Mainely,Bob

Blacksmiths Without Borders,what we need is a catchy theme song. That way if a disaster strikes and the power goes out you can just pick up a hammer,run to the nearest anvil and begin tapping out the intro to our theme song to summon help.Even if the help is needed a long ways off those blacksmiths who hear the anvil ringing will pick up their hammers and relay the message just like those island natives in the movies did with their hollow log drums("The blacksmiths are restless tonight"). The cape could be leather with BWB embossed on the side of an anvil for the logo and when you got to the work site you could just whip it around,tie it off and it would be your apron.We would have the BWB logo burned into the toes of our cool(literally) wooden forge shoes too. Transportation would be by Landrover with a crane in the front and the(traditionally) hand forged "Smithcycle" in the back and a trailer forge towed behind.Wouldn`t need masks as we`d all be wearing those impact resistant,ultra-cool wraparound sun/safety glasses(which reflect both IR and UV rays) to protect our identities. While a Pacific island sounds like a neat home base I think with most of the new breed of superheroes coming from urban areas a current or former steeltown would be apppropriate. For the East Coast chapter I nominate Youngstown or Pittsburg. Nothin` but possibilities here guys.

We`ve talked about this in other threads,it`s the difference between doing because you`ve seen someone else do it and get away with it and understanding the whys and wherefores of a process or assembly. I`ve watched people cobble something together that I knew was set up to fail and told them so.They did it anyway and when they flipped the switch it worked and they felt vindicated and successful. Right about the time they began to feel comfortable with it it failed and hurt them or someone else,sometimes badly.When I reminded them of my predictions the reply was usually along the lines of"Well,nothing lasts forever!". As they say on TV,"You can`t fix stupid".Some folks just flat refuse to climb out of the numb zone. :(

I generally just go to the dump and pick up whatever old plastic garbage cans are hanging around.Folks just chuck them when the rim cracks or a handle breaks.I`m gonna cut them down anyway so I only care that they will hold water to the level I need. After cutting I run a hot piece of steel or torch around the cut edge to smooth it(they will cut ya otherwise)and strengthen the rim.Square cornered holes for handles and a piece of slit PVC pipe(another dump item) on the top edge of the handle hole and I`m ready to go. I`ve used them for slack tubs,rain barrels,garden tubs and planters,sumps for pumps,fountains,etc.They come in round and square and some even have wheels. If I forget to empty them and turn them upside down before they freeze then what have I lost except a little time? Try it,you`ll like it and keep the plastic out of the land fills for a little longer at the same time.

Not John but,the pulley on the motor needs to be MUCH smaller to get the RPMs at the flywheel he`s talking about. First look at the motor plate and see what the motor runs at.Most are either low speed(around 1700 RPM) or high speed(twice the low rated RPM or approx 3400). Then measure the diameter of the flywheel on the hammer. Go to one of the sites you can Google here on the web that has a table to plug in the info you have(the motor RPM and the flywheel pulley size)and find the motor pulley size you need. If you have a higher speed motor and can`t reduce the motor pulley size enough then your choices are either replace the motor with a lower speed motor or run a jackshaft system to reduce the RPM. Hope this helps.

I can remember one old white haired codger that I flat out hated at first. One of the first things Whitey did was to confiscate my pair of slip joint pliers.He told me they were only good for two things and rounding the heads of bolts was one of them,I soon found out what the other one was. Whitey carried my pliers in the pocket of his coveralls where I could see them whenever I worked with him.He was the kind of a guy who would only show and/or tell you something once and he always said"Now pay attention here" before he did it.Once he explained and showed you something you were on your own while he watched.If I deviated from his instructions then he pulled out the pliers,rapped me on the hand with them and said" That`s NOT what I showed/told you". Now Whitey was a little skinny old guy and I was a bigger than average,long hared,tattooed kid who had more than my fair share of street experience so it was just a matter of time before I got fed up and snatched those pliers away from him and asked him why I shouldn`t smack him a time or two with `em.He just smiled and told me"Go ahead if you really want to,but if you do it will be the last time I or anyone else here will work with you or show you a xxxx thing". I thought about if for a couple of minutes and then handed them back to him.I got my knuckles rapped less often from then on. I learned a lot from Whitey,or as I later called him "The White Man", and came to look upon him as one of my mentors.I was very sad to hear of his passing.

