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Good Morning, Nah, there is Canadian, Australian, South African, some even from the Island called UK....... :) :) :) :) Neil

Nothing against building your own sawmill, many have done it (been there done that). It sometimes is cheaper to purchase a saw that someone already has figured out, than rebuild the mistakes or updates a bunch of times. Around here there are a few portable mills, save up your logs, call in the mill. One day, job done, finished, no maintenance or storage problems. Mobile Dimension Sawmills run a 40" main blade, with one or two edger blades. Curf of the blade is more than a Bandsaw Mill, but it is more robust. Neil

Good Morning, Take a piece of cardboard or sheet metal and cut a drill angle gauge (normally 59 degrees = 118 degrees). You can make some marks so you can figure if you are centered or not (if you are not centered the drill will cut a larger hole). Be Patient, GrassHopper. :) :) Neil

The least expensive welder will double the cost of a welder. The least expensive (cheap) welder will either fail or not do the job required, which will cause you to purchase another welder that will do the job. The least expensive (cost) welder is the one you won't have to replace within 20 years, maybe more $$ up-front, but amortized over 20 years it will be the most cost effective tool. Neil edited see ( )

Good Morning, Could/Can means do you have the ability, physically or mentally. The answer is yes, someone does. Is it cost effective, no. The energy (physical and material) needed to produce a bicycle would make the bicycle very expensive. If you are looking at it from a research and development point of view, you would have to absorb the R&D costs as life. Anytime you are changing thoughts from readily available tooling means that you would have to first make or develop the equipment/machinery to manufacture in this fashion. Some of the earliest motor-cycles were wood frame. I saw a steam motor-cycle at the Trevour Deeley Museum in Vancouver, that was built originally in the late 1800's in Germany. It had an oak frame, I can't remember if the wheels were wood or not, the rider sat above the steam engine in the hot seat. If you are looking at it strictly from the point of view "Can I make a means of transport, in this fashion", the mind is the wall. If you don't build a box, you can't think outside the box. :) :) If you are entertaining this thought just to create conversation, use your energy in a positive manner. Neil

Good Morning, 3lbhammer, I hope you are paying attention to what the previous replys have said. Blood doesn't care where it runs. :( Neil

Good Morning, Greeting from Canada, Welcome to this world. There are a few others from South Africa on this Forum. I met Ian at the Western States Blacksmith Conference two weekends ago at Mt. Hood, Oregon (USA). Neil

Good Morning, Vancouver Island Blacksmith Association has a 50 lb. Jardine. Jardine Hammers were made under license (from Meyer Bros.) in Hespeler, Ontario Canada. The Jardine Hammers and the Little Giant Hammers are virtually the same. There was a problem that I couldn't identify, it wouldn't hit very hard. We had an awful lot of people look at it, to try to make it work happily. Out of frustration, I modified an ignition distributor from a Mercedes. I ground 3 lobes off, so it only had one lobe to open the ignition points. I mounted an ignition coil and one spark plug wire, I fastened a timing light to the spark plug wire. I could run the hammer and turn the distributor until I got a picture of what was moving and how all the parts were moving with the strobe light. I was able to pinpoint what was and what was not working properly. We now have a happy Kicking Ass Hammer (I also have one of Grant's Kick-Ass hammers). If we don't allow a box to be built, we never think outside the box!!!! :) :) Neil

I always thought that I was Hard done By, as a kid with no shoes. Then I met a man that had no feet................. Welcome to our world, JR. All the people who I have met in this business, DON'T put themselves on a Public Pedestle. What a stack of HUMBLE People. Information is free to steal!!! Assistance is close at hand!! Surely there is a Blacksmith Group in Utah, Northern Rockies Blacksmith Association might be close. Look at the Afilliates listing on ABANA's web-site. Greetings from Vancouver Island, the small Continent. :) :) Neil

After finishing cleaning, the residue is soap and water with a little Ferrous Oxide in it. Not toxic at all. If you have more pieces to do, do them I have used this process many times, Simply Magic, it is so simple. Neil

Good Morning, Forge welding is patience and not hitting very hard. With some people they try too hard and get impatient. You also will learn that if you sometimes forget the flux, it will still weld with a clean fire. Congratulations on taking the step. Neil

Truck coil springs = S7 ??????????? since when???????????

