Larry H

Thats what we are here for, I'm sure It is no inconvenience to anyone

Woo Hoo !, I'll start packing ! you think I should bring my own HAT ?....I wonder if they have cheap made in America souvenirs ?

I don't know whats the matter with you guys...they are wearing safety Equip. They have those furry vests.....and they are wearing HATS ! !. Hold my beer i'm going to try that xxxx

Where ever you are.....find a group, you can never go wrong. Listen a lot, once you see it done...try it. Books are O.K......but until you see it done, you can't really gauge what it really takes to move "iron".

you guys sound about as crazy as me, "why would you do that ? "..... because we can !

Soooo.....you're decorating for Christmas too ?

I think that buckle came from Centaur forge, I have the farrier one from the 70's

One of the main things about pipe size is not to reduce the diameter of the blower out put, if you can help it

You might think of drilling through the ball and putting a long wire through and forming wings with the same wire. Twist or braze onto itself...braze to the ball and add veins (brazed also ). use steel wire ( to match the steel balls ). If you heat the ball red hot then feed the wire, its easier to not melt the wire while brazing. You can also use a number drill to make the hole tight....when its heated to red/orange it will expand enough to get the wire through, then when it cools it will hold fast with no other method needed, then form the wings with pliers, then braze the veins in, OR...drill a hole...cut with a hacksaw to make an opening about 1/8" , cut a piece of plexi-glass in the shape of the wings you want...fit it through the "slot " and peen the slot over to hold the plexi in place. All these methods work, I've done them all...or I wouldn't recommend them

oooohhh nnnooo........ the dreaded horse shoe !. congratulations on the great job by your son. You are a good instructor for him, he has an advantage many kids don't have, his dad is a smith ! , and you have access to horse shoes too ! !

Pretty good, when I made mine, it was more like just transferable reins, and was eventually abandoned, hope this way works better !

come on avadon,...... out with the details,...... we can take it......do it ......do it....do it

A Lil' giant in the hands of a skilled man is a wondrous thing

I think I've figured it out ! ! ..." BIG RED " doesn't really exist, there is no evidence except a few irritating posts claiming superiority of a fictitious "master"....... BUT........It really got us all talking, didn't it ?...Ha.. Ha.. Ha.., on all of us, we were sucked in by a fallacy, the jokes on us ! Ha...Ha...Ha...Ha...Ha...Ha... Ha... Ha...Ha... Ha... Ha... Ha...Ha...Ha...Ha...Ha ...! ! !

Perhaps we've gotten off on the wrong foot, regardless of the fact I tend to defend American blacksmiths, you have a point about the lack of apprentice training. I've been a union blacksmith for 28 years and have seen the worst and the best. Yes, there are a lot of "armchair smiths", who can do a few things but can look up and post responses which are not always accurate. Dying with your secrets is never good, after all, and being so full of yourself that you think you are the first to come up with a new thing after 3000 years of other smiths doing the same, is ludicrous. I've seen Master Smiths over the years do some pretty amazing things with just a hammer and anvil, transfer the force of a hammer blow laterally 12 to 18", who ever heard of that ? I've held a chisel for a smith with a round house swing with a sledge that NEVER missed in 18 years of working with him. Even lacking a "formal training program" a person can get to the Journeyman level if he has a natural ability and go up from there. Who trained the first blacksmith ?

Make more of things than they are ? so far there is nothing......... sweetie

I'm sure I not only speak for myself when I say I would like to see some of your skilled workmanship. I think it will be a valuable learning experience for us all. No need to divulge any "secret methods" just a few pics to show us what a formally trained blacksmith is capable of achieving. What say you ?

that's amazing work ! !.....what size parent stock ?

Just funnin' ya

Mac...Are you left handed ?.......then yes, correct side

I am really jealous of your skills...you have an artistic eye that we all can be envious of. I can make a face, but not one that looks like someone I know ! I made one based on the measurements of my own face, but I don't think it looks like me, but other people do

the more I look at it the more I like it, I wish I could get my hands on one of those

Nice steam punk look, Where did the ball come from ?

I just found a stump....then put the anvil on top sometimes a cigar is just a cigar (Sigmund Freud )

My 2 cents.........impatience causes scale by increasing air to accelerate the heating process, , , , slow down ! Everybody is always in a hurry these days, get in touch with your center, calm down, rest between heats while plotting your next move... and strike when the iron is hot ( like you haven't heard that before )