Greenbeast

Many thanks, i look forward to giving this another go!

Hofi's Corkscrew I must admit i get stuck after he bends the drawn out section over the edge, how does it get the turn without the stock/tongs wanting to twist in the hand?

Very nice piece. I'm with you on the pricing as i too, am at the bottom rung of the ladder. I guess we have to be careful of doing ourselves a disservice in terms of income whilst not stepping on other smiths toes. I gather you learn the pricing with experience as much as you do the craft itself.

thanks very much, yes i didn't really want to grind anything!

I've been using my leg vice for 6+ months now and it's been ok but it has non-parallel jaws and this does make using it somewhat frustrating sometimes Any tips on fixing it? Or is it a case of just grinding the jaw back? I can put a pic up tomorrow

I'm just starting out and a couple of people have mentioned specialising and finding a niche to make the business viable. However as i'm new to it i kinda want to try everything and don't know what my niche might be.

i feel like developing one but then i need to attract a hot young woman who appreciates it, i think that is somewhat unlikely...

i use hair clippers to go back to stubble every couple of weeks, so less than a full beard but never clean shaven

I was going to post the same thing, looks like back-ache waiting to happen

Thanks for this, i made a similar thing (although quite small scale) when i got my first sizeable order, it was inside a pig sty and so i was cutting lengths to 3m, i've now moved on and want to keep the lengths uncut if possible. I've looked a various ideas, i liked the simplicity of using 4 or 6" plastic tubing but discovered it's fairly expensive. Reading your solution i guess there's no getting round the fact that it's going to cost me to set up decent storage. But i suppose it will last a very long time!

Dave, does this cope well with the weight? how many uprights to cover the 6m length? how much steel per 'shelf' how much cover have they got? it'd be great to have a pic at some point I've desperate to find a decent storage method for 6m lengths as i hate cutting them in half on delivery day

John is right in suggesting a knotted wire brush for the grinder, a soak of vinegar and a wash off and grind will sort it out. They are tricky beast so start carefully, i did a foolish thing a few days ago and thought i would just tidy a fraction of leftover scale on a 180mm piece of 40x3mm steel freehand. I now have a very red and sore scab on my ribcage. Could have been much worse.

You could get an old hammer head for your hot cut, that's what i did 3 months ago and it's been working a treat. Just did some really basic heat treat on it and it's worked out fine. just needs a touch up with a flap disc occassionally

I'm loving my makita 4.5", thinking about getting a second soon (bored of swapping discs!)

This is the only pic i've got at the moment, it's a keyring sized bottle opener that i now carry around with me (6mm round stock). The father's day present ones were larger, intended for the kitchen drawer and were make of 8mm square stock, the same hook principle applies though

Bottle openers are great. i did them for father's day presents this year, hook style instead of ring style. For christmas, I'm doing trivets for some of my family, plus a steel/leather pendant for my sister. This is non-smithy but I've found all of the blokes have awfully blunt kitchen knives so i'm making up sharpening sets from ceramic rod and some nice oak.

Good for you, it's an exciting time.

That order was with these guys: http://www.industrialmetal.co.uk/ Cheaper than the previous supplier, they'll now be my go to guys. Bear in mind VAT and delivery (£30) on top of that, so it might be more cost effective for you to just pop round the corner and collect

I just paid £3.80 per 6m length for that stock

Mick, you've done pattern welding before haven't you :lol:

does the torch 'pop' off the scale? i've only this evening given the vinegar a try, even after 30mins using the wire cup brush was much easier. I've left some stuff in over night to try tomorrow night.

hmmm, very true. i might have a serious think about this

that'd be great for me, shame i'm in the UK

ha ha great new pics Owen, the hat and look have a great clockwork orange feel

Definitely check around with the steel stockholders as prices can vary a great deal!