jayco

Bandsaw blades make good paring knives.

For some reason(I don't know why), I've been thinking about making Christmas tree 'outlines' in 1/4 inch square stock. Sort of like a Christmas tree cookie cutter.....except for ornaments and possibly wind chimes.

Of course, now I've got to figure out HOW to make it!

Last winter I had too many days when it was just too cold out there to forge anything.

In mid-winter we have lots of days in the 10 to 40 degree Farenheit range . I can 'bundle up' and work in those temps, but it just ain't comfortable......so,

I decided to 'winterize' my forging shop a little.

In summer, (1st pic), the shop has an 8 ft.x 10ft. opening on the south side. I nailed 4 pieces of old rusty metal roofing over the front and moved enough of my 'resource pile' so I could close the door.

Actually, I'd been putting the metal up in winter and removing it in summer for some years, but last year I got too busy and didn't get it done.

Even with the door shut, there is still plenty of ventilation, since the shop is not sealed around the rafters.....and my cats seem to be able to go in and out as they please without using the door.

This shop is only 8ft. x 16ft., so the coal forge is all the heat that is required in 'reasonable' weather.


This year I added some 6 in. stove pipe and a homemade forge hood to get rid of most of the smoke .......should have done that years ago!

The cost: 0 All scrap materials.

This little shed is not worth spending any money on for real improvements.

This spring I plan to build a new shop........if everything 'goes as planned',

My wife came by the other day, and said "You need a new shop!"

Yep......I agree,.....but I'm gonna see if I can sqeeze one more winter out of this one.

James

Iron forger 122,avoid using galvanized or zinc plated metal in your forge.There are others to be avoided, but I believe zinc to be the most common and most dangerous.

For more information, open the search window at the top of the Forum's page and type in 'zinc'.

There's a whole list of things to read on the subject.

NEVER believe anyone who says "Go ahead and eat that......it's still good."

One cold morning I went to my shop in coveralls.....zipped all the way up.

As the morning progressed the shop got warmer.....and so did I.

So, I unzipped the coveralls , but kept them on, since I didn't have a jacket handy.

BAD MISTAKE!

A very small, but very Hot piece of the iron I'd been forging went flying right in that open zipper!

I never was much of a dancer, but I made an exception that day.

I later found a piece of slag kinda melted into the top of my boot.

I wasn't injured, but I learned something.........

I never knew I could move that fast!!

James

I guess I could have called this thread ' The Frugal Smith'!

I've been exposed as a 'penny pincher'!

Jr. said something about wearing a welding jacket. Well......I should have.(I've got one).
I just couldn't bring myself to wear it on those 100+ degree days of summer.

When I use the angle grinder,O/A torch,arc welder,etc.......the first thing I do is look around.

I make SURE! I'm away from ......the O/A tanks, the parts cleaner(mineral spirits), leaky carburators that might be on a nearby workbench or a gas can that's in the wrong place.

So, sometimes I forget about my shirt.

I guess the lesson from all this is that it's alright to be frugal......but it's more important to be safe!

James

Jacob.....I do use 'em for cleaning cloths......but sometimes my wife slips 'em in the trash before I notice!

That's almost like a farm tradition around here...wiping the grease off your hands with last year's shirt.

Hi Luke......welcome to I F I!

Years ago I read another McRaven book that I liked really well.

I think it was called 'Country Blacksmithing'

Well....it was a few years ago!

James

Welcome to I'FI JIMBO420! If you're interested in metalworking.....this is the Place to Be! There are more features here than I could list.

Take your time......look around........ENJOY!

James

A long time ago, I heated a large bolt with a very 'rusted on' nut on it that I needed to repair a plow.

I got the bolt and nut red hot,removed the nut, and laid them both out of the way on a little table in my shop.

I then went on to some other forging task and forgot about the bolt and nut for some time.

For some unknown reason(which still confounds me to this day), I reached over and picked up that bolt with my fingers.

I carried the thread pattern of that bolt on my thumb and index finger for four or five months if I recall correctly.

I now place anything small I've been forging on in a 'safe box'.....a metal bucket,..an old skillet, etc.

I get fewer surprises and fewer burns that way.
James

Rainsfire.....I didn't suffer any real injury from what happered to the shirt.

A few pinholes the first time......then a few more.....a few days later ,more holes.

I got my grandson to take the picture before my wife threw the shirt away.(Which I sense is coming soon!)

