Jeddly

ZIG, I liked the comment about pilfering from work. At my job, the safety nazis (I mean this in a good way) have made a point of wanting us to take safety home. I forgot that I had a pair of SG on perched on top of my nugget when it was shift change, and I was leaving. The guy says: Hey! C'mere! I thought I was in trouble. He then went on to tell me that he was proud of me for wanting to take safety home, and said whenever those glasses get scratched, feel free to grab another pair. He also gave me a new pair of leather gloves. I love my job! Jed As for the flippers, I think the guys over at grainger might be able to help. They usually tend to have everything. Or maybe a lenscrafters? I dunno.

Now thats hardcore!!!!!! I thought sticking them with a knive was awesome. Holy smokes!!

Wow! And I thought having a 100# propane tank land on me while I was dragging it across the ice was bad. I too work in the oil patch. Fortunately, I havn't been here long enough to see some super bad stuff go down. I work on submersibles, and VFD's. There's a bunch of electricity everywhere. I am thankful that our HS&E people keep nagging us about being safe. I've been taking that safety home for a few years now, and seem to have not really gotten too hurt because of it. This one time, I was welding some stuff in the garage. Just gluing two pieces together, minding my own business and all. A week earlier I ruined my right hand welding glove, and was only wearing my left one. One thing leads to another, and I pick up the hot steel with my gloved hand and walk to the bench. Why I decided to transfer the hot steel to my other hand is a mystery to me, but I did, and ended up with two melted fingers. Man, that hurt!

My favorite ones are the ones that have actually saved my eyes. They look like these, only with a clear lense. http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/1XPJ5?Pid=search For grinding, I usually use the same, but with a face shield also. Or, when I'm feeling rather froggy, I use some funky goggles like these: http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/2TV53?Pid=search These ones tend to fog up though.

Nice view indeed! The flers look good too!

Sometimes when I am searching for a word, and cannot for the life of me figure it out, I will just make one up. The hard part then comes when I am trying to explain said word to someone. haha Notebooks are a great idea, but I am not a very good artist at all. So, I usually just write my thoughts down, and picture the object in my head for a while. Jed

I am a blacksmith, I can change, if I have to, I guess. Been away from my forge for three weeks, two days, and 14 hours. I don't know what to do with myself. I've been buying supplies, and raiding the scrap bin, in hopes I will get to use them soon. I've also been using this time to start drawing again. Which is good, I think.....

You bet Frosty! Who knows, my bags might be heavier on the return trip. Maybe I will score some tools.

Thanks guys. It is pretty fun. I think I need to find a place that sells brass and silver. lol The applications are just about endless.

Thats really cool!!!! Jed

I guess that would be nice huh. I have a set of tongs I hammered out of some 1" pipe, and twisted. The mouth is about 1.5" wide. This pair of tongs are perfect for this sort of thing, as the mouth holds the material just right. Anyways, at first, I tried heating them up to bright red, and dusted them with some borax. I figured the borax would help with the welding process. I was wrong. My next shot at it I skipped the borax, and left them clamped in the tongs until a bright red color formed. I let it hang out there (bright red) for a little while, then promptly pulled it out of the fire. Next, I stuck the hot stuff in the vise, and cranked on it good. I did this process twice. Back into the fire to a bright red, and then alternated between the anvil and fire a couple times to squish it out. Somewhere along the way, I drilled it four times, and flattened it some more. I teased it a little bit with a 120 grit bit on my dremel to get the ick off of it, then went to the 100 and 150 grit sandypaper. The next one I make I am going to try either a twist, or maybe carve my initials into it. Or better yet, I could carve the initials of my parents in it, and give it to them as a gift!! Genius!!!

Hey guys and gals, I was bored today, so I made some Mokume out of a buck and a half. I've never done this before, and it felt rather gratifying to actually see some striations coming out. I drilled it four times, and pounded it flat again. Then I sanded it. Its at the 150 grit stage now. Sorry for the subpar picture. Maybe it will be my unofficial lucky coin, and ride in my pocket for a while.

Have a good one Frosty!!! Jed

I've noticed that too. Maybe we should have a race, and see if we can be the second person to post in a thread instead of him!! Jimmy Seale, I think Mary is a fine name for it. Heck, lets call it Mary Shannon!!

I'm sure its been mentioned already, but I really like my Makita 4.5" grinder. I have two of them. One with a flapper disc installed, and one with a course wheel on it. After heavy use, (couple months worth), I usually take it apart, and clean it really good with a quality contact cleaner like LPS NoFlash. Going on 4 years with nary a problem. My roomate has a Black and Decker one that is absolutely annoying. Its crazy loud when its just running, only slightly louder when grinding steel.

Super smooth bore tubing.

I am fortunate to be on a two week on, two week off work schedule. During my two weeks on, I am constantly daydreaming about what creations I can make while on my two weeks off. The time off is a blessing, and I always look forward to it. When the time comes, I like to grind bean, make stout coffee, and wander out to the garage. But first, I usually check the forums and catch up with whats going on in 'internetland'. After all of the lollygagging, I hop, skip, jump out to the shop, fire up the i-pod/forge, and try to decide what else to do. Usually, before the forge is super hot, I sweep the floor, dust off the anvil, and assemble my hammers and other tooling. I'll second the viking metal thing too, along with a healthy mix of American metal as well.

You should put some 16" apes on it!! How was it? Super torquey? Jed

I use copper on mine with no problems. Just make sure to use the plumbing goo, and check for leaks often.

Global warming equals farce!

That copper bike is by far my favorite. Good luck with your spring, I'm sure you'll get it. Somewhere on this forum there is a thread about the basics of heat treating. Its pretty short, but a good read nonetheless.

Looks like alot of fun! I bet its a wheelie monster too with that sprocket!

I'm probably going to be scorned for this, but my propane tank is directly underneath my forge. I have it insulated enough that the underside of the forge is warm to the touch, and the bottle still freezes after several hours of use. Having a potential bomb under such a hot object is generally not a good idea, and I am thinking about moving it off to the side. A good idea is to make a temperature map of your forge and surrounding area. Then place the tank where you feel comfortable it will not blow up. Another thing I do just because is check all the fittings for leaks every time I turn the knob. That might be overly cautious, but think of the consequences if there were a leak. Jed

That looks pretty slick!

I'm gonna take a stab at this one. Tell me if I get it, okay? Uh, spring fuller?