RBrown

Gota love ebay. Yes shills happen and yes more than likely most of your most successful ebay sellers use shills or have used shills. I know a few that sell on ebay and they use shills all the time. Ebay has rules but has no interest in enforcing them unless you have concrete proof. Even if you do have the proof its still a shot in the dark if they will enforce them. Not only are there shills there are allot of people that just bid up items to mess up the system. I have seen allot of items used with a winning bid much larger than what you could go down the road and buy it new for from the highest priced place you could find. Only time i buy from ebay is buy it nows and at a price plus shipping im willing to pay and if there is not at least $20 or more savings i will buy it local preferably form an independent location.

If you cant afford better then by all means purchase harbor freight and other imports. Just don't expect them to last past there warranty. Iv got a few hf products that have to my surprise lasted quite a while infarct I am surprised every time i turn them on and they still work. now my welding equipment is something different i have an old century buzz box that i have had and abused for years it even sat outside under a tarp for a long time when i didn't have a shop to put it in still works almost 20 years latter. Plasma cutter is a small esab absolutely love it got it as a reman unit. Just picked up one of those cheap hf mig welders did some horse trading guy needed something i had and i kinda felt sorry for him so i let him trade me that thing for what i had and didn't need. For what i use it for just tacking things together quickly it works fine but i don't expect it to turn on the next time i plug it in. You definetly get what you pay for.

Find a tree growing the right size for an anvil stand cut tree with trunk at right size to put anvil on and build shop around it. Im only half way joking i have one in my shop lol.

bowling, darts and pool when i have some time just got back into bowling something i can do with the wife and kids. Darts and pool just when me and my wife can find some one to watch 3 kids at one time. dosnt happen offten.

I received this in my email today. PHILIP SIMMONS Master Blacksmith (1912

Went looking for bowling balls to make vice holders like the one that was on the bp the other night and lucked up on a bunch at a thrift store. I picked one up but wife thought it was to pretty for me to cut up and we went back and bought 12 of them. Picked out 2 light ones for the kids to use and me and wife picked out ones we liked the feel of to use. not a bad haul the balls only cost us $1 each and bags cost the same.

you cant see the flub on the sheath when making the holes for the thread i came out on the edge at one place and the back side stiching looks perty bad just another learning curve to figure out. the stitching is tight i dont for see it coming loose any time soon but its one of those things.

didnt make the handel i orderd some on line didnt have time to make a handel for camping trip i intend to eventualy make my own handels for high end hawks but for spike hawks and such im just gona order them quicker and easyer for me.

I upset the end of the spike to about 5/8 square then i slit it for the eye. i close the slit back up then start working on the hawk end once i got it shaped the way i wanted i drifted the eye. after that filing and grinding to final shape. I hardend it in a batch of supper quench it holds an edge fairley well. next one i do im going to split the end and forgeweld a bit of good high carbon steel in it and heat treat the end based on what high carbon i use.

yea i did the sheath some of the things on the sheath didnt turn out the way i wanted but i havent been playing with leather that long.

Got around to maiking one while i was at the trackrock hammerin

waded up news paper ball in the bottem enought to burn for a little bit. small peices of wood work well to. Pine cones work grate only take a couple and you will have a fire in no time. Light any of the above and start putting a little air to the fire as you crank rake your coal in if you have coke left over from your last fire put it on first then rake your fresh coal on