ianinsa

i'm glad that you found a buyer and hopefully you got a fair price?  i'm sorry to hear that you have long term complication from the stroke and i pray that it improves. being able to still cook is definitely a great boon , since my stroke i have changed the way and what i eat greatly therein bringing  new aspects and challenges  to new foods, So hang in there and try to have fun.

regards Ian

1 hour ago, ausfire said:

Good to see you posting again Ian. Funny about Biltong - not really to my taste, but I know some who like it.

If you will allow a slight digression, do you follow the cricket? I imagine we Australians are not flavour of the month over there right now. Something to do with a small square of sandpaper.

i'm not so sure it had anything to do with small or square? more like they were rubbing someone/something the wrong way..... but by Jiminy what an out cry and did they think in this day and age that no-one would see? Twits!

as for the biltong  there must be a Brazil ion ways to make it and a Brazil ion and one ways to change the taste and texture/wetness so mileage may vary .

regards Ian

2 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

It's a meaty subject.

Ian I hope he is aware of the altitude difference and has left a few days in his just arrived schedule to adjust. It's 1839 meters on the flat!

(When I worked for NRAO we had an Observatory in Hawaii where we always had issues with people coming up from sea level to the mountaintop and having altitude problems.)

wow,  and he's been with me in Johannesburg for the last few weeks at 1753 meters (on the flat) i live just below our local castle which is probably the highest point on the reef  so he probably won't have much of an issue with altitude  they don't call this the high-veld for nuttin ya know.

2 hours ago, JHCC said:

Is a "Biltong" what a smith uses to hold the stock while forging a billhook?

 no! tough Biltong is what you can get if you toughen up tungsten carbide properly 

Thanks for the input though.

Hi Glenn , thanks for posting that, we had looked at that already and i think he is quite aware as to leisure activities etc. he'll probably find the bars too  i'm thinking of things like local resident knowledge like the dollar store/ is here the best(read cheapest) laundromat is there, Pep'e 's has a half price deal on pizza on Tuesday nights if you join the "dirt bike club" they have great socials every fortnight ,Toby's superstore is a great place to get fresh fish, avoid Bobby's diner their customers are forever causing trouble with outsiders etc.  locations of good and bad food trucks and so forth. i have been most fortunate in my travels with the people i have met  and with what they have shown me and this has been about blacksmiths and so much more! Funny thing is that some of the time you don't realize/recognize the pearl for what it is, at the time. A small example of this would be I visited a smith/artist (Rheese Nimi) and his wife many years ago, when i got there he and his wife had just returned from a day of pickling (something not common here) with friends. i didn't think anything of it at the time but some years later while reminiscing i remembered and thought to give it a try? it is now a regular item in my home. so lessons learnt and friends made isn't life great!

many that come to visit here come for the smithing and yet learn about unusual foods/preparations and making Biltong the Aussies love it.

Ian

40 minutes ago, Daswulf said:

Exactly. Looks can improve with time. Use what you need to get the job done now then worry about looks later. This is about safety, not looks. 

said in the age where people buy "the brand" before they compare "the product". Safety is definitely the real issue but i can empathize with the need for it to look acceptable.  often "the Boss"(your folks) are wanting you to "take in the bigger picture" and it is perceived as the stick in the mud mindset ask your Dad if he has any sugestions that will be within your limited budget   and you might be pleasantly surprised(well i'm hoping so). Keep us informed.

hi all. i'm on the scrounge for help here!  my youngest son, now a 2 2 year old chef has found himself a job in Colorado Springs and is heading there today .He has traveled on holiday to the USA. before with his mom and I  but we have never been to that part of the world.  he has a year long employment contract  so he is set up from that point of view  etc. and i'm asking if someone would be prepared to spend an hour or two to "show him the ropes around town, that is from a locals point of view ,as i'm sure he'll otherwise get all his info from the other contract workers and getting broader spectrum of info as well as meeting locals hes always been a great boon for me! Thanks in advance Ian

WRT. keeping the media dry , for years i have had an old PAR38 150W globe  in the collection area of the cabinet the light helps you see well inside the cabinet and the heat output from that old type incandescent globe keeps the media dry during the high humidity periods,  however as previously pointed out dry air is  key!

ian

On 4/1/2018 at 9:02 PM, Charles R. Stevens said:

Mild for a Afrikaner tho... 

