Mainely,Bob

Flash point,there it is!FP,not FF. Thanks Phil. The point about staying with a well anchored metal tank is a really good safety point Thomas.I saw a fellow set a #10 can of oil on fire and then knock it over trying to put a lid on it.Good thing it was outside and away from anything.Still made for an exciting time though.

Well here goes. I`m raiding the wife`s files for pics and trying again. First pic is me and the wife in Salem Mass.Second one is last year in Fla. for our daughter`s wedding. The last pic is of my latest project,a hotrod shovel,as she was when I got her and named her "Betty".She`s sweaty Betty in the pic but looks more like Betty Paige now. Have to kidnap my son and get him to help me download some newer pics with his digital camera and we`ll see how I do with those. This high tech stuff is like eating nails for me.I broke a sweat just gettin this far.

Now this is just the way I read it. The guy that owns the shop is the SHOP OWNER or CEO. In today`s language a MASTER either; 1-Owns slaves,which is illegal but still persists according to the media. 2-Has a flunky tagging around after him(likely named Igor) saying"Yes Master" who serves as a sort of low tech yes man. 3-Holds a ceremonial title such as Master of Ceremonies or Master at Arms. 4-Holds the rank of Master Chief in the Navy. 5-Has PROVEN to have mastered ALL the skills of the trade he draws a wage from(even part time) or is retired from. Master Blade smith is a good example.(thanks Larry) I am familiar with the colonial term about which you`re speaking and have never heard it used outside a period museum or shop where everybody dresses in period clothes and uses hand tools only. I think the term "Master blacksmith" may be viewed by most blacksmiths like cowboys viewed the term"Fastest gun".It`s an invitation to have other pistoleros come gunnin` for ya and they are reluctant to use it no matter how sharp their skills.

Well,didn`t your mom tell you to be careful what you wish for? Until I can get a whole new skill set and learn how to post pics here you can go to my profile page and see a pic of me and my "Maine squeeze"(wife of 30+ years). That`s as far as I got so far without the help of a computer savy friend or son. I`ll work on it. Man are you guys in for it once I figure it out! YD-Good on ya there!I see you owned 2 of my favorite brands of motorcycles. Only way I could have been more impressed is if the Evo had been a Vincent,or an Ariel square four.Maybe an early Harley or Indian...

When I suggested a sweeping curve on the base I was talking about the base below the white wood beads on the work in the grouping of 4 pic,rather than a sweeping curve thru the base AND stem ending at the bell. The base would be the large diameter piece that rests on the table and has the grain running horizontal in the pics. The stem would be the vertical grained thinner section above the white wood and ending at the spun bell. Hope I did a better job of explaining it this time.Perhaps I should have said foot instead of base.

Ah,Master Blade smith.Now that one I can get behind! The reason I say that is there is a real world test and your work does the talking for you. I think anyone familiar with the requirements for that title would be willing to treat someone claiming that tile(with proof to back it) with the respect due them. BTW Larry,you and others here may want to try introducing yourselves as being "A practitioner of magic". You take ordinary steel,and clapped out iron,and through your will and hands turn them into useful objects,art and sometimes a miracle. Sounds like a fair definition of magic to me. :)

For me the thing to watch with oil is the temp that it will flame up and burn.I know there`s a technical term for it but it escapes me now so I`ll call it the Fire Factor or FF for short. I look for an oil with as high a FF as I can find that is still thin enough to work with.Right now I`m using high FF hydraulic oil because it`s(relatively) safe and I got it free. Before that I used peanut oil for the same reasons.I went to the hydraulic oil because it had a higher FF.Once it proved to be effective I recycled the peanut oil. The peanut oil smelled better but the safety of the hydro oil made me switch.I use an exhaust fan to pull the fumes. They do make special quenching oils but I`ve found them to be too expensive for what I mostly use oil for which is tool making. BTW-Larger is better(within reason) for a quench tank just like a slack tub.

Big fish,small pond huh? In the unions I used to run across "journeymen" who had worked one place almost all their adult lives.Got their training there and knew only what the hands at those locations had taught them.IMO they were "journeymen" only because they had stayed on long enough at that job and were pulling "journeyman" wage.Some of them didn`t have near the skill set of a third year apprentice and would have had a hard time pulling above helper rate if they went somewhere else and had to prove their skills. Good for them if they can wrangle the money.There is also something to be said for committing a large chunk of your life to staying in one place or job. Doesn`t make someone a bad person.Lucky maybe,but not bad.Doesn`t make them a "journeyman" either. As to the "Master" debaters.For that sort of thing to fly by me I need proof. I see Danger,David,Rory,Grant,Larry,Young Dylan,etc turning out work(thru pics with them in the pics)and speaking of that work in an intelligent and informed way so I know it`s their work.They are all xxxx good at what they do and it would be for someone way above my pay grade to hang the appropriate title on them. However,if you show up near where me and my friends are working and declare yourself a "master" anything that`s an open invitation to be tested,even if you have a sheepskin saying it`s so.In the working world here in New England it`s NOT show and tell,it`s roll up the sleeves,get to it and we`ll see when the day`s done. The only widely agreed upon "master" we have up here is someone you can go to to get the proper thing to lure marine animals either into a trap or onto a hook.She has made it her life`s work to know what the fishermen need and how it needs to be stored,prepared and delivered on time in order for them to get the job done.Her business,trucks and cards say"The Bait Lady".She openly agrees that she is a "master" at what she does and responds warmly to the greetings from the docks touting her title and heralding her arrival.

Can`t you just carefully pull and flip the bricks?

