Makoz

All this talk of mud wasps (daubers?) and plumbing makes me think of my airforce days, training as an engine mech. As you would expect aircraft engines, especially jets, are a nest of pipes, particularly around the fuel control. It was drummed into us early on to blank or plug every pipe we undid, to keep out dust, foriegn objects and mud wasps! As a way of reinforcing that habit the instructors at trade school had a bent for inserting folded paper notes, with MUD WASP written on them, into any unplugged pipe or fitting. Then you'd proceed to reasemble the engine, and only when completed would they tell you to go back and check if such-and-such a pipe held a mud wasp...resulting in a red-faced apprentice and a cross on an assessment sheet! They are a problem where I work now, plugging up gas burners in the Ceramics gas kiln (8 burners), if unused for some time, as well as BBQ's. Strange you should say that, I did a similar thing with a paper wasp nest on a brick wall, shooting an air rifle (BB gun). Got myself smack, plump between the eyes!:mad: Cheers, Makoz

My 2c worth, I use files a lot (a lot more than a real blacksmith!) so I buy only quality brand like Nicholson or Bahco. Nothing more frustrating than a file that doesn't bite! Even a good one will have a limited life, especially if used on stainless steel, or a lathe. I store mine carefully in a tool roll in the toolbox, or a rack in the workshop, so they don't get knocked about...at $12-25 a pop that makes sense. I have used Chinese ones, but IMO they are OK for woodwork but frustrating on metal. Even Australian hardwoods give them a testing! Cheers, Makoz

Hi there, Does anyone here get into Corey Harris, Eric Bibb or Harry Manx? The WAIFs? As I'm getting older I'm finding myself drawn to more acoustic laid back blues:rolleyes:, the ramped-up electric stuff is leaving me cold! Cheers, Makoz

In the same boat here, ordering steel (6" x 2" RHS) for a portal frame last week. The steel merchant said there has been a 30% price rise since the start of the year, and expect more! Market demand, particularly from China, has inflated prices. I'm sure fuel prices have impacted on transport too, as most things are trucked here, and diesel is above petrol (gas) per litre. Cheers, Makoz

Interesting discussion, and some good honest opinions about art and craft. I feel pretty well stuck on the fence between them! Sometimes I think craft is to do with making useful objects, and art is more about making stuff without a function. That's pretty simple with paintings on canvas and marble carvings... not much good for anything else other than be looked at. However, if a crafted object is unusable (like an elaborately embroidered quilt, or a knife with gold and pearls for instance) does it then become art? Could be used at a pinch, but the maker intended something else. So is it more about imagination and creativity, doing something else with the skills? When it comes to artist blacksmiths, Eduardo Chillida's early forgings are worth looking at: abstract sculptures using trad blacksmithing techniques. Cheers,

I bought a boxed set of vols 1,2 & 3 here in Aust. for $2 at a garage sale. Great reading, and although various foods and timber mentioned are US specific, the traditional skills and crafts were (or are?) just as relevant to country folk here. Gotta respect the ethos of the Foxfire people to gather that information before its gone. Cheers,

;)Whoops wife in my ear and forgot to attach photo!

Here's another junk bird I found some time back, hanging out in a box of scraps in the shed... you know, stuff that I find hard to toss away. Not much in way of blacksmithing, just some bending, bolting and the odd spot of MIG weld...so forgive me! Happy Easter.

Junkbird. They seem to breed around here. Cheers, Makoz

Hi there, I've used recycled springs for a lot of woodworking tools, both leaf and coil. Mostly it hardens and tempers OK. I agree about the Alex Weygers book, its a treasure chest of knowledge for making your own tools. Here are some photos of stuff I've forged: the first is a few chisels, not a set as such, they've been made over several years (the big one was from a Chevie leaf spring, the others from various coil springs); the next is stages in a small drawknife, made from an oxy-ed leaf spring, with a threaded bar instead of the usual tapered tang for handles; the last is of one of my drawknives in action on the shaving horse. Good luck m_brothers, there's some helpful advice here. Please post your tools when you get done. Regards, Makoz

Hi Ratel, What's a reasonable price on older hand-cranked blowers over there, the cast iron portable type? I might be interested. Cheers, Makoz

Ex Airforce engine tech; diesel fitter on heavy machinery; welder/wrought iron worker; artist & designer of public artwork; most recently, studio manager of a university arts department; now house-husband (a.k.a. kept man), with one day a week teaching workshop skills (wood and metal) to sculpture students at uni. Cheers, Andy

Hi chanterman I would recommend either of these books by Dona Meilach: "Decorative and Sculptural Ironwork: Tools, Techniques, Inspiration" and "The Contemporary Blacksmith". These are excellent large format, inspirational publications... beautiful work, beautifully photographed! Not real big on in-depth technique, but something you'll keep coming back to, just to be amazed at people's skill and artistry. Cheers, Makoz

