hibjib10987

I was think about getting a welder for christmas and wasn't sure what kind to get. I have a pric range of about 100-250 dollars. I don't have special plugs in my garrage or anything so it can need a 220 outlet. ANy suggestions would be very appreciated.

That is really nice. good job man.

I live over by the high school and my shop is also a little limited but i would alway like to hammer with another smith. Tell me if you ever want to hammer

that is beautiful. wow nice work i reall like the simpleness yet complexity of the design if that makes sense. Again really nice

Hello. I was looking for some other smiths in the south wake area. I have been smithing for about a year and i have found some other smiths but i would like to expand on the basis of people i have to gain knowlage from. I am good freinds with Solvarr and have worked in his shop on a number of ocassions and he has taught me a bunch. THe more teachers I have the better i will be off. I also know about the NC chapter of ABANA but it doesn't really fit my schedule. IF any other smiths are out there let me know i would love to learn what you have to teach and i am always willing to help around the shop, or cut your grass, or do other chores in return for forge time and lessons.

Every profession has a jargon - "fuller" means something to a smith, both as a verb and as a noun. Telling a machinist to go fuller a 3/4" groove on a 1" picket will only draw blank stares.

My grandfather worked in a big agricultural shop in the 1930's that employed many men -very little ornamental work was done, only horseshoeing, repair and rebuild of plows, wagons, etc. When I showed him a tenon set, or monkey tool, he remarked it was for "monkey work", which by his definition was anything ornamental (he also turned his nose up a little when he said it). When I probed a bit more, he said the less skilled smiths were called monkeys in the shop, and not capable of forging and tempering or building something as complicated as a road plow, so were consigned to "easy" work like iron fences and such (of course, he never saw any of Yellin's work but right or wrong, that was his criteria for judging a craftsman during the Depression here is Texas).

So, I think a "monkey tool" can be considered jargon, as can a multitude of other words.

I have had to fix my buffalo blower and i had to custom cut washers. so i am thinking that you are going to need to make your own parts. Another option if find another broken blower for cheap and see if it has the part you need.

That school sounds so awsome. Does any one know anything like that in NC. I would be very interested in something like that. Have a great time with your last week of the school. LUCKY

Thank you. I agree whole with the @#$%** being universal.

IF charcoal is so abundant why not just burn that soley? It smells better doesn't hav toxic gass, and gets plenty hot to forge weld. I have mixed charcoal and coal and liked it ( there was more charcoal less coal it was a one hand full of coal to about 2-2 1/2 hand fulls of charcoal.

That is ridiculously crazy. Props man very cool. looks like it might be heavy on the head but very awsome man.

the rose leaves look a little flat but over all they are very nice, good job.

I am pretty interested in history and on IFI there seems to be a wide variety of smiths from all over the country and world. I was wondering about Genreal jargon in blacksmithing and maybe a few phrases that are specific to your region or heritage. Thanks.

My favorite is about a 21/2 lb strait peen because i can control it the best. Also it doesn't have a strai edge off the face which helps when i over or under swing.

i woulds suggest that you forge the other parts of the rifle ( butt plate, trigger gaurd, tinderbox,) The barrel and lock you should defiently buy. You can by top of the line barrel and lock for 300 together. I would sugest that you do this but if you want to try. Hershal House has some blacksithing videos on making gun parts

It looks like a punch mahhe to me but the face that you would stike looks a little different than the ones i have seen but that is my two cents

JUst as a warning i would always advice wearing one. I was grinding once and it just so happened that the spaeks were hitting me in the crotch. well long story short i set my croch on fire. Yeah wear an apron

Thank you for your input

Does any one know of any scholoarships that pertain to blacksmithing. I am looking for all the scholarships I can find if any one knows of one post the link on this thread. Thank you.

I would nominate myself. I am 17 and live in north carolina. My mentor is solvarr. I have been forging for about a year. My biggest problem is that the blower for my forge is far to small. I use solvarrs gas forge when we hammer together and i enjoy it more than coal (or at least coal with an inadequite blower). I think i am deserving because i have on more than one occassion branched out and gotten two poeple into forging, also when solvarr runs a demo and i am there i aid in the safety and teaching of younger children thus passing on the tradition. I am pretty active on IFI. I read it every day. My focus in blacksmithing has no deffinant path (ie bladesmithing, general blacksmithing, art) yet, I am still learning the basic skills, with a gas forge i will be able to forge during the week which will let me hone my skills and still get my school work done. thank you for considering me for the forge it is very kind of you.

I had some luck. You need to put and extra long hose on the end and snake it for a while or your stream will be to strong and it burned through my coal like paper

Just buy an epee blade. You can make the hilt an the pomel and everything in the handle region. No one will fence you with a blade you made because it is really quite dangerous and in most fencing places they will not let you use a sword you made. Making the handle and etc will be really fun tough so i suggest you do that.

When ever i am making some thing that envolves a blade or gets thinner than bout 2/16 it burns. I know to not keep it in too long but my problem is thati want to know if any one can give me anyvisual signs that happen right before it burns. i burn a coal forge and often can't see the metal. If you can give me any suggestions other than " Just take it out before it burns you big dummy duh"

Has any one else ever been burned by flying scale. Today I was doing a hot cut with a hot cut hammer and and my anvil is on the ground so i had to stand over it and a peiece of scale fly up and hit bellow my lip and burned the xxxx out of me second degree burns. I always wear my safty glass but i was wondering if any one else has been burned by scale.

It gets the job done. I have another RR track anvil that has a stand that a do most of my actual hammering because i don't lik being on my knees when i hammer, but the free anvil works great for holding by aluminum for hot cuts and i have a spring fuller that didn't fit in my RR anvil. By using a combination of both i get a lot of work and far more efficient works done. it is actually a really good system. The next big thing is to make a stand for the free anvil.