Neil Blythin

Hello Lyn. I'm 37 and just went back to college last year on a 3 yr program. I'll warn you that it's not an easy transition back into a school setting when you're 10 ~ 15 years (or more) older than all of your class mates, but I'm still finding it a very rewarding experience. Best of luck with your studies!

To amuse my 4 year old son, whenever I forge a snake, I get it good and hot then quench it slowly a bit at a time to prolong the snakes 'hiss'.

Jet fuel is essentially kerosene. AvGas is gasoline. Many older general aviation aircraft (the cessna & piper aircraft built in the 50's - 70's) these days are running automotive gasoline (which they call 'MoGas'), as the grade of AvGas they were designed to run on is no longer readily available. Those older aircraft engines were designed to run an avgas grade called 80/87 (between 80 to 87 octane, leaded gas), which is no longer produced. The 'common' grade of avgas is called 100LL (100 octane, low lead); which is actually a bit too high of an octane to make those old engines happy. But, they are happier on that than on lead-free mogas, which is closer to the octane rating they like. The happy medium is running a tank of 100LL through every once and a while (for the lead content) and running on mogas the rest of the time. If you have a general aviation airport near by, stop in at the local flying club and have a chat with them. Pilots take a small fuel sample from each tank every day the aircraft is operated (to check the fuel for water contamination). This sample then needs to be dumped. Usually, there is a fuel can in the corner of the hangar for collecting fuel samples. If you're just looking for some leaded gas for an old machine engine, you can probably arrange to empty the fuel sample can every so often for free. This saves them the hassle of having to properly dispose of it. Mix it in with a little regular gasoline, and you'll end up with a mid-grade fuel with some lead in it.

Aviation fuel (AvGas) is still leaded, and is also alcohol free.

All fine and dandy till you flip the hammer over to use the peen ;) Seriously though, it looks great!

Good luck and take care Captaincrash. If you ever change your mind, and want to get back into smithing, you should check out OABA. There are a lot of good people there, who can easily direct you to the resources you're having trouble finding on your own.

I've used a product called "Pentacryl" with good results. I get it from Lee Valley, but there are a number of other woodworking suppliers that carry it.

I listen to this industrial sounding, percussion music that sounds something like this: ..... tink, tink, tink, tink, tink, tink. .... tink, tink, tink, tink, tink, tink.

For best results, the clay pellets should be ground or pulverized into a clay powder, then hydrated. Add the water a bit at a time. Too much and its a horrible, nasty, sticky, gooey mess. I helped a couple of guys to do this before. The first guy just added water to the kitty litter, as-is, and it was a disaster. The second guy ground the pellets up first, and it was far less of a disaster. But in either case, I'll never help out with doing this again. I don't think either turned out that great in the end. Sure, it's cheap. And it does insulate well enough. It's just not a very elegant solution.

I just re-read this thread after my first really hot work day of the season, and its a great reminder of how dangerous extreme heat can be. I really pushed myself yesterday (working on a project with a tight deadline). Did just over 6 hours in a shop where the temp was hovering around 45 degrees... I kept hydrated, and felt okay, but in retrospect I probably shouldn't have been working by myself in those conditions. One doesn't realize how quickly heat stress can sneak up on you. Take it easy this summer folks!

Hey Jeff, I love the forge thats showing just inside the door on one of your SketchUp renderings. Is that a component you drew up yourself, or did you find it somewhere?

Right you are Bryan! I've been away from a computer for a bit, mostly checking emails and such from my phone - but I should have posted a few photos before now... Here is Evelyn: And here is her tiny sister, Rachel: Thank you all for your prayers, best wishes and words of support. Cheers, Neil

My wife & I welcomed our twin baby girls, Evelyn & Rachel, into the world this past Monday night... Unfortunately, they decided to arrive a few months early and were born at 28 weeks gestation. They had previously been battling two rare and serious complications with the pregnancy. Evelyn was 1280g (2 lbs 12 oz) and 37 cm (14.5"). Her sister Rachel was only 330g (12 oz) and 24 cm (9.5"). Statistically, Evelyn's chances are good. Rachel on the other hand has a very difficult road ahead of her. She is the smallest preemie they have ever had at this hospital (McMaster in Hamilton, ON) which is one of the largest neonatal units in Canada. We've been told that, if all goes well, they'll be in the NICU for at least 12 weeks.

Fastest & easiest? A propane plumbers torch. When the fuel starts glowing, give it a blast of air and turn off the torch.

