aparofan

Thanks guys! Jim, you're never too old for a little ink.

So I was asked to make a lighted sign for a local tattoo studio. They wanted elements of tattooing incorporated into the sign. Everyone that works there also paints so I had an idea of what I needed to do. I took the owner a 13"x59" piece of 16 gauge sheet metal and told him to draw the letters he wanted plasma cut so I could back it with colored sign acrylic. What he brought me was awesome but crazy hard to cut out by hand. I then built the frame and forged the rivets to hold the sign together. Next I did all the scroll work to the point to add the other elements. The owner told me he could order tattoo machine frames to add but it seemed a shame to ruin functioning machines so I fabricated 3 of them. I also forged a paint brush and added a painters palette. For the finish I used gloss black for the center, liquid leaf airbrushed for the frame and forest green highlights to give it the look of patina. Still have to add the sign acrylic and lights but you get the idea. Name of the shop is Artistic Pursuits, wife says it's kind of hard to read but is easier with the red acrylic behind it. This one has been a fun one!

I've been commissioned to make a sign for an art studio and I want to incorporate painters palettes and brushes. I pretty much have it in my mind how I'm going to forge the brushes but a picture of others would help. I've seen them before, possibly on IFI, but I can't seem to find them now. Does anybody have any images or know where I can view them? Thanks!

Yeah, my wife looked at me like I was being silly but it's like christmas, can't wait to use it!

Been wanting a slip roller for a while but couldn't bring myself to pay what they're asking for the size I need...then there's craigslist! Guy down the road retiring from the auto body business posted this beast yesterday. I called as soon as I saw it and drove down this morning to pick it up. The guy said it was old but has been taken care of and I agree. It's a 33" roller, the gears look hardly used, and the little bit of surface rust on the rollers should come right off after the first couple of passes. Best of all, this 70# beast cost me $45! I would have hugged him but I just met him, can't wait to get rolling.

So, I didn't find an answer to my question doing a general search or maybe I'm just lazy. My question is, does anybody use or recommend using a heat gun to apply wax finishes? As it is now, I put pieces back in my gas forge to heat them up but I would much rather use electricity than my propane. Harbor freight has a 1100° gun for $10 and I thought that would be an option. Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks!

Got a pretty cool story I wanted share. When my wife's cousin started her job at the health department she said there was this lady there that just kind of gravitated to her. Turns out they have a lot in common, our familys are from the same small mountain town and they just clicked. About three weeks ago we had 12" of rain in an 8 hour period where I live in North Carolina and there was flooding in places where there was never flooding before. When I woke that morning and looked out the door my stomach sank with what I saw...my shop was almost flooded with water. I ran down and got my hammers a few tongs, o/a torch and my compressor but within 30 minutes the water was over my head and not safe to go back in the shop. I've spent the last 2 weeks cleaning and replacing but the flooding was so bad it made national news. A few days after the flood my wife's cousin and her new friend were talking and a lot of the conversation of course was about the devastation. That's when the cousin showed her the pictures of my shop I had posted on Facebook (below...tear!) and that's when the lady said "he likes to blacksmith?" The cousin said her friend got a little teary as the conversation went on because her grandfather had a shop in the small town where our familys are from. She said he died a few years back and she has some of the things he made for her but other than that all she had left was a box of old blacksmith publications. That's when she told cousin that she was going to bring me the box because she had no use for them but wanted to find someone who would use them and appreciate them. Long story short, yesterday I got a big box of anvil's ring, oldest dated 1979, and a few other books that are way cool. The neatest thing is his personal notes in the books, anything from measurements to reminders as simple as "make for shop". Just thought I would share how things have a strange and awesome way of working out. The photo with all the water is my shop. If you look you can see the roof and stove pipe of my forge.

I'm a product of the 70's and 80's so more times than not it's 80's hair metal m/m/!!

A quick question. I've been rolling my own flares for my single burner forge and they work good but for only so long. I know a lot of people use stainless flare which leads me to my question. I've just got through building and lining a double burner forge and one of my buddies who cleans out foreclosures bring me scrape metal all the time. The other day he shows up with a safety rail like they use in hospitals. I thought it was brushed aluminum until I started reading and pretty much all of them are stainless, for health reasons I assume. My question is do you think they would make a good flare and if so how hard will it be to get the right flare and what would be the best avenue for doing so? Multi question...sorry.

