Mainely,Bob

As spokesperson for the Exalted Order of Bobs I have been in touch with the Grand High Bob (also known as the Head Bob) and he has asked me to inform you that if he finds any of you have been defacing any likeness of him he is prepared to bring swift retribution your way by marshaling Bobs everywhere to come to your shops and confiscate all your hammers.He will then seek restraining orders and injunctions to keep you from owning any hammers or likenesses of him in the future. So sayeth the Grand High Bob. You are officially on notice!Our lawyers(all named Bob)are standing by.

I thought you guys did the honorable thing and buried him after you beat him to death. :rolleyes:

He`ll have to sleep lightly,he`s ticked off all the Irishmen here now.We know where you live Doc. Anyone else pick up that he called him both Irish and SOTTISH rather than Scottish? It`s not what you look at it`s what you see. :blink:

You guys are just not getting the point here. The Sears hammer has been put on the shelf/display by a stock boy working in the tool section of Sears. The auction hammer has been held (and probably even used) by a REAL BLACKSMITH. Well worth the extra cost as it has the magic(otherwise known as "patina")is already installed by the previous owner. :rolleyes:

Last anvil vise I bought has a face almost twice the size of that and is made of ductile iron.It didn`t have the jaw and I paid $5 for it. I don`t use it for anything but non-ferrous work,mostly sheet metal and thin plate.The only other use it sees is when my grandkids beat on it with the wood hammers I made them.Keeps `em away from my real anvil.Well worth what I paid for it just for that.

Congrats on your new striker in the making. Now the work really starts but you already have a daughter so I don`t need to tell you that. ;)

It`s good to be a blacksmith when... You come home and find several hundred dollars worth of metal related things(like bronze prop shafts) that one of your friends/customers left in the driveway because they knew you`d know what to do with it. There`s venison steaks, fish fillets,several lobsters or a bucket of clams or shrimp left in the shop fridge or a pie/cake/corbread on the bench and you have no idea who to thank for it. You were dreading having to mow the lawn when you got home and it`s mowed,trimmed and edged when you get there and it`s obvious it wasn`t your mower that did it.

That fella knows how to "bring the bling".He also knows how to screw up a perfectly good anvil. Wonder what his ride looks like.Fender skirts,ground effects and fuzzy dice anyone?

Thanks for the tip man.Now I know how to double the value of all my tools.Just put `em where the dogs can whizz on `em. ;)

Hard telling if it`s a good price or not not knowin` where in the world you`re at. Out in CA there are folks who might think that`s a good deal but here in Maine anvils still go for $1-$2 per pound on a regular basis. I`d look on Craigslist for your area to see what the regional asking price is.If he says he`s firm on the price then just leave an offer and your number.In a month or so you may get a call.

Don`t get me going Tim. :rolleyes:

Way to swing that hammer Steve! Let me know if you get tired or need a striker. :)

I`ve always just clamped a board in front of the wheel and taken a piece of pipe and rolled it back and forth along the board to true an old wheel up. Any of the ideas here will work but I never have trouble finding an old piece of pipe and a board.The clamp may be a bit of a hunt though given the state of my shop lately.

No worries there Fe. I keep forgetting that just cause everyone in Maine has 4 wheel drive and a trailer hitch doesn`t mean the rest of the world does too. SWMBO has a Jeep compass and I was just thinking of what she`d do if I came anywhere near it with my apron on never mind tryin` to put my gear in the back of it. I`d be beat to death with a Dustbuster!The courts would probably rule it justifiable homicide. :o

For me the thing is putting that nasty thing in the trunk and then knowing that the wife will come along and put something in the trunk that`ll be ruined and I`d take the hit. Would you want to put a cement mixer in your trunk?How about a hydraulic log splitter? Both these things are made as tow behind units and the set up time for them is less than a minute plus they have wheels on them to allow them to be rolled around by hand into places where cars can`t get to.All the mess is kept outside the car where it belongs and the safety factor alone is worth the effort IMO. I`m not talking about a huge trailer,I`m thinking something the size of a wheelbarrow tub.If you had a receiver hitch on your car you could even eliminate the wheels and make it slide into and be supported by the receiver like one of those carriers for camping gear. I`d still put legs on it and move it away from the car for use.Fire that close to the gas tank makes me nervous.

