Bmiller

Hi Foaming Mug,

I don't know which one you are but I met one of you (the older one, without the tatoos) on Sunday after lunch at the workshop.

Your hot cut hardy looks good but since we are all trying to get better and you asked, I'll see if I can give some helpful suggestions.

There needs to be a fuller indentation at the top of the shaft 90 degrees to the shaft. I can't tell if you have one but on Brian's I measured about 1/2 inch between sides (thickness). Then I would work more on the end and flatten the "hills and valleys". When your flatter is almost getting flush with the bottom of the horizontal fuller mark, start a taper towards the end until you end up with around 1/8" or slightly thicker edge. This will enable you to grind with the appropriate angle and function properly.

Hope that made sense.

Bill

Sorry about that, don't know what happened.

I said my ears are still ringing! Just kidding! It didn't bother me at all, I was trying to stay focused on what Brian and Lyle were teaching us. Good thing I had an Awesome partner!! Thanks for letting me join in with you and hope we got some good things figured out.

Bill

So I chose to tweak as best I can, put up with the noise and see if the new setting of gears and such find their way to happiness over time. I also found that one of the blades was a little loose. Upon assembly I noticed an added noise. one of the blade rivets was not fully set and I was afraid to try wacking anything too much for fear of breakage. Plus, one side of the rivet had been whacked to almost nothing already. I put a small piece of paper in the gap between the blade shaft and the blade to stop it from moving as a test. The added noise went away. So now, with a dab of JB weld in a few strategic places I expect that bit of noise to be gone. I JB'd all the other blades in a similar way for balance and prevention. Just a dab mind you.

Thanks guys!

Phil, I put a shade that comes within 1/2 inch from the top of the handle so it looks good like it is. Thanks for the comments, I know what you mean about covering up something you spent time on.

Bill

Thanks guys.

Pat, don't you have the anti vibration syncronization motor attachment? Works great for me.

Bill

My neighbor is an autocad designer that's been out of work for about a year. I told him to come up with a couple designs that his wife might like and I'd see what I could come up with. Here's the results. The manger scene and star are both 3/16 plate cut out with my welding torch. Hope you like it.

Bill

Thanks, they were fun to make!

Haven't seen too many Christmas ideas this year but here's a pair of bookends I made for my mother-in-law. Hope you like them.

Bill

Feel free to add what you've made too!

Jacques, I like your projects. That's a good idea about trying to do something everyday. Looks like you finished something almost everyday and that's incredible. Some of my latest projects seem to take a couple weeks but I'd like to practice more by making some of the smaller things. Yesterday my goal was to make twenty leaf keyfobs and I ended up making a bowl with a candle holder frame. And then worked on a sculpture I'm almost finished with. No keyfobs! Maybe next time. Good job, keep showing pictures.

Bill

Hey Tom, looks like you're on your way to some good learning! I'm glad you mentioned (or someone) about the Louisiana Metalsmith Association get together this weekend with Brian as the demonstrator. Looks like I'll be coming from Texas to learn too! It'll be my first as well so I'm excited about meeting Brian and getting some new ideas and meeting you too. Look forward to seeing you Saturday!

Bill

Here's my latest project I just finished today for a hair salon. About 22 inches long. The scissors and lily are hand forged. The lily is the first one I've made and I used the instructions from Mark Aspery's book (thanks Mark). Any suggestions?

Bill

Very nice! Did you braze your leaves around the stem? And how did you bend the stem?

Bill

Thanks guys!

Fe Wood - I used four layers of petals on all the roses. The small rusty one I made the top petal with two petals, all the rest have five petals per layer.

Bill

Here's a lamp I made a couple weeks ago. The blade is made up of 1/8 steel rod. The handle is Ash and Purple heart. I also made a Kwando lamp for my brother that's about 6 feet tall for Christmas but don't have any good pictures. This is one of the designs I was thinking about making for some shows but it's pretty labor intensive with each piece spaced 1/8 inch. Guess we can modify that a little and see how it comes out.

Bill

Here's my first three roses. I also made the vase. Hope you like it, if you see some things I need to do different let me know so I can improve. Thanks

Bill