Jim Black

I was working on some farm equipment a short time ago and the wasp had decided to build their nest in the machine.They stormed out and I was holding a spray bottle of half acetone and half meracron transmission oil that I was useing as a penetration oil.One spray with the concoction and they fell out of the sky and were eaisly disposed of.I wouldn't use it around an ignition source but it sure is deadly on wasps.

I have had pretty good luck with a mixture of acetone, brakefluid and WD 40 in equal portions.I have also used a can of tri flo that works good.

I frequently attend farm auctions to purchase items that I want or need.I have discovered that many of these auctions are attended by people who are getting into their golden years and want to see what items bring in anticipation of a future sale of their own.Watch the crowd and the next time you see someone fitting the description engage them in a conversation and it might surprise you about the items he is willing to part with.

In the late forties while growing up in a small midwestern town we still had two working blacksmiths.The sharpened plow shears and made parts that were no longer avalable or were just cheaper to reproduce.I got ran out of both shops on a regular basis, but the idea of making something useful out of a piece of scrap just intriged me.Went to many auction sales and tried to buy an anvil at around fifty dollars but they always sold for more that I was comfortable with.Finally got a nice Fisher 200 plus lbs and a portable farrier forge.There is just something about making a forge weld that looks as though the piece was cast that way that still excites me, and I guess it always will.I sure hope that this art is carried on into the future so my Grandchildren and their children can experience what we have.

I think that the first thing that I would teach would be the proper construction of the fire and the depth of the same.The second thing would be the construction the the proper tooling and its uses.The third thing would be the identiication of the material being used.The forth thing would be the heat applyed to different metals.The fifth thing would be the tempering and annealing of those metals.The sixth thing would be the welding of those metals in the forge.The final thing would be shortcuts and yours ideas.The oxide code of metals varies so much with all of the combinations that we have today, but I stil think that its necessary to have the basic color codes

I know that when we think about bricks in a forge we think about fire bricks.I had a small engine shop that I heated with wood for several years that I heated with a double barrel stove.I didn't have any fire bricks , so I lined the fire box with regular glazed building bricks.I burned several cords of wood a winter, and after approximately three years I tore the stove apart.The bricks were almost perfect.I had one or two cracked bricks, and the others displayed no signs of overheating.I am of the opinion that you don't need fire bricks.My Grandfather was a hundred years old at his death, and he always said that the brick was the best building material that man ever created.He often stated that bricks made that when he was a boy, were just as good as the day that they were made, only the mortor wore out.

Melt a little deer tallow and soak a rag in it.Wrap around the trap trigger and secure with a thread.Mice love the smell and apparently the taste.The pelts won't bring much, but it will keep you busy emptying the traps.

Try heating the spot that you want to drill red, place some sulfur on that spot, and let cool.Then center punch and try drilling.

One of the best books you can buy is Country Blacksmithing by Charles McRaven.The book is out of print but you can still get a copy.Over the years I have read alot of blacksmithing books but none the equal of this for a beginner.

Where there is smoke, there is fire.

Hey all,

I'm likely to be purchasing a bench grinder in the next week or so. What are some things I should think about?

I was thinking that it makes sense to get a variable speed grinder, but there really doesn't seem to be that many on the market. Are there brands that are good or bad I should know about? What speed(s) should I be running it at? I like the models with a stone on one side and a wire wheel on the other. They seem versatile. But should the wire wheel and stone be going at the same RPMs?

Thanks for any feedback!

I wonder if it could be the base for a butchering kettle.

When I ran a lawnmower shop, I discovered that the Cub Cadet blades were the hardest to grind with a sidewinder.I expect that the steel used in those blades are superior to most.

How do you make ferrals for tool handles?Thanks

I have often wondered how the smith made his left hand dies and taps.If anyone has an insight into this subject, please share it with me.Thankyou.

My name is Jim Black and I am 65 Yrs young.I have tinkered with Blacksmithing for numerous years, and had the privliege as a young man to see a couple of old smiths apply their profession.I found out quickly as a young man that the old smiths didn't like young boys in their way, but their magic impressed me to no end.Over the years I have managed to acculminate a few of their tools and anvils, and have tried my hand at forge welding and forging.I have always been a jack of all trades and a master of none, but my experiences have served me well.I hope to learn some new intelligence from your forem and might by the slimest chance be able to assist others in this grand endevor.