Mainely,Bob

Nice looking scoop Clay. I bet your grandson will be glad to have it when it`s handed down to him.

No problems John. Couldn`t get the smiley faces from the site to work so I supplied my own.

Oh, I see, a philosophical discussion. Never mind. (said in his best Emily Litella voice) :^)

Glad to meet you Tim. Don`t worry, we`ll round the corners off you in no time. Before you know it you`ll be as smooth as the rest of us over here in the 50+ crowd. You only have a couple of decades to go before you get where you need to be. Does this mean I can`t call you Southy anymore? Most of my buddies from down Boston way would take that as a compliment.

Each and every time I used pics of work I did while drawing a check from someplace other than directly from the customer I made sure it was noted that the person I was talking to understood that "This was work done as an employee of XYZ" or "This was done as a subcontractor for XYZ". It`s always been my personal approach to state when I was not working alone and if I used someone else`s facilities, machines or gear and need those things to reproduce the work shown. That level of honesty still allows me to buy time on machines and borrow gear from places I used to work with. It also keeps former employers calling to ask if I`d like to subcontract. Sounds like it may be time to explain the definition of a symbiotic relationship to your former employee Mike.

Happy holidays to you too John. May the new year be prosperous and happy as well as peaceful for you.

Always a pleasure to watch Brian work. Such a relaxed style as well as economy of motion and effort.

I find that if I keep the shop clean and organized than it just makes it easier for others to find things and put them where I CAN`T find them. I know where it is and that`s all that counts as far as I`m concerned. It`s a shop not a Stew-dio or an operating room. When visitors arrive unannounced they get the standard warning and take their chances should they decide to come in.

One of the neat tools I saw in a production WWing shop up here was a series of pattern maker`s vises set up to open and close using dual action air cylinders and a rocker foot pedal. What made it nice was that the pressure of the jaws could be adjusted thru a regulator on the post. Those things sure were fast and the fact that they made special wood jaws for different jobs made them versatile too. They used pattern maker`s vises because they would spin and tilt and the posts they were mounted on could be adjusted for height too. I was so impressed by their versatility that I made a copy of the post for my main metalworking vise.

You might also want to look at what Rory does with his bowls. He has a couple of videos and pics of him forming them on IFI somewhere. I was going to suggest that you look at tooling that would push the rim of the bowl down rather than up to keep your hands away from the moving ram but I see Jesse already clued you in to that You haven`t mentioned yet what kind of machines you have on hand John. If you already have a lathe then the suggestion of hot spinning might be the best option for you. Especially if you have a lathe that will allow you to spin one, part the bowl off, and then move the carriage with a steady rest and torch attached down and spin a second or third bowl from a piece of SS tubing or pipe. If you already have a hydraulic press then doing it like Rory does Could be a good solution for you. A press might also be more useful for you in other work and allow quicker return on your money if you are looking to buy a machine If you plan to do more sheet metal work in the future or there`s similar work like this knocking on your door then maybe one of those high dollar machines in the videos would be worth the investment. One other option might be to ask the folks you`re making these for if they want to part with the tooling they already have on hand and will not be using. Believe it or not many of the places I worked with were happy to farm out jobs and supply the tooling to do that job. You never know till you ask and it`d be a shame to find out later it was sold for scrap when you could have used it.

I`d like to see a pic too. What was the significance of the arrowhead? For our tradition Water is the blood of the Earth and the use of iron in a magick charm or amulet precludes you from using certain energy as it is repellent to some spirits and energies. Iron is best used in protection from these things. I make a lot of magick/Pagan oriented items from copper and copper alloys such as bronze. That 5 pointed star is called a Pentagram and when surrounded by a circle it becomes a Peyton or Pentacle which is the most most widely accepted symbol of those practicing Wicca or Witchcraft. That symbol will be the one the government provides for my tombstone as a Pagan veteran when I pass into the Summerland. Happy holidays to you all. To my Pagan brothers and sisters,Yuletide blessings and Merry Solstice. May the Light be with us all.

Gotta agree with Peacock. If you use it enough it`ll sort itself out and settle into the level of usefulness you truly need.

