SLAG

Kaylee Look up Charlotte, & Rashell, on this IFI site. They post regularly, know their stuff, and have years of smithing experience. Also check out Lorilei Sim's book for blacksmith beginners, & more advanced smiths. (title The Backyard Blacksmith). Also, welcome to the site there are tons of good information, here, and many wonderful ideas, Do check out the stickies, while you learn. Best wishes. SLAG.

Gentlemen and ladies, There is no need to take the "school of hard knocks" road & reinvent the wheel. The whole procedure is outlined at the following web address. The content of that article is completely correct. http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-restore-cast-iron-pans-20151006-story.html I speak from experience. (I have been cooking Oriental and Southeast Asian quisine), as a hobby, for 40 plus years. A good cast iron pan should last many generations, when properly maintained. Bacon grease is not the best seasoning oil. It will it's flavor in all subsequent cooking. Also, a lye treatment, should be done only once, if at all. That is once , you buy the pan at a church sale, yard sale, flea market, estate sale. etc. The more rusted or cruddied up the pan, the cheaper the cost. (I bought a number 9 large pan for fifty cents. Treated it until it looked as good as new and still usr it after 25 years of good service). Get several of them. I suggest you reserve one of them, expressly for omelets. I use another for standard cooking, and one for vegetarian dishes. Do check the above web site and follow its instructions. It will save you a lot of time seasoning and using the pan. Cheers, SLAG.

Mr. Frosty, Do keep on ranting. I learn a lot from your posts on IFI. The latest secret knowledge in Washington D. C. is friend's & trusted acquaintance's referral's of the names of qualified trades' people that are competent, capable, & worthy of trust. Professional people are overabundant & easily available. (read Doctors, Lawyers, Accountants, Architects, etc. etc.). very good plumbers, electricians, handymen and women are very hard to come by. Many people in other cities have the same problem. Some experienced plumbers earn as much as junior Lawyers these days. SLAG. '

Frosty & Rashelle, Please don't blame today's kids for not taking to black smithing, & metal & woodwork, etc. etc. They are not exposed to it. Years ago (1950's & earlier) "industrial arts" (a.k.a. "sloyd") was a subject taught to all the boys in high school, (Montreal, Quebec, Canada). Today, I do not think that any of the high schools teach it. Perhaps because of the cost of the shops & instructors, or the fear of legal liability. Hence young people may know little about these arts. That early exposure stayed with me all these years & now that I am retired I finally have the time to do serious metal work & wood carving Cheers. SLAG.

Japanese traditional tool makers (i.e. hand forged), produce many specialized implements for gardening. Two sources for ideas may be gleaned form, the Japan Tool catalogue which can be had from a Woodcraft store. (you have to ask for it, specifically, as it is not usually displayed at the counter). You will be surprised at the various specialty items available for sale. There are also many beautiful. well-made specialty gardening tools displayed in the Lee Valley tool catalogue. High quality expensive tools that are built to last to, at least, your grandchildren and great grandchildren's generation. The Lee Valley catalogue has specialty tools form manufacturers form all over the World. (no "Chinese" race to the bottom, flimsy garbage" there}. The targeted audience are very serious gardeners & they are usually well to do. Perfect for a blacksmith's hand wrought creations. There are, also. many similar gardening tool sellers. A google search should ferret them out. Cheers. SLAG.

Steve, acetone is found in nail polish remover. It is an extremely common solvent and it is used for all manner of purposes. It can be hazardous and poisonous. Let me hazard a guess as to why it seems to be difficult to obtain it in New York. Acetone is an essential ingredient in the explosive T.A.T.P. (known as tri-acetate tri-peroxide). A peculiar explosive recently in vogue with radical Islamist terrorists Most of the recent terrorists' atrocities (in the last 10 or 15 years) have used it They call it "mother of Satan" because it very frequently blows up when it is being made or stored. The stuff is hard to detect as it does not have any nitrate or nitro groups in its molecule. Sniffer dogs have to be specially trained to detect it. SLAG

The legal situation in Canada is very different from the U.S. for cases of negligence. The number of such cases is much lower in Canada. Some reasons are; there is Medicare in all Provinces. Which means that patients are not stuck with ruinous medical costs after medical care &/or a hospital stay. so there is less pressure to sue a lawyer to recover such expenses. Canada & most other common law countries (except the U.S) have the law of costs, which allows the judge to compel the losing party to pay the other party's court and lawyer costs. The judge alone has that discretion There are several levels of such awarded costs & it is also up to the judge's discretion. Frivolous legal cases are severely dealt with by the Provincial bar & the court. In extreme cases it can result in a lawyer's disbarment, or the awarded costs to be, paid by lawyer (& not his client) It's rare but it happens. By all means, have your students sign a waiver, but make sure that that person understands the meaning of the waiver The law recognizes that certain activities have inherent danger. A person is deemed to accept those by engaging in that activity. For example, professional hockey players. etc. (they get additional insurance to cover that contingency) But have your people sign such a waiver. That waiver must be in writing. A verbal waiver is worthless. Also, minors cannot sign a waiver. A waiver, also, will not save the defendant if the problem is a case of gross negligence. Get in touch with a local law school and ask someone for advice or where to find that information for this area of law. Or contact the Alberta Attorney General’s office and ask them about it. they have to give some information, because ignorance of the law is no good defense. This discussion does not apply in the U.S.A. as American law is very different from Canadian law SLAG.

Mikey & Kathy, You are in our list of prayers and intentions. Especially this Easter Evening Vigil night tonight. Take care & hang in there. SLAG & Marg.

