Neil Blythin

I'll jump in on this one (as a student of an institution that teaches historic restoration/conservation). I personally wouldn't call it 'fraudulent' per se. "Improper" would be the term I'd choose. One of the underlying principals of conservation/preservation/restoration; is that repairs should be reversible, and distinguishable from the original. Not necessarily distinguishable to the layman, but to a trained professional. That's not specific to metalwork, but to all restoration work (wood, glass, plaster, masonry, and even finishes such as paint). So, if you were to repair an antique wrought iron gate as an example - other blacksmiths and conservators should be able to tell, upon close examination, what is original and what isn't. It's okay for the difference to be difficult to spot for a member of the general public.

I'd agree with you Ratel... *If* it's an original work. That's a large part of the issue here. Just because someone is the first or most prominent seller of a particular item on Etsy, doesn't mean that's their entirely new and unique design.

Cut the excess handle off, drill out as much of the remaining handle as you can from the eye, then use a punch to collapse the rest of the plastic in to the centre of the drilled holes.

Excellent questions/points Gerald! So not to pick on Brian, but to use these horse head openers as an example... People have been carving animal heads on things since time immemorial. Brian is certainly not the first person to adorn the handle of a small utilitarian object with a horse head. Bottle openers, of all shapes and forms, have been around a long, long time. To combine the two is not an entirely unique idea. Now, the ones he demonstrates how to make in a freely available YouTube video may be of a particular, recognizable, style. But again, if he were to want to maintain ownership or control of that particular style, he wouldn't have made and shared a video. To say others making these is "seriously uncool" ... I don't understand that position. And as Gerald mentioned, if someone paid to take a class and was taught that particular method / design. To use another example (sorry Brian, again not trying to single you out, just a good example for discussion) is the rounding hammers he demonstrates in another video. All over the place, I see these described as "Brazeal style"; but time and time again on this site, he's said 'they aren't my design'. But I'm certain some people here would criticize anyone they saw making and selling such hammers - and we'd see accusations of a 'stolen design' coming from at least a few people. Great topic for discussion folks. I'm really enjoying this thread.

Do you add the cost of the Quality Assurance testing to the price of the opener; or consider it part of the overhead for the shop?

Many years ago, I took a college program for small business / entrepreneurship. Intellectual Property (i.e. the laws surrounding trademarks, patents, and copyright) was a a topic we covered in great detail. There are a lot of would-be inventors in the world, and also a lot of creative people who think they have come up with some new idea. But in order to patent or trademark something, you need to prove that it is substantially different from that which already exists. Not an easy task. Many who try to protect their 'unique' idea (or design), upon further research, come to find that their idea isn't so unique after all. Its not so much that 'there are no new ideas', as some have suggested; but rather new ideas are not too common. Especially in a craft as old as ours. So many talented and creative people, the world over, have been pounding on metal for so long - that a truly unique design is hard to come by. Everything is influenced by work you've seen. IMHO, unless you're trying to make a forgery of a specific persons work (complete with their mark on it), most other 'borrowing' of ideas is fair game. Especially from those who have freely shared their work on the internet without specifically trademarking, patenting or copyrighting the design. I'm a bit of a computer geek, and really like the Creative Commons idea that evolved from the open source / free software movement. They refer to the Creative Commons (CC) Intellectual Property licensing model as 'copyleft'. The underlying principal is free sharing of ideas, with 'attribution' (giving credit) to the originator(s). ... I've always thought it would be a really neat idea for the blacksmithing community to develop modern day pattern books, published under a CC license.

I remember visiting a couple of (War of 1812) forts as a kid, and watching the staff making musket balls & little soldier figurines from molten lead. No PPE of any kind... Scary stuff.

Thanks Vaughn. I've never heard of these collars before - will check them out. The inside of the gearbox was surprisingly gunk-free, and I've not found anything broken off and floating around inside. My working theory is that, since I've been using it a lot more (and oiling it more) than it's otherwise seen in years, the fresh oil & use has worked free some previously stuck part. I.e. It had missing parts (washers, spring clip, etc) but because the shafts were stuck in place, no slop. A bit of extra oil and use, and suddenly those shafts were moving in and out freely. I'll take up that excessive play with the collars you suggest, put it back together and see how it goes. Thanks again for the suggestion!

Very nice! I love the design... May have to make one for myself. Thanks for sharing.

