tzonoqua

yeah, sounds like a good challenge, I will also record the workshop hours I get in, sadly i know it's not very many!!

great stuff, very clever incorporating a moveable head!!! I like the position in the third pic, what expression!! although, I think you are right that the dog should be looking up at his master as they do and creating a dynamic between the two.

I have a closet full of them... good thing I can build my own boot/shoe rack! oh, the punches, a few coffee cans full of those too.... although I have favourites I tend to use most often.

Hi Owen, I saw the "how it works" one, and thought it was great!! I watched the episode on plastics and that was interesting as well, haven't seen the ceramics episode though. A good series, I've recommended it to the teachers in my department (Design and Technology) at the school where I work, and they are going to try to incorporate into their lesson plans for Resistant Materials. Beats the boring outdated videos they show at the moment! Well done, the information you gave and demonstrated came across very well. I had some people visiting my forge last week who saw it and were raving about it also! I saw the advert for this evenings Saxon gold, will get the popcorn ready!!

Hi there blackersmith... I used 291, (just bought if off fleabay- but is available at marine chandlers everywhere) has worked brilliantly, but from what I can work out 292 is the strongest marine grade, for structural bonding... They repair boats with the stuff, bonding different materials, so I am sure if it works in that environment it can work anywhere!! I am sure you can get away with some of the other ones as well, I had a look and found this, it might help- http://www.cfsnet.co...ne_Handbook.pdf

Like Fe-Wood I am a super fan of SIKAFLEX. My partner works in the marine industry and one day when I had a similar problem he suggested it, it's awesome stuff, has enough give in it, yet super strong!!

Hello David, welcome !! I'm in West Dorset, so not too far away!! I am sure you will find a wealth of info on this site and from the Oracle that is John B!!

Hi I have used a bicycle wheel powered blower while in india, and brought one home with me, it's made out of the top of an oil drum, (just the blower, not the bicycle wheel!!) really simple to make, sure there's loads of pics on the net, loads of smiths in the east use them, will try to upload some pics if you're interested but won't have time to do that until Sunday, then if not the Weds... flat out schedule. They are very controllable, it's usually the wife that turns the wheel, unless she's striking, then its the kids turn to turn it... i had my turn, gets quite tiring, especially when there's welding needing doing!!

But she's wearing running shoes!!! :P Randy- A few weeks ago I was given a couple of stacks of pony shoes, which I have made into hearts, (of course!) and strung with ribbon, and guess what, they sell like hotcakes!!! Anyway, last Saturday at the street market where I sell my work, a couple of young trendy ladies walked past and one said to the other, "Oh, look how adorable, a horse shoe heart" to which the other replied "Ewwwww, it's hideous" and I had to laugh and thought of you!!

Well done Tom, it's great to get feedback from the public! The best feedback being people are willing to part with their hard earned cash for your work!!!! I as well would like to do a show or two if possible near me, depending on dates.. are they a closely guarded secret? :P

Did you recently get glasses, Stewart? :P

It all depends on what the task at hand is! Different hammers for different applications. One of my all rounders is a hofi but I also have a slightly lighter ball pein hammer that is my other all rounder. I have a small cross pein I use for some detailed work, oh, and a little ball pein as well.... I used to have a really nice farrier's rounding hammer that I loved, but it developed a crack through it so I had to retire it. I have a collection of hammers.. some have specific purposes, like the ball pein who's hammer's face is exactly the size of a tea light candle, so I use that one on my swage block that has exactly the size circle in it the same as a tea light, to make tea light candle holders!! I tell ya though, I know what my most used hammer would be if I had one, whatever brand it would be it would have power!!! :P

STewart, do we call you "hot lips" now?

Just a bit of scale that's fallen into the bottom of my slack "bucket". If I drop something in it, I fish it out straight away. My dogs drink from it too, so i change the water pretty frequently.

Beth it all looks fantastic, you will sell lots!!! How have you finished the plant supports? I like the big open curls too, but they're all good. Good luck with it, hope the sun shines for you, people spend their money when the sun is shining!!! It's like Blacksmith Gambling isn't it??? --make a batch of something and guess if people will buy it!!! It all sells in the end but some things go faster than others. I reckon you will get a few commissions!! Have you thought about prices? If it's at a garden centre you can probably charge a bit more, though you might have to educate people a little if the garden centre sells cheap imported ironwork. I love the spotted candles!!! The dog's coat is fab!! very sweet!

hehe @ Thomas!! Is it from the ACME Corporation? :)

Tom, glad I could help! Once you get that vice up and mounted, after you've twisted some bar and it's gone a bit wonky, you can straighten it up in the jaws of the vice. :)

Great stuff, Tom, you got the leg vice!!! How much did you get it for in the end? Looks good anyway!! Poker looks good too, well done!!

N = Nowhere Forge :D

Yep Randy, nice looking scrolls. And I agree with Sam and Beth, tidy looking workshop, nice to catch a glimpse!!

My farrier dropped in to my workshop yesterday for a chat, funny enough he said he was getting annoyed at people asking him if he made gates!! :rolleyes:

Ian, you and your son, and Thomas, you would be most welcome to drop in at my wee place, though I can't say that it would be worthy of a destination!! I'm on the South West Dorset Coast, but if Beth is having a get together, I might well meet you there!!! ;)

well, it is concerning that the acetylene one was laid on it's side, it's not good unless the persons know to leave it upright for 24 hrs before using. And they should be tied down during transit, but really other than that there are not a lot of regulations, only guidelines for transporting cylinders like that. Sounds like shoddy practice, but the practice is a lot more common than you think it might be. And dragging things over them is not good, might hit, damage the valves, etc.

Giles, I think the blocks look good! I don't think you really hit it hard enough though. (kidding!!) And thanks for the 'swage block drop' dedication!!! :) I assume the surface imperfections will grind out easily? I buy a new hammer, I dress it, why shouldn't we dress a new swage block?? Seems reasonable to me. I've been doing a lot of Al casting at work recently, and the castings always need refining. I guess that is just what you get with sand casting.

All really great advice, thanks. Today I began sorting them in the afternoon and from one drawer I now have around 30 or so files that are in the "reworking pile" and have rolled up the others into a fabric roll. (And I'm only half way through that drawer!) My predecessor obviously did not throw anything away, lucky me! Our classes are average 25 students in the lower years, 7-9, but as they get older the class sizes get smaller as they are doing more practical work. We have sets for the classrooms, kept in a locking cupboard, this store is kept to replenish the classroom stocks. It will depend on what I've got left of viable tools to see how they will eventually get stored. I have referred to our risk assessments with regards to making tools, and yes, John B, you are very right, the re-use of files and such is frowned upon. Here I was thinking I might save them some money and make some tools!! I will still investigate this a little further, if it is really the case and I can't make tools for school use, I'll donate some £ to the dept and take some of the files to my workshop, the rest will be weighed in. Also, I'm afraid there will be no pictures, our school has a very strict confidentiality code, so I'm not allowed to take pics of students or their work.