SLAG

Dr. Powers, I could not resist this. What's for dinner? Apologies & regards. SLAG. P.S. Your's is wayyy bigger than mine.

A 400 pound anvil should do a quick job of sucking the heat out of a forged chunk of heated iron or steel. That size anvil makes sense if your power hammer is large, and you, ideally, have a striker or two, and the cost of forge fuel is not an issue. Just cogitating and saying. SLAG.

Mrs. Dolores & Lisa have been added to our prayer list. Best wishes. Slag & Marg.

Marg & I , Are with you. Prayers now & at evening mass, & beyond Hang in there, SLAG.

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. Ralph Waldo Emerson. SLAG.

Frosty, Great news. Prayers continue. SLAG.

Dr. Thomas Powers has most probably provided THE answer to my problem, as usual. I am very tempted to pop the control key off of the keyboard. But my beloved spouse would probably kill me. Marg!!! I was just kidding, honest. SLAG.

Trolling through the trade marks register, is a fun way of encountering all manner of lovely names that we would not have thought of otherwise. Don't copy them, just modify a good name or phrase to your purpose and run with it. The register is at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office web site. Just my suggestion,. no royalties, and no charge. SLAG. My browser has just changed my font yet again. It has no mind and never asks permission. Isn't Microsoft wonderful?!?!?!

DSW, Outstanding! Great reference, great read. SLAG.

Frosty, Marg & I have Deb & you to our list of intentions. Lots of prayers coming your way. Medications should forfend future ischemic episodes. atience and loving care work wonders. SL

I strongly suggested that you consider contacting the charcoal seller and manufacturer. Selling arsenical contaminated material is illegal. It is definitely a health hazard. (arsenic ingestion has been implicated in numerous types of cancers. Copper is also toxic. Your inquiry should elicit alarm bells, with them. Even if they offer excuses to you. If they are not responsive or do not seem to care, make your concerns known to the Federal health people. ( I do not know what they are officially called in Denmark). Chromated copper acetate is probably banned in the E. C., & Denmark, and has been so for a long time. Saving some of the charcoal, in question, is a good move. Some of these folks may wish to have it analyzed. Regards, to all. SLAG.

A good source for checking out "smithing magician" die ideas can be seen online. SLAG.

Glenn, That sounds like the concept of entropy. For example, a calculus differential equation can usually be worked back to the original equation by the operation of integration. (the calculus integration function), but the constant of the original equation is lost for ever. That is just one example of entropy. SLAG. P. S. I could not make that up: just ask Newton or the Leibnitz family, if you can find them. Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth. Albert Einstein. SLAG.

B M U Scotty, It's not often that I run into a "new" , concept. I suspect that many of us notice this effect in the second or third decade of life. It can be encountered just about any where. And we spend a lot of effort working around the nuisances generated by those afflicted. I had no idea that it had a name, & has been studied and published in the scientific press. Thank you for this wonderful tit bit of information. SLAG. The beginning of wisdom arrives when we realize how little we know, & begin to remedy the situation. SLAG.

BGD, Has most of the knives Flexcraft makes. Impressive. They sell a three knife beginners set. Also, a chip carvers' set, micro carving set, a scorp set, and others. The first set is a good place to start. Try them out. See what you think, carve for a while, and then make your own knives. Most specialty woodworking stores sell them. The blades are very high quality spring steel, and will last a very long time. But they are not cheap. Woodcraft, here, puts the knives on sale fairly frequently. If you have six to nine months to spare you can catch one of those sales. Nota Bene,I do NOT have any financial, or any other interest in the company, None at all! Just saying. SLAG.

Stanstead Quebec is not far from the Shelburne, Vermont museum. That museum has a very large collection of old tools, including blacksmithing tools. They published at least one well illustrated book on the subject. Check their website &, also, perhaps one of the I. F. I. smiths can check that reference for it. My book is presently in storage. Salut, SLAG.

Mr. DesOrm., Permit me to hazard a guess as to the tong's function. I think the prongs at the end of both reins are fashioned to grasp the edges of a band of steel, and the flange tab situated further up the one rein is a follower that grasps the edge at the end of a circular object such as the top and bottom of a cylindrical object such as a barrel. Check out the flange of a hand operated can opener. A smith or cooper could follow the curve while bending the hot strap, pull it off when then the metal was bent then join the two ends together, let the metal cool and fit the hoop onto the barrel and hammer it down to snugly seat the hoop on the barrel staves. SLAG.

The Smithsonian Institution, (in Washington), has a "department" dedicated to determining the identity and use of obscure tools . Google them and send them your pictures of the tongs. If they help you, please let us know what the tool is used for. I am certain it is not used for tonsillectomies. Too big, way too big. That department has pictures of tools that have mystified them. Perhaps some of us smiths can help them too. Regards, SLAG. does the peg on one rein fit between the two prongs on the other rein when the reins are closed together?

Scalpel blades are great for scoring lines in wood. But they are too flimsy for prying motions. There is a certain amount of prying when carving wood. I mean lateral movement (side by side movement). The scalpel blade is too thin to stand up to that. Therefor the spine should be mere substantial. I had a scalpel blade snap in half, at the base, while carving. Fortunately, It missed my face and eyes. The spine should be tempered to fairly soft, and the blade to about straw or full yellow. Check out Flexcraft carving tool handles. Their handles are very comfortable, with the convex curve where fingers grasp the knife. SLAG.

Some folks need immortalizing. He qualifies. Sorry I never ran into him. SLAG.

I suggest that you have a quick look through Alexander Weyger's book the Complete Modern Blacksmith for an interesting method. Especially. check out his section on making a large roughing gouge and, if I remember correctly, finger gouges for bowl turning work. He was a wood sculptor first and an excellent smith. SLAG.

kT.P. Are the T.S.A. folks into hobby farming? Ammonium nitrate and potassium nitrates are popular, well known fertilizers. I had no idea that they were aspiring green thumbs? Maybe even all thumbs. I will definitely remember and tale your advice before I set foot on an airplane. Thanks, yet again, for your invaluable counsel. Got to get back to work. The spouse cometh. SLAG.

Magnesium chloride releases less chloride into the ground than other chloride salts When used as a deicer it also works to as low as minus 14 f. Has anyone, on this site, used that chemical to stabilize a dirt or sand or cement floor. Avoid ammonium nitrate and sodium nitrate. These two salts actively attack cement. and masonry. SLAG.

120% rebound makes the ball bearing a perpetual motion machine. Just sayin. Regards , SLAG.

Das, Wonderful work. Very impressive. But how did you get the beast to look like the spitting image of my EX. ??? Amazing! Regards, SLAG.