wassomeoneelse

Coming home from Tannehill earlier this month I found a recycling center. They had about 18 old wagon rims for sale. Picked up a few just for something to spend my money on. Got home and cut one of them in half. Broke it apart and it was wrought iron. Went back and bought all 15 that were left for a really good price. So far out of 9 that I have cut up, 7 of them are wrought iron. This really surprices me because I was always told that rims were not wrought iron. The last photo shows the metal that was not determined to be wrought iron. I will spark test it and do a water quench to try to figure out what type of metal it may be. The size of the rims is 2-4 inches wide, 3/8-1/2 inch in thickness and the smallest rim I found was a minimum of 9ft 6 inches in diameter.

Found this while looking under blacksmith site: craigslist.org tonight. Too far away for me to take advantage of or to inquire about. BLACKSMITH ANVIL ANVILS FOR SALE

Well, it makes me glad in one way to know that the items we all suffer after is OUT THERE! Just to darn bad it is in other peoples hands. Thomas... you say that guy has over 500 anvils? Wow! I have four anvils and it took a lot of wheeling, dealing, trading up, and saving up for those. but I can honestly say that not one of them weights over 175 lbs. I only use one at a time though. Everytime I think about selling one of the two that I havent built stands for, it just seems like "one day" I might need them. But 500 is a bit much. As far as an anvil poor area, I thought I was in one, but then it just took a lot of time before I made that hit. I asked everyone I knew and still do to this day. You never know what a stranger might have. I do have my eyes on a 25 lb Beaudry power hammer that a friend of mine ran across in a state that connects to LA. I will find out in the next couple of weeks if he was able to pick it up. We are hoping less than $600 will buy it. If not, I can wait a few years. Anyway, I am going to bed now. Got to go to work then drive to Batson's tomorrow evening. You guys take care this weekend.

A local buddy of mine was telling me about a power hammer that had been sitting up unused at a local area in Port Allen, LA last month. So, me being the scrounger that I am... went driving trying to determine where it could be. As luck would have it, I didnt see it. Being frustrated, I told my other friend about it. He determined that there was only one place in that area it could be. Local landmarks being left out of this piece due to better scroungers than me that can figure it out...LOL! I receive a phone call from him this morning, as luck would have it... I met up with him and we went over to the place we believed had this mysterious power hammer. Drove up and went inside. All I can say is WOW! The gentleman owned a machine shop on this piece of property that you would not think was being used anymore. I promise that you all would be drooling at the mouth over what this guy had. He had about 15 different milling machines outside in various stages of rust, 10 inside that I know from the wolf spider threads all on them had not been used in years. To make a long story short, he had two nice forges with great looking firepots in them attached to electric buffalo forge blowers outside in the weather, two large peter wright anvils inside, assorted kilns, and tons of tool steel cutoffs just stacked to the ceiling. Let me see, he also had a very large wrought iron anchor that was about 15 feet long just laying in the weeds. I mean it was beautiful. Just to see that was pretty cool. But to top it off, outside, motor attached, beautiful beast it was... A nazel 300lb power hammer. That thing started this whole mess. A hint, a tease, a rumor of being out there. Then to get bombarded with all the steel, iron, goodies, anchor, anvils, tool steel and cast offs. Then on top of that, the guy wouldnt sale a dang thing. I left broken hearted. So, to make up for our dissapointment. We went down the RR tracks and looked around. What is so heartbreaking about this? The guy doesnt use any of the anvils, forges, or power hammer and has no plans on using any of it. I am sure that this isnt the first time this has been talked about on here. Oh well, I am going to Batson's tomorrow. Have a few places lined up to visit tha might make up for today's dissapoinment. I do understand it is the guy's to do with as he pleases. He can sell or not sell. The main point of this post is to just put it out there and see if anyone else has ran into this before? I did leave my number with him in case he changes his mind. But I will be the first to say, I cannot afford, do not have the room or place for that power hammer. But I know people who do. Thanks for letting me rant, Bryan

Army National Guard/Reserve 1989-Current. Four MOS currently held. Infantry, NBC, Transportation and Munitions. Two tours in Iraq. Bryan

Sjeane, I just responded to your email. I had to look where Evans, LA is at. I would estimate that you are 1.5-2 hours from Lafayette, LA where LAMA is based out of. You are 2-2.5 from Baton Rouge, LA. Kinda far to drive for a GBA meeting. But I can offer you a ride if you wanna meet me in Baton Rouge. We all take turns driving each month to save gas. If your interested in knives, there is a Master Bladesmith over near where you live by the name of Tim Pochiet. Really nice guy. Great bladesmith. I sent you my number. Call me if you have any more questions. Hope you can make it to one of the meetings. Bryan

They actually had there yearly "Bangin on The Bayou" meeting this last weekend. I wasnt able to attend, but a good friend of mine, Wayne Cash, was able to attend and said it was a good time. Demonstrators were Chris Marks and Jim Wallace. There are two blacksmithing groups here in LA. LAMA,the one you were inquiring about and Gulfcoast Blacksmith Association. GBA is in the process of updating there website. LAMA's current website is LAMA,Louisiana Metalsmiths Association, Blacksmiths, metalsmiths, Louisiana, Non-profit, metal, artmetal, crafts, arts and crafts For more details on meetings and such, please send me an email at wassomeoneelse at yahoo dot com and I will get that information for you. We do have a meeting coming up this weekend with GBA. Thanks, Bryan

I will tell him.