Hello All, I have a small Canadian Forge & Blower Co. hand cranked blower, which decided to start giving me a hard time this past weekend. It started 'chattering', and grinding to a halt within a half-turn of letting go of the crank (was previously coasting about 2 turns when stopping). Anyways, I opened it up and found a couple of obvious problems... Firstly, the one large gear was being held on by the handle, as opposed to the spring clip which was missing. This allowed that gear to float in and out a 1/4" or so. The middle large gear also had quite a bit of play in it. Not sure if its due to worn thrust bearings, or missing washers, or whatever. I don't have a schematic of what its supposed to look like. Similarly, the smaller gear that the fan attaches to had a lot of this lateral play as well. So what was happening in use, was (refer to below photo): The two gear assemblies that are to the left in this photo would shift in the direction of what is the top of the photo, the one on the right would stay towards what is the bottom of the photo. This gives just enough play to allow them to disengage - causing the fan to spin freely. Again, I'm not really a machinery guy. I know it's not right, but I don't know the best fix. Can I just add washers to eliminate that play? The brass or bronze thrust bearings / bushings don't appear to be easily replaceable, and I'm not sure where I'd find replacements even if they were. I was thinking that brass washers might help... The second issue I've found, is that the large gear (that the crank handle attaches to), has worn teeth. Can I carefully file the side of the gear to remove the material that's been mushroomed over? And what about the top surface of each tooth, can I carefully file away those burrs as well? Will this help or hurt the operation of the mechanism? Sorry if these photos aren't great. It was the best I could get with my iPhone shooting through a magnifying glass. Any advice is greatly appreciated. I'd rather not mess this thing up any more than it already is. Cheers, Neil

Question for the professional farriers... How do people in your trade react to being called a blacksmith?

When I operate a motor vehicle, I'm a 'driver'. That doesn't necessarily mean I'm a 'professional driver', but I'm still driving. When you smack incandescent steel with a hammer to change its shape, you're a blacksmith. Frankly, if the working professional smiths take issue with the term, that's their hang-up. It's up to them to specify that they're 'professionals'. That said, I suppose those who live and work in one of the few places that still have a formal system in place for regulating the blacksmithing trade, may have a stronger argument for taking issue with non-qualified persons using the term. But in a lot of places (i.e. most of North America), there is no such system in place.

I've been trying to come up with a jig to size/test openers; and in my research I came across this: http://www.gpi.org/industry-resources/finish-drawings Figured some of you may find it useful. Cheers, Neil

I just *love* that Ram's Head opener ausfire! I've got to try doing one of those...

I picked this 250 lb PW up quite a while back (about a year and a half ago), but almost straight afterwards I took it to my school where it's been on loan until this past week. I've only just had chance to now to give it a quick wire brushing to see how much of its markings I can make out. PETER WRIGHT PATENT SOLID WROUGHT (circle) 2 1 1 The side of the anvil that has the markings has taken quite a beating during its past life. I've no idea what sort of abuse these people were subjecting this poor thing to, but it's almost obliterated the markings. It has all sorts of deep circular dings in it - in some cases deeper than the stamped letters. After wire brushing I rubbed some soapstone across it to try to highlight the lettering a bit. I don't know a ton about PW anvils, but I gather from what some others have posted, that the lack of an "ENGLAND" stamp means that it's either pre-1910, or perhaps pre-1890? Cheers, Neil

No faster than the table saws that others in this thread are suggesting people can press into service for cutting steel. My suggestion (way back at the beginning if this thread) was to use a hacksaw. I'm suggesting that *if* one were actually considering using a table saw: that a radial arm (not a miter saw, which is something entirely different) is a better option.The motor is up high, and everything is exposed. Far less likely for the sparks to catch the thing on fire or melt something. You're right of course that wood saws are meant for wood, and metal cutting saws are meant for metal.

A radial arm saw would be better suited than a table saw. The older Sears Craftsman ones have motors that don't seem to want to die, and are usually not too hard to find. Most woodworkers these days prefer a table saw, as that's what they see on tv shows and in magazines.

Sorry, I misunderstood your original post... Are you planning on cutting it all in half lengthways? (i.e. Your 2.5" x 0.25" bar into 1.25" x 0.25") If so, that's a lot if cutting! Far more effort than it's worth IMHO. Steel (especially 'mild steel') is not an expensive material. Why not save this wider flat bar for projects that are better suited to this size of stock?

Unless you're doing a lot of forging, or production work (many of the same thing), a hacksaw should suffice. Only cut pieces as you need them. If you are doing a lot of forging, then you'll eventually invest in a bandsaw or cutoff saw. Edit: or use a hot cut. Stick a longer length of this stuff in your forge and lop off the chunk you need.

Now that sir, is a fine idea!

Yes, Happy St. Dunstan's Day! Hmm, we have a local micro-brewery here called 'Silversmiths'. As good St. Dunstan is patron saint of that trade, I believe a celebratory pint of their fine brew may be in order today...

You could also try an automotive car polish. Applied cold, holds up to a lot of abuse, won't melt off if the copper gets hot in the sun, non-yellowing, etc.

Either warm in an oven / toaster oven, warm enough to melt the wax, but not cause any colour change. Beeswax has a fairly low melting point. Or, have you tried the good old beeswax, linseed oil & turpentine mixture? Not quite as hard/durable a finish as straight wax, but it's applied cold.

Oh, good grief! Now *that* is an abused anvil! Wow. Not much work left in that guy, beyond a boat anchor or door stop. Actually, I have a cunning plan... We should collect up anvils that are that toasted, fix them up with Bondo, paint them black; and swap them with all the useful anvils that are sitting out in someone's garden as an ornament.

It may only be on the Canadian network; not entirely sure.