Mainely,Bob

How is staying on topic and showing pics of the same technique threadjacking? I think you may need to take a look around and see both how this forum works and maybe get an idea of who you may be talking to in a less than supportive manner. Thanks John B for showing the pics of what can be done when expanding this technique. Thanks again for pointing to where we can go to actually see this technique done and maybe learn how to correctly do it ourselves under expert guidance.

Porta-bands are a very useful tool in that they are big enough to do a surprising amount of work and yet small enough to take to the work if you can`t bring it into the shop. They are a pretty much standard tool in alot of boatyards and the maintenance shops of most factories. Just about anyone with moderate fab skills can whip up a base for one and have themselves a small upright bandsaw.Milwaukee even makes a base that turns them into the equivalent of a cut off saw. I would look for a model with a deep throat as they are not unwieldly and the extra depth of cut is more handy than you`d think.I`d also stay with the proven brand names like Milwaukee,Porter Cable,etc.Those folks have been making the industrial model of these saws for a long time and they know what it takes to build a balanced,powerful and long lasting saw.Others have tried and failed to copy the leaders and put out a saw at a cheaper price point.IME (20+ years worth of it) they don`t measure up or last near as long. Once you own one of these you`ll wonder how you ever got along without it.A Sawzall is a poor substitute and only surpasses a Porta-band by being capable of plunge cutting or working in the blind.

John B, Your work and pics are never boring,inspiring is more like it! While you say your work is nothing outstanding I beg to differ.It`s easy to see the hand of a practiced craftsman adding subtle touches and proper proportions that combine to make the understated work that would be at home most anywhere.Hard to find in this "More is better" world we seem headed toward. Having been an instructor in more than one capacity myself I feel there is no finer reward for the time invested than to see people you`ve taught eclipsing the teacher.I`m sure you know the feeling. Judging from your open participation and willingness to share here I`m sure many students seek your guidance. Thanks again for the pics and don`t be shy about sharing more.Start your own thread if you feel the need.I know I look for your posts so I`ll be sure the look at anything else you care to share.

Cool shoes Frosty! Did you bag the bear yourself? That wasn`t you up on the roof in the first photo was it?Don`t make us call Deb,some of us still have her on speed dial!

John, Have you tried readjusting the guides or maybe upgrading the guides on your saw? Using a new and appropriate type blade at the correct speed on a tuned bandsaw I have had no problem with accurate cuts that only need filing to smooth them. There`s no difference in accuracy between the woodworking and metalworking bandsaws I`ve used either at home or at work.

His approach is inspiring in a way. If you have the will and the vision then nothing keeps you from doing it. Most people think "That`s really nice.I`d like to try that but I don`t have a forge or the proper tools or"... Here`s this guy using an old plant stand,scrap rod and a weed burner to make his idea a reality. Good for him! Makes me wish I could read German so I can see what he does with the billet and more importantly what other tricks he has up his sleeve.

The main point is abdication of responsibility. We don`t want to have to watch the toddler or wear sensible footgear or and number of other common sense things when dealing with day to day situations that may be potentially harmful if we don`t put down the cell phone and pay attention. The thing about responsibility is that it doesn`t just go away,it just skips around and pops up in another form. Once a lawyer or a politician(cut from the same material IMO)decides where the responsibility will be found it has morphed from personal responsibility to financial responsibility and somebody must pay in cash for being less than attentive in the first place. Once again that abdication of responsibility kicks in and the insurance company lawyers get involved and if they lose enough money they convince the politicians to make new and better(?) laws so that they can charge more and pay out less and the end result is that a once completely fine and unquestionably beautiful piece of history such as this railing is now considered by law to be useless for it`s intended purpose.A purpose it has fulfilled admirably since before most of us were born. This is obviously a raw nerve with me. Rant off.

To me "outlaw style" is an old phrase used by the gear heads of the late 60`s/early 70`s. It meant getting it done no matter what current thinking,or sometimes the law,thought was acceptable. Most times it meant working under less than favorable conditions with less than acceptable materials and always blazing a new trail. I came from a time when custom bikes and cars were made in local garages by the guys who owned and rode them as personal statements of both their skills and their propensity to thumb their noses at conventional thinking. The way it worked was this,you couldn`t(or wouldn`t)pay someone else to do it all for you so you chose a particular skill and learned it inside and out.You practiced that skill until you were good enough that others trusted your competence and then your skills gained you entrance into the larger fraternity of builders who collectively could build something from start to finish. You bought a clapped out motor and trans and brought it to your buddy(who`s bike you made parts for) and he hotrodded it for you,maybe trying some new ideas he had been kicking around for awhile.From there you brought it across town to your friend who worked in a fabrication shop and had a torch,welder and frame jig in his garage.Between your machining skills and his fab skills you came up with and brought to life a radical new machine that surpassed anything the rest of the group had at the time.Once the grunt work was done you handed the seat off to your buddy who did crazy cool leather work and he worked together with the painter in the group to come up with a wild design to tie it all together. Everybody did their personal best and knew they could count on others to do the same when they came knocking.These were shared dreams and together we could all push the boundries alittle further. Once it was finally done you took it out to wow the guys on the streets,impress the girls and see how many tickets you could get in one night(proudly displayed on the clubhouse wall). Now THAT was "Outlaw style".Your ideas(with help from local experts) brought to life and made by hand by you and people you trusted. No engineers,architects,code inspectors or safety experts needed.

