David Gaddis

Funny thing about springs and suspension with a great example being shown above with the locomotive. Their springs are there to allow for minute differences in tracks and manufacturing abnormalities. The view shows where the spring has been over-weighed a bit as the springs are taking on a reverse camber that is witnessed near the top extreme ends. a comparison to a far extreme is a race car, whose springs are designed to support the vehicle in straight and level travel PLUS the amount of energy it receives in the most compressive points in a curve / braking solution. in the past we used rubber o-rings on the shock struts to witness the amount of travel the suspension travelled in such situations. So if a locomotive weighs sooo many tons and there are only a few suspension points, how much calculated weight would be supported ...like as in the photo? carry on

Only springs I can remember on a rail car are coils. When a crane lifts the trucks and axles the springs sometimes separate. They are easily re-inserted into the proper location using cranes etc. In our area we have witnessed several train derailments so watching the cranes work along with their properly trained crew was an interesting event. Most impressive to me was their large cranes they used although they were very short. At the same time I was working with cranes and draglines that were longer yet lighter in activity. Carry on

Thanks for posting these pic and videos. There are some subtle bits of good information that many viewers may not be aware of. One is shown as the hammer is being rotated after each hit, with the flatter on top and the rounding cup on the bottom. Go back and look at it. That rotation helps keep the rounding ball from going lopsided because we each hit a bit differently with each stroke. That rotation averages out those errant strikes. Another subtle picture is going from the striking phase of the cheeks and then back to the cupping die. Why? When the metal is drawn down by fullering it also seizes the drifting action. So to release the drift from the hammer metal a smart hit or two on hte ends pushes the metal to loosen itself from the drift. this is an action to not be taken lightly. Should you be is this phase and slow down the hot swelled hammer material will cool and seize the drift. Then you have to beat the heck out of the drift to remove it...sometimes unsuccessfully. And what a very neat shop. Many of us are envious in this area for sure. But there was one situation that makes a strong example. Striking height is very high. If the striking height was lowered quite a bit then the hammer would be hitting the top tools at about the same level as the anvil is now. Great videos Carry on

How about this...make your own coal! Google charcoal making at home. Use old pallets that come in from shipping. Generally there are pallets near ports or businesses everywhere. Glad you are here too. Carry on

For the young smith...the description is much more simple than the implementation. A good scroll by hand takes experience and time...less time after much experience. You too can do as these masters have told you so do not feel bad about your example. Now with your eye-opening critiques that have been offered use that information and go forward. Look up "scroll" and "golden mean" to see how that information may be used by yourself too. All good smiths have travelled the very same road on their destination to good scrolling. Carry on

On the idea of cable...many types of cable is center cored with a fiber material that is not metal! We used tousands of feet of that stuff on draglines waaay back when I was much younger. 6x19 IPWR was 6 seperate rolls of 19 strands Improved Wire Rope. As I understand it is a high quality material for blade and stuff. Many of my friends use cable to make cable knives so that is in itself a demascus and pattern-welded material. It makes a neat handle for many to hold onto but using a cable much larger than 1 inch diameter makes a very heavy knife....maybe it should be a machete! carry on

If it is only 900 feet square etc, then install the tubing while eliminating the possible hammer install area. Down were I reside we do not use such but concrete still gets cold, so a step-onto insulator mat is nice. I have never had an issue with fiberglass not to finish out to smooth yet that would require some tyoe of extra anything. Our soil does move arounf so the usage of added fiber is a no-brainer for me. Of course your area may be of differing requirements. MANY OF US HAVE GONE THROUGH THE SHOP EXPANSION MODE in our lives. I am doing the same thing myself. Converting, adding, levelling, straining the budget etc. Please do not throw good money after bad. Plan for the future. Think about getting old and your retreat location. If being warm on the floor will be important then well so be it in your thinking today. Install the tubing todayand install the heater when money affords itself. Your location is in your plans for tomorrow. Make tomorrows your plans. Nothing really wrong with pebbles and gravel until the budget fits. Then you can put down the best work surface you can afford. Think about your budget today and long range plans. Godd luck on your decision, and implementation Carry on

A hardy tool will sure give you a lot of life. But I would still grind an area on each side for a good radius that is pretty clean. The surface appears to be rather flat in general so it would be good for you in straight line work. But do ENJOY the thing until you find the perfect replacement. I have only one good anvil , edges and all that, but the hardy hole is metric! Wished it was a couple hundred pounds heavier. And then again I am glad it isn't so heavy that I can move it by myself. Carry on

NOT FAIR.....you put up a sheet of plywood so we could not see what kind of mess that is present in your shop. Very nice stand...really unusual foot patterns too. Where would someone get that idea? Maybe I have seen that picture somewhere. enjoy carry on

