Old N Rusty

Great story, Cobber. what they drag chains for Down Under?

We will be doing some serious lookinto Metal Muncher, thanks Werks. Something about that name intrigues me. The trade schools and LSU have Piranha ironworkers. I have spent many hours on these machines and can only say they are a good machine, but it will develop leaks. I still remember the old Buffalo mechanical ironworker, and even if i were given one of them with free shipping, I would say no. They were more dangerous than a monkey with a machine gun. they sounded nice though.

Metal muncher?

A good blacksmiths ballpeen is a real find at a flea/garage sale. Socketed handle hole like a claw hammer. not a squashed ball like a machinists hammer. The peen is set closer to the handle than a machinists hammer, and more domed shape than round.I have a 16 oz and a 32 oz both from garage sales.I think Plumb made them. Jerryco Surplus used to sell hammer handles. Pecan is good, but I think hickory is the best. You might try peanut tree wood.

Along with the punch and shear functions of any good ironworker i am most interested in a press option.

Mac it does have a sow block. pics of the LG 100 are in gallery section a "smithy" post by Joshua M..I reall hope to convince the guy to go to someone else, and told him to check with LAMA or the Gulfcoast blacksmiths assoc. any in IFI wants this job send me your contact info.

The late Houston Fairchild was the local smith I always referred this work to. He used coal fire and a LG 100 like mine. I watched him once, and chickened out. He was holding the blade in tongs and used a top tool to bevel the blade. Like me had flat dies in his hammer. I really dont like trying top tool work in a Little Giant.Does anyone have a suggestion that would be simpler, safer,and easier?

Thank you Francis, their SW 132 three fase iron worker looks very usefull, I am wondering how it would compare to a Piranha make. It might be a good time for a investment in machine tooling, as interest rates are sure to be going up soon.

Gloves for T.I.G. welding. wear the size that is the loosest on your tong hand. Dont burn them by seeing how much heat you can stand wearing them. Never use a grinder without both of them on, never use a drill press with any gloves on.

When the Grainger catalog is your preferred bathroom reading.

Mark, what works for you is the critter. i bent a piece of one inch round to slip into the hardy hole and is long to knock out from the bottom. It bends about four inches off the face 90 deg. and another bend about 3" at a 45 deg to a fattened "foot" to hold work often its weight alone is sufficient to hold for punching or other top tool jobs. a bash locks it tight.I used round bar so it will turn. Or you could fix a chain to a foot pedal to toss over the work, hook quickly on the other side and step on the pedal. this is another use for old trampoline springs,and redneck engineering.

Does any one know any thing about Baileigh Metal Working Equipment? Spefically the MH-19? WWW. bii1 . com ????????????

Ward was you the kid sniffing the mimeograff test papers in school?

Ian, not all of us who demo in the U.S. have faced this problem, I was asked to demo for an event, and was pleasantly suprised to find out they were willing to pay me! It felt almost criminal to take their money for having so much fun! I would do more "smoke n noise" shows if it was not so much work to haul a forge, anvil, and tools.

You remember working with large pieces of paper that were blue with white lines on them, and called blueprints.

I laid off my shadow.

I made a moveable grinder pedstal from a steel car wheel rim and a piece of 4" pipe, I welded a plate across the bolt circle and welded the pipe to that, plumb straight up, then filled the wheel rim with redi-mix cement for mass and weight. After it set, I then cut off the pipe to a convient height, and welded the plate I bolt the grinder to. Ugly and cheap, redneck engineering!

Some time ago i ran out of propane, and tried MAPP, the rosebud fuel I use, the explosion kinda frightened me from using that as forge fuel, it ignited from the heat of the forge, and got my attention very quick!

Rick, that is it! Godrfey has a small one that fits in the hardy hole, and a large one that is a long stake. Both have that little hook on them that so mystified me in SHEARS. once he told me the name of the tool, all became clear, his hardy hole tool has a deep fuller on its top that makes eyes in round bars easy to turn over a link. George, we have a diggy camera and are taking lots of pics. once we get home we stick the chip into the hard part of the computer... and that is where they live, all mixed up with boring family fotos, untouchable to a computer dummy like me. one day...

sorry,I dont have a link to the film, it is in IFI, somewhere, and a picture is something i dont know how to post yet, new at this computer stuff.

I put a sand cement mix Frank Turley recommended in my cast iron forge in 1994 and it is still as good as new,Use portland cement (not concrete mix)and sand, 3 parts sand to 1 part cement, mix moist and it will mold to shape easily if you can braze do it.If not, and the forge is still useable with the crack, and not likely to fall to pieces don't worry about it.

In the film SHEARS the old smith uses a tool to back up his cleft weld, and for a second or two it is is pictured in the hardy hole. What is it has had me going nuts since I saw that film. Today we visited Godfrey South (Darenth Valley Forge U.K.)< his website. and I asked him whassit? He not only knew, but had two of them, "CHAIN MAKING STAKE TOOL"!!! the name tells all. one has a fuller groove on the top for making eyes in the end of a round bar, and the hook holds a chain link for welding! There is a lot of smithing tools and techniques here in England we in the U.S. do not have -yet.

yes it was somewhat like that one, Thomas, only not so pretty, it had to be for a commoners campfire i am sure.

so sorry no pics even if i took some i still dont know how to post them we saw the tripod at a re-enactor campsite at Corfe Castle

While on holiday here in England, I saw a tripod that I thought was so simple and efficient I had to share it with IFI. take three pieces of 1/2" round bar about 6' long and forge eyes in one end of each,large enough to easily pass a 1/2" round bar through.these eyes will be stacked one on top of each other, with a bend of about 30 degrees in each leg. The top one will be the longest from the eye to the bend, the second will be shorter and the third one will be the shortest so it will fold flat. Forge a hook from a short piece of 1/2" round and pass it through the three eyes and upset the top so it will not come out of the eye. with a little adjusting of the length of the legs you will have a tripod that will fold flat and easily set up over a campfire.