Friends, I've found a solution to a problem that a number of you appear to have discussed in the past... How do you get your better half to allow you to keep that special anvil (antique or collectors piece) in the house? Allow me to introduce you to the concept of a 'kitchen anvil': My wife did a bunch of baking over the Christmas holidays. Some of those goodies were done as gifts, and were also done at the last minute. When my wife was having a mini-nervous breakdown over getting these pans of baked goods to cool in time to take them with us to a dinner, I had the idea of putting them in the shop on top of an anvil. The effect of that large of a mass of cold steel, just sucks the heat out of anything, quickly! And again last night, my sister-in-law dropped off a large tray of lasagna for us. It was too hot to go straight into the fridge, and would have taken too long to cool on the counter before bedtime. But, after an hour sitting on a cold anvil, it was plenty cool enough for the fridge. Give it a try, and you may find that your partner is far more willing to consider having a large chunk of steel kicking around the house! Cheers, Neil

that a blacksmith's shop is painted white, and is far too clean and tidy?

Darrell, Old Fort Erie is just in the process of getting one (this is their big anniversary year, of the 1813 siege of the fort)... They had one build last year that they sent back because it wasn't the right one; Not sure if they've received the replacement yet, but it should be soon. I have contact info for the guy at the fort who was coordinating it if you'd like to talk to them about it. From that other linked thread - I'm haven't seen the one at Fort York. Fort George doesn't have a portable, as they have an Articifer's Shop with a (masonry?) forge in it. Cheers, Neil

Last year I made my mom a copper rose, this year I made a garden decoration (a snake, sunning on a rock). Luckily for me, she's big into gardening, so anything plant/flower/garden related can't miss.

It is so rate to see anything authentic in the movies. I'm a locksmith by trade, and their fora are full of people hacking on how lock picking is portrayed in TV & movies. One smithing example I recently noticed, was Orlando Bloom in 'The Kingdom of Heaven'. Early in the film he is a blacksmith/farrier, and they do have him pounding on actual incandescent steel. They then show him shoeing a horse - 'burning on' a shoe to test it's fit, etc. it wasn't a half bad attempt, for Hollywood.

I'm currently going to school for a program in 'Built Heritage Conservation', and we regularly use lime mortars (and lime plasters) as its the 'go-to' material in restoration/conservation work. Once you get used to it, its far more enjoyable to use than modern mortars. Last fall we did a lime burn at school. It was really neat to see chunks of limestone go into the kiln, pull quicklime out and mix up your own lime putty. Its really not a complicated process, it just takes a bit of time and a lot of charcoal!

I'm wondering this as well. Around here, "finders keepers" doesn't apply to anything considered to be "archaeology"...

Hey Colleen, I wish I'd seen your post sooner (the forum software hasn't been working for me on my phone)... If you're still in the area, stop by tomorrow (Friday Apr 12). We've been having 1st year forge class this week and are at it tomorrow as well. Lloyd Johnston is teaching along with Pierre Bédard (a very good smith from Quebec). Also Lisa Langdon who is the OABA webmaster has been with us as well. It's been a bit cold out, but a lot of fun. We've got six forges going with about a dozen or so students. We're there all day, from about 8:00am. Just follow the smell of coal smoke... Cheers, Neil

[sorry, double post. Got an error message when I hit submit]

I had a heck of a time finding an anvil when I was getting started, and as you've found, there isn't much in the way of scrap yards selling to the public in southern Ontario. My first improvised anvil was an 18" length of 175 Lb crane rail (which is far different than railroad track - the crane rail having a 'web' section that's over 2" thick). The crane rail was new, straight from the manufacturer. They have a work yard in Smithville where you can get smaller pieces. I think it was $1 / Lb, plus a small fee for cutting it. My piece of rail was over 80 lbs .... And I have to say, I did a ton of work on it. Size wise, there isn't much difference between it and my 100 Lb Brooks anvil. Cheers, Neil

Hey folks, I'm not sure how many of you are local to the Niagara region, but figured I'd mention this just in case. I'm currently a student a the School of Restoration Arts at Willowbank, in Queenston. We're a post-secondary institution that teaches 'built heritage conservation' (i.e. maintaining and repairing heritage buildings). In a couple of weeks, we are having our annual open house. It's an opportunity for both perspective students, and members of the general public to check out all of the exciting things that are going on at the school. We will have dry stone walling, timber framing, stained glass, and stone carving amongst the demonstrations. We're also going to have the forge going. Lloyd Johnston (who is our current instructor) is coming to demo, along with myself and a few of the other students. If any of you are in the area, it should be a fun day. The estate itself is pretty cool, and his is one of the few opportunities for a tour of the house. Its a Greek revival mansion, built around 1830; and is a National Historic Site. Anyways, if any are interested, it's Saturday April 20th. The info is on the school's website: http://willowbank.ca/content/beta/home/school-of-restoration-arts/place/open-house/ Cheers, Neil