Calling names is not allowed on this site...... though some of my best friends are of the Afrikaans persuasion and i can pass for one i'm totally fluent despite being a true born pom! 

i went to a museum (one of many so sadly i can't give more specific info) in Chicago that had a very impressive collection of European Armour much of it Italian and i'm sure they would have a knowledgeable curator. it should be worth a bit of local research to see if they can help?

Maybe it's just in this part of the world(though i doubt it) but hose for propane/LPG/natural gas is supposed to be ORANGE I am aware that "universal" rules aren't always applicable in the USA but the rest of the world seems to manage  . Those quick couplers sure look like "el. cheapo" air units.  

So all this shows is.......YOU CAN LEAD  A MAN TO KNOWLEDGE, BUT YOU CAN'T MAKE HIM THINK!

I think Steve called it !

cool

depression is hard to beat, and it helps if you have a hand to hold that's  attached to an understanding heart. Sadly its the very ones that one tends to alienate first!

i wish you a speedy recovery and good joss!

5 hours ago, JHCC said:

μῆνιν ἄειδε θεὰ Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος

KE? and how does it go with kleftico?

all this "doom & gloom" curtesy of old Aus  so think summer, not hot but mild  

14 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

(Unless you are living in a Low Rant district...)

Thomas, please use the correct terminology its known as a rant controlled district  but of course its limited to persons that are pre 1969,

i'm glad to hear that you are on the mend!

On ‎2017‎/‎11‎/‎17 at 2:20 PM, blacksmith-450 said:

Exactly, it's probably because of the torque of an electric motor is higher than I thought a 2-3 HP motor was equivalent to a 5 HP gas engine

Here I agree with the logic! as we all "know" 100MPH is faster in a Porsche than in a Toyota!  sorry it was too easy. 

On 11/18/2017 at 1:09 PM, olfart said:

  The old game of "cops and robbers" bears no resemblance to police work today. 

dependent on location but it seems like a lot more of one and a lot less of the other!

a small suggestion here, bearing in mind that a horse racing buggy and a donkey cart are in principal the same yet there are some differences other that the "motor"  the USA is full of knowledgeable and mostly friendly and helpful folk like Steve (mostly friendly mentioned for your benefit) take the time to get to know one or two and put in the effort to go and visit(I managed it all the way from Africa) and try out and look at their kit before you build your own ! knowing where you are heading will seriously assist in finding  out what you need/want in a chariot/cart type of thing.   while there may be many ways to skin a cat your approach may vary depending on weather that "cat"is a local tabby or a Bengal tiger.

Boots even better

i seem to be missing something here? on my mcd type mill you need to press down with your foot to create the "squeeze"  and if you are breaking chains ????  the other mill "large version of jewellers mill" uses a chain and is a different animal  entirely

well firstly it's cheap i.e. couple of hours at min. wage, it comes with a 3 year (sort of cover) witch is 2 years more than most offer? and Aldi are a reputable chain so it's far from a bad deal. in the long run the motor may conc out but that would be a doddle to change out and upgrade and it will certainly beat a hand held B&D drill.

A fine bit of work!

I'm saying this somewhat tongue in cheek but if you changed the order of the letters  your site would probably attract more traffic

Well Jerry I hope "your" RV lives up to it's potential  and as for the grate spacing I have always used the one and a half thumb width spacing,  not  exactly scientific but it's always worked well for me using both hard and soft  woods  sized from sticks to logs. BTW. if the R V has a basement could you convert it to a wine cellar?

regards Ian