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Alcohol lamps Alcohol Lamps & Burners

I guess if you make it yourself then you are the manufacturer and can supply the specs needed. :D

Hi, Mark. Those are truly fine. I would buy one. There is a great housewares store called Hammertown Barn where those might do well. They have 3locations, Pine Plains and Rhinebeck, NY. Also Great Barrington, MA. Joan Osofsky is the owner. Hammertown They have the right clientele for it and their other merchandise would complement your wine racks. Don't know if it would be worth your while but can't hurt to ask. (of course we always shop in the clearance section there )

I would tend to agree however I would guess that there is a limit to the practical application of this. But the larger the force that's striking the greater the mass supporting should be.

Will do. Sorry for the newbie questions and thanks for your input.

Thanks, Grant. I need to adjust the 1/4" jaws laterally a bit as the front V's are not aligned. What's the best method for that?

Just received my first tongs today. All 3 are Grant's OC brand. 1/4" V-Bit, 16" handles, 1/2" gooseneck 18" handles and 18" wolf jaw tongs. You can tell that these are quality items and have a long life of forging ahead. What's the best way to adjust the jaw alignment? Also, being new they are somewhat stiff. Is it best to let them work in naturally or is there some way recommended to work them in quicker? Thanks. Grant, great products! Eric

Welcome back and speedy recovery!

Well, order OC tongs - 1/4" V Bit, 1/2" Gooseneck and Wolf jaw. Hopefully get them some time this week. Thanks for your input.

I wonder :confused: I saw that early on when I joined the forum and couldn't remember who did it, but why am I not surprised? (Sorry to be off topic here)

I agree with you in more ways than one. Tools certainly don't make the craftsman but there are a few schools of thought around this idea. While some people don't mind spending a buck or two to acquire tools that are above average, especially if there is a positive effect on the work itself, others find joy in the ability to overcome the limitations of tools and materials. Of course, there are more aspects to this, but a lot depends on your personality. As a musician I know that a crappy instrument can hold you back but I also know that there are people that do things with a POS that I could never come close to with the best of instruments. I think a lot depends on your motivation and life experience. If your not at a point to recognize the limitations in the tool or instrument you are using you might seem to be okay, but you progress could be limited by materials that are not at a minimum standard. Inexpensive could be great but as I've discovered, wrenches that are oversized cause more trouble than they are worth. Crappy instruments that are out of adjustment will hold most people back. You shouldn't have to learn in spite of your tools. Fine tools and instruments are a true pleasure to look at, hold and use. They don't, in and of themselves, make you a fine musician or craftsperson, but they take out lots of the limitations present in inferior products. At that point, it's all you. There are no excuses left. Your skill alone will determine the outcome. And, yeah, they are a joy to use, at any level. That being said, I truly admire people who are not limited by what they have or don't have. To watch that video of the guys who built a power hammer out of an old engine block, that kind of stuff is amazing to me. Unfortunately, I'm not naturally like that. Baby steps. Sigh.

BTW, we're about an hour due south of Albany where NY, MA and CT all come together in the Taconics/ Berkshires.

Mike, when and where are the meetings? Rochester is a bit far at about 5 hours but could be fun. A little less to the Jersey Shore. Atlantic City comes in at 4:15. Ironically almost all of the money I would save would be eaten up in travel costs. 550 miles rt to Rochester gets me in at about $30 in gas. (Toyota Prius saves the day) Not sure about tolls. Once you add a hotel I would be paying for the privilege. Not that it wouldn't be fun. As far as the pick up goes, we kind of lucked into it. Went to a moving sale at one of our neighbor's about 1 mile away. They are only weekenders and used the truck to go to the dump and other local errands. They sold their house and no longer need the truck. He was going to give it away but someone suggested trying to sell it. He was only asking $500. Mechanically it is supposedly well maintained. It needs tires and there is some rust but he has all of the service records. It's a 1990 Ford Ranger with only 86,000 miles. They bought it used in '94 with about 60 k on it and have only put 26 K on it in 15 years. We'll get a closer look at it tomorrow.

