reitenger

Ran across this locally and for some reason I am thinking about adding it to my collection for my shop. Craigslist link removed Does anyone have any information they can add about it? Is it worth the money?

The only time I have burned my eyes over the years with my any of my autoshields was while welding outside. When I am anywhere that the sun is hitting into my hood from the rear I have gotten into the habit of putting a weld curtain behind me or if that isn't and option I have even been known to throw a rag over the top of the hood to block light entry from the rear. The hood I use now is a Jackson True sight which I bought because of the huge viewing window because I get in real tight spots with some of the stuff I build from time to time. I don't know what the issue with light from the rear is, but I really suspect that it changes how dark your hood is when it activates. Have never thought to ask anyone about it before.

I know this is a bit old, but years back when I had an issue with thieves feeling they had the run of the place, I bought one of the cheaper motion detect lights that holds the two bulbs and mounted it on the ceiling of my workshop pointing straight down. It had one bulb and we removed the other light socket and used the wires to wire in a siren. The wiring ran to a switch that was already on the outside of the building in a lock box to control power to an external outlet. The siren was mounted pointing out the roof vent on the front of the building so that anyone in the vicinity could hear what was going on. I have found over the years that not too many people are willing to stick around when the noise starts. My uncle used to have his motion detect sensor wired to an outlet in the living room that kicked on a lamp that was inside the living room. Made people think they had made a noise and alerted the house. I'm all for making a thief lay his goodies on the anvil for a meeting with the hammer because I cant stand someone that will steal something from people that have scrimped and saved for something, but we have a lot of laws and even more lawyers..

Thomas, I am the kind that is always prowling and hoping to find the next discovery I didn't know I needed. That is how I found my 1947 Lincoln SA200 welder that recently found itself restored and waiting on an appropriately old truck to go onto.

Frank- I cannot find that title on amazon searching for it in Italian or in English. Closest I came was - I Maestri Italiani Del Ferro Battuto. At the moment I can't get past the $150 price tag, but I will at some point. My goal is to build a great reference library. Wrought Iron by Fritz Kuhn is on this months list. As of next month I will have to stop buying books until after my big summer trip of classes, hammering and conventions is over. On an aside, when I was ordering the Sonn book on Amazon I noticed that I could trade in my copy for a $1.84 amazon gift card. Made me feel good as I was dropping almost $60 for my copy

I was planning on keeping a running commentary of the whole trip either on here or starting my own blog for the duration. Figure that with all the iron I want to see and the fact that I will be forced to wet a hook in every state I pass through it might get me lynched on here.

As it stands right now, I am planning on going to Frank's in May, then on to Brian Brazeal's in June with a stop of a week or so in the Dallas area in between. Would love to hook up and see a couple of shops in the Dallas area and maybe learn something new while I am in the area, or really anywhere between point A and B of that leg of my summer

I would love to do some woodworking tools out of Damascus when I get to that point in life.

If it is square make an octagon, if it is octagon make it round, if it is round, make it square. Upset it, taper it, stretch it Basically, just play until you are back to not having to tell your arm what to do.

I have gotten in the habit of making a certain amount of things available for the Christmas season and also making things throughout the year for both gifts for friends and family and to have available to sell. That way I can avoid feeling rushed if my main work ends up burying me late in the season or more people want to order something from me later in the season. This year I made 12 firepits that I offered up starting in October. Sold 10 quick and just got back from doing a custom install of the 11th one that also included railing for a 3200sqft deck up in the mountains. It is a lot easier if during the year when you are making things, you take the time to bend a few extra hooks or make an extra something here and there. It will pay off when you are making runs to FedEx to ship things and having lunch with the wife or doing a last minute paying job because you have the time instead of being buried

I wonder if you could even have 5 gallons shipped to you without some government agency showing up on your doorstep asking what it was for

For an craft that almost met its death, I am often astounded as I read through this board at the quality and generosity of the people here that keep these skills alive. I am planning on taking the Turley class in May, and from there I am going to wander up to the ABANA convention. I may try to book another class or two in between, but I think as time gets closer I am going to try to hook up with different smiths and groups along the way to spend time at the fire with. Between now and then I am going to finish putting together my road outfit and getting the old Ford and Alaskan camper ready for a few months on the road.

