Mainely,Bob

As someone who has never had much money I have to agree with KYBOY. There is no way I could afford a nice Harley when I started out so I rode a Triumph at first and learned how to fix it myself then customized it and sold it for enough to buy an old Harley,learned how to fix that and soon was building them for others and now have a Snap-On toolbox full of overpriced but money making tools,most of which I bought used. I couldn`t afford to pay for ornamental ironwork so I learned how to do it myself and soon was hammering out stuff that people wanted to plunk down cash for.After taking the time to practice and learn the trade I could go to the nearest boatyard,haul home a load of scrap and turn it into cash.Now I have a small lathe,milling machine,brand name welding machine,torch set,etc.I learned how to repair and make tools and now do that for added income.I never let an old tool or machine go to the scrap yard if I could help it.I rebuild them and either sell them cheaply,trade them for what I need or give them to someone who needs and will appreciate them.In return those same folks bring me what I need for cheap and sometimes for free. Skills are the real high dollar commodity and you can`t develop the proper skills without the tools.Mow lawns,dig ditches or wash cars if you have to but get or make the tools.Once you have the tools you can develop the skills that will make you money and then money will no longer be a problem. As we`ve all seen,if you buy high quality used tools at a decent price, take care of them and treat them right they can usually be sold for at least what you paid for them.In the mean time you made a pile of cash with them so why complain about what they cost?

Now that you mention it Thom this time of year I do use both. Inside it`s oil and when I leave the blower outside overnight this time of year the forge elves come along and turn my oil to grease. Luckily I work in a magick shop and the elves have no dominion there.As soon as the blower is brought in and warms up their spell is reversed and my oil returns. :D

Pine tar is dark brown,we want black. Besides,pine tar makes you smell like a carpenter.No self respecting blacksmith wants to smell like a woodbutcher,it ruins the mystique. Nope,not gonna go for the Daedalus theme.At the speeds I like to travel that would lead to liftoff.Much less operator control available once the wheels leave the ground. DAMHIKT

Funny how the same folks who moan about the price of things like new steel and old anvils are usually the first ones to give things up for nothing or lend things out with no worries about getting it back. What`s up with that!? :o

I`m willing to help a brother out here Tim. I can send you a flat rate box of my home made charcoal with 2 for real RR spikes buried in it.I know you have hammers and chisels and stuff hangin` around cause I saw them in Sam`s pics he took of you guys. All you need then is time buddy. You can repay the postage after you sell the second spike on Ebay. :)

I for one am not being taken in by that sort of thing. I`m saving my money to spend on fine design like the snake candle holder further down the page. Just a few more box tops and it`s mine! :)

Mike,you`ve been watching CNN again haven`t you. You`re not thinking about throwing your hat into the ring in 2012 are you? :)

One of the ways we would guard springs in some of the machinery we ran was to find a piece of hose with an ID that allowed it to just slide over the spring and cut it to fit the application.Hydraulic hose is reinforced so it should contain just about anything a sheet metal guard will.You can cut reinforced hose with a cut off saw,I`d do it outside though.It makes lots of thick nasty smoke.

You may want to check what type of canisters you have on your respirator.I don`t know of any welding fume filters that will stop something like phosgene or chlorine gas.I go hit by chlorine gas after trying to weld a motor mount on an aluminum hulled Coast Guard patrol boat after the crew used bilge cleaner on it.Luckily someone was on deck to pull me out of the engine compartment thru the hatch after he saw the "strange smoke" I couldn`t see with my shield down.I was out cold when he reached in and grabbed me.

Uh Grant,if they`re still on dial-up I think you pushed the wrong button on the elevator. Better jump back in before that door closes,I don`t think they`ll hold it for you. :o

Don`t do it,it`s a trick!

I keep telling you guys,you`re worshiping the wrong Gods. :rolleyes:

Seeing as how it`ll be a bit before you get that flat rate box out we should just send our contributions to you so you can fill that box properly right? Where`d you find the address?I got some larger taps and a few dies as well as a die stock I can do without.

Oil,that`s what mine was designed for. And I make sure I change it every 3,000 revolutions.(yeah,like I can count that high) I use comparatively light oil so it gets slung around and lubes everything continously,less drag than heavier oil or grease.I keep a cookie sheet under it when it`s on concrete or in the shop to catch the drips.A clean shop is a happy shop,so says the wife! That could explain my present less than cheerful mood. <_<

Just a suggestion.You might want to look at the time it takes you to taper and then roll that scroll as opposed to doing something like a small leaf on the end as a termination detail. The leaves would be more individually distinctive and look a lot less like a mass produced item. With a power hammer you may find that forming a leaf is a quicker process than the scroll,especially if you use a spring die. Just trying to help you maximize your profit. PS-something that small and tight I would roll up by hand rather than use a jig.

I`m sure Ian`s working on it.He`s not one to tease us. Well,maybe a little. ;)

From what I understand a whitesmith a the finishing person.They did all the grinding,filing,finishing and sanding that removed all the scale and other signs of the fire so the piece was returned to bright metal. Those who worked in white metals were either tinsmiths,silversmiths,cutlers or a host of other names. When the blacksmith was done he handed the forging to the whitesmith to finish.Nowadays we might call them the grinding crew or the prep crew,as in prepare for paint crew. Not sure if the buffers/polishers would be rolled into this type of work.They`re an old bunch and usually eat their lunch by themselves anyway. ;)

If I were bolting that up I`d put some pins in it.A couple of closely fit pins will locate the bars more securely and leave no room for movement.Holding the bars with just bolts will allow a small amount of movement that can cause wear and then more movement. Another thing I`d think about is to use grade 8 bolts to hold it together and use at least red Loctite on the bolts.One other trick that helped in high vibration machinery is to use longer bolts so they protrude enough on the other side to get a nut on them, torque the bolts down then run a nylock nut on the end and torque that too. No lock washers under the bolt heads means better torque and holding power.The loctite holds the bolts so you don`t need the lock washers and the nylock nuts are your cheap insurance policy in case the Loctite gives up. Hope this helps. I really like that you`re taking the time to see to details like blending the mount at the top of the frame and the cut outs on the side plates.I can see this ain`t your first rodeo. Craftsmanship may not greatly improve performance but it takes your game up a few notches and is something potential customers and other blacksmiths notice. :)

I have a few suggestions if you`re interested.