You need to remove this picture from the site. If my wife sees this she will expect me to try to make one also. No kidding...this is a beautiful piece of true artwork! Carry on

In our town there is a waterjet that requires $225 per hour to hire. Seems to be just pricey enough to keep the street-walkers from getting little jobs priced. If a person had a whole bunch the price could go down per piece as the waterjet is very quick on thin stuff like that. Carry on

Very neat process there...but I would never expect anything less than that from Brian. I wished I had been there to have seen that. Carry on

My way of thinking is that it is a jack stand...used to cross the track when a jacks would be inserted onto the top, then lifting a rail car / engine when they had the old oil filled bearings. Now days all rail equiptment has sealed bearings. But I would like to have one myself. Carry on

Thank you for your display of dedication! And thank you for that video. Several here will offer their advice and I may make a little piece myself. How about thinking of thick cloth, such as mattress covers, or canvas. it might prove to be more pliable to the lesser experienced worker where the video showed a rubberized one. i bet it was not his first one either. please do not stop your quest for learning the spirit and the spirit of smithing. Carry on

In our neck of the woods 6 in is thin for shock stuff...but more than necessary for most anything else. if I was including a serious "striking" area then I would put that section 8 in with rebar on 6 in square and poured with fiberglass added. We have seen some serious striking accomplished and there is a whole lot-a-shakin' goin' on. Anchor bolts are a consideration, so if you want something seriously mounted to the floor, you may need some thick stuff. Many people get away with 4 inch stuff...and should in most situations be able to yourself, if the sub-base is really good stuff. Do make it flat as possible when you have it poured and have a good finisher do the final work. I am very aware of all the broom finishes, etc, but a smooth surface cleans up oh-so-very easily. if you have a smooth finish your life will become a whole lot easier. good luck Carry on

congrats carry on

I gladly say this is one very impressive project that was carried out in style. Congrats to yall "smiths" carry on

Good to see you "posting...Kainon". Tell them about you very noisy anvil stand..Ha!

Maybe I am wrong. One on the people I looked up to in all smithings segments told me in so many words "demo for a fee. but never demo how to make the items you are selling to the same people." He explained that many potential buyers would think that making a certain smithing project to not be worth that amount when they witnessed the smith creating the item. everyone know some shortcuts on a project, and yes they save time. So i am all for the demo guy, and for the smith making a living. I do not understand how you would be able to demo and sell at the same time...properly. Carry on

I am NOT a blade guy. In your chase to find a good taper, look to your grinder. Practice with your rounding hammer until there are few elephant tracks as possible in your forgings. Then use the grinder just like it would be used on a blade. When you get good, there will be a whole lots less grinding while you will be supremely interested in the quality of every blow of the hammer. Do not believe it? Ask all those bladesmiths around...they will tell you the hammer control starts the whole program. Congrats on your first attempt though. No one here would ever want to take that away from you. They had their first once upon a time. Carry on.

1/2 inch square piece about 6 inch long will have enough metal to make a dandy set that has a good amount of metal for a good grip. Should be about 9 in to 12 in long overall. Dang good small set to keep close by.

i think 3/8 round too small and 1/2 round marginal for tongs, unless for a special purpose. yes they have enough metal for the reigns (handles) but not enough for the business end. Of course there is always an exception and after you have completed several more sets of tongs you will get a grasp on the amount of metal to be moved in the right direction for your project. Heck I am still learning this every time I get the fire going. You, me, and a whole lot more are learning different things everyday...I hope. And hopefully you will find someone to help you a bit. Carry on

In your spare time while learning the control on the stick angles, feed rate, turn the welder down until it will hardly weld at all. Then increase it until the rod almost explodes from the high current. Somewhere in the midst will most likely be an operating range that you will immediately notice by sound and the pressure of the welding process that pushes the rod out of the puddle. When starting out that feeling will not be easy to feel. As you get experience you will stop holding the rod holder like a sledge hammer and start using it like an artist brush. It will become the end of a drawing instrument is what my teacher taught me. It is a glorious day when you learn to feel the pressure of the electrode in the puddle.Then vertical welding becomes the preferred position to work! Carry on

A roof jack should be quite inexpensive. You may need to put an additional layer of metal around the flue, however. The roof jacks would be the easiest too. If not available look in the "home repair book" and install some flanges...then roof cement the flange to the existing roof. The flanges would be screwed to the flue...perfection is not required. You may need to think about the wind struts for those occasional hurricanes we have down South. Cheap to install now...very expensive to repair when it rips out out the roof in the heavy blow. Just saying....But I still prefer to live down South even though we do have hurricanes. Looks good too. Carry on

Congrats on your accomplishments. They are the same building blocks we all are travelling in life. Carry on