fat pete

fart fart fart....whew had to, sorry to offend

bale bale bale

mire mire mire I guess we are stuck

tarp tarp tarp

juke juke juke

fake fake fake

I dont see many beginners talking about tusing clay...I was the same until yesterday...Clay acts like hot metal the way it moves...I use the blacksmith primer by randy McDaniels he stresses using clay....Before I got my forge up and runnin I wanted to use the hammer....so my mentor suggested I get some clay ....ok...I started my dry runs with clay...boring....but it did help...yesterday I went to visit a Blacksmith who is 84 been at it from the gig go...makes some cool animals and scenery type stuff any more...anyway after going thru his 3 unbelievabley cluttered smithys we walk in his home and he gave us lunch...well as I am walking thru the kitchen on the table near the sink there it was...a hunk of clay with a partial figure carved in waiting for finishing touches....he makes a figure in clay so he can figure out what kind of chisel or punch to use for the hot metal.....clay rocks(no pun intended) here he is to many years doing this and he still sets up with clay....he also does alot of drawings before he starts a project...I know for a fact planning is the key to any successful endeavor....banging places can be found before you even invest the time or money...there are all kinds of ways to get behind a hammer...but once your there planning the thing with clay or paper really is the ticket....I couldnt wait to bang, I found a little steam preservation place that also had a smithy there to work on the original equipment....They helped me make a coat rack no probs....but when I decided this is cool and I want one, I often walk into the shop "duh what can I make" use the clay first cause fuel costs money clay is reusable and reduces the fuel usage....it realy does move like hot metal....I have an old toy hammer and a piece of tile and I sit at night designing stuff while watching the tube....what a riot...

My wife works for an opthamologist...they are eye surgeons....Her statement was go directly to the doc...do not try and remove it....leave your eyes water...dont touch or rub.....make sure you go to a OPTHAmologist or on the weekend... ER trying to use a magnet may not be the thing to do if it is stuck in your cornea it may pull the metal out that it tears the cornea then you got big probs....So the best thing is to go directly to the dr and let it water...she has been in the buis 20 yrs .... BTW forging...I got a pair of flexable glass bigger than I fasionabley would like...grinding and some kinds of cutting...Face mask...just the other day I was grinding slag and piece jumped up and landed in my eye......look down..let the eye water ....I didnt have the mask on because it was "just a quick brushing" scared the heck out of me...on went the face mask.....

rile rile rile

fill fill fill

hang in there ed! i dont know ya but i wish you the best

Looks like my Nimba centurian

Candidquality, since you gotta make one why dont you make 2 I will pay ya so you get yours free and can have a couple of beers! Fat Pete

silo silo silo

Oh boy you guys got me all excited....I cant wait I gotta get thru winter ...It will be cabin fever time too... Thanks....

so i go on the net looking for aprons.....unbelievable I can pay anywhere from 50 bucks to 200....i dont understand what they are describing...wheres carhard when you need em??? The weirdest thing about this whole blacksmithing thing is how many different subjects you must kinda understand to be well prepared... I am sure the village smithy got wht he needed and just worked after that...I got a hammer I got a forge and I got some metal...I make hooks coat racks and try other things from time to time ..... what more do I need ...not want but need..... LOL

tows tows tows

Thanks for all your replys... I am so wound up about this...My blacksmithing teacher said "you cant build a knife till you know how to forge" this is the one I wanted to go to...... ANyone know these guys?? Intro to Bladesmithing March 03 - March 14, 2008 $850 Week 1-Harvey Dean dean@tex1.net Week 2- Dickie Robinson with Ray Kirk raker@wildblue.net dickie@amaonline.com

cowl cowl cowl

boil boil boil

sail sail sail

wain wain wain

if its cast iron....you still have areal nice flat surface ...you can always go and get a nice steel plate to put over top of the surface...so you dont ruin the flat surface....its a cool piece .... I was going to bid on it..

Thats cool....I appreciate you posting the test.....and also good Job!! I hope I can do this sometime....

Thanks guys I signed up for the march 3rd one....here is what they said about requirements..... "You need no experience in Bladesmithing or Blacksmithing to take and have a successful time in the Intro to Bladesmithing course. You must have the willingness to work with your hands and some general aptitude with working with your hands and the ability to listen and follow directions. You will learn the nomenclature of a knife in this course, so their is no need to have experience in construction of a knife. You will not design the first two knives you make. You will be assigned knives to make for the first couple of days, then later in the week you may forge the knives you wish. We start with smaller knives and straight forward designs to minimize the number of first time errors. Also, it is a much simpler task to show the students how to fix these errors while working on a smaller scale. We use both coal and propane, but predominantly propane will be used in the Intro courses. As for camping, we allow students with self contained campers to park on our grounds and use the bathroom facilities and electric hook-up from our shop."