Bring it on Ian! Post a link to wherever it`s at and I`ll thumb a ride over to look at it.If you think it was worth doin` then I`m sure it`s worth our time to see it. You haven`t steered us wrong yet. :)

Just little illustration of the physics of heat vs flesh. We`ve all heated a BBQ grill up and then thrown a steak or chop onto it right? Notice how initially it sticks?If you try to move it you tear some of the seared meat away in order to remove it from it`s chosen position. Molten metal hitting flesh is just like that steak hitting the grill except the metal is much hotter and wherever it contacts your flesh you become the meat that immediately starts cooking.The choices are; A-tear it and the seared flesh loose to remove it B-wait till it cooks enough to free itself. Most burn victims choose plan A. The best PPE for this type of work is something that acts as a barrier to both keep the hot metal from contacting your flesh and lets that hot metal slide off rather than trap it or allow it fuse to that barrier and burn the flesh behind it. One of the reasons I preferred a metal hard hat while working in the oilfield is I saw what happened to one of my co-workers when his plastic hardhat melted and fused to his head and face.Trying to wipe the now molten plastic away only burned his hands and spread the damage to his head over a wider area.He had to be pinned down and restrained and the plastic cooled by dumping the ice water from the cooler on him before he could be loaded up and brought to the hospital so they could cut the plastic away. That`s all it took to convince me that whatever it costs,the best PPE is worth many times it`s weight(and then some)in gold and medical bills.Then again the absolute finest and most expensive PPE is worthless to you if you leave it hanging in your locker when you should be using it. The smell of a burning human is rather unique and something you will never forget once you`ve experienced it.I try to avoid it at all costs having spent some time in a burn ward myself.

There`s a reason there is a particular mode of dress for pouring molten metal and you saw why when they held up the cotton lab coat to the camera.Synthetics are like napalm when hit with hot stuff. Leather is a big help as it stops the metal rather than burning through.Spats will help keep your boot from filling with molten metal,that`s why most pro foundrymen who have burned their feet in the past wear them.Lace up shoes are not such a good idea in these situations either. I have always been amazed by folks who protect only their eyes with goggles rather than their whole face with a shield.Those plastic shields are not such a good idea unless they are rated for foundry work rather than impact resistance.The impact shields can melt to your face just like synthetic cloth can.The ones we wore were made of fine metal screen. I have to wonder what two novices were doing conducting experiments without direct supervision.I`m willing to bet the instructor will be watching the students more closely from now on. I worked a Ferguson Propeller in Hoboken NJ for a while during the late 1970`s where they poured some of the largest bronze ship`s props in the US.Later I worked at VAW aluminum where they cast their own billets that ran to 20+ foot long.Saw some really horrible accidents involving molten metal that could have easily been avoided. Some of my friends/co-workers in the oilfield who migrated from the steel mills in places like Youngstown and Pittsburgh told similar stories.

Two ways to go here,The first is to buy as you need them and buy high quality new. If you`re buying the set to get the wrenches then that`s false economy and I can fix that for you.E-mail me if that`s the case. The second approach is to buy a used set.The problem with this is all the worn and missing ones are the ones you`ll use most often so where`s the savings after you replace them? Two of the things I find work well is go to sharpening services(most medium to large cities have at least one) and ask what they have that nobody has come back to pick up and go to auctions and flea markets. As manufacturing in this country is moving off shore many companies are auctioning off their inventory and you can buy new gear for pennies on the dollar.Look for items in their original packages.You can usually pick up packages of 3-6 new taps(HSS) for less than a single Chinese tap(HCS) at the hardware store this way. A tap and die set is just a start point.You need a complete drill index in order to use all those taps.By that I mean an index that contains number and letter drills as well as fractional drill sizes.You`ll need a chart to tell you what size drill goes with what tap and gauges to enable you to match nuts and bolts to taps and dies. You will need taps in both National Fine(NF) as well as National Coarse (NC) for SAE bolts and nuts and if you have imported tools in the shop you`ll need Metric taps,dies and MM tap drill sizes to go with them. Bolt dies and pipe dies are completely different animals too as bolt threads are straight threads and pipe threads are tapered so they seal. Are you getting the picture? If you need help getting up and running post it here and we can help you out.I`d offer to loan you stuff but at the prices I get it for it`d be cheaper to just send it one way and let you keep it. Let us know what you need there Dave.I`m sure I`m not the only one who`s over run and would be glad to help us both out by clearing some shelf space. :)

Best advice,find where the local blacksmith club meets and join it,then tell them about your project.I`m betting you`ll get all the help you can stand and learn a ton to boot.

Bob is the name my mother gave me,I like it cause it`s both short and spelled the same coming or going. There are many guys named Bob out there in the digital world and everyone would ask "Which Bob is this?" or "Where are you from?". So I just made it Mainely,Bob. I also go by Daedalus but that`s another story. Bob Hackett, from Boothbay Maine.