I think each and everyone of you have proven what I was trying to say. There is a bond in this community that goes deeper than the forge and anvil. There are people that have anything in common from cars to motorcycles to animals and I've know a few. They're always willing to help each other out for the sake of the hobby which is cool but something about this art form seems to bring people together on a whole different level. I've had invites to peoples shops, studios, and homes who didn't know me but they never gave it a second thought when they asked and I kind of chalk it up to the common love and spirit of the craft. Maybe I'm just reading more into it but I'd like to think not.

I'm still a newbie on IFI and still fairly new to blacksmithing but I had to share my experience from yesterday. The other day I posted that I was thinking about going on a power hammer hunt in some of the industrial areas in town. I got a lot of good and positive feedback and even some leads on hammers for sale. When I woke up yesterday I checked my phone and it said that I had a message from one of the members. The e-mail read something like "hey brother, I know where there are 10 or so hammers for sale in a few different states. Give me a call if you want to know more" and gave me his number...so I called. When he answered the phone I told him who I was and he says "hang on a minute, I need to finish this!" The phone drops and you hear the unmistakable sound...tink,tink,tink. When he gets back to the phone he starts with this list of people who have hammers for sale, an overwhelming list at that. Once he gives me the info I was needing then we start talking shop...for an hour! He was so knowledgeable I just listened and at one point I tried to ask a question but couldn't hardly get a word in. at that point he apologizes just by saying " sorry brother, but I'm just excited for you getting started!" I told him my plan for stepping up my game by building a bigger shop and finding a hammer I can afford to help with the big work so eventually I can distance myself from this dead end job I'm in. He then asked what I do which I told him that I've worked at the same warehouse for 18 years driving a lift for 10-12 hours a night and not happy about it. That's when he said something that got me thinking " dude, I'm sorry that you're not happy...THAT'S NOT GOOD FOR THE SOUL!" I've only know this guy for an hour but he is generally concerned about my happiness. Every smith that I've meet to date is kind and helpful and I don't think my opinion will change the more I meet because we all understand that smithing is more than just banging on hot metal. I guess in many ways it is spiritual.

I've made two anvils from track before I got my hay-budden. First one I did with an angle grinder and it took a little while but cut was clean. Second one was with o/a torch and was kind of tricky when you got to the top of the track but didn't take long at all. Problem was the torch cut track is a nightmare to clean the edges up, might as well used a grinder to begin with.

Just sent you a message Randy. That is a great looking hammer, may have to rob a liquor store to afford it but that's what I'm willing to do besides I drink beer anyways! :D

Great idea Frosty! I trade iron work for items of interest all the time, I'll look that thread up too! And of course living in north carolina we're the home of krispy kreme doughnuts, as good as money in some places.

Thanks for the encouragement and the info guys. I've had the "bug" for about 4 years now and I think you know you have it when you want to learn every aspect of the craft and that includes owning as many tools of the trade as you can get your hands on. Before I picked up my anvil on craigslist a few years ago, I would drive by this one farm house that had what looked to be a 200 lbs anvil in the front yard rusting away as "yard art" I must have stopped a half a dozen times but wouldn't sell, made me sick. This area is full of old mills long since closed and I can't help but think there's some gem in there wanting to go home with me. Hickory steel in where I get my stock and they have been in business for ever and have all these big,old, wonderful machines. Since I've been going there I've become friends with the guys in the office so I may start my hunt there. Thanks again!

The other day I went to my local steel yard to pick up supplies for a project. While I was waiting for them to pull my order I was looking around admiring all the old machinery still in use which got me to thinking. There are a lot of old mills in a couple of towns close to where I live just setting empty as well as iron and machine shops that have been in business forever still up and running. The question I have is what do any of you think the chances are that one of these run down mills or possibly one of these shops still in business might have a power hammer( a little giant or others) stuck back in a dark room somewhere just waiting for the right person to revive it?? Have any of you had the same thought or have gone on a similar hunt which proved fruitful? If so, how did you go about or will I just be wasting my time. I already have an air hammer I built but I really dig these old hammers, they just have style!