Charcoal is cleaner than bituminous coal. But charcoal does not get the forge hot enough to forge weld. But you can forgo that frolic for now while you do a lot of good smithing.Lorelei Sim's book and Alex Bealer's tome are worth buying. Get to reading .The information there will save you time. Also You tube has many smithing demonstrations, And check out the books that can be downloaded for free, here and at many other sites. The old books are still very good for most things in smithing. SLAG.

Brandon check bamsite.org and scroll down to the bottom left side of the page and check out coal stations They sell 50 lb. for $14 (for members) & $12 if buyer picks it up. Dawn Mo. is, I think, northeast of Kansas City Mo. The meet up is happening in early April. Regards, SLAG

Brandon welcome aboard. Type in bamsite.org, & press enter and also google the bam face book page. Bam is the Blacksmiths Association of Missouri. You'll get contacts & info. like sources for coal etc. They are having a get together in Dawn, Mo. very soon. SLAG (newly in St. Louis)

Thomas you are correct and I was wrong. (a senior moment?) Flax yields linen fiber linseed oil. Hemp is another plant, as you pointed out, Sorry folks, and especially Mr. Stevens. Hemp does yield a very strong fiber that was extensively used in the 1700' and 1800's. and was outlawed in the 1930's in the U.S.A. and most other developed countries. All that because some strains of the plant produce T.H.C. (tetrahydrocannabinol) the active ingredient of marijuana .Cheeers. SLAG.

Linseed oil is technically a vegetable oil. It is derived from the flaxseed plant. The same plant whose fiber is used in very sturdy cloth, & also paper. The resin & leaves, from certain varieties yields cannabis. (a.k.a. GASP!, marijuana). Flaxseed oil is the main binder in artists' oil paints. It will eventually dry (and oxidize ) to form a hard durable surface. The oil can dry more quickly if drying agents are added to the oil. (a.k.a. siccatives, like cobalt salts etc.) The boiled linseed oil, at the hardware store. usually has such drying agents in it. Never use such oils on food utensils, such as wooden spatulas, butcher blocks etc.) Mineral oil is not a vegetable oil. It is made from petroleum products. Therefor it will not become rancid. But it never really dries, so wipe it off if you feel that the surface feels oily. Use a rag for that.. Living in a very humid or coastal area enhances rust in steel (or iron tools). A real problem. Varnishing the steel gives some protection for tools that are seldom used. Yes the varnished surface will wear or burn off. But such tools can easily be re-varnished. Tools in constant use are less likely to rust. SLAG.

Buzz, Thank you for your recent answer. It is much appreciated. I know that reposting your "portable hole answer with pictures could become tiresome. My excuse is that my library will be coming out of storage shortly. (I had a nine year hiatous from smithing, due to a messy divorce, costly settlement & international move). Mr. Frosty please do not apologize, your input here is invaluable for me and many others at I.F.I. If had to pay a dollar for every mistake I have made, I would need three incarnations to pay it off. ( a little like some of the debt load many college students owe). Cheers. SLAG.

Is there a picture or drawing of a "portable hole" somewhere. On the net or in a book? I checked out the Aspery site, that you indicated, and did not see it. Mister. Stuart Smith, what weight do the Big anvil size category start at? I thank you all for, any answers to my questions. Cheers SLAG.

Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery. we've added you to our list of intentions. SLAG, and Marg.

To me it looks like a link in an enormous charm bracelet. " I'm just sayin." SLAG.

unadulterated and un-chemically treated canola oil should not be toxic .unless the user has an allergy to the oil or develops one. (canola oil was once known as rape seed oil.) Untreated organic oils (canola, peanut, olive, etc.) will eventually go rancid. that is, oxidize. Rancid oil smells very bad, is often cloudy and should not be used again. So store the oil in air tight containers. Keeping it at low temperature also helps, & try an old chefs' trick. Put a lot of vitamin E gel capsules in it. Vitamin E is an anti-oxidant, which inhibits oxidation. Peanut oil has the highest smoke point, that is the temperature when the oil starts to smoke. And NEVER use quench old oil to fry French fries. SLAG.

Our prayers & intentions to all in Louisiana. SLAG & Marg.

All my sympathy & condolences to all her friends, and family. SLAG.

Mull over the past:: mortgage the future. SLAG.

Drink often, it leaves less for others to abuse. SLAG

I & Margaret have you in our prayers, and intentions, for a successful surgery, a rapid recovery and a happy and painless future. God bless you , Dan

SLAG I have used several layers of fiberglass windings, situated under the head (about 3 to 4 inches long). If the number of windings is not excessive, you can see through them to check for cracks or breaks. (providing that the tape is not too banged up. ) I would do it in a well ventilated space, as the resin can be pretty exotic. Fiberglass has worked for me Tandy leather sells scrap leather by weight. And they let the buyer select the scrap pieces he wants. Regards, SLAG.

old barn and forge, mention histoplasmosis to your doctor. Histoplasmosis is a systemic fungus disease that is rare but it is found in the Mississippi river valley & the St. Lawrence river valleys. (read places like Montreal and also St. Louis). Rare it is but it is very serious. The fungus (Histoplasma capsulata) is found in places like barns, growing in chicken manure. The fungus may be rare and dead but the spores, are viable for decades. They fly into the air when the ground & old manure are disturbed. It is remotely possible that you inhaled it, got infected and the quick reaction when you returned to the barn/smithy, was an immune response. Your doctor can test for the disease, It is unlikely that you have it. But checking for it is important because it can be very serious. The faster you find out the better the prognosis The chances are that you do not have the fungus, but checkit out. Most doctors, in North America, are not familiar with this disease. I realize that you are probably not in the Mississippi valley, but why take a chance? I am not spouting crap. I worked with the organism (at the Royal Victoria Hospital, of McGill U}., years ago. Lived in Montreal for decades, and recently moved to St. Louis. Good luck & happy smithing for many years to come. SLAG. Slag here ,half the post disappeared. sorry for that