If it were me and I didn`t have a truck bed to slide the thing into at the end of the day I`d be looking at a small trailer mounted forge. One of the last things I`d want in my trunk would be something that held even a remote possibility of burning.I can almost guarantee here will be a burned hand/arm or a melted trunk carpet somewhere along the way toward folding/packing up after a long day of demo.Best to keep stuff like that outside the car IMO.

Add Maine to the list.

Maximum effective range of an excuse-zero meters.

You need to start thinking outside the box Ian. You can leave those rejects in your competitions front yard or parking lot(blocking as many spaces as possible). Treat them like some people treat anvils and use explosives to see how high you can launch them. Place them on sandbars near busy waterways. Haul them out to the middle of the desert and couple them up to false power poles(complete with coin box) you install next to them.(come back in a month and I bet you`ll find coins in the box). The idea is to use them in ways that make people go "WHAT THE!!??" Novelty and fun abounds,especially where mass quantities of alcoholic beverages are used for inspiration. PS-Be sure to remove any ID plates or markings before implementing any of these suggestions. PPS-When they come to question you forget my number. B)

A word of caution when dealing with acetone. Acetone is an excellent solvent and it also is very good at carrying whatever has been dissolved into it right past your skin and into the surrounding tissue where it can be absorbed into your circulatory system and distributed throughout your body.If you`re going to use these types of solvents then please be sure you are using the proper precautions to include the correct types of gloves and respirator cartridges.

Weld and paint will make it what it ain`t. ;)

Tools.I like to make things that will expand my possibilities or the potential of others. My second favorite thing to make is anything useful and with an organic feel that someone else will appreciate.I appreciate good tools,but then we already covered that. Third is something unique and functional for use on a custom bike.

The real trick with any finish is to let it set up before you let anyone sit on it. Any oil will take a few days to completely harden,you can cut that time by adding some japan driers to it. The problem with poly or any other film finish is that once it sets up it dents and then chips rather easily when used on soft wood.It is plastic after all and once it`s damaged it`s hard to repair so it blends in and doesn`t show where it`s been repaired. Around our place anything the grandkids come in contact with is finished with oil.They like to run around on the dirt drive then come in and dance on the coffee table or drag the cat across the "boot bench" by the mudroom door. Sooner or later that cat`s gonna figure out claws don`t work on oak and decide to sink the claws into what`s doing the draggin`. :o

If I were finishing them I`d use boiled linseed oil since that`s what I sometimes use for iron and have it on hand. The advantage of an oil finish is that it`s easy to touch up and with a soft wood like pine it`ll make it easy to fix those dings and dents that`ll be brought on in use. BLO will give you that amber color you`re looking for and you can add pigmented stains(like Min-wax) or oil based dyes to it to adjust the color. I`d flip the slabs before you attach them and look at them that way.I think you`ll find the visual balance is better that way. Many benches start out with that round edge up because folks think it`ll be more comfortable for folks sitting on them.Flip them and slightly round(like 1/2" radius max) the edges and I think you`ll find the benches both look and sit better.A final detail would be to bevel and round the ends to blend with the edges. Good looking work and it`s right in keeping with your screen name. Stepping away from that spinning lathe for a spell has really paid off for you.Thanks for sharing this with us.

I have always used spray arc for Mig with aluminum either conventional spray transfer or pulsed.Pulsed makes vertical and overhead easier. Saw quite a few fellows trying short circuit like they used on steel,never saw one get the penetration you get with spray arc. Cut a lot of SC work apart in order to clean,prep,preheat and properly spray transfer weld it back.SC`d aluminum may look sweet on the surface ,when they break you find out looks aren`t everything.