change out the female plugs on their extention cords and the male plugs on their power tools to a non-common configuration. It makes their tools more identify-able, and keeps the darned sheetrock crews from unplugging them and stealing their power.

Good job! I helped my son make a brass rose for his second grade teacher. He got a great feeling of accomplishment, and really good grades for the rest of the year... I feel that helping young folks make stuff with their hands is some of the best time I can spend.

Tyler, that's a darned nice eye! Good work! I know that must have been a bearcat to do...

I'd rather have a mid-size tractor with a front end bucket. No mast to worry about, and you can't scrape snow with a forklift.

The top hinge is a strap type, and the bottom hinge is a pin that fits into the bottom of the gate. The pin is welded to a steel plate that secures to the ground. The pin bears load and the gate works good, because its sitting on a ball bearing, inside the gate post. The plumbing and leveling is done by sliding the steel plate into position before securing it to the ground. Any dust and grime simply falls out down the hole in the gate post.

Flux should be used as a tool, not a crutch. If I'm at a hammer-in or public demo outside in the sun, flux will give an extra couple seconds of 'welding window', or help forgive a shallow or oxidizing coal fire. My shop forge is in a fairly dark corner where I can see what's happening. I try not to use flux if I don't have to. I went to a workshop several years ago, we did the 'water leaf' from the COSIRA book. It involved welding a sheet metal leaf to a length of 3/8" square. We used straight mule borax, and it worked good. The downside is, I found the piece on a shelf last week, and the weld has been precipitating white borax crystals. I need to find out how to pickle out the borax for fancy pieces I want to sell. I've made 10-15 cablemascus blades, a chainsaw chain letter opener, and half a dozen billets from L-6 saw blade, strap banding, and rasps, all without flux, and wired or hoseclamped together. The trick is a clean deep fire, Knowing where the non-oxidizing layer of the fire is, slow heats, and practice. I turn the radio off so I can hear if the fire is roaring or choked up. This is with a coal or coke fire, I've never been able to stick a weld in the gas forge.. The California BS Assoc. is lucky to have Mark Asprey as a very active demonstrator and instructor. He went through the apprentice system in the U.K., and now lives in central CA. He's brought in British Masters Adrian Legge, Richard Bent, and Mark Constable for workshops and hammer-ins. (See BP0222, split cleft weld). I haven't seen any of these folks use flux with wrought or mild steel. I'm not a very good welder, and rarely miss an opportunity to mess up a drop tong weld, especially in public. I just felt obliged to say that it's entirely possible to weld without flux, and folks shouldn't tell themselves they can't.

Thanks, Irn