Anyone care to guess how I hold the angle grinder?

Over the course of the summer, this shirt took a lot of sparks while I used this angle grinder.

The cat in the background had nothing to do with this incident, but has been implicated in many others around the farm.

James

Welcome to I F I Bonsaik! 10 months ago I became a member of this site.....Now I welcome you. Hope you enjoy your stay here as much as I have mine!
James

Oh, by the way......the pulley I got was a keyed motor shaft pulley.

The idler pulleys might be harder to find than I thought.

Sorry about that! Good luck in your search.

James

Welcome to IFI Hunterbow. I don't know what stores are available in your area, but here in Kentucky we have Tru-Value Hardware stores and Tractor Supply. Both carry an assortment of pulleys in several diameters and shaft sizes.

I recently bought a 2 inch one at Tru- Valu for $4 and change.

Here's a belt driven blower I have. It's just a fan on a shaft.....in a cast iron housing.

I don't use it much because it puts out air like a leaf blower.

It has a 2 inch flat belt pulley on one side and the shaft extends through the other side to accept a pulley there also.

When I do use this blower, I just use a washing machine motor and a v-belt on the flat pulley of the blower.

I usually have the whole thing assembled on a piece of 2 x12, but for now it's just in storage.

I've had a couple of 'near ' accidents with those 'brown jersey' gloves. Seems to happen in cold weather...when I need the warmth on my hands.

I've got one of those homemade bench grinders that's powered by an old washing machine motor. A fan belt connects the motor and grinder,....got that glove hung in the pulley once. My finger went all the way around the pulley before being thrown free.
Yep.....that hurt!
Good thing the belt wasn't really that tight!

Got my coat tail caught in the belt of a corn elevator once. ( I know it's not a glove, but the principle is the same.)

another time, one cold winter day......an alternator belt on a running car took a 'jersey' glove right off my hand. Probably lucky the glove didn't fit so tight!

The only unusual kind of tongs I use is an old pair of 'gas' pliers that I got at a flea market years ago.They're just so handy for holding punches and chisels while striking them with a hammer.
Also handy for holding small bolts and rivets too.

I've made several sets of flat jawed tongs and only use them occasionally

I do use bolt tongs and v-bit tongs a lot.

I bought a couple pair of 'duckbill' tongs years ago.....thinking I would like them. I don't guess I like them, since I almost never use them.

There are those awkward pieces of a certain size that I sometimes use a glove on the left( I'm right handed)hand to hold them at the anvil.

Say....something in 1 inch round.....18 inches long.

To me , that size is just a bit unwieldy with tongs...I prefer to use my my bare hand to hold that size, but after a couple heats, the end I'm holding starts to get a little hot to handle.

You know how that residual heat is in a larger piece...you can quench it in water to cool, only to have the heat return seconds later.

So in those kind of situations, I opt for a glove.

BIG.....usually, charcoal burns up pretty quick in the forge....expecially with a strong blast of air.

Also,some coal is slow to ignite. I've never used anthracite, so I can't judge your coal...but I've heard from others that it's harder to use than bituminous types.

You might try cranking really slow to allow the coal a chance to get hot enough to ignite.

Let us know how it goes.

James

Here's a link about used motor oil that not only would make you afraid to use it as quench, but make you afraid to be around a car.....period! It's PDF and 42 pages long...........but it seems to have the science of the subject.

www.nature.nps.gov/hazardssafety/toxic/oilused.pdf

I had to pass on a nice Champion 400 blower-complete with stand,..that I found at flea market. The guy was asking $50 for it . Didn't have the money......OH WELL!!

According to Alabama's Project R.O.S.E. (recycled oil saves energy) website,
Used Motor Oil: A Problem with a Solution,......."While an automobile is running,the motor oil collects dirt,heavy metal(lead,cadmium,zinc and barium) and other things.

I also looked at some info from the American Petroleun Institute (API).

I never quite figured out whether the so-called "contaminants" are supposed to come from the engine, the gasoline, or the additives that are put in the oil itself.

The informatiion on this subject is somewhat contradictory.

On the one hand,used motor oil is considered toxic(a hazardous waste),

yet ,on the other hand,it can be re-refined into safe 'new' engine oil.....or it can even be burned in a 'properly designed' furnace to heat an office building.....or your home!

After my web surfing on this subject ,that's all I came up with.

Sam, that's good news.....he's been in my thoughts and prayers as well.
James