Farmweld

Thanks Rob, We found your blog and filed it for future reference but I was enquiring to see what else is out and about and reccomended by others. Especially as it seems there are many smiths on here who have done other things during their lifetime, some may even be software engineers! (thinks: how do I hit a perl module with a hammer?). Thanks Glenn and David, I'm going to have to read through that thread and see whats in it (xxxx, more time in front of the screen). Just had an interesting afternoon out shopping with the cherubs, will discuss it later, maybe, once I recover. Andrew Hood

Hi from South Australia, My wife and I run a small fabrication/smithing/bespoke shop and are having trouble with some customers not being able to visualise what the final product will look like. You've probably all had one, "I want some swirly bits over thereish, and perhaps one of those spike things here, and I want it to have a bluey purple patina and I don't want to spend more than $100". Five drawings and a lot of patience later you end up with a small pink cube with a yellow flower on the front. (We fixed that by starting to charge a hefty drawing fee, deductable from the final job, to chaff out the time wasters). We have been using Ornamental Pro as a drawing program but we are really hitting its limitations as a cheap 2D program and need to upgrade a bit. We are looking for reccomendations for a CAD / 3D drawing program that is fairly easy to learn and use, that can draw scaleable scrolls (even if we have to work out how to put them in as a component in the first place) and doesn't cost an appendage of choice. Looking forward to seeing what you all use. Andrew Hood

Good find. The edges look pretty sharp and you've got some added decoration where it looks like a shaft was stuck in a sprocket

Hi all, Another aussie to add to the list. I've been lurking for a little while now and saw mention of this thread but it took me a while to run it to earth. I run my own light fabrication business in South Australia and do some smithing as part of that. Joined ABASA last month when I went to the meeting and I might be going to my first demo day at Angaston this coming long weekend. Andrew Hood PS: fully support the use Coopers Pale as a blacksmiths lubricant

Just looking back to the pictures from when Jeremy K was over and helping weld up a limblet and is that not one but two Coopers brewery products I spy being used as Blacksmith lubricant? xxxx fine stuff that and used in our shop on a regular basis for lubrication purposes, once the machines are all turned off of course.