habu68

I use a topical analgesic called Capzasin-HP the active ingredient is the acid that makes hot peppers hot. It increases blood flow and blocks muscle pain. A little on the hands and feet will keep them warm about 12hrs. I use it in construction, cross country skiing, and snow cave camping. I would warn that after you apply it be careful where you scratch. As Arlo Guthrie said in Alice's restaurant "and they was inspecting, injecting every single part of me, and they was leaving no part untouched."

Nobody and I mean Nobody will ever see my first set of tongs.

"When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." Mark Twain

Although we never met, Jim "PaPa" Wilson was my friend and we exchanged e-mails and art work over several years. He was one to preach safety and caution with his Drill Sargent's zeal and would have no problem taking a person down a notch for being stupid, some thing he did to me on several occasions. On the day he poisoned himself with metal fever burning the galvanization off some pipe to make tables for his "Dream Shop" he had chased several people out of the shop because he "knew the danger"

Much is offered here take what you need, give what you can, this information is not only for you and me, but also to the others who follow with interest the discussion.

And to Glen and the others thank you for providing this forum.

Irnsrgn, On the subject of router bits and leakage. About 15 years ago I was holding an unshielded wood router in my left hand while plugging it in with my right. The switch was on and the motor jumped in my hand, the dovetail bit opened the web between my thumb and forefinger an walked across my wrist. Before the bleeding started I could see the exposed tendons in my wrist moving. I was lucky and I only nicked one tendon. Then the bleeding started, it was not squirting, just flowing. I applied direct pressure to the cut and placed a rolled up towel under my arm pit to put pressure on the artery. Two things scared me about the situation, one the ride to the e-room, the Domestic Goddess drove over 70 miles an hour through town, over speed bumps that were designed to keep you from going over 25 mph and 2: when we returned to the house the dogs had cleaned up all the blood, I had to sleep with one eye open for the next 2 weeks. I still shudder every time I pick up a router.

HABU, have you ever actually used super glue??? I did, and man, I'd almost as soon bleed to death as put that stuff in an open wound again. Let's just say it stings. ALOT! But it did/does work to close it up and keep it closed. .

What is a little sting to a man who is willing to handle white hot iron bare handed. ;)

You wash your hands BEFORE going to the bathroom

The solution to all life's problems are require a hammer

For small but deep cuts like a cut on a finger try supper glue directly in the wound. If you have ever glued your fingers together you know that skin is the only thing that super glue really works on anyway. Dr's use in surgery and charge out the bee-hind for it.

Some one offers to sell you an old bridge and you have to consider the offer. As in: Cultural Resourcess

you are real bad all year hoping to get a TON of coal for Christmas..

Yes, but those little muffins are so cute....:p

A wonderful review of this Giant of our trade:

The Legacy of Francis Whitaker, Vol I

Personal Soap Box here:

Small enclosed spaces are not a good idea for any kind of burning of carbon based fuels, ie: wood, charcoal,coal, propane, natural gas, gasoline, kerosene,or old rags, unless there is well designed ventilation. CO, carbon monoxide, and CO2, carbon dioxide are both killers and both are products of combustion. Low levels of CO are cumulative in the body and require 6 days of healing of the blood stream to rid the exposure. Each new exposure adds to the previous dose. Death can be in as little as 5 min. CO is colorless and has no odor. Headache , dizziness, and disorientation, are your first symptoms. Those who try to save you will also be exposed and risk their life.

In the past I owned and operated a small (20x14 foot) shop to do emission testing on cars, the shop was 2 walls and 2 garage doors with both ends open. Cars would enter one end and drive out the other. Testing took about 5min/car. My exposure was 6 days a week, I tested as an average of 70 cars a day and I used a Nighthawk Digital CO detector. While testing the doors were NEVER closed. In spite of this I would often go home with slurred speech, headaches, and memory loss. On two occasions I had brief loss of consciousness, once is was lucky enough to have a customer call the EMT's to revive me. The other time i came to on my own and sought treatment. 10 years later I still have memory and concentration problems.

I
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Centaur forge has 1# blocks for $6.75 and smaller 2oz blocks. To make smaller blocks melt the wax in a double boiler and cast in a muffin tin. It helps to spray the pan with pam before casting. The wax is hard to completely remove, to keep the Domestic Goddess pleased, it may do you well to have your own pans. The lower you keep your melt temps the lighter color your wax will be.

Your best resource for farrier and blacksmith supplies Product Search "beeswax"

Since air is some 80% nitrogen and of no use to the heating of the forge you might want to look at a heat recapture device that channels the air entering the burner thru the dragons breath. Care must be taken not to add the spent dragons breath back into the burner as this will make the CO levels skyrocket.

two other things that can be done is to reduce the size of your door opening increasing the back pressure and reducing the heat loss to the dragon breath.

I'm at about 5280 ft myself and I had to ad a small blower and increase the fuel pressure to reach welding temps. I am using Ron Reil style home made burners and just added a blower from a dishwasher. I tune it with a can lid covering the intake. it just slips over the burner when needed. Here is a pic of the same blower on my coal forge.

