Kevin W

Hey Tim, Thats a really good looker. I like how it is designed to be got at from every direction limited only to the depth of the 'C' frame or throat . Question...how is it that you prefer to use the smithin magician over the press in the background? seems to me it would do that kind of work well , but, I don't have a press , I do have a S.Magician, so I only half way get it. Could you elucidate, Kevin

Wonderfully, so glad you posted this, thanks.

Blueberrys settin fruit here all ready, pears too, figs next... snakes, mosquitos, pollen everywhere . "Weather the weather is cold or weather the weather is hot we have to weather the weather weather we like it or not." ~ dont know who "If all you have is a hammer,..everything looks like a nail!" Mark Twain, Yes? I love that one Yetti ! Did you know they call yetti skunk apes down here (South Alabama) ?

Nice, verry verry nice. Thanks for making my lunch time fun. Could you give a quick contrast to that little giant style hammer beside (50lbs?) your new fantabulous contrabulation. Now back to work

Heehee...I hear ya'. When I'm in situ with those folks I say something about the differience between making a shoe and getting it on a horse, followed up quickly with something about orthpedic ferriers and corrections to the ... ( by this point in the conversation I have no idea what I'm talking about) ... If they glaze over I talk about what I do to see if they are looking to hire me, if not , I'm in over my head and and reffer them our local ferrier while averting my eyes. It has never really bothered me too much, but I really don't do demos either. In fact I rarely leave the house ( thats where my shop is ). Hey Randy, You probably dont remember but I sent you an e-mail through your web site more than a year ago, b-4 I found this site, about a particularly wide and flat type of 5 burner gas forge. The job didn't come through so I never built that forge ,but, I do remember how impressed I was with your willingness to respond , and in the response. Thanks, Kevin from Alabama "don't let it get you down, its only castels burning" Neil Young "If all you have is a hammer pretty soon everything you see starts looking like a nail" Mark Twain

Nice clean forge work there Sam. Try passibg the stock through and then drawing it out.

Yea , MC Just feeling around last night b-4 buying the stainless wire today. I've actually had sucess welding stainless with mild mig wire, of course it rusts and isn't as strong as it could have been -- DEfinately not the kind of thing I'd do for a customer , but arround the shop, well. Mike, piont well taken. The 125 is only rated for 6 or 7 gauge single pass, but I've been using this machine for a long time and we understand eachother, the machine and I. The little gantry crain I built to move the 50# Little Giant was welded up with this machine - My material rack - my lay out table... I love my little machine ( and would trade it in for a bigger one in a heartbeat ). The material size is in this case determined by form, not function, strictly aesthetic, it is (1/4' x 2 1/2") certianly overkill structurally. Really I guess I was asking about the differience between welding carbon and stainless as far as amperage goes. Perhaps my original post was a bit nebulous. "lobotmy... do you think a couple beers and a 110 buck knife would work? " Maby, you'd think the drill press would be the best choice, but, the handle always slips away at the moment if contact"

What do yall think about welding stainless with a lincon 125 plus. 1/4 inch by 2 1/2" flat - no gas, flux core? Also we' re using the gun that comes with the machine. What-cha -think??

Here is a version of the wax and oil mix I really like, I made a mild steel towel bar and used this finish on it... 2 + yrs in a steamy bathroom (two showers a day) and it showes NO sign of rust. The bar has no moving parts, just a bar on the wall. The wax I use is' Turtle Wax Express Shine ' spray on car wax, it is liquid. The brand dosn't matter, whats improtant is that the directions read something like "spray on and wipe off". The bottle reads a " special blend of natural carnauba wax and polymer shining agents that ..." and when I found about it seems like it was said the special agents were micro-crysteline wax. Just can't exactly remember what makes it special, or, where I heard about it. You dont want the the car wax that I grew up with that you buff and buff and buff. Mix it 50/50 with oil (I use linseed just because I got a lot of it). It dosn't truely mix with oil you just keep it evenly suspended, stiring and applying with a naturail hair chip brush. A little cooler than black heat, when the mix dosn't flash fire, brush it on constantly until the mix stops sizzling and popping. Then buff. It smells like Hell. Definately not for eating off of. Good luck at the shows, Kevin

I didn't have a pic of just the channel it left, thats mostly gone over with for making the undercut.

I've got two simmilar to those pictured left. I don't know what they are for but I can tell what you can do with them. I've used mine to cut a channel int mild steel as the first step to inlayin copper wire. The second step using a tiney cold chissel to make undercuts out of the square corners of the channel left by the type of tool pictured. I think they're called gravers.

Beautiefull ! yes you are a winner congrats form Alabama

My recall has never been what it used to be. What I had priced was the pressure switch regulator w/gauges part. This Magnetic motor starter goes inbetween the pressure switch and the motor? Is this a redundant part it the electric motor has a reset button? Yes a smokin deal, it just cost me time, the speedaire tank and compressor were left for the garbage to pick up and the ge motor was given to me.

I've had a similar problem with my comp, same set up. 5hp ... About 6 ft from the box fused contact. Mine is kinda cobbled together and there are no replacement parts. Inside of mine, that springy piece of metal that made the contact had a soldered on rivit, that rivit had worn away, so the solder was melting when the compressor kicked on. The first few times I just cleaned it , finally I I drilled out that old rivit and made a pretty heavy copper one, rivited it on - no solder, no problem. That fix has worked for ~2 yrs. I,m curious what others think about swapping to the magnetic switch too. As I recall the replacement for mine cost more than I have in the compressor all together.

I Know of one, Larry Cooper, a very tallented blacksmith whom I've lost touch with and am worse off for it. I believe he also makes a 'broad fork' - a kind of pitch-fork of unusual design. He can be found on the internet and works somewhere on the east coast USA. I too have watched video of them being used and was amazed at the ammound of work done , seemingly with ease, by one man and his scythe. He certianly out performed a gas powered weed-eater. Theres one type that I have made. It is about 14" long and on a one-hand handle, like a knife. Made out of a file. I made it after one that I found in North Florida, I found it where it had been sitting since probably 1940 where my wifes great grandfather sat it down. It works well for cleaning up fence lines, swinging it vertically instead of horizontally.

This is a chandelier from a couple of months ago, mostly 1 1/2" pipe, 7' wide. I also made the 15' or so of chain it hangs from. I havn't gotten any good pics of it after install, or the 1/2 size version of the one in the pic , or the dining room fixture with the 5 copper repp. lamp shades. I do more furniture and railing than anything else, just a little copper work, kinda artsy. I'm intrested in aluminum and stainless having moved close to the coast here but havnt found that job yet. More than anything lately though, I've been talking on the phone and making type o's in e-mail addresses. Hope the picture makes it. Kevin W

I found this sight B4 christmas while looking for pictures of little giant brakes. Thanks for the high res. pictures here. Seems to be quite a bit of diverse knowledge nocking around too. Don't expect much from me in that direction, but I'll give what I can. I've been blacksmithin for a living for a while now intend to keep it that way. I work out of LA (lower Alabama) Kevin