Mainely,Bob

I`ve found that kids bring out either the best or the worst in people. The people who choose to interact on the negative side of that scale are the ones I find myself growling at,sometimes very loudly (but never where the kids can hear it). Kids key off our facial expressions so it`s always good to be able to give somebody the "bum`s rush" while smiling and talking in an upbeat manner. Something like,"Grampy needs to show Daddy something by the car.Why don`t you go and feed the chickens(or pet the rabbit) for awhile" as you lead your son around the corner by the collar usually works for me. Remembering to keep smiling till you turn the corner is the trick. :rolleyes:

The bucker was the guy doing the work.What he was using to back the rivet decided whether he was a smart bucker or a stupid bucker. And no,I didn`t set you up for that.I just can`t resist a prime opportunity. Around here the stupid buckers sometimes got their hot rivets knocked back into the compartment with them.Then they became buck dancers. :rolleyes:

My granddaughter saw the purple fingernail on my hand and asked why I had nail polish on. I told her it wasn`t polish,Grampy had a black eye on the end of his finger.(her big brother had a black eye recently) She looked at me funny and asked"How do you see through you finger?". She`s about to turn 3.

Sending you both energy Scott.

And then there are folks like me who can kill a wrist watch in a matter of weeks.If the case doesn`t corrode then the battery blows out or the crystal fogs. Yeah,I know,I`m weird.My wife reminds me of that all the time. <_<

If you`re at all electrically adept you can pick up one or more of the triggering devices and place them where you need coverage.These can be wired to turn on anything from spotlights to alarms as you see fit. The one I have working at the corner of the house/driveway covers the door to the basement shop and was programed to turn on the lights for 5 minutes at sundown to let you know it`s working and the bulbs are good and it can be adjusted for sensitivity so that rain and wind blown branches don`t set it off. I wired another double spot over the steps so when you come into the drive the spotlights illuminate both the drive from 2 directions and the steps to the front door.It is adjusted to remain on for 10 minutes or till you throw the switch inside to either keep it on or turn them all completely off. Hope this was some help.

In my neck of the woods the person backing up the rivet is known as a "Bucker".And the tool used for the job is a "bucking bar".The guy running the gun was known as the "header".Together they are a "rivet team".The guy heating/tossing and catching/passing added into it make it a "rivet crew".A heater and catcher(who usually caught rivets in a conical bucket with a handle on the side can keep two teams supplied with hot rivets so the usual rivet crew totaled 6 members. Later hot rivets were replaced by cold process connectors called "huck bolts" which still required a header and a bucker and a hydraulic driver that torqued the hardware replaced the pneumatic hammer. I don`t miss either of the old processes and much preferred working on welded hulls.

One of my mentors,an old curmudgeon named Whitey,caught me trying to use a pair of slip joint pliers instead of a properly sized wrench early on in our time together.He confiscated those pliers and put them in the pocket of his bib-alls. Every task was explained and demonstrated ONCE and then I had a chance to ask questions.After that I repeated the task on my own while Whitey watched.If I made a mistake I got rapped on the knuckles with my own pliers by way of correction. About a month into this I was having a bad day and got rapped one time too many by my count.I put my tools down and looked him in the eye and told him "I`m about topped off with your crap old man and the next time you reach for those pliers you`ll eat `em". He held my gaze and said "Son,the first time you lay a hand on me will be the last time you learn anything from me or anyone else here. you`ll be on your own and out of a job". At the end of very long and rather silent day he stopped and told me"I was wondering when you`d decide you were gonna stand up to me,we didn`t talk much today but I think you still learned something valuable".He handed me the pliers,smiled and said, "I don`t think I`ll be needing these anymore". I learned a lot from old Whitey.

I have one like it and it has 3 small spikes on the underside of the plate to help grip whatever surface you clamp it to. I was told it was a jeweler`s vise.

You have every reason to be proud.Very nice work Tim. They going to anybody we know?

