Fatboy Rider

nice job Sam, for longer stock I made a overhead hanging rack. just "t"s bolted through studs, so i could buy 20' sticks, this might help in your compact shop.

A cross for Mom

thanks its been a great addition, plus was the last straw for my wife. She approved a new shop. She now refers to it as the man cave B)

the 25 # little giant found in a barn. I was trying to talk the grandson into letting me buy grandpa's old anvil (a really nice old 250# ER) but didn't have any luck because he "used it to straighten stuff". He is a good friend and said I could use that old thing. under old hydraulic hoses and about a inch of grease and dust was this 1927 old stile little giant. run by a 1 horse Montgomery Words motor

thanks I was leaning toward spar varnish, but will try urethane on a small piece and see how it looks. No dish washer its made out of model A leaf spring, a practice knife that survived heat treat. If it will take a good edge (meaning if i can grind a good edge) it should be a nice knife.

thanks for the experiment. and the interesting topic

Was given some purple hart wood scraps and have made scales for a full tang chiefs knife. It is beautiful wood. Any experience or suggestions on finish for this wood in this application. the color is unique and i would love to retain it. but the knife will reside in my kitchen and be used. thanks Walt

Rich thank you for your tip and sharing your experience. I just finished Mr. Hrisoulas's first book and have only epoxied guards before. your advice was just the thing I needed to push into a superior tech. Back to lurking ...... thanks again Walt

Just finished mine, 24 X 24, 10' ceiling, Chip board over insulation, concrete floor. anvil set on a new azobe tie 5' under the concrete, Post vice and old pipe vice on another tie. large bench out of 1/4 plate, blown natural gas forge and coal forge. 25" exhaust fan, 25 lb little giant on isolated slab. grinding and polishing bench set in concrete to absorb vibration. overhead I beam and a 1 tone chain hoist. keg-orator and beer fridge. the little giant was the last straw for my wife and the shop was a done deal.

I know its been said, but thanks for sharing your excellent work and knowledge.

should work well, in winter I just through work on the wood stove to heat to black.

An interesting read. I built rocket type cooking stoves in the peace corps in 1985. At that time the efficiency made them easy to sell to the women of our village. Deforestation made gathering fuel a major choir each day. they were a major improvement over the 3 stone cooking fire. I haven't thought of them for years....I may have to make one for some outside cooking. LOL

very nice, I like that allot. thank you for sharing it

01 Ford 1 ton. 158000. camera shy. but I love it

looks great! I like the pattern thanks for sharing Walt

I have made a few wood fired smokers. I treat the grates with bacon grease then heat on low fire. a very durable finish. the stake turners I have made are treated the same with good result. as said above no soap, retreat as necessary, if rust forms grind off and retreat. Merry Christmas Bob

Thank you all for shairing your thoughts and tips. This is why I love this site. Bob

thank you! I think I knew that from somewhere but forgot.

I made a stacked cross last night for my daughter. I've wanted to try this since Jake posted his this fall. It went well until I tried to pean the brass rivet. the edges kept fracturing. The rivet was done cold, that may be the problem. Any thoughts would be appreciated

I ride Harley's, rock crawl ATVs in Moab, hunt ducks in ice water, but that is crazy. great functional piece of forging. I like it

thank you for documenting your process, I am enjoying your blog. Walt

thanks for a very clear tutorial

Thank you for this post, I watch and learn

http://cgi.ebay.com/EBM-Blower-G2E120-CA17-115-Volt-AC-60Hz-5-Blade-150cfm-/350273556131?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item518dee4ea3 this is the blower I got off ebay. I used a fan reo-stat to slow the fan and a simple gate valve to fine tune. I was told on a squirrel cage fan that it is better to restrict the out flow than the in flow.

They are rail bits. the drill clamps to the track and drills through the web. my buddy says they get about 8 passes out of one side, then turn the bit. In our area they are obsolete the rail is now welded. these were rescued from the scape pile. They are very hard to work, it took 2 of us about 1 1/2 hours with a sledge to break down 2 bits to billet size. They are resistant to grinding and finishing. However the first knife is still very sharp after about a year in the hands of a 12 year old.