Hi there, I haven't posted anything for a while, so thought I'd show a couple of knives I've developed. I think I've made 4 or 5 of them to the same design, and really quite a handy item in the woodwork tool kit. I use mine mostly for whittling sticks and removing bark, but equally good for cutting carpet, leather etc and really good to sharpen a pencil! The one underneath in this photo is my first one, and still my favourite. The steel is leaf spring from a 1930's Chevie, forged and ground, with some file work. Hardened & tempered into a beautiful blade! As I was new to heat treating this thing developed a noticeable bow along the blade, something I now see as a happy accident! The bow fits the blade ever so slightly around a round stick (on the top side, bow is to the left), and maybe its only in my mind but it helps get into forks and irregularities.. The handle/scales are Australian rose mahogany. The other knife is unknown spring steel, the handle is some unidentified timber (tropical?) salvaged from a pallet, with a beautiful chocolate colour. The only downside of the knife is the concave edge is slightly tricky to hone. I use the rounded shoulder of an oil stone followed by cotton mop and rouge. Cheers,

Two things: Never walk away from a vice with a knife you're working on clamped in it...lose concentration at your own risk! Always throw away your work gloves when they get holes in 'em, otherwise you'll always find the part with a hole! Cheers, Makoz

I stopped using wire wheels on the bench grinder a few years back, mainly due to risk of those loose wires spearing around. I have too many inexperienced students in the workshop to be worrying about that, so I've opted for a 3M abrasive wheel. Its like a black open rubbery material with abrasive compound in it and removes paint and rust quite quickly. The downside: a bit expensive considering they wear away in use, and they don't form a good edge to get into corners. Basically not as effective as the wire ones, and while its possible to have something grab, they are safer to use. Regards, Makoz

Well done Karl, justifiable too by what you've shown, and generous with your experience! I reckon it would be a satisfying thing to walk back into your shop after winning an award like that, thinking of the hard work and long hours that go into finishing a knife of that quality. Cheers, Makoz

Thanks guys, I was a bit tentative about posting that here, but no exchange of ideas or advice if you don't! Yes Don, I do have that book, one of my favourites. His advice about recycling is very inspirational. Regards, Makoz

Hi there, Just thought some of you may be interested in a chisel I made a while back, which I took photos of and posted a WIP on a woodwork forum. Its nothing special, and I'm not a real blacksmith so I've probably made some errors the more experienced here might like to correct! Link here: Forging a chisel - Woodwork Forums Regards, Makoz

Hi Karl, Thanks for showing photos of the pieces and how it goes together, great stuff! They really are good looking knives. I take it you forge the tang, that piece that goes through the handle, then shape it somehow before putting a thread on it? Maybe that's trade secret! I've made draw knives before and welded a threaded portion which bolted the handles onto the tang. And just another question, if I can, that last knife with the sunken "nut" in the insert...how do you screw it on, get a tool in there?!!:confused: Regards,

Nice work Karl, you have a distinctive style. Hope you sell them! When you say 'Take-down', you mean the handle and all the fittings unscrew from the hilt? I was wondering how the handle is fitted to the blade when I first looked (no rivets or pins), now I think I can see a hint of a dome nut at the end. Regards, Makoz

Hello Stefano, Beautiful work on both knives! I just spent some time looking through your amazing website, and the collection of "cutlery" is astounding. And now I understand a bit more about the photography of your knives...two artforms come together. Regards, Makoz

Thanks for the compliments! It was one of those jobs which it seemed like a good idea at the time, but no proof until the last minute, when both grinders where fitted! Cheers, Makoz

Hi there. I thought I'd post something I made for my workshop a while back, which has proved to be an extremely handy addition. I don't have a lot of room in my shed, and was having trouble mounting 2 bench grinders. Simply can't fit them side-by-side, and originally made a trundle bench with them back-to-back. It always seemed to be the one at the back I wanted to use which really started to wick me off, so I designed to following setup. The guts of it is the "L" shaped bed which pivots through 90* back and forwards, and has a positive lock at each extreme using a cam handle. The pivot is a 1" shaft running in brass bushings, very solid with no play. Quite straight fwd to use, by grasping the bed with one hand, unlatch the handles and tilt either way to expose the applicable grinder, then relock. It has no tendency to vibrate loose, really quite solid. The only trick was to cable tie the leads to stop them getting pinched. At present there is no assisted lift, but I guess as I get older I might install springs, gas strut or counterweight! In that space at the bottom between the legs I have fitted a large metal drawer to stash buffer wheels and belts, rouge etc. Hope you enjoy the pics, which are of the down & locked position, the halfway and the fully up. Makoz

Hi there, Here's a link to a description of one, converted by a guy on the Australian Woodwork Forum, which I'm on. This guy Bob has raved about its usefulness many times. Old TS lives again - part II - Woodwork Forums Cheers, Makoz