I hope this is not posting in the wrong area. If so, please accept my apologies before hand. I just know how hard it is to get that first anvil, blower, forge, etc. I have been blessed with an abundance of friends that always are looking out for me when it comes to blacksmithing leads on anvils and stuff like that. I just wish I had the funds to purchase them all. I was talking to Jerry over in the Lafayette, LA about how hard it is to find a large swage block. He mentioned a name of a man where I am from (Baton Rouge, LA) that has a ton of blacksmithing items that were for sale. I was a little skeptical at first, so I called Pete and started talking to him about what he had and so on and so forth. So, went over to his shop this past Monday and my jaw is still being operated on, it came unhinged when he opened his door. I forgot to mention that I do know Pete. He is a member of the Gulfcoast Blacksmithing Association. I went thru his items and picked out quite a few things for myself that I have been waiting patiently for. Anyway, to make a long story short, the deal is this.... Pete has about 10-12 anvils ranging in the 100 to 200 range, 15ish blowers, 8 forges in various stages repair, a pexto plate, various tin smithing stakes, 8 post vices, and about 20 various types of wall mounted drill presses, and two metal shears. He has everything that he wants to get started in blacksmithing and is looking to get rid of some of these items. I know that a lot of people lately have been looking for these items. If you live around here in MS, LA or willing to travel, Pete is looking at getting rid of some of these items soon. In no way, shape or form am I getting anything out of this. Just thought it might be a good way of paying some of you guys back from all the reading that I do on this forum. I have talked to Pete and have his permission to take pictures if anyone is interested. Send me a pm and I will get back with you. Thanks, Bryan

Contact me at wassomeoneelse@yahoo.com or call me at 225-892-8117. I can give you his contact information. Thanks, Bryan

I have to second what was written above about Nathan. Nathan makes a quality hammer in a variety of styles. I have 7 different hammers that he has made and they are both well made and comfortable. I have also had the pleasure of meeting Nathan and talking with him on the phone several times. He is giving a hammer class in Lafayette, LA on the 13 of December at the local university. I plan on attending and look forward to it. Thanks Bryan

Nice to see the photos of how you both solved the problem of mounting it. I bought a base plate for the KMG and mounted the motor right to it. So the motor is flush with the grinder itself. Plenty of room to work around for right now. I will have to post some pics of it.

I was given two pieces of hydraulic cylinder from a machine shop here in Baton Rouge, LA. Both pieces were chromed and were 1050. I looked at the paperwork the lady had when they were ordered. So, 1045 is pretty close. Of course, it does not mean all cylinders are 1045 or 1050. But hope this information can help you. Bryan

Just had to post my KMG that I have a had for a few weeks. Felt like I took two steps back for every step forward that I took be it running 220 to my garage, paying for all the dang electric wire, or trying to properly hook up the VFD to the motor and getting it to work. And the sad thing is it was my own fault lol. I learned a lot from running two 220 lines to my garage, wiring the motor, installing an electrical box, installing additional lighting in the garage, wiring the VFD to the motor, and installing outlets. The most horrible thing I did was drill right into the main 6/3 romex wire with my drill while drilling two holes for the 10/3 romex that was running from the box to my two outlets. No wonder only one side of the plugin was reading 110. I redid it and it all works now. I want to thank everyone on this forum who has contributed by telephone or by responding to my posts over the last year. I can honestly say that at times it was very frustrating but in the end it is all worth having a good grinder to work with. The only thing left to do is to install a bracket to mount the VFD to and to build a rolling table to put the grinder on. :)

Here is a link to a website machinist forum website that has some really good information on the champion 400 blower. Hope it can help you out. Help Please Champion Blower - Practical Machinist

Well after trying to make that big solid number ten wires stay in those little plates that are under the screws, I went back to the hardware store and bought some number 12 cord. It is more flexible and actually has many little copper wires instead of one big one. I am putting a little crimp thingie on the end that slides right around the screw. Fits perfect and is not hard to mess with at all. On the feed from the vfd to the motor I bought 20 ft of number 12 wire rated up to 600 volts. I am doing the same thing with those. Sure seems easier to handle now. THanks for the idea on if the motor is spinning backwards. Thanks, Bryan