IIRC the rod for dissimilar steels is 309. Then again I`ve been known to repair CI with 7024(when no nickle rod was available) and have it hold long term. :blink:

I guess it’s horses for courses, but since I benefited from Irnsrgn’s design (found in a blueprint last year), I thought it only right to share my humble alternatives which don’t require access to a milling machine. Cheers, Richard Way to go!! Now there`s yet more proof that you don`t need a pocket full of cash or a lot of fancy equipment to get a job done.All you need is some thought and creativity. Good on ya,Richard!

Since you have "spun up" a number of test pieces I`d like to suggest a turner`s trick for assessing form.Take one of the bells and paint it and the test stems flat black.(you may be able to Photoshop this too)then try the painted bell on all the blacked out test stems. What having everything one flat color does is let you look at the total form and see how it looks as a whole without any breaks or color changes to distract your eye.You see the profile clearly and what works or needs attention. The two pics I liked were the first pic and the 3rd from the left in the pic of 4 would be good if you cut the stem out and flipped it.The reason I suggest flipping the stem is that it looks as though it would be a better fit if the top diameter was slightly larger to make a smoother transition from then returning curve of the bell and the bottom diameter would transition better into the base if it was slightly smaller than it is now.I also think any color change it the wood might look better at the transition from wood to metal. The last in the pic of 4 would work too if the white wood bead was at the top and the bead at the bottom of the stem was the same wood and proportionately smaller for the same reasons. One of the reasons I liked the stem shapes was because they look "comfortable" and user friendly. One last suggestion,try a sweeping curve thru the base instead of trying to make two planes meet. If you feel it needs a beak in that curve or a detail then mark off 2 lines with a pencil first to define the placement of a cove or bead.The curve is what you`re looking for,the detail should fit within the curve and not interrupt that curve`s flow.If you have mahogany spindles large enough you might also try making the base and stem from one piece of wood and see how you like the uninterrupted grain thru the whole wood piece.That change in grain may be why you felt you needed that contrasting wood to break that transition. It`s somtimes been helpful to me to think of the grain in wood as being like texture on steel. Hope this helped and didn`t just muddy the waters.

Gotta agree with Arftist on this,brush it and use it.THEN if you have troubles with it look at how to fix those troubles the easiest way possible. Don`t understand why a lot of folks think their anvil face needs to look like the landing deck of an aircraft carrier.Those minor hollows and bumps that add character may be useful for some types of work,you don`t know till you do some work on it and learn if you can get along with each other. If you absolutely need sharp corners or a dead flat area for the type of work you do then there`s always top tools you can made to do the job that are far easier than trying to do major repairs or modifications to the anvil. Heat some iron,beat it using the anvil as is.If it ain`t broke don`t fix it.

Thanks Phil for the heads up on the HF discs.I`ll be steering away from those too. I think I`ll be staying with the brand name ones from my local welding supply.Never had a problem with those.

"The lord giveth and the fine print taketh away" T. Waits

First,you ASKED to be labeled a "full blooded reprobate",there Captain. Second,if you`re gonna hire me out to be anybody`s uncle and bestow titles and special logos then what`s my cut? Don`t I get a ring or a funny hat or something?At least tell me I get to drive around in a bulletproof "Bobmobile"(with a gin pole and winch on the front) PS-I liked the sound effects though.

I am really looking forward to the finished and installed pics of this one. Between your gate and the one posted by Michael you guys are setting the bar for gates on this side of the world. I hear there`s a reprobate on the other side that does pretty well for himself too. ;)

Nice compromise on the gate design.I take it they were both happy. How`d you like working with that rail system as opposed to a swinging gate? I am just amazed at the work you turn out in that small shop. What`s with the treadle on the leg vise in the shop pic?

So the four flute are less prone to breakage. I`ll keep this in mind as I look thru tooling at the sales. Thanks for the tip.

How is it there are so many cheap power hammers floating around the left coast? Weren`t we the folks who stayed here and used them to build things while you guys were circling the wagons somewhere west of here? Seeing all these hammers selling at just about scrap prices is killing me! $800-OBO?You`ll spend more than that building a tire hammer! I gotta go lay down now.

I learned that even though the borg(either Slowes or Home Despot)is closer when you need cutting discs for the angle grinder it is far cheaper(in time,money and aggravation)to just drive PAST the borg and get REAL cutting discs from the welding supply place. Those Dewalt discs are better suited for shooting skeet than cutting.They react the same way as a hit clay pigeon when you put them to the metal.Two of them just had the center break out and did their impression of a high speed metal cutting frizbee.Glad I was using safety glasses,the weld shield and leathers too Finally took an air hammer and chisel to peel the welds on the brackets I needed gone.Louder,tougher on the hands but easier in the long run.

Looks like you got a pretty good cross section of the usual stuff.At least you have what looks to be the complete tool post and a couple of bit holders. That tube with the black rimmed hand wheel is the drawbar for those collets in that block of wood. Couple of Jacobs chucks,one of them looks like a keyless model. I see at least one dog in there.Is there a faceplate hid in there somewhere? Clear an area at least twice the size of the bench to house this.Put it near a wall so you can build a BIG rack to house all the toys you`ll accumulate. I DID warn you about the new addiction now. Have you checked yet to see what time Horrible Freight opens? :)

Man that`s a lot of metal hangin` there! That`s somewhat larger in scale than I thought,those flowers are HUGE.The glass centers really ought to stand out at that size. Prettiest riot gate I`ve seen so far. Why all the security?What do they plan to put behind it?

Are you talking about the belt that powers the headstock spindle?If it`s a V belt then you can just get some of that red link together belting and cut the old one.Link together enough links to equal the old belt,wrap it around and then link up the last connection.Those link type belts run smoother with far less vibration.

Don`t know how much help this may be to you but my vise measures 38 3/4" from the shoulder to top of the jaws and I like it fine. BTW-I`m 5' 11 1/2" now.