ianinsa

Great thread, final result looks good.If you have a fly press and use similar tooling it will take a lot of pt out of this. good work
Ian

That Boy is a classic
Thanks Ian

Good looking stuff! I think your prices are a tad on the low side and the $50 was a give away! I sujest that you either emboss or etch your name and a number in your work and add 25% 'Rory May' is also quite catchy.
My $0.02 cents worth.
Ian

Great looking work!
Ian

Hi Dave,
Brilliant video! thanks.
Ian

Hi Mike,
We do quite a bit af work in 316 and bespite our country being on the metric system most items are imperial as the largest users worldwide of 316 apears to be the petrochem industry and they still operate in imperial so little has changed. When I need 50mm tube not 52mm I import directly from China, it is surprisingly inexpensive and you can get it in any finish you want no extra charge. The cost of shipping a container is only about $1800 so depending on the quantities you need its quite cost effective. If this is an option for you. Should this be of interest relpy as such and I can e-mail you tarif codes etc.(these differ depending on product longidudinaly welded etc.) so you can check what duty is payable on your side.It's a relatively simple process and I can guide you if you like? Another "win" is that you can add in other things i.e. induction heaters, into your container that sweeten the deal.
Ian

I recon you've got great toys there, I'm just green with envy. good pics too, Thanks.Pity about the 'extra'chalenges though.
Ian

You know of course that a great was to stop bananas from getting overripe is to get a teenage boy in the house, my wife buys them green and if they are too green to eat our son and his mates just make smoothies with them. The stands do look nice though.
Ian

Just a thought, to try on one of your 'scrap' spheres, drywall screws have a good 'drill point'' try chopping off the head of one and using the front in the drill chuck as a drill bit to do the initial peirce. Possibly worth a try as they wont break the same way a bit will.
Ian

Those are inspirational gates, you should be and I'm sure you are proud! Good stuff!
Ian

Frosty,
Are you fixing up junked tanks for Sadam's boys as a sideline?
Please post pictures it sounds interesting, I would consider coming over there just to have a decco! Long swim though.

Joshua,
I can't overemphasise the importance of a good sub base as all load is transfered to it. If you live in a cold climate pex tubing in the floor is a must. With a bit of inventiveness you could rig up a burner using the principals op a propane/used oil burner under a donkey tank thus little opperating cost.
If your sub base is well done(think of well compacted sub base as '85%extra concrete at 20%the cost) and you must use load bearing insulation, (and you don't intend fixing tanks)3" with ref 193 mesh should be plenty.

Beautiful,Beautiful, Beautiful knife!---- nuf said.
Ian

Thanks Dave,
That's a brilliant video and good looking work!
We would apreciate More!!!
Ian

Looks good, nice tool, Thanks for sharing.
Ian

Indeed. Not such a fable, maybe.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/science/11obfable.html?_r=1

When we were kids we would drill a hole using a hole saw about the size of a monkeys hand in the side of a large plastic bucket, put bricks inside for weight and cover with a board. Put corn,sunflower seed what have you on top as bait. Cover the top of the bucket with chicken wire so the monkeys can't just go in from the top. The monkey puts his hand in, grabs a handful of corn and cant get his full hand out. You then come out of hiding and hose the monkey down. To coin a phrase they go "frikin Ape" very funny for kids this. However when you have done this 2 or 3 timesthey don't put their hand in the hole in the side of the bucket anymore, they call some mates to help tip the bucket over, smart little critters those! And they teach the rest of the tribe so the trick doesn't work for years afterwards.
Ian

I believe that if you take the general area where heavy equipment will be located and your 'driveway'(internal route for forklift etc.)and put down hardcore(crushed bricks, clean rubble etc.) and compact it well(95%mod ahsto)(very, very firm), i.e. rent a whacker rammer for a day it will be money well spent. Then put mesh in your slab to prevent cracking.
With a well compacted sub base a 3" 25mpa slab should be suficient for most purposes. Don't be tempted to add 'extra' cement into your concrete mix 'to strengthen' it as it also makes it more likely to crack with vibration. When your shop is sut up you can always cut free a 'raft' section providing that you have a well compacted sub base.
Ian

Half the problem with drilling copper is it's fast heat absorbtion and resultant expantion. It is inclined to bind the bit, we add a dolop of non-abrasive hand cleaner at the hole spot this acts as a coolant and lubricant and it should solve the problem!
Ian

Hi David,
I recon the file is the way to go. I just want others to consider the fact that sometimes the fire is to warm the chilli beans and not the human beans. You could also mahe the brooch head from a forged file(or sim.)and the pin from RR spike. Post some pics. please.
Good luck Ian

Larry, that's a damm fine gift.
And you know you also know what can happen if someone looks a gift coathook in the bracket.
Ian

A pleasure, I recon if one has the right bag you could 'soak' stuborn parts in paint stripper the same way.
Ian

Hi All,
Just had an Ah Ha moment(these days more of Oh xxxx than Ah Ha) so felt I should share!
For easy if slow derusting I normally use vinegar, particularly for complicated/intricate parts. This morning I was short on the quantity of vinegar required to cover a largish complicated assembly.
It fitted in a 20L(5gal)bucket but I only had 3L of vinegar then 'AH HA moment' I put the item in a plastic bag and placed it in the bucket. I suspended the top of the bag and poured the vinegar into the bag, then added water to the bucket. The displacement effect has now got the part surrounded with about 6mm(1/4")of vinegar and raising/lowering the level of water in the bucket changes the surround effect. I'm sure this idea has numerous applications and has probably been used in many ways, but I thought I should share. :)

Hi Dave,
Nice looking work so far.
A common trend for blacksmiths today is to "scrounge" and to "junkyard mine" it is a usefull skill to acuire early on! If you are near industrial areas consider asking at pipe fitters, fire sprinkler installers and large plumbers for "less than prime" fittings and pieces of pipe, they often have virtually new stuff that they have taken out or was incorectly installed
in their "could be usefull" pile that they will often let go for a song if asked
good luck !
Ian

I have some spare stuff, will you pay UPS?
Nice tool rack!
Ian

Very concise and informative, great post . Thanks.
Ian

Congratulation Mate!It looks great and I'm glad you won.
I'm sure you have already asked to put on a makers plate, you have already got one lead from this and hopefully you will get many more.
Ian