After getting home this afternoon, I looked closer at the wires coming out of the motor. I found a diagram on the side of the motor that has two pictures, one of high power and one of low power. After seeing that, I noticed that all the wires have a number on them. After comparing the way they were taped up together to the diagram. I figured they were configured for high power. Since it is a three phase motor running with a VFD, I have configured it to low power since the power running to the vfd is 220. There are a total of nine wires coming out of it. Three of them you just tape up together and the other 6 are situated into pairs. At least from the way it is reading to me. Bryan

I am in the process of wiring up my KMG with a 2hp/3phase Baldor motor. I was able to pick up a Baldor VFD over the past weekend and am unsure how to wire it. I have read the booklet that comes with it and have wired it up initially. The power cord will be 10/2 with ground romex wire. I have the blank wire in the ground slot and the white in one side and black in the other. In the second side of the VFD, I have a neutral/ground slot on the left and three slots on the right of it. I am running 10/3 wire to those and from there to the motor. From looking at the picture of the motor, that is only loose wires hanging out. One is green and the rest are white. I believe there are three white wires coming out of the housing. Any comments will be appreciated. I am unsure of what to do with the 10/3 wire hooked up to the motor. Do I just hook all three hots to the three whites coming out? Am I overlooking something? THanks Bryan

Hey guys, after reading this post and realized that I had to chime in. I have recently used molasses and water to remove rust from several blowers that I was working on. I used one gallon of molasses to 20 gallons of water. I let it brew for about two weeks. After the smell got good and bad I just set the items in there for several weeks and forgot about them. This isnt a process you use if your in a hurry. Once I pulled them out, all the rust was removed. After about 15 minutes, a light coating of rust appeared. Hindsight, I should have rubbed it down with baking soda or something similiar. It stinks really bad and I mean really bad. Wear long gloves when handling it, no amount of washing, mojo, grease cutter, etc will remove the lingering scent of it from your hands before you are able to go to sleep. The wife will put you on the couch. It doesnt burn you hands or anything like that. Also, do not pour it out on your grass, it will kill it. Maybe used for weed killing along fencelines, lol. Hope this helps Bryan

This lead is in Southern California. A long trip from LA. THe lady should be sending me some more photos when she gets the time. Just trying to determine if it is worth the trouble. Thanks for all the responses. If I decide that it is not going to be cost effective for me, I will spread the word on how to contact her. And of course I plan on posting the pics she sends me. Thanks

In this picture, the item centered in the photo is one of several items that a lady wants to get rid of. It will be a bulk buy. Father was a blacksmith, metal worker according to her. All the items in the photo will be part of the sale. I have several more photos that she is suspose to send. Just curious if you can help me with description, approximate weight, etc. Thanks, Bryan

Ok, now I follow up with the three post vice that need work, did I say work? A lot of work as in parts lol. One of them you will notice has a little hole for the screw instead of a large opening that I associate with most post vices. If anyone has ever seen this style, etc please feel free to enlighten me on the maker, where its made, etc. Another one says Pittsburgh and then OHN Wetherell.

Had to show off the three post vices we cleaned up and got most of the rust off of. We finished it with a little spray bottle of rust converter stuff. Makes it look kinda glazy. I doubt we paint them. From left to right..... First one weights in at 42 lbs Unknown Maker Second weights 80 lbs Unknown maker, has a peg bolt to hold the legs together. From my research, this type is a little older than the ones with a square nut. Enlighten me please. Third one weights 55 lbs (I thought it would be heavier)! It is also a Columbian Hardware model.

RFunk... my buddy and I have dicussed this same concept. I would love to make a box screw that matches what others originally came with, but at the same time, I do need to be practical about it. I think with the right acme nut welded into the hole as a guide and a another behind it might actually work. I would need to figure out how to put a knob and handle on the end. Nothing gorilla welding wont fix, but I am just itching to see if I can do it. The instructions basically say to forge metal around the screw and do another sheet 2/3 rds the length over the first sheet. put two pieces of metal to stop it from turning on the first sheet of metal where the second piece didnt cover. Then wrap the screw with a long piece of metal that you have forged to fit inbetween the screws. Screw that in the box and take out. Then pour brass in there, flux and heat.. Pretty simple sounding but much more to it than that.

I recently purchased several legvises, all in good repair as far as the legs go. Two of them need to have screw boxes made to fit the main screws that we believe came with them. I have searched high and low and talked with several local blacksmiths about this and none really have any ideas except to just look for old leg vices and pillage and plunder them if I need too. I really would like to have those screw boxes made by me or have made (high cost) so I am not ruining another post vice. I hope you can understand what I mean by that. Anvilmag has a four part series on the web that goes over making and restoring most items on the leg vise except for the legs. Is anyone familiar with this process? If you have ran into this problem before, how did you make the leg vise work for you? That can mean no screw or screw box. Any suggestions, parts, ideas, etc. would be appreciated. I do believe we will try this at least once. But I would like to hear from you guys and girls first before I decide on a course of action. Thanks, Bryan Arnold