Actually,putting your thumb on top of the handle can lead to tendonitis for some people.Easy to tell when you`re getting it,it feels like someone`s trying to rip out the tendon that runs down either the front or back of your thumb and along the wrist. As Grant said, Carpal tunnel is a narrowing to the tunnel that encases the nerve that feeds the front of your hand thru the bones of the palm of your hand.That narrowing compresses and the nerve and leads to loss of feeling,tingling,and loss of grip and range of motion in the hand.They used to cut you open and manually widen the tunnel but can most times now do it with scopes and work thru smaller holes so it`s less invasive if caught soon enough. My left hand carries the big whoppin` scars of the early surgeries,the right you have to look for the punctures of the later procedures.Recovery and PT from either is no fun in any case. The way to avoid all this cutting and pain is to buy Uri Hofi`s DVD and learn how to hammer correctly on the initial go round and not injure yourself in the first place.

That is how I was taught and it requires even more aggressive agitation when you`re talking about water/brine rather than oil. I was told that you need to be more aggressive with water/brine in order to break up the steam barrier that forms between the quenchant and the work.Sounded reasonable so that`s what I continued to do. The old timer`s instructions were backed by every machinist and heat treater I talked to who regularly did that scale of work.I even find myself doing this on the rare occasion I use an air blast as a quenchant,old habits etc. I`ve always wondered at the knife/sword makers who advocate quenching in a rather small diameter pipe full of oil and why they seem to discount the need for agitation and how it effects the heat treatment process.Many I`ve worked with don`t see the need for it,they dump it in the tank and go on to something else.

The frustration quotient does kick in about the third time you have to remind someone that the file really DOES need to be lifted on the return stroke and doesn`t cut in both directions though doesn`t it? For me the hardest thing is to get people to let go of bad habits and keep their minds open to other ways(meaning the correct way) of doing things. When you come to my shop and use my tools it is not a democracy,it is what I term a "benevolent dictatorship".As long as you do things my way it will continue to be benevolent,play it fast and loose with my gear and things will get ugly with the quickness. In order for me to turn you loose on the high dollar(and flesh eating) machinery you have to prove competence with hand tools first.

I would like to see some pics also. Funny you should mention the flywheel addition.One of the things I had wondered about the tire hammers was why they don`t use that large rotating mass as more of a flywheel.If I end up going that route I had thought of adding a flywheel to a longer mainshaft if for no other reasons than to help smooth things out and to also give me a place to mount weights to counterbalance the assembly. I`ve also never been able to fully understand why someone hasn`t kept the cable operated parking brake(or the hydraulic disc) and adapted that into a brake for the hammer.

On one hand you have the fact that we are all working with materials that weren`t even thought of back during the time most would consider the times of "traditional skills".These newer materials brought new tools and processes along with them.I think if you could travel back in time with things like welding machines and plasma cutters and a cheap way to power them then you`d be hard pressed to find folks who wouldn`t want them in their shops as they greatly simplified things and unquestionably boost production. On the other hand,there used to be people who could shape metal into compound curves or straighten a large diameter bent shaft using nothing more than heat and water.They didn`t need huge machines costing sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars. One of the last ones up here recently retired and is constantly being asked to teach. IMO what we are losing is not the skills so much as the deep commitment to the craft.The commitment that comes from a true understanding of what happens when a certain technique is applied and why things happen or why the material reacts as it does.That understanding is critical in obtaining repeatable and consistent results.Many of us today are happy to take a class or watch a demo and then go home and try to replicate the results.We may think we know how because we watched it done.What we don`t understand is why it works as it does and that is what keeps us from getting the results we want consistently. The bottom line really is that forge welding WI is easier than arc welding it,but you get better and more consistent results arc welding steel that forge welding it.The change in material brought the change in process.When you think about it,using the old processes of riveting or collaring with steel,which doesn`t have the corrosion resistance of WI,only sets the project up for failure thru corrosion in those type of joins.The more realistic approach would be a full and solid weld at that join which was finished to a radius that would accept one of the new coatings that will completely seal the surface and have replaced the old oil based paints with the lead pigments. Time moves on and so must we.That doesn`t mean we should forget all that came before.It only means we need to be selective about what we personally need to know and retain if we are to make a living doing what we like,how we like to do it. Most consumers today are only concerned about the end product and can`t tell the difference between a "traditional" piece and one from a job shop or even a 3rd world country.When the job shop owner starts pointing to the fact that his product entails a lot less maintenance what do you tell the prospective customer about your "traditional" piece then to justify the added expense and extra maintenance?

I use the marine equivalent and it does a real good job.Less flame than the peanut oil I was using before.It doesn`t smell as nice though.

Plattens can be found just like anvils can,sometimes for more reasonable money too. Check Craigslist for a city near you and do a search for "welding table".You`ll be surprised what shows up.

Find and buy one or more plattens,with or without base.You can bend up your own hold-downs. This is what the big boys use so if you`re looking to step up then...

