David Einhorn

The main supplier of broom corn to craftspeople is R.E. Caddy.
http://www.recaddy.c...5b90c0098cc00��, the other option is to find a local broom factory and purchase some from them if they are willing.

The only savings that you are likely to find is to save on shipping by purchasing locally. The broom corn is surprisingly heavy (my guess is more than twice the weight per cubic foot when compared to field straw) and would likely need to be shipped by freight from whatever source you are purchasing from. I have yet to decide if spending the day and gasoline to drive today to pick up the broom corn was cost effective..... probably not when one considers about 40 dollars or more on gas and over 4 hours of driving.

Be careful about what you are planting if you plant sorghum, Sorghum vulgare var. technicum is what is normally planted for brooms, and word has it that an acre produces enough broom corn for about 18 brooms. Sorghum bicolor is considered a noxious week by some state agricultural departments such as Pennsylvania, so that some folks dye Sorghum Vulgare when they want other colors. Harvesting, drying and removing the seeds from sorghum is very labor intensive, so that and shipping accounts for a lot of the cost of purchasing broom corn from suppliers. Also, if you are not purchasing broom corn by the multi-ton amounts, the broom corn is priced by crafter's prices and not by factory prices. As a "crafter" be prepared for sticker shock and tears when you calculate your cost per pound of broom corn as it arrives at your door.

Looking swell. What is your source for broom corn/straw?Aaron

My next project will be to construct storage shelves in the only room in my shop where the broom corn can be kept warm and dry. So it is perhaps one could say that I am shelving any sweeping changes. ;-)

note: My apologies for the pun(s), it looks as if Stuart and I am getting into the habit of punning (if that is a word) each other. ;-)

so, you are making sweeping changes in your blacksmith shop?

Thank you for the kind words. My aim is to be able to make nicer brooms with:
- contrasting black or dark blue thread to look nicer with the iron.
- make brooms sewn either round or flat
- trimmed or untrimmed ends
- woven or non-woven where the broom corn meets the handles
- options of either artificial fiber sewing cord,
or the option of natural fiber sewing cord for brooms that are both made in the U.S.A. and 100% recyclable
- the broom winder that I built will handle forged handles up to 2 inches in diameter, I will eventually make an adapter to wind broom corn on handles of almost infinite diameter.

Looking real good to me! Certainly mighty nice for a first try!

I donated my first broom that I wound on a handle that I hand-forged to last month's raffle at the local blacksmith's guild meeting. Today I purchased a 108 pound bale of broom-maker's straw. With the upgrades in straw, and the addition of a straw-trimmer for brooms, newly forged broom-sewing needle, and different thread, I expect the next batch of brooms to look much nicer.

Here is the broom that I donated to last month's raffle.

Here are pictures of the rectangular bellows in my reproduction 1800s wheeled Traveling Forge.

Also shown is a picture of my more traditionally shaped bellows before installing the bellows cover. My apologies as I don't have any pictures of the completed bellows.

Paint, repair and use. I'm sure the comment about patina was a joke. I always laugh at Stuart's jokes.

Additionally, I have heard several antique dealers use "repaired by a blacksmith" as adding value to items.

Living on a hill tends to keep us away from flooding issues. While driving might be a problem, we should do OK even in the unlikely event that we have to live in the 19th century for a few days. Keep in mind that olive oil, peanut oil, etc can be used in antique type wick lamps if you run out of kerosene-based "lamp oil".

Depending on the size and location of your valves, the ribs could also make it less likely that the bellows cover will interfere with the functioning of your valves. The larger the bellows and the wider the bellows open, the more likely the bellows cover will interfere with the valves if the bellows does not have ribs.

Я не могу найти перевод помредников . Я также не уверен, что вы хотите создать. Вы имеете в виду веб-сайте или, возможно, продавцы курятник?

I can not find a translation pomrednikov. I'm also not sure what you want to create. You mean the website or perhaps sellers coop?

I've never had any interest in shooting anvils. It just does not seem very safe to me. If I want to hear big bangs, I could just hang around the guys with Civil War cannons.