Do You Have A CO Detector: don't let that concrete box you work in turn into a vault.

Tongs Thongs and Tool collecting...The collection of tools to the point of poverty goes back to the Greek Gods. One has only to Google pictures of Vulcan at the forge to see that, for a blacksmith and his family, clothing is optional. Here we see Venus and her children begging Vulcan for food , "if only you would sell that extra anvil from HF...." no wonder she ran off with Mars, also note, the passing down of the "tool gene" to the male offspring who is wielding his first tool in spite of his starvation.

a nice site for old shop pics A Gallery of Early Blacksmithing

here is a link to a heat treating company and a stainless steel bag that they use to keep oxygen form de-carbonizing parts http://www.nabertherm.com/produkte/waermebehandlung/waermebehandlung2_englisch.pdf

you might find some ideas there. Check out pages 8 and 9

My fall project started with the rebuild of an old Great Bellows that I found on Craigslist. It turned out to be a real basket case, Leathers rotted, ribs broke, valves shot. It was re-leathered with canvas sealed with an old formula for oil cloth (boiled linseed oil and Iron oxide), new valves and ribs built, and new hinges. It has turned out to be like the old joke about the curator of the museum explaining the ax that George Washington used to cut down the cherry tree: "The handle has been replaced 3 times and the head twice, but this is the very same hatchet that got young George in so much trouble...." If i had it to do over again i would have built a new one from scratch.
Now, with a new bellows, i needed a setup to show it off. I saw the cart in the blue prints by Mark Parkinson I Forge Iron - Blacksmithing and Metalworking - I Forge Iron - Blacksmithing and Metalworking and liked the design so I stole it fair and square.

Today I did a test fit up of the components and think I have what I want. The vise and drill press will be setup for quick removal for travel and I have added an under carriage tool/stock box below the deck. The wheels are from an old horse drawn hay rake. I have fabed up most of the brackets and pivots out of wood but they will be replaced as i get the forge up and running. I have been thinking of making a removable enclosure like this print of a civil war traveling forge. http://www.usregulars.com/images/gibbon15.gif

note the unique way the bellows in that cart is constructed with opposing lungs.

The next step is to finish assembly of the wooden components and paint. Then fire up the forge and begin the metal work for the wagon.

Ejector Pins - Plastixs.com

A source for H13 is the plastic injection molding business, they use H13 ejector pins in their molds to push the parts out of the cavities. The pins are available in hardened and annealed and nitrated. My kid brother is a tool and die maker and keeps a stock of pins from .004" to 2.500" They make great punches right out of the box.

he also has a 3648 lb H13 mold sitting in the shop that he says I can have for an anvil if I can figure out how to get it out of the truck when I get it home.:D

Larryjr

I like your step by step layout board. The Master smith I learned from did these for almost every imaginable process he did in the shop. He simply made one for each step and punched a hole and strung them on bailing wire. They were invaluable to have for the newer smiths when they had a few moments to try something new. I wish now that I had made a set for each one of them that I tried. By the time you have made a set like that it you have hard wired the steps, in order, in your mind and arm.

In "Return of the man called horse" the smith keeps tempo by alternating strikes of the hammer with striking the butt of his hammer handle on the face of the anvil, as if to tighten the head on the handle. Worst "Retun Of" movie ever.

I have run my single burner propane forge in a 10x12x12 foot shop with the walk in door, window and ceiling vent fan running. In the first 10 min of running my forge in this room I have watched my digital co sensor run from 0 to 999 parts per million CO. The forge is well tuned but the cold start does not give a full burn of the carbon in the propane. 900 parts per million CO will cause loss of consciousness in less than 5 min. 135 ppm will kill over longer exposures. After my forge reaches operating temps my CO levels in the room drop back to 0, but remember that you are still producing Co2 and burning available oxygen. Coal, charcoal, and fuel oil will also produce CO.

I have had two close encounters with CO in automotive settings they are not fun. My personal opinion is that a CO detector is as necessary as safety glasses. I recommend the Nighthawk Digital CO unit, the digital read out gives you a visual warning prior to the nightmarish alarm going off and waking the neighbors, also this unit has a cumulative exposure algorithm that sets the alarm off when you have a low exposure over a long period of time.

Disclaimer: I am not associated in any way with the Nighthawk company. I only know that they have saved my life on more than one occasion.

My first hot cut hardie was an unmodified 4inch mason's chisel, it fit nicely on the diagonal in my 7/8 inch hardie hole. A small piece of scrap bent 90 deg. along side the shaft took the wobble out. I used it until I started to do "historical" demos, something about the made in china.....

The Sheet Metal Shop .Com

A library of metal/ sheet metal books old and new.

I have had a Christmas request for some blacksmith/pub puzzles, like the twisted nails and horse shoe ring and chain puzzles and Mormon hobbles. Does anyone have plans or examples for them. Thanks in advance.

The Treadle Hammer As Kitchen Aid

(and Follow up Safety Article)
I just found this story again while looking for something else

Enjoy

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