We all have different personalities and behavior levels,that`s all part of what makes us unique and individuals. While you may not agree with an artist`s ego or their projected self image, anyone who knows quality work when they see it has to respect the final results that Jesse consistently turns out. His level of craftsmanship and understanding of functional design puts him in the top of the class as far as craftsmen go, IMO. I also have to say I have nothing but respect for a person who has a vision,sees what he needs to learn in order to personally bring that vision to life and then once he has that skill set in his hip pocket he invests his time and money in finding or making the machines and making the tooling to manifest that vision with minimal outside help. As one who has been as just a skilled pair of hands being directed by "conceptual artists" and other paper pushers I have to say I would probably get along better with someone like Jesse James than I did with the "artists" I was contracted to work with or many of the spoiled rich kids I had to put up with while building/repairing yachts. Anybody who is willing to stand with me and get their hands dirty right along with me has a chance of earning my respect. Doesn`t mean we won`t end up shouting at each other in frustration or disagreement at some point, just means at the end of the work day we will both respect the other`s true potential and abilities.

If it were a pattern I came up with I`d call it Cernunnos (pronounced Sir-NEW-knows) ,after the Celtic horned God.

They may be using a hard anodizing and that would make a huge difference.

Southy mentioned wax earlier in this thread. Seeing as how we usually have hot stuff hanging around, I take new files(or resharpened ones) and warm them to the point that wax from a candle stub will flow into the teeth. This helps to keep the files clean,makes stuff like aluminum easy to remove from the teeth and also stops them from rusting. Rust is a huge consideration here on the Maine coast.

Very early taps were tapered like that as bolts were all hand made and not a standard size. The reason the taps were tapered is so you could just run them it till the threads fit the non`standard,blacksmith made bolt.

Beth hit the vibration thing on the head. I can tell you from personal experience that using those hammers long term will cause you damage that only a surgeon can fix. After 6 times under the knife I have only 50% use of my right arm and hand. Talk to the guys who used to run chipping guns for a decade or more in the shipyards and they`ll tell you how pneumatic hammers can turn hands into claws. Claws that don`t feel much except chronic pain due to nerve damage.

Rusty you are a bad man and obviously an exalted member of the Oppossum Lodge. :rolleyes:

Ah,the joys of working in 3rd world countries! :rolleyes:

If you can get it for scrap then why not? PS-Grant,you and Phil make a cute couple. :D

For a first effort I would call it exceptional. I look forward to seeing your next one.

When you think about it many of the previous posts are missing one important point;except for the new solid tool steel anvils and the dreaded ASOs none of our anvils are a single homogenous mass. The majority of the anvils we use are 2 part assemblies with a base of softer,less expensive material (CI or WI) intimately mated to a tool steel face. Keeping that in mind, what happens when that intimate contact of the two materials is compromised? It`s not only the pairing of two different materials that needs to be considered,it`s they manner in which they are joined that plays a rather large part in ending up with a more durable and useful tool. Get that interface wrong or compromise it and a good tool suddenly becomes far less effective and useful. Another point is that most are missing is appropriate shape is a factor. More than once I have heard the "cone (or pyramid) of impact/influence" referenced. Anything outside of that cone is supposedly marginally influential material when it comes to moving steel and may well be a hindrance to navigation when traveling between the forge and the place you intend to stand while doing the work. As an example;we know that a RR rail is marginal for use as a forging anvil when used horizontally (used in the position a train would run on it) and yet turning it to a vertical position (as it puts the entire mass of the rail within that cone of impact and under the direct impact of the hammer) changes things for the better. the simple act of changing the orientation of the mass makes it far more useful in forge work and especially knife work. Without knowing the shape of these heavy pieces of mild steel (or better yet looking at a pic) none of us can give a definitive answer as to their true level of usefulness.

The biggest draw for me making my own tools or buying from someone I know who makes them is that I get EXACTLY what I want and need rather than what someone in a corporate headquarters thinks I should have. I would venture to say Mac has far more real world experience than the design guys in China who are just looking for a cheap way to knock off somebody else`s R&D. I`d also bet you`ll run thru 3 (or more) of the HF tools for before you wear one of Mac`s out. Not to mention Mac`s will work as advertised and not break when you need to most (like in the middle of a rush job). We also know how to contact Mac directly ,where he lives and we both speak the same language (metalworking) so the support you can expect will be several orders of magnitude better than the HF version. Need I go on? :rolleyes:

Good advice Harold. I know when dealing with old buildings nothing is ever straight, plumb or 90 degrees. I many times find that I have to make something "wrong" in order for it to blend into it`s surroundings and look right.