Cheater! Don`t you own a weed burner?

Patience,patience,patience! You have something to pound on that is already supporting your work.Look around for a while and put the word out whenever and wherever you can.The right one will come along soon enough. Stay away from e-bay and start looking at things like Craigslists for the surrounding areas and putting up a wanted post on the local Freecycle. As far as repaired anvils go,unless I knew who did the repairs and he has had success in the past doing this type of work I wouldn`t consider them anything but a headache and waste of money unless I could test drive before buying.That welded waist looks suspect to me. Anvils with missing pieces and that need repair should be priced at what the fair market value is minus what it will cost to have the repairs professionally done IMO.That is a realistic assessment of what it will cost to set one right.

Big John,Your alternate gripper is the holder from a flaring tool.These are fairly common up here as the other part(screw press and flaring cone) is usually the first thing to go.I picked one up yesterday at the dump and it is quietly soaking in vinegar as we speak. I will try and find my the retired Bell Systems tool I use for this type of thing.It resembles a short set of tongs and is joined by a link at the end so it flips around and you get twice the size choices with it.I was told it was originally designed as a crimper.

I knew those roll call posts were a bad idea! They probably saw those and knew right where to go to round up all our friends from OZ! The question is,how did this guy and one other escape the dragnet? My check is in the mail. ;)

I completely understand how you feel.I never gave much thought to how my wife must have felt when I came down on orders to ship out till I had to deal with my son who was a medic in the 13th Airborne receiving his orders to deploy to the big sand box. Your son will be added to the list,as are all our brave troops over there.

Don`t know about the bravery part but it sure opens you up to having to deal with new and challenging cuisine.Sometimes we must suffer in pursuit of our craft. :(

Unbelievable!Looks like it`s seen little use and is in near new condition judging from the factory paint.That`s gotta be a record there. Hope you didn`t call him at 3 AM but couldn`t blame you if you did. ;)

I think you did real well!If it had been me the wife would have had to talk me out of driving home and getting the truck to load it ALL! I could see her putting "The Face"on after I said something like"You go ahead inside and order and I`ll be right back"... :o

Maybe it comes from having worked in yacht yards but I have a bit different mind set. As you say,the "practical" end of things is the hard work and making something that is useful and functions well is really the jump off point for anything else. Once I get the functional part down I look at the object and think of how I can project some of my personality into it(granted the initial design is where this really is brought forward on custom work).I look at the finishing aspect as an opportunity to try textures and embellishments as well as finishes that will set my work apart from the rest.Attention to detail and quality of finish ,in my mind,are simple things that define the line between art and utility and keep the customer coming back for that unique,hand crafted part he can`t get anywhere else. A local example would be the common"float irons" that tied floating docks to ramp,piers and each other.The local fishermen and marinas bought what ever was reasonably durable and cheap.After all they all looked the same right? Once I started to think of them as decorative ironwork and added choices like embellishments and different materials than hot rolled steel those folks who went all out making their boats and homes look good caught on to the idea of making the float or pier they were tied to just as nice.I still make custom made float irons from time to time for 4+ times the money of standard sets.I let someone else make the common variety. The utility sells the piece,the details set the price. For me this has been the motivation to carry it one step further in the fit and finish department. Telling a customer about quality and worksmanship is one thing.Giving them a piece where they and their friends/neighbors can readily see those things and are reminded of them every day is what makes the difference. PS-I think you also may have it backwards Mike.The apprentice did the grunt work and then handed it off to the journeyman for the final finesse and the fit and finish which is what established the shop`s standing in the community and maintained the shop owner`s reputation.

Excellent advice Larry! BTW-Solving the problem by changing only one variable at a time is what`s commonly known as following a"Logic tree".One thing at a time lets you pinpoint the problem and the proper fix so you are not left guessing next time which of the changes was the one that actually worked. If my enquiring mind is working overtime,I cut the old out,bring it home and play with in my spare time to see if I can outsmart it by devious means.Mostly the spare time is taken up by other stuff,it goes in the recycle pile and knowing it`s fixed and I got paid is enough :)

There recently(last week of March) was a 500# "horseshoeing"(what most up here would call a railroad anvil,tall with short horn and heel) anvil for sale in the farm and garden section of Craigslist up here.Good shape,nice face not beat up,listed for $650 then dropped to 500 a week later.Heard he sold it for $450.Said he needed tires for his Harley. If you want to see it do a search for anvil in the F&G section of CL for Maine.Should still come up.

That is one incredible knife and sheath!The two really work well together and you can see that much thought and planning went into this. Your friend is a very lucky guy.