CBA as well as BAM were already on my list, and I will add NWBA to that. I have been toying real hard with the idea of going to the forging on the river thing in Memphis this year. Partially for the experience and chance to make new contacts and for the opportunity to look the place over. I would love to be able to do their 2 year apprentice program. I was completely unaware that Powers did any teaching. Assuming it is the same Thomas Powers posted above? If so, I will have to check into that as I have probably read half of the posts on this board and his posts have been very useful and educational at times. Will have to look into Brazeal and Aspery. Njanvilman- pm me info about the museum. Things like this are why I started this thread. I am going to take the year to absorb as much knowledge and make as many contacts as possible and while I am out in the small states I would love to spend some time learning. Geoff- I agree with a day of learning taking time to absorb and utilize. I am hoping that by taking a year and learning and watching as many others as possible I will see different things done different ways and then spend years utilizing the knowledge I have absorbed.

I am sure this is probably on here somewhere, but I haven't had any luck finding it. Most of my experience has been behind a mig gun and in fab shops building everything from offroad vehicles, welding pipe down to railings and anything I could find interesting. The blacksmith bug kind of came along somewhere in there and I have some of it into the work I do, but mostly have been playing with building skills and depth to my knowledge. After giving it some serious thought this last year, I have made the decision to invest some serious time this year into gaining more knowledge and skills. After Christmas, I am mailing in my money to go spend 3 weeks in Sante Fe learning from Frank Turley. I am also planning on making my way to the ABANA gathering this year. Does anyone have any suggestions for other classes or events that I should look into? I have also considered taking a big road trip and trying to see if I could find a few people that would be willing to open their forge to me for a week here and there or longer so I could watch and learn in exchange for being an extra set of hands or pushing a broom or whatever. It is really about the learning and this is my year.

I am jealous.

I think I have found a new project.

Brad- Thank you. That was an avenue I had not thought about pursuing.

Brad- Thank you. That was an avenue I had not thought about pursuing.

It says France. I thought I had taken more pictures of it but I couldn't find them to download. I will be back over there next week and will get some better pictures of it.

The leather looked good. Overall the thing looked ready to be set into a shop and hooked to a spring pole. I did buy a box of the old adjustable wrenches that open square for $40. Think I got 14 wrenches in it with all but 4 with good wood on them. Those 4 are destined to get a cheater bar welded onto them and used for doing twists..

I left it sitting in the shop. The price was high for this close to Christmas. I also posted over in bellows about the big French made bellow they had there as well.

Found this last weekend sitting in an antique store in the Denver area. It stands well over 5ft tall and if I remember correctly had marks to show it was made in France. Price was $400 or so which was too pricey for my tastes for wall art.

Sorry for the size, but I am not a pic downloader normally. Found this in a local antique shop and was curious as to the value. Their price tag was $225 which seemed high to me, but it is a cool find in my mind. It has a NO.10 on the handle side.

Swords... Every demonstration will have people asking you if you can make swords. I can't think of the type of nail it is, but they are shaped like a lower case t and hammer out into nice little 3 inch swords without being sharp. They are a big hit with the kids and parents both and a box will cost you $5 or $6 with only about a minute each to make. Cheap price to pay for something that will have people stopping at your booth all day, not to mention that it is a great opener to talk to them and show off your other stuff.

Thanks for the input guys I put in the hours The work is coming in the door The finished product is going out the door in a timely manner At the end of the month, all of the bills are paid and I have money in my pocket. Any tool entering my inventory is paid for, so overhead is kept low. I have a production project in the works that will add to the money coming in on a somewhat steady basis. Problem is that I am hungry, so I am researching new avenues to bring in more work. The website is in the works, the yellow pages are dead and pricey so I figured I would throw some money into the wind after Christmas and see what it blew back my way.