Sukellos

Aunt Opal! Are we related?

OUCH!

With all the news lately about the subzero weather and heavy snow that the Northern, Midwest and East coast areas are experiencing, we shouldn't forget that Phoenix also has had it's share of devastating weather in the last couple weeks. Below is a photo showing damage to a home from a recent storm that passed through the Phoenix area. Dam.doc

Aloe, it's not just for burns anymore! I discovered this when I used a machete to hack down a one-too-many aloe plant in our yard. I played with it and came up with the following for browning muzzleloading gun parts. It works on mild-to-high carb steel but on some alloys, not so good. Smooth down the metal as much as you're going to do. This process works best on a smooth, shiny surface. Wash the part in warm, soapy water to de-grease. A vinegar rinse won't hurt either. After the wash, wear cotton gloves or otherwise avoid getting oil from your hands on the piece. Peel a 2 or 3 inch-long piece of an aloe leaf. It will be slippery and hard to hold on to. Again, the gloves will help or you can leave it attached to the un-peeled part for a better grip. Rub the aloe on the metal surface. Try to coat it as evenly as possible. You may have to repeat this part the next day to get an even color if that's what you're after. Hang the part up in a cool, dry, clean location for 24 to 48 hours. The metal will take on a thin layer of "rust". Smooth the rust down with a piece of fine steel wool or a 3M pad. Have a care not to rub so hard as to expose shiny metal again. If the color isn't deep enough for your liking, repeat the coat and hang part. Give it another soapy water wash to remove all of the aloe. Dry it quickly and thoroughly! Use a blow dryer, heat gun or a flame to make sure it's dry. Wipe down with your favorite oil, wax or clear sealant. I use the traditional linseed oil or a mix of linseed oil and beeswax. This works really well on octagon gun barrels and the like.

Beautiful! One artist's work to display one of another artist's tools.

Never try to weld light metal such as tubing when you're sick. Had to grind off and do four of them over.

wow!

Just give it to me to raise. I'll take good care of it and it will all be dead in a month!

Our Rosie is a bit of a tomboy. Don't worry, her sparkles 'n' lace sister, Veronica, will take care to see that the room is well perfumed with girlie scents!

Akchually, I find this way to be easier. Less cutting, more hammering is the trade-off. Since all I have to cut with are one pair of curved shears and one pair of straight, I opt for less cutting. In fact, this way I tend to put more layers on and end up with a lot more petals.

I use one of those oval-shaped galvanized tubs, but I don't have to quench anything huge. I'm not sure if the galvanization has any effect on the steel. Our water here is so hard with calcium carbonate that I try to catch rain from both of our annual storms to fill it. I keep and use my SUPERQUENCH in a 5 gal. plastic bucket. I got both at the local home repair store.

Brass Knuckes? Why don't you just wallop the dude with your 2lb hammer? Knuckles is illegal, hammer ain't ...yet! Ever seen one of these?

NICE! But 70 euros puts it out of my reach right now. We invested in real estate!

One thing to remember with any traditional Japanese tool. They tend to do all work sitting on the floor as opposed to westerners who stand or sit at a workbench. Their tools work fine for them and their way of working. You may find them awkward unless you too decide to sit your anvil and yourself on the shop floor. It'll be great for those mornings when you can't get up off of the floor!

HI NEAL!

Great minds think alike, huh Frank?

This is a wild guess. Some old coal furnaces and some old forges had a tilt-able or tip-able grate do facilitate getting rid of clinkers.

I have an old Lincoln AC/DC stick welder I bought new about 27 years ago. Since my small gasser won't hit welding heat I fire up the Lincoln nearly every day. It sure comes in handy!

Well, it goes to show that the Architects and Engineers can plan, draw, mathematize and calculate to their hearts' content, but it's the man with the hammer who ultimately determines whether a design stands or falls. Me, not Indiana Jones, at the "Caracol" at Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico. The Maya knew not the arch, and therefore the dome.

As you forge remember that any hammer mark you put in iron is a hammer mark you will have to somehow remove. A lot of the smiths mention files. To that I will only add that, lacking a good belt sander, draw filing will give you a pretty smooth surface if done correctly. It's an old traditional method and not taught in most metalworking classes anymore. Start with a good quality, file. I've found that the HF FSOs just won't cut it. Use a brand new file if you have one. I use a double cut to remove most of the uglies and then a mill bastard to finish. Have a good handle on the file and/or wear gloves. Keep a file card or bronze wire brush and a soapstone or chalk or a piece of "sheetrock" handy. Rub the soapstone/chalk on the file to start. Try to fill all of the cuts in the file. Clamp the blade down to a block of wood. I like to clamp it to the edge of a 2''x4" and then clamp the 2x4 in a vise at about chest height if possible. You might want to arrange it so you can sit down to do this. It takes a lot of time. Stand at one end or the other of the blade and hold the file flat across the blade at a 90 deg angle. The blade and the file should form a cross at the opposite end of the blade from where you stand. Grasp both ends of the file and pull it toward you while applying pressure downward. If the file teeth get clogged up with metal filings it will scratch the blade. Clean often with the file card, or bronze brush and re-apply the chalk. Get more beer, you're gonna need it. This will take awhile.

Gilligan's grandma said, "Never criticize anyone else unless you can do better yourself!" I'm keeping quiet I'd put it up on MY house. (If my name were Hillcrest)

Engravers use tools like the ones in the picture. Others "chisel" in the features with various shaped cold chisels. I haven't much experience in either but I'll bet someone in this forum does

When I was a boy (sometime just after the fall of the Roman Empire ) axes that looked a lot like that were still in use in some parts of Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands. Folks used them to build houses, canoes and to carve wooden utensils. They worked!

Beautiful work! I used to shoe our own horses but always with shoes from the feed and tack store. I believe that way back when, whether a blacksmith shod horses or no depended on the quantity of work available. In large cities the blacksmith and the farrier stayed out of each other's way, but in smaller towns and villages, the blacksmith had to be more of an all-around. As the industrial revolution got into full swing, blacksmiths found they had to diversify more to make up for the work lost to factories. My great-grandfather worked in a small town from the 1880's up until the 1930's. He did horseshoeing, farm implement repair, and even had a steam powered well drilling rig. They credit him with over 400 artesian or "flowing" wells in the area. Besides that he had a few cows, pigs and chickens and did a bit of farming. He had to feed 9 kids, 8 of them big strapping boys. Speaking of the old boy, I have what's left of his old post drill press. Eric "DABLACKSMITH" is helping me to restore it as close as possible to original. Someone along the way motorized it and it's missing the flywheel and the ratchet advance mechanism. Also the original chuck has been replaced with a modern type Jacobsen chuck. Had it not belonged to a family member I probably wouldn't bother.

D-mike: Are you sure the face on that thing is what a fella ought to see as he's opening his fifth or sixth long neck? Seriously, nice work. My son tends bar in a local restaurant and I made this one for him. It fetches a lot of comment from customers.