Very nice, thank you for sharing.

OK now you are getting me started on photos of Mastiffs with blacksmith stuff.... Here is a Mastiff inspecting my work...

Very clever, thank you for sharing.

Your efforts to build a bellows is truly heroic, and I commend you for your efforts in trying to build each type of bellows. I would like to see you succeed in having a functional bellows and forge.
However, in looking at the photographs of your woodworking attempts to build various bellows (box bellows, tire inner-tube bellows and now a standard teardrop shaped bellows) , I suggest enlisting the efforts of a local woodworker if you want to have a bellows that works.

Very nice, thank you for sharing.

Bellows can be just about any shape that you want. The corners tend to be rounded to make it easier to attach the bellows cover.

The teardrop shape tends to give you the maximum air-volume versus weight-of-bellows ratio. This is because the area furthest from the hinge moves the most and therefore provides the most air movement.

Here are two U.S. Government diagrams of a rectangular bellows from the mid-1800s, top and side views:

^{My advice is to join a local blacksmith group and try out as many of other smiths' forges as you can. That way you can find out what features work best for you and for the type of work you are producing.}

....David- had to happen at Manassas didn't it? First or 2nd Manassas?

It was a training weekend with the 2nd U.S. about 11 or so years ago. If it had been my horse I would not have taken her into the swampy field that they arranged to camp and train in. The horse that I rented sank into the ground up to his pasterns with each soggy step. I warned them that while I had what was called "a natural seat" and rode balanced style (according to my mother-in-law who used to train people to ride), and looked like I knew what I was doing, that I was a beginner rider (I had been on a horse no more than three times in my life.) To make the story short, I got tired, the horse reared, I tried to get off, my left period-correct brogen-shoe (I have wide feet) got stuck in the period correct stirrup, I landed on my back, the saddle with horse attached landed on my chest and rolled around, and then the horse placed one of its steel shod feet on the inside of my left thigh (just missing my you-know-what) and ground it to hamburger when he stood up. None of the doctors in the emergency room, or the orthopedic doctor that I went to, had a clue what to do, so I ended up buying a second-hand scuba jacket material and velcro to make my own brace to hold the leg together until it could heal some.

The lesson learned: safety first, period correctness a dead last. Modern stirrups, modern riding boots, and not to ride with what my wife's relatives and other horsey people call "yahoos" (guys who did not take formal riding/safety lessons, but instead ride around recklessly waving their hat and yelling "yahoo").

Depends on whether it is intended as a display-only piece or you plan on using it. For display only silver-soldering into grooves, for actual use you could try fold-forming a sheet of steel, or multiple sheets of steel and attaching them together.

http://en.wikipedia....ki/Fold-forming
http://www.metalwerx.com/workshop/132
http://www.ganoksin....rary/subject/52
http://www.facebook.com/foldforming

Having had my foot caught in a stirrup while a horse flipped over on top of me, and then stepped on me, because of historically correct shoes and stirrups..... there is much to be said about using modern stirrups and riding boots for safety. I ended up lying on the floor of the Manassas Hospital Emergency Room for a couple of hours waiting to be triaged.

I will never try that combination of historical correctness again. It took seven years for my leg to heal to the point it is now, which is still not great.

Safety first; beauty and/or historical correctness a dead last. .... pun intended. ;-)

That is a neat looking anvil.

My guess is that the rear jaw could slide backwards for larger work. Nice vise design.

To me the anvil looks as if it is waiting for the smith to return.

My wife having a long family history of farming, simply inserted the end of a garden hose into the hole and turned on the water.

Apparently hornets (yellow jackets) can't breath under water. And no contaminating your ground water while you are at it. :D

Extremely nice, thank you for sharing.

I had to Google it to find out more:

You can also use second-hand rubber roofing material, as well as fake leather type upholstery material. You can also take canvas and paint or spray it with "tool dip".

Personally, I am biased as I much prefer traditional type bellows. Cost depends on your ability to scrounge.
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