Good Morning, 1/2" square is ok, best to upset for the hinge area to maintain enough material. I use a lot of 1/4x1" to make smaller tongs. forge the jaw, define the back side of the hinge area and draw out the reins, leave the hinge area 1/4" thick. Chinobi, you should use the radius on the edge of the top face when drawing out the reins. Between your hammer and the edge of the anvil it is working like a top and bottom fuller. Only use the face of the anvil to make something kind-of flat. If it isn't red heat, it is at a planishing temperature (only good for finishing). Work smart not harder, always think at least a couple steps ahead. Enjoy the tongs, you might want to change the angle of the jaws so the tips touch first. Neil

Was that Divine intervention??

Good Morning, I agree with KNOTS about putting the pump, reservoir and high pressure hoses on the top. In my mind it is obvious. The only problem is that the press is now top heavy. Paul Thorne brought his Press to CanIRON VI in Victoria, all the plumbing was on the top. He put two horizontal sections of rectangular tubing in the frame (+/- 6") so the forks of the forklift could pick it up at the balance point he designed into it. The forks would not twist in the rectangular tube sections so there was no fear of the frame rolling on the forks. K.I.S.S. I have used sections of round pipe (6"+) for reservoirs. Round because I had it in stock, who cares what shape it is. Vent the top and pick-up from the bottom. If you are concerned about heat build-up in the tank, run the return through a copper automotive radiator with a fan. It works wonderful and simple. Neil

The more up-tight you get, the more it won't work. Relax, tell it to weld, and it will. Take 7" of 3/8 round, make chain links, link them together (1+1=3, 3+3=7, 7+7=15, etc). When you get good at chain, you will have learned patience, as a side you will also get good at fire-welding. Try forgetting the flux sequence once in a while, you will also learn to weld without flux. If the link is welded, it will bounce with a ting. If it isn't welded it won't bounce and it will make a flat noise. Just my $.02 :) Neil

Lay clay drain tiles on their side, stack them a few rows high. It lets you sort out by size and it lets you see what is on the bottom. Could uses sections of pipe, same thing. Neil

Good Morning, Take a piece of blank paper, draw the size of your building to scale, try different configurations thinking about what you will need to use the most frequently. Leave room for a thinking department (a chair or stump). The floor space is one area, the wall space area is another, the ceiling space is free so use it. Neil

It is "Stove Steel", it comes out of the ground, goes through a mill and magically becomes Stove Steel!! :) :) Neil

Is that an "Air Port" on top?? :) :) Gotta love the bumps that are in the sky!! Neil

Why Heat Treat?? What are you expecting a 2" thick piece of 4140 to deform into?? Not being nosey, Just asking. Neil

Good Morning, There are othe NWBA members in your area, talk to them for help. The registration form is on-line at the NWBA web-site, for Western States Blacksmith Conference on Mt. Hood. Hope to see you there. Neil

Good Morning, A Die Grinder has the capability of a number of carbide burrs that are available. If they are too big get a Dremmel Tool grinder and start with the smaller bits, Diamond burrs are available for the Dremmel. There are a number of electric/air tool Zip Cutters with an enormous amount of choices for grinder discs. When all else fails, there is an enormous amount of choices for files or deburring bits. There is no SIMPLE. Even water jet leaves a tiny burr. Elbow Grease works the best!! :) :) Neil

Good Morning, The function of Blacksmithing is "To Make A Tool to Make A Tool to Make a ????????" Add the number of days you have been smithing, multiply by a factor of ????. That is how many sequences there are to the process!! :) :) :) Neil

This is a great way to not loose your marbles. VERY SLOW cool down seems to work. Neil