I hear NASA has equipped each of the blacksmiths on their staff with their own solar forge. Luckily(for the taxpayers)NASA has a limited need for blacksmiths. Perhaps we will see some of these available at government surplus auctions soon. :rolleyes:

If noise is a problem use a press.Either electric/hydraulic (quieter)or air/hydraulic if you have a compressor that doesn`t make too much noise. After 9 at night even working with a striker will cause the neighbors to take notice in most urban environments. If you like urban living then the long term answer is to move next to a neighbor who makes more noise than you do and has been there a while.

The deciding factor for most of us is what do we have at hand. Do we have $2750 burning a hole in our pocket and an intense desire to quickly make that cash someone else`s problem,or do we have all the gear needed and time on our hands? Me,I got gear and time. Still working on my alchemy skills but haven`t got to the chapter(or book for that matter) that contains the info that allows me to consistently turn what I got into cash at the wave of my hand. When I do you guys will be the first to know(I`ll include video). BTW-You need to check your math,it should be 17 hours X $60 per hour + consumables= total expense in cash money. B)

Of course they do!Where do you think little blacksmiths come from? ;)

Well said Steve.

Keep up the good work brother! The returns will be huge for you and your loved ones.

I have made some money using Mr Weygers` techniques.You`d be surprised to see how many people there are out there who are willing to bet good money you can`t drill a square hole. "A fool and his money are soon parted".

Then don`t bet your Ash on it! :D

Just what I was thinking Thom.The induction unit is small enough and mobile enough to move to the work and seems to be much quicker than the resistance type heater. With an induction heater the rivets could be heated right there and quickly.I`m betting they could take the two guys who heat and pass the rivets and put them on bucking and heading and double their riveting output. Don`t sound much like a former union man now do I?

One of the things we played around with was to clad the wear surfaces of tools with either hard face rod or some other wear resisting weld rod that was carbide bearing.We used to reface or build hammer mills,extrusion dies and other foundry and extrusion power and hand tools.We also tried a stellite rod but that was too much trouble for anything but the high dollar work. The types we were using were available in either TIG or MIG wire and we almost tripled the life of some tools like extrusion dies and the dreaded hammer mill. After welding the preferred way to blend and smooth was to forge and planish.Final polish required diamond abrasives. You might want to look at some of the rods they use to build back turbine rotors too.Mostly TIG work but when finished they will withstand heat and wear (obviously). Be prepared for sticker shock!The good thing is that a little goes a long way.

You guys never slow down it seems. It really is nice to see folks such as yourselves giving so much back to the community and especially taking the time to get younger people involved.If we don`t look for opportunities to bring youngsters into the trade by way of hands on experiences then where do we think the next wave of smiths will come from? Thanks for freely sharing both your time and the pics.

Look in Weygers books.He shows 2 ways to drill square holes.

That is a wonderful piece.I can picture Nuada`s silver hand playing it. Care to share the inscriptions on the "music"?I thought that was an especially nice touch.

When herding ducks it is universally agreed that it is best to get all your ducks in a row prior to showing them. You sir,do not have your ducks in anything resembling a row. I respectfully suggest you or a trusted friend consider the generous application of duck tape to avoid further fowl departure into the realms of winged chaos. I bid you good by and good luck,you`re gonna need it.

Here`s what I know from sawing and drying hardwood. Take all the bark off.The bark attracts insects and is the first part of the tree to rot and becomes a sponge to hold moisture close to the sapwood(outer layer of wood)which will rot more quickly than the heartwood in the center of the tree. Soak the endgrain with some sort of sealer(wax emulsion is what the pros use) or it will crack excessively. Expect at least one big crack to run from the center to the OD in one place with ash and several smaller cracks as it drys.That`s the function of the bands some people wrap theses stumps with,they keep the splits from opening up wide. Don`t know what`s available near you but up here ash would be a less that optimum choice for this.I`d look for a type of wood that was stable,has interlocking grain and was rot resistant. White oak(not red oak),locust and catalpa would be good choices.