welder19

6" floor will be fine for just about any hammer you want to put on it, would be best to use reinforcing wire in concrete and get 4000 lb per sq" concrete and it will likely never crack from anything you want to do on it. welder19

I have a couple small jars of it and a few mercury switches that I got just to collect the mercury from them, it's like a lot of things, sure it's dangerous if you don't know how to handle it safely but the way they blow some things way out of proportion cracks me up sometimes. Of coarse on the flip side there are somethings that are extremely dangerous and unsafe and no body seems to care. welder19

Thanks I appreciate it. Still hanging on, barely, but we're not homeless yet so I still have it better than a lot of people. No word from SSD yet but that isn't any surprise really. I am getting low on stuff to sell though so hopefully something happens soon. I really appreciate all of the prayer support, I know without it we would not be making it at all. Thank you, Jeff

If you make it with a plate on the bottom that you stand on while working at the vise then it will never move, it is impossible to move siomthing while your standing on it and this way you can also make it lighter if your gonna be moving it around. welder19

Lack of any marks for that matter, nice job! welder19

JWH Fabrication I used fabrication because I do just about all types of metal work and it seemed to fit better. On any cards or other types of advertising I list what I do, Metal fabricating Welding Blacksmithing Metalcasting Machining I also do some woodworking but don't really advertise it, mostly it is for pattern making purposes for casting. The JWH is just my initials. But it is all pretty limited these days due to my back but I can still due a few hours a week (most of the time) of lighter work. I need a helper or apprentice but can't seem to find anyone who wants to work for free.....go figure welder19

They have pretty good prices and have a lot of products, thanks for posting them. Here is a link to their web-site and they also offer a free catalog, paper or CD. Automation Direct welder19

I'm sorry to hear this and will pray for the friends and family who suffer from the loss. welder19

I have never found it hard to find an anvil either but the North East is probably the most anvil rich area in the US and beinig that your from NH puts you right in the middle of it. There are areas in the US that even back when a blacksmith was the most needed person around may have only had 2-3 anvils in a hundred mile radious, or more. So in those areas today there is very likely none. Just something to keep in mind when someone says they can't find an anvil, but it is also why it is so important to add your location to your profile, it doesn't have to be your address just your area, no one here is going to try and hunt you down, so it's safe to show what state your from, or providence if your not in the US. welder19

We will keep him in our prayers along with all our troops who are overseas. welder19

Very nice! welder19

The money you make depends on where you are and if your willing to travel or relocate, oil refinery's and comercial marine, shipping and or comercial fishing, etc. are a few of the higher paid welding positions and one of the highest is underwater welding. Good luck! welder19

they will definitely be in our prayers, the news that she is doing better is wonderful news but the prayers will continue till shes 100% and back at home where she belongs. God Bless, Jeff

I'm very sorry to hear that, but we will certainly put you on our prayer list, I hope and pray that it has been caught early enough that they can treat, I read that if caught early it is not too bad and is very treatable but either way you and your family will be in our prayers. God Bless, Jeff

This is a great topic, especially for me cause I haven't done much of any of this type of work and not that I'm looking to be doing it anytime soon but I like to learn new things, but what would really make it a great thread is some pictures, since I haven't done it before I'm having trouble picturing some of the things being explained. So if anyone has or could take pics of the jigs, patterns and tools being explained that would be great. Thanks, welder19

Thanks Ed! That is a very informative post and I learned a good amount of info from it. Do you have some finished spears you could show us? I would love to see them. Thanks again, welder19

I had thought about starting a similar thread to this as I have been starting to make stuff to sell this year. No pics yet but a few things on my list are, campfire tripods, camp fire pokers, hotdog/marshmallow cooking forks, of coarse the usual variety of hooks, hose hangers, shepards hooks, decorative hearts and crosses and a few other little ittems as I think of them or see things. I like the hollow fire pokers, never heard of them before. welder19

Welcome to IFI, there are plenty of master knife makers here. You english is pretty good, much better than most of us can speak serbian I can guarantee that. welder19

How is the ring/rebound? welder19

I'm kind partial to the design in the 3rd pic, with the crank and chain, it has an original look to it, altho I might beef it up a little...no pun intended. A brick oven of sorts has been on my to-do list for quite some time, being of Italian decent on one side of my family, my great grandparents came here from Italy, so brick ovens have been a part of our family for many generations, my great grandfather was a bricklayer by trade and when he came to America that is what he did the most, build woodfired brick ovens. Unfortunately there is no longer anyone in the family carrying on the the trade, however I did start out my carear as a mason but I have yet to build a brickoven and now with my back I may never but who knows. These are really nice for bbq style brickoven, I like the idea of being able to raise and lower the grill. welder19

Welcome to IFI. We have alot of members down under, so if nothing else you should be able to find some friendly smiths to visit with. welder19

If your gonna replace the bolts then go ahead and weld a nut on to aid in removal but if your gonna reuse them then you may want to reconsider. I have welded lots of nuts and bolts for sake of removing a damaged fastener but it will alter the integrity of the bolt and therefor not a good idea to reuse it. welder19

I have a set up very similar to the one here but I can either direct the woodgas under the drum like he does, which is normally what I do, or send it to the forge and use the wood gas to forge or to my furnace for melting metal (which I haven't tryed yet but hope to soon), and I also have a book where he shows how to use the wood gas to run a small engine on. I haven't gotten to the small engine thing yet because you have to build scrubbers to clean the woodgas with and it doesn't really appeal to me that much since I have other uses for it where it gets burned as is and with the scrubbers you have to clean up and dispose of the mess that's left from that process. Ultimately using it to assist it the making of the charcoal is best since it greatly reduces the amount of wood/fuel that is needed to make the charcoal which saves alot of wood to be turned into charcoal. Maybe you just need to move to the other side of the 1600 acres, which is a long distance. My opperation is set up on the property where my house is which is only 2 acres and I have no problems there and the stuff we do on the 170 acre farm right behind me nobody ever even knows about, but this is all flat land and I know things can be different when hills and valley's are involved. Any way thats how I do it and it produces very little smoke when everything is dry. welder19

I believe that no matter what happens in our lives that it is all part of God's plan for us, even though more often than not we don't understand it at first it will make sense in the end. This is one of those times for me in my life, I also think that at times it God's way of testing us to see if we are going to stay strong in our faith and not turn tail and run as soon as the going gets a little rough, or in this case a lot rough. God is with us through the good and the bad and he expects the same of us. He never said it would be easy but he did say that he would always be there with us. Well I guess it's part of my stuborness but these times don't even rattle my faith, but does make me ask a lot questions. Again, thanks for all the prayers and support it means a lot. Jeff

It's great to hear things are looking up for you and your family, we will continue to keep you and your family in our prayers. welder19