That is all just incredible work,and that includes the background pieces too. Any chance of seeing a more broad picture of the complete setting?I`m curious about how so much fine work comes to be in one place.

Instead of hand filing a square hole why didn`t you just drill it? I picked up 2 different ways to do it from my uncle and when I demonstrated it and my ability to weld with both OA torch and SMAW(stick welding)it allowed me to go directly to advanced metal shop as a freshman. Of course then I had to convince the juniors and seniors that I really belonged there.The first 2 months I thought maybe I should have just went along with the hand filing exercises again.Then I brought in the head from my friend`s Triumph motorcycle and things began to look up. B)

The runes you posted stand for;from top left-Algiz,which stands for elk or the English letter Z,it represents trusting instinct,good fortune,friendship and protection. Upper right-Kenaz,which stands for fire or the English letters C,K,Q,and X,it represents the blessings of energy,power and general good fortune. The lower center rune is;Uruz,which stands for the wild ox or the letters U or V,it represents strong will,health,vitality and unbroken spirit. All these runes are identified by the Germanic pronunciation.The old English would be Eohl-Secg,Cen and Ur from top left to bottom center. The triangle or triple triangle is not mentioned in the Elder Futhark runes. Hope that helps.

Sounds like you know your way around equipment and have worked in a metal shop.I`m guessing some modifications like Spike`s table aren`t beyond your skills so an import horizontal bandsaw may be a good fit for you.Look for one where you can easily control the speed the saw drops and you will not have to hand hold it while waiting for the cut to finish. I`ve had excellent luck using older cast iron woodworking bandsaws with quality bi-metal blades for larger work.I just fit a jackshaft to reduce the blade speed.3 phase machines can also be used with a VFD converter to control speed. Craig`s List is a good place to start but sounds like you`ve already got a line on some gear to get you started for less than $100.If the power isn`t there on the imported machines then just replace the motor or take a lighter cut. Don`t know where you live but if you were anywhere near mid coast Maine I could give you enough to get you started but you`d have to agree to take a tablesaw too(I`m overrun with table saws).

Nice work!The turtles seemed to like it too,looked like they were applauding. How do you plan to hang the pendant and on what(chain,leather,linked bar,etc)?

Let me ask a few questions to get a better idea of the type of work you plan to do and your experience level. First,can you explain the type of "freehand cutting" you`d like to do.Would this cutting involve plate or sheet and if so how large a piece?Cutting larger circles or shapes means maybe needing a larger throat and table on a bandsaw and maybe considering going to an upright saw rather than a horizontal cut off type saw with an auxiliary table attached or a portable bandsaw in a fabricated base.If cut off work involving just flat or bar stock is all you plan to do then a Porta-band may be all you need. As for the drill press,what is the approx height of the tallest work you plan to drill and do you plan to try and drill to the center of larger work?If you ever plan to drill into the top of a tall piece then a floor model would be handier than a bench model.Likewise if you foresee needing to drill to the center of larger circular pieces then either a larger drill or a drill where you can extend the head(radial drill) may be needed.Do you plan to drill a lot of holes at an angle?If so you may need at least a tilting table to make things easier. If your skill level is such that you feel comfortable either modifying machines by fabbing added supports or jigs then you can get by with simpler machines.If you are comfortable repairing old iron then you could save yourself alot of money by going that route. If you`ve been at this awhile and plan to go full time in the near future then it may pay to buy quality tools now rather than go with cheap imports that would serve a person working 1 or 2 days a month for only a couple hours a day. Is your primary focus going to be ornamental iron work or bladesmithing? The more you can narrow your focus and give us detailed info the better we can help narrow the field for equipment that will better fit you and save you money.

I worked with a fellow named Steve that everybody called "Stevie Wonder". Every time the real heavy work started it was always "Wonder where Steve took off to?".

