Stash

Good news! Hope all goes well. Prayers headed your way. Steve

Doing a bathroom remodel, pulled the old fart, and said to myself "Self, hook this up to your forge". So I did. This is what it looks like. I bought a few pieces- 4" to 3" reducer, 3" 90 elbow and 3" flex dryer duct.I had in inventory assorted pvc fittings electrical bits and a blast gate from a dust collection system. So I just screwed and taped it all together. The blast gate works as a dump valve, and it seems to be very adjustable. I played with it over the weekend, and was pleased with the results. I just need to pay attention- got a few sparklers as I was on the learning curve, but I got the technique down quickly. One thing I noticed- I get a better quality of clinker, and I seem to go through coal a little quicker. My Champion 400 is parked right in front of this setup, and I can switch over at the pulling of a hose clamp. Steve

Oh no, what should I do? I found a cute 3 1/2" vise that seemingly had a hard life. Not only the missing parts, but the legs were bent in as if someone had cranked down on the handle with a cheater bar. I'm guessing the screw box also blew apart, because the current one doesn't quite look like it was original. The current screw and box is in excellent shape, however. So, I pulled it apart, the first step was to straighten both legs. Got them hot, laid them on the anvil and beat them into submission with a flatter and a small sledge. I then fabbed up the mounting bracket, keys and spring. All material was A36. Spring was 1x 3/16', bent cold. Saddle was 1x 3/8 drilled, hot punched and hot bent. Body blank was 1x 1" drilled and hot punched, then drawn down, saw split and formed. Keys were 1 x 1/4" chisel cut cold and filed. Put everything back together, and it all works a treat. I could do a little more tweaking, but it works pretty well at this point. I'll mount it somewhere and some how, use it a whill and take it from there. All in all, a fun satisfying little project. Steve

I learned (after 35 years next Monday) that when SWMBO comes into the shop and says "I've been thinking....", I stop whatever I'm doing as quickly as I can, take out the earplugs and focus on her. I'm not in trouble-- just another project to put on the front burner. Steve

Mr Bojangles- dance. I love David Bromberg's version. Anyways, I'm just S of you, in Q town, just off 309. Shoot me a PM and I'd be more than happy to show you my set up. Great coal supplier in Coopersburg, and the Pres of the local gang (PABA) is 15 min away. Steve

Cool idea. If I were going to improve on that, I would do 2 things: 1 move the wheels toward the main post a bit more 2 Put a handle above the wheels so you could pull back on it onto the wheels like a hand- truck instead of lifting from the front. YMMV Steve

I have had one for a while, it is great for (wait for it..........) sharpening saws. Not beefy enough for hammering, but some other good ideas were already mentioned. I never thought any farther than it's original intended purpose, but now that I dwell on it a bit (hmmmm, head scratch) I could see it as a mini- brake kinda thing for small sheet projects. Might need to shift it from the wood shop to the metal shop and see how things play out. Steve

Generally not much. Might be an id # of the finisher, inspector or the team forging it. With PW probably not. More likely an inventory stamp kinda thing at the forge /factory/shop it was used. You have pictures? That helps. Steve

The 'anchor' looks more like a grappling hook. Steve

I don't think that bad boy is going anywhere now. Looks good. Steve

Congratulations! Hope you are at least as lucky as me. We hit 35 just a few days before your date. She puts up with my stuff, and I love her back! Blessings. Steve

Yup, this is always a good one. Andrew has an awesome shop, and his 'show and tell' for current projects is a real treat. If you can , GO. There is also usually some open forge time once the demos are over. Steve

I tend to counter dangerous practices by using whatever soapbox I have access to and making sure the safe word gets out. This is something that is evident on this forum- if something is unsafe, the group here will get the word out loud and clear. That is a big part of the service we are able to offer to the community. I will correct or admonish an action when I am there in person to do it. Another option would be to add a comment where space is provided. Steve

I'm not really keen on breaking out the 'boycott bat' and taking a big ol' swing at this guy. Sure he presented a dangerous idea, but I feel it is just as important for those of us who know better to preach that gospel loud and clear so that when a newbie sees that stuff on you tube, forged in fire, live demos, etc, he will know better. At this point I'm going this route. Steve

Interesting side note here (Hijack of a hijack?), I was watching a supposedly ethical businessman/ blacksmith do a demo on decorating bolt heads using large galv bolts. He said that you just throw a few at a time into the gas forge to burn off the zinc.... Now, outside of football, I usually don't yell at the TV, but I cut loose when I heard that. I stopped the program, and don't plan on watching that channel any time soon. That is irresponsible nonsense to be advocating to people who might not know any better. OK, rant over. Back to your regularly scheduled program. Steve

Wow, nice stuff there, Hotmetal. I really like the Easter Island opener, but they're all inspiring. You have some nice brew options there, too. I'm getting thirsty. Steve

I've seen most of the variations and have tried them all. I currently like my forge, then quench tank ( old ss fire extinguisher) then my anvil. horn to the right (I'm right handed). I pull the hot steel, 1 1/2 steps to the right and I'm banging away. I have a second anvil perpendicular to my main one just a 90 degree turn to the right. That is the current iteration and seems to work well for me. The vise is 180 degrees from me, 1 1/2 steps behind me. Steve

Your description of the 'rectangular hole' makes me think you might have an older (pre 1830 ish) vise. On those older vises, the mounting bracket had a tenon on the end that passed thru the hole in the leg and a corresponding hole in the spring, and was held in place with a key passed thru a slot in the tenon. You can re create that old timey style, or do a simple u- bolt kinda thing to attach the mounting bracket. Getter mounted! Steve

"I want to smelt....." Steve

I will share this with my daughter- in- law, a native (not Maori) Kiwi. Thanks. Steve

You could turn the other end into a cross pien but that would be a lot of grinding. You might just round the other face a bit to get your own version of a rounding hammer. Find yourself a cross pien at a flea market for cheap and add that to your arsenal. Steve

I pull them out a bit so they stay ~2 1/2- 3' long, bend and push one end into the ground, put a golf ball on the other end. I keep them scattered thru the garden, the grand kids love to play with the 'boingy flowers'. Steve

You want to have some fun with it? Make wrench hangers out of old rusty open end wrenches. Bend the handle near the working end ~90 degrees, bend the end of the wrench tips up, and punch a few holes in the handle. Screw them to wood of your choice. If you bend the other end also, each wrench can hold 4 box wrenches. Steve

Got my pop corn, waiting on the next chapter. OOOOOHHH, shivers of anticipation. Thank you. Steve

That's pretty bogus, to pull a move like that, but it tends to be the way things work anymore. Years ago, I agreed with the seller on a price for my backhoe/loader. Before I went to pick it up, another guy offered him $2k more, but the seller turned him down. He gave me the guy's number, in case I wanted to flip it for the profit. That was some integrity you don't see too often. Anyways, keep looking- there's an anvil (or more) with your name on it. Steve