welder19

Welcome! There is no better place on-line to learn blacksmithing than right here. welder19

It's definitely cool but I don't think it's $400 cool! welder19

They look really good, like Beth said the metal work matches the wood work very nicely. Welcome to IFI and don't worry about being intimidated about showing your work, we have a wide range of skill here, ranging from the beginer who hasn't even hit any metal yet to the highest skilled professional blacksmith's and artist's and they are always willing to help and give advice, so keep the pic's coming. welder19

I don't see what it is that you would be unhappy with, I think it looks really good. welder19

I really like it! The copper looks really good, gives it a unique look. welder19

Those are very nice roses! A lot better than mine typically turn out. Can't wait to see the finished headboard. welder19

What type of welding are you doing? Stick, mig, tig? For light welding a damp towel or blanket is normally suffice, just make sure it's cotton and NOT polyester or other synthetic. I have a heavy moving blanket that I dampen and have never had any trouble even with heavy stick welding. I also have a couple old leather aprons I use for smaller coverage jobs. If your worried about $$ then I would just go with the damp towel and save the cash for tooling. welder19

That is very cool!!! Thanks for sharing it with us. welder19

Over the years I have had the great advantage to get lots of training/schooling in the diesel engine trade and in the last few years (before becoming disabled) it was a lot of electronic, and most if not all instructors that I have had over the years have seemed to have those little test's that they like to try and stump students with, Caterpillar instructors especially, I've seen some get down right mad when they were not able to stump someone. I had the pleasure of learning a lot of things from old timers (old timers at the time, many moons ago) and files and the skill of using them properly was a big thing, even though we had power tools you were still expected to know how to use files, even though it is an arduous task and skill to aquire I'm thankful that it is one I learned and still use it on occasions. That exercise of the square hole in the center of a plat with a square rod to go through it with no light around the edges of the hole would be quite a test of skill and one that a lot of folks would have trouble doing with modern equipment. welder19

Very nice!! I always love to see your work Hofi, thanks for posting. welder19

That is pretty impressive, I would love to get up close and see the iron work in person. welder19

Nice saw, nice work on the mobil base, a bit overkill but nice none the less, I buuilt one very similar for my small milling machine. The one's they sell are pretty flimsy, at least any I've seen, that's why I make my own. welder19

Very nice for a first knife! Being a woodworker as well as metal, black walnut is one of my favorite woods to work with as well as cherry and of coarse oak but there are more variety's of oak than most hard woods. welder19

Looks like it would be a lot of fun, something thats on my list of things to learn, a list which is getting longer and longer, insted of shorter which is what I would like. welder19

Very nice work from you and the glass blower, be sure to relay the compliments on to him as well, your very fortunate to know someone that does glass work, there are even less of them around then there are of us. welder19

It's beautiful, definately a piece of work to be proud of!!! welder19

I will continue to pray for him until he has beat it. Unfortunatly I know what your going through, my grandfather died of luk. but that was quite a few yrs back and treatment is much better now. welder19

I like the way you worded that, I never quite saw it that way....thank you! Also prayer is all I ever could or would ask of anyone. welder19

I would switch to a different mfg or go with a high temp castable. That's a BIG forge! welder19

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate your support. It's one day at a time and pray and hope for the best. welder19

It's tough to go wrong with a Bridgeport, theres nothing that can't be fixed or replaced, so realy at worst you could overpay for a machine that needs repairs but in the end you'll still end up with a top notch mill. welder19

Better to clog up and have to change a filter, be it stockings or otherwise, than to burn up a motor. welder19

I rarely ever ask for anything of anyone but I'm in desperate need. All I'm asking is a little prayer, I've been out of work for a year now due to a disability. Four years ago my back finally gave out after years of abuse, mainly from a career as a marine diesel mechanic. I now have 3 herniated discs in my lower back, premature deterioration in most of the rest, problems in my neck two knees that are shot, a bad right elbow and left shoulder, but even with all of that I'm not really looking for prayer concerning my wreck of a body, I am unable to work and my wife can't find any work, before losing my job my wife has been a stay at home mom for 6 years so we only had one income and now have none. I have a lawyer working on a workers comp case and ss disability, and neither are going very fast, I have used up all of my funds including my 401K retirement money and am just about out of things to sell. So if you could say a prayer or two and ask the good Lord to help me out with my financial crisis I would be forever grateful, wether it be my wife finding work, speedy outcome with my workers comp case or the gov. approving ss in a timely manor or any kind of guidence in the right direction to be able to keep the roof over my family's head and some food on the table or even a miricle that I wake up tomorrow pain free (I don't even remember what that feels like). I'm not picky about what form the help comes in, just that it comes in time to pay some bills so I can keep my house, the only options I have left is prayer and I'm not just resorting to prayer, I have always put my faith in God, I'm just now resorting to asking others for their prayers as well. I hope I haven't been too long winded, I just wanted to try and explain the depth of my situation. I want to thank you in advance for taking the time to read this and for your prayers. welder19

Yeah, I've seen a pinecone or two and those are as real looking as your gonna get. welder19

Air compressor is the hardest working machine in the shop, it's the tool that powers most of the tools. Metal lathe and 20" disc grinder, once you've had either one of those you can't live with out them. welder19