I bought a full set of collets and a holder for a Benchmaster mill I bought a while back and the whole thing with spanners and a wood box cost less than $200 for new equipment.The collets run from 1/8 to 1" by 32nds.The holder adapted the #2 Morse taper to the ER collets.They do seem to hold better than R8 collets and the head is no bigger than a medium sized boring head(3" tallX2-1/2" OD). Unless you are planning to machine really tall work and need the extra 3" the head takes up then it`s no big deal.If it`s not something you want to spend the $200 on then knock the holder out and go with your R8 collets. If you do decide to spend the money for the ER collets you might want to consider going with a morse taper holder(you alread have an R8 holder) with the set as I`ve found it handy to use my holder in my lathe for smaller precision work.

Now this is just MY opinion but before I`d spend upwards of $100 for an old hammer I would take that money and invest in a class with someone who would teach me how to properly make a hammer similar to what I was interested in. I would go to the class prepared to ask questions and stay late trying to pick the instructor`s brain as to things like appropriate weight, hang,handle length to type of work,how to dress the faces for my type of work,in short getting to know how to properly make and fit a hammer to get what I truly need. IMO any tool you buy that was not custom made to fit you and the way you work is a compromise.Manufacturers and folks who make these tools and never meet or talk to you can get real close but nothing beats making your own once you have been instructed in the proper skill set. Once you have the skills in your pocket you can make any hammer you want.You can even remake that $100+ hammer if it breaks or disappears or you would like it in a different size.

To build on what Dr Dean said,I`d do what we did for our basement which we had to blast out of granite ledge. Below the slab(which would be your dirt floor)we put down the crushed and compacted stone as Dr D suggests.In that stone we put PVC drain pipe(wrapped in landscape cloth) to collect the water run off from under the floor and lead it to a sump.That sump is also a collection point for the water from the roof gutters and perimeter drains. The sump is piped to drain into a swale further down hill away from the house. I had over a foot of standing water in the blasted foundation hole prior to concrete work and you could see the water running down the stone and off remaining roots.Once the house was complete(with walk out basement)I monitored the sump and found that the only time water came from beneath the slab was after extended torrential rains combined with the melt during mud season here.The perimeter drains were just being overwhelmed but the PVC below the slab showed only a trickle of water. The only side of the foundation that is not at least partially covered by grade is one 32ft side of our 32X40 house the remaining 3 sides range from 4 to 7 foot below grade.The sump drain runs under the drive from the exposed face of the house. I learned that it`s best to keep the water from getting under the floor but if that`s not possible then the next best approach is to give the water a clear path of lesser resistance it can take rather than percolate up thru the floor itself. BTW-If your shop is to remain unheated and you seal the floor(with plastic underlay or other means) to keep water from rising thru it then prepare for what we in New England know as "frost heaves",something that makes it very difficult to open the chicken coop door. :(

Not FE but that`s a metal spinning lathe,and a fine one at that.Congrats on that find FE! Now that you`ve got a HD,purpose built lathe and sissors type turning tools the metal is quaking in fear of your combined might.The only hope is surrender! Here`s to future projects seeing things your way.

There was a recent thread on here about bellows,what size and how to make them.In that thread was a post that showed how to make simple and effective hand powered bellows using water filled drums,bellows and slack tub combined.You may want to check that one out as it would be great for your back woods ,no power site.If you find a source for free drums(tell them what you`ll be doing with them)and they have alot to give away and you don`t like the ground level approach to forging then you may want to look into making elevated forges using those too.I`d say follow the Ol` 55 plans but the Blueprints on this new site aren`t working yet.Maybe someone knows where else to find them. If your primary purpose is to make hook tools for foot powered lathes then you may want to research a fellow named Robin Wood from the UK. Lots of good info on his site as this is what he does,treadle lathe bowl work using hand forged hook tools.I Googled "Robin Wood,bowlturner " and he came right up.

Hey,don`t be giving him any ideas now! If he takes up bear baiting he may have to change his name to Claude(clawed). :o

I`ve seen blowers made of high grade plywood sides and sheet metal screwed on to follow the outer curve.Don`t know what CFM you would need but but you could look at home made woodworking dust collection systems(cyclone type) to get an idea of how to construct such an animal. I think Shopnotes ran an article with drawings a while back(within the last 3-4 years).

I`ve seen folks hit more than once by an 8# sledge and had my jaw broke by one.Does that at least get my foot in the door? If my former boss"Rampant Ray" had stuck around after he launched me while holding a 6 stick can of gelled nitro(with detonator in place) I was planning on hitting him repeatedly with a 12 pound sledge but I landed on my back knocking the wind out of me so I was too busy passing out to run him down. <_<

Thought I saw gloves used in cricket too.What do you folks use on those? Please don`t tell me you just spit on `em. :P

Neatsfoot oil is what I`d use.Same stuff you used to use on your baseball glove when you were a kid. Don`t do like my friend Larry,he used to just spit on it,alot.Kept people from borrowing his glove though.