yves

A nice little commission. A garden structure for flowers to climb on. http://yvesforge.blogspot.ca/2013/04/flowers-and-plants-setem-up-ladies.html The garden business (climbers like this one, plant holders, braces, etc.) has room for blacksmiths. When we look at the prices asked, we can almost compete price wise. At least we have arguments for the value of what we forge.

Ah! Jealousy! Especialy when you know it will not get you one like that... Hurts. And $3.50? Congrats.

My anvil (#275) stands on a piece of plywood topping the sand that fills a 1/4inch steel box. It does not move. I believe it does deaden the ring. I can move it with my overhead "crane". It works great... for me that is.

The only traditional suggestion, of course, is to make wine in them. That's what they are for. It's pretty difficult to be creative with them. Being of glass, I cant see a use for them in the forge. Unless slung in the rafters and dripping water... or wine for the tired blacksmith; Being of impressive size, an impressive sculpture could be made to use them as lamps in a park or in a garden; Another impressive sculpture for a stand to install a terrarium in one. You could probably get a python in there; Sell them to people who make boats in bottles, they coud build a tempest; Again a stand but this time with a kettle tilter for one of those vicious highly alcoolized punches you serve in those family parties you always regret to have thrown... ; He could also use one as a bottle you throw in the sea, you know, with a message : you put youre message in there, drive up to Rimousky, that would be sufficient, wait for an outgoing tide and throw the bottle in there. You are sure that youre message will be found way ahead of those of the guys who only had a wee botlle of rhum to entrust their message to; They could also be used to grow an expensive but spectacular orchid ; Again a lamp a bessy lamp with an infinite supply of oil, whale oil. Two in fact to make those non drippping bessy lamps... Ok, so I'm no use... I would give one to my girlfriend who is always making alcool from... definitely these things are made for those who imbibe... Yves

When I was a young man, my karate always got better when I met japanese senseis. I never spoke nor understood one word of japanese. It is about looking.

Cant wait to see what your forgings will look like when you use the good arm... This is a beautifull tree. Not often do we see this theme so well balanced. Hope the healing is going as you wish. Yves

The t-shirt is not a might, it's a must!

Every day , my Haberrmann 1.3 kg (2.8 lbs) is the one hammer I use constantly. I also use, sometimes, a Picard 1 kg crosspein. And a cheap 2 kg sledge hammer.

I also want to congratulate you. The honor you receive is very well deserved.

Peddinhaus #12, 275 lbs. It's the only one I have. I will be looking for a smaller one to haul on my small trailer for demos.

It's a lovely old building. I hope it works out for you. Realy would be nice to have it forge again.

I'm definitely still a rookie - just trying to push my boundaries a bit Youre pushing in the right direction! I like the Hydra at the top, the movement. A lovely piece.

Thanks Josh but even the business end of the tongs is too flexible. Useless they are. Totaly!

I made a pair once. I copied Brian Brazeal's universal tongs. I realy got the design right. I was happy, all drawn out from car coil spring. Except that they were too drawn out, too thin, too flexible. They are universal in that that they dont hold nothing! And they look at me every day hanging from the side of the forge. And they laugh... So, not having enough confidence that I would get the design as good as the first time I just wait to order them online... And I decided that I hate making tongs. Which is bad because I desperately need some... and I have all these coil springs also looking at me...

Wayne, I'm a tradiitonal woodworker with hand cut dovetails to hold drawers together and even blind dovetails no one will ever see, the whole lot. I am an admirer of the work accompished by the Shakers, no superfluous decorations, all business and all hand work. However, one must remember that the bench saw (hope it's the correct english expression) was born in a Shaker community. In 1840 or so they designed and built a mortising machine which was improved upon in 1860. In 1828, the Shakers at Lebanon New York invented a tongue and groove machine. The simplicity and elegance of Shaker furniture and architecture, before they had access to such machines or invented them was not compromised by there existence and their use. They used the tools available and like us blacksmiths, they invented the tools they needed. They kept the same sparse design, the same simplicity, the same high end crafstmanship. Jesse Sipola in the second video and in his promotional one uses the tools available to him in his day, in his world. So do the blacksmiths of the first video refered to in this thread. The tools available to one and to the other are different. The tools the Shakers used were not short cuts. Even when he is using pneumatic hammers, Sipola does not seem to me to be taking short cuts. And what realy is the difference between Sipola's use of the pneumatic hammers and the use of a Little Giant by somebody else or the use of a treadle hammer for that matter? The guys in the first video used the tools they had and knew about. Sipola does the same thing.

Proper?

No prob.

Pics? Please. I began thinking about such a trailer to begin making demos.

in the second video. See post # 8 up here.

If I'm not mistaken, the smith is Jesse Sipola. He forges human faces. Here is his promotional video : http://vimeo.com/32786485.

Thanks Dave. Now I'll push it. We have 5 nights forecasted from —22ºC to —30ºC.

Dave, I heat my house with a wood stove, store bought approoved and all. Its made of plate. I dont know what sort of plate. And I do not trust that plate. I worry that if I heat the stove too much, (ie. get it red when we get —30ºC [—22ºF] for 4 or 5 days and with high winds), that the door would not close any more, that the whole stove would warp, twist whatever a heated plate may do when realy heated. It did not happen yet eventhough I did heat it quite a bit on few occasions this winter. What kind of steel is your plate and do you share my worry?

Here is a pic of the skewers I forge inspired by Bealer (pages 273-275). http://yvesforge.blogspot.ca/2013/01/historical-skewers-and-pork-roast.html I sold quite a few of these at the Xmas fair. When I get back to the forge, these are amongst the first objects I'll forge to replenish the stock for future fairs. As to the trussing needles, I do not know how well they sell. I had none with me at the fair. Next time though.

Same here. However, I have to live with my lack of experience. I do not have the experience or hammer control of Brazeal, Aspery or of any of the masters but they set the standards. My inexperience is the source of the defects of my production. Not that I dont care. The standards I have such a hard time meeting are the subjects of my thoughts during my sleepless hours. I believe that for a lot of us, the question is not wether it's good enough but wether it's getting better.

It is quenching material and it does get used as such when the level of the water in my bucket gets too low. I do not have running water in the smithy. And on lovely days like that one you take a break quenching outside and looking around.