It's kind of interesting. Your location makes a big difference. I've seen a few similar on Craig's List going for $165 and up. The one's at the last hammer in that I was at in early Oct were about $125 and up. The flea markets in the area down tend to have them but we'll see. I'm not in a rush. We decided to buy a pick up truck for $450 instead. Test driving it on Tuesday.

Hi, All. There is a shop here that has a post vise that seems to be in good shape: Screw box intact, even jaws, spring, mounting bracket, etc... I'm not sure of the weight. It has a patent # on it but is basically illegible. It's about 4.5" in the jaws and the total height is about 38". The guy is asking $145 and I may be able to get him closer to $100. Any idea if this is good? The thing is that it seems to be intact and while many people find these items for free, or close to, I'm not usually one of those. Thanks.~Eric

I did read one post where someone suggested a shade 2, the most important aspect being IR/UV protection, which is not necessarily a result of the tint. I imagine though that some shade is better, especially when working in bright light for long periods. Part of my concern though is to find out whether shade 2, or 3 glasses are impact resistant. I read somewhere that polycarbinate lenses offer some of the best impact protection but does that mean that a Shade 2 polycarbinate lens in impact resistant just because it is polycarbinate?

Hi, all. We have a gas forge and are looking to pick up some shade 3 safety glasses. We have tons of regular safety glasses. Do they make impact resistant shade 3 glass? What do you recommend? Thanks.~Eric

More prayers for Frosty and family.

Some of our roofing material (the main panels) came in yesterday. Hope to get it installed tomorrow

Could be here, too. I think there is also a limit on what you can transport in an enclosed vehicle. Still haven't figured it all out yet. Once I get the smithy done I'll get the forge fired up with a 20# that I have while I work on figuring out what the best way to go is.

Do you lay them down or do they have to stand up while transported?

Here are some pics. Picasa Web Albums - Scootinov - Smithy Sorry I took so long getting them up. Basically we used the rafters and headers to lay out our shed on the ground. My wife (wonderful wife that she is) dug the 5 post holes while I cut the notches on the posts for the headers. We used 4 x 4 pt posts. 2 10' in the front and 3 8' in the back. That brings us to about 8' height in the front and 6' in the back. We line the holes with gravel, about 6" on the bottom and tamped it down. We leveled the posts and set them with gravel, not wanting to use cement. We installed the cross pieces which are 2" x 6" x 12'. Then we installed corner braces in the front. These I made from 4 x 4 material and did a mitered lap where it meets the header. Then I laid out and notched the rafters. I decided to add a small over hang so I used metal ties to attach the overhang rafters to the main rafters. I also used rafter ties to attach the rafters to the headers, 24" on center. I used 2" x 6" x 8' for the rafters. Tonight I just finished laying the furring strips on the main section of roof. I need to get more for the over hang. We're waiting for our red metal roof to come in, too, so we're on hold for a bit.

Hi, All. Anyone ever use a deer skin apron? How does it hold up? We have a friend who is an avid hunter and another friend who is good at curing hides, etc and wondered if that would work to make an apron. Thanks.~Eric

Grant, no problem. Thanks for your input here. What size stock do your wolf jaws handle? I know that you mentioned that the Peddinghaus wolf jaw tongs have more gripping power since the rivet is closer up. Which is more versatile? Unicorn, that sounds like a great idea. Would like to see/hear more. Phil, I'll be sure to get the 18"i n the 1/2" since we'll be using a gas forge, too. Maybe I'll get the 16" in the 1/4". The shorter reins might make it easier to tell them apart quickly. Thanks for the heads up.

UF- Can you explain step-down tooling? Thanks in advance for the #s. Phil, I've been following your thread and your frustration I was hoping Grant might respond to a PM I sent him regarding specific tong sizes. I like the idea of goose neck tongs.