Dogsoldat

I find that I have to ask a stupid question now and again. If nothing else to get me closer to the RIGHT questions to ask. Google is your friend, but if your google is weak, or you keep getting boxed into the wrong set of deadend pages for what you are looking for it can get frustrating. All to often I can see in my minds eye what I want but just can't quite find the info. Its all about knowing the right terms/jargon for what you are doing. All it takes is a friendly bump in the right direction and a lot of us are off and running again. This site is a marvelous resource. The people here are what make it doubly so. I just hope that everyone stays open and helpful no matter how pathetic many of us new guys seem.

Had a bunch of that at the shop. D-8 cutting edge and corner bits. somewhere around 1 1/2" th. Been recycled into the rockguards on the 322 cat loader. Have to snag a chunk when we change out the cutting edge on the 8 again sometime in the summer. I asume you torched and then took a die grinder to make your square hole.

Have a bunch of black locust that I had collected to make bows. Split a chunk out, Square it in the tablesaw take a draw knife to it til I'm happy. Touch up rough corners with a farriers rasp. goes pretty quick.

Okay, Thanks guys. Gives me a direction to go. Just have to find time to get back out there and experiment a little more then. The touch mark was pretty simple, used a letter stamp on the end of a piece of chisel material and then ground and filed the rest away. Pretty happy with it. Just have to remember to use it far more.

Played around in the shop a little today. Wishing I had a whole lotta steel. Need to make a few tongs and leaf hammer. Did pretty good with the stuff that I had. Turned out 5 leaves, wife and kids are trying hard to claim them. Daughter might make a shop helper yet. Had her holding the leaf on the anvil so I could chisel in the veins. I like the shape and feel of the 1st, 3rd and 5th best. I want to put my mark on them, but not entirely sure how to get it on the back and keep it there. Stamped the last on the back but it disappeared by the time the veins were in and the edges rippled a little. How do you guys go about stamping them or do you even worry about it. Is this a case of setting it on a wooden block and veining so the back isn't smoothed right out again?

Wish I had a power hammer of some sort, might get out and play around a little more with bigger stock. Figure I did pretty good upsetting 1" out to 2". Just have to practice getting it eventer. Must get more propane. Down to alternating weeks with the other mechanic. Snowing like the dickens and now road restrictions are on, our logging is basically done for the year. As usual lots of time no coin :huh:

After seeing just how easy Mark Aspery made it look in his youtube video, just had to see what I could quickly turn out. Quite satisfied with it as a first attempt be even better if I hadn't run out of propane. At least I have a good sharp square corner I can work off of now. And a few Ideas of more tooling I would like to have. Little happier with my vise bolted down to the floor, doesn't move about, always a good thing. Spent the last week fixing the ripper mount on the D-8 small crack though 4" of casting. built up pin bosses at the same time as there was 3/16-1/4" of wear on them. Almost makes me comfy enough to build up the edges on my anvil. Looking at the tooth for the ripper all I could think about was there is one heavy anvil 3" thick x 12" wide and about 6' long. Just couldn't come up with a good enough reason for it to go in the scrap bin... Ah well. Sure the opereator will wreck it some time, he's good at that.

That is just...inspiring, things just aren't made like that anymore. Thanks for posting

Cabinet looks good. Nothing a quick coat of paint won't make look purty. Plug welds into the hinges from the back would sharpen it up even better. And I think I may just have to copy the stand.

Leevalley has many different water stones usually at a decent price

I might be wrong, but believe that in the Tom Brown survival books it is boiled up with ground charcoal to make glue for fastening stone arrowheads, but I can't remember his recipe for it. That and those books are someplace else right now. My Traditional Bowyers Bible says to just boil it enough that when cooled it is firm but not brittle. Old hard rosin can be softened by melting and adding new rosin or beeswax. To increase strength up to 10% powdered charcoal can be added to melted rosin. Charcoal can be pressed into the surface to reduce stickiness. Plant fibres can be pressed in as well increasing strength and flexibility. The strength scale puts pitch 6lb commercial casien 18lbs 5 min epoxy 28lb yellow glue 38lb for whatever it's worth...

whatever you did the wing is truly pleasing to the eye. all looks really cool

Thanks for that post, Stuff I kinda sorta knew, but presented that way makes for a few AH HA! moments...

Very nice job, can't wait for my broken pinky to heal so I can get back out doing things in the shop... Inspiring!

In June 1934, the Hahn family discovered a rock, sitting loose on a ledge beside a waterfall outside of London, Texas. The site primarily consists of 75-100 million years old cretaceous rock. Noticing this weathered rock had wood protruding from it, they cracked it open, exposing the hammer head. To verify that the hammer was made of metal, they cut into one of the beveled sides with a file. The bright metal in the nick is still there, with no detectable corrosion. The unusual metallurgy is 96% iron, 2.6% chlorine and 0.74% sulfur (no carbon). Density tests indicate exceptional casting quality. The density of the iron in a central, cross-sectional plane shows the interior metal to be very pure, with no bubbles. Modern industry cannot consistently produce iron castings with this quality, as evidenced by test results that show bubbles and density variations that have caused pump and valve bodies to break. The handle eye is partially coalifed with quartz and calcite crystalline inclusions, oval shaped, and roughly 1" x 1/2". Didn't mean for this to get into any form of religious/pro/anti-science type debate. Linked to the page just for the info on where and how found, however valid. Along with the supposed alloy of the hammer head. Thought it was an interesting shape. It would be really nice to have some sort of scale next to it. Best guess so far seems to be a swage for drill ends... Personally I think there are many erroneous assumptions. Biggest being that the head was cast. From what I have read casting hammers is a more recent thing.

That it is but the hammer is interesting. The rest, well a good chuckle is always is needed here and there. It does resemble the end of a rock drill. Hadn't really thought of that.

I was looking around at a few random things and came across a page. While most of it is pretty far out the hammer does look interesting. The face of that I can see looks like it has 4 points similar to a stone masons chisel or a heavy war hammer. Anyone seen anything like it in their travels? Mod: Useless link removed

Thanks for clearing that up.

not sure that I have seen it mentioned anywhere yet, but what are the typical diameters of the holes thru a bolster plate. Are they 1/8" over the dia of hole being punched? I assume that you would want it fairly close to support the work best with minium deformation.

having issues in our small city, but it's the out of town bylaw @#$. Noneof the neighbours on my street care about my stuff out front. Sucks to be the only one with kids and not retired on my street. Plus most are japanese, so imaculate yards. grrr.... palisade and cannon ports are definately seconded.

found out there was a chinese laundry at one point in the house next to my lot. wonder maybe if it had something to do with that?

There has been a post vise mounted to a bench on the back of a shed in the alley behind work. Finally went and asked about it. I picked it up for $30. Screw is in good shape. Has had some welding done on it. Hard to tell whether the jaws had cracked or larger jaws welded on. As well my first post vise is now mounted. Just need a whole lot of weight on the rear leg to hold the stand down. That or find the spot I want it to stay in and drill a few holes in my floor. Thinking that the one I just picked up is going on my stand I won't mind beating the snot out of it. My good vise still has the knurling on the jaws. Just need less broken equipment at work and more time to play at home...

I might just have to steal your idea for myself. Love the simplicity and multifunctionality of it.

kudos on a beautiful tool, even nicer to to hear that it does a wonderful job

Bought a lot and during some landscaping found an odd shaped piece of cast iron. Any ideas what it may be from? Poor pictures. Have a feeling I have seen something like it someplace on the net recently, just not sure. mike