Thomas Dean

Wife asked what I wanted for CHRISTmas and I told her "I want to go the the BAM conference". "Is that all" she says! Looks like we will be there also. How about all of IFI folks wearing some I.D. tag with your local association name or logo. This way we can put some faces with these names! Looking forward to meeting all of you. OH BTW, WELCOME to IFI 'tbarn'. Great bunch of folks here. How close are you to Potosi, MO.?

Hey guys, good ideas with the 4-WAY lug wrenches but the original question was for the SINGLE lug wrench "the kind that are bent at about 30 degrees". If welding on them I would use a 7018 rod or better, such as for bending fork. Rich Hale's ideas about the punches and chisels to me would be the way to go. I have a friend in Dallas that has a ton of punches and chisels made from these types of lug wrenches.

Hey neighbor! Where are ya? I'm in Hallsville, just out of Longview. About 120 miles east of Dallas.

This question is as broad as the east is from the west. Type of steel to be welded? Thickness? Position? New material or old & rusty? SMAW, GTAW, GMAW, FCAW, OXY/GAS? Your ability/capability? Not to be a smarty or snobby about this at all. For most of the guys/gals out there I would recommend e6011 as most everyone has a buzz boz machine and not an AC/DC machine. If welding thin gauge material e6013 is the rod, (SMAW), it was designed for thin work. Leaves a smooth bead with easy clean up. e7018 is fairly difficult for the "backyard welder". The 11018's and the 9018's are overkill, and expensive. er70s-6 is the better wire for mig (GMAW) with a 75/25 gas mix, either .023, .030, or .035 wire depending on thickness of base metal. TIG (GTAW) the er70s-3 has less silicon and easier to weld with. Fluxcore (FCAW) same gas as GTAW, either .035 or .045 wire. I use Frontiarc-711 .045. The polarity depends on the process used and the rod/wire use. Also, and very important, any low-hydrogen rod (the 7018,8018,9018 etc) should be stored at 250*F. All other rods in a dry and warm container, a light bulb will give off enough heat for this. There are a 'ka-billion' (Gerald Franklin quote ) different rods/wire out there. The best advise would be to find a GOOD, KNOWLEDGABLE welding supply store and ask what rod/process to use with the job you plan to do. You are going about it right by taking a class. But, as in most all cases, you won't learn it all in school. Good luck and 'keep our hood down' ;)

ATTA BOY! I love to hear about others doing good. And to have people looking you up is awesome. There is certainly other things that go into that kind of reputation, being a good people person and communicating with the public is extemely important. I for one will walk off and leave a good deal or good product on a table if the person in not pleasant or at the least kind. done it tons before and will probably do it again. Now kick back, relax, and enjoy.

With the weight being over 2# I still lean toward the mason's hammer. Used for cutting stone/brick. I would hate to know that I had to use a 2# chipping hammer after each weld I made! Not my idea of a good time. I have used a chipping hammer with the cross/straight chisel ends but they didn't weight near 2#s, more like 10-12oz. JWBIRONWORKS, have you thought of using an air chipping gun to texture your rose petals? That is what I use, much faster and, IMO, gives a more realistic look. One of those needle scaling guns would be perfect but I don't have one. (look in my photos in the gallery to see one of my roses for an idea on how they look.)I had used a sheetmetal hammer for this and like the chipping hammer better. Just make sure you dull the chisel some and use either a piece of aluminum or rubber under the copper petals, steel petals you don't need the soft under support. tbrforge, you're like me with the name deal. Do you use the word 'fixinta'? As in "I'm 'fixinta' go to the shop." This is a REAL word used extensively here in East Texas! :)

I think this is a chipping hammer or a mason's hammer of some sort. ( I lean more to #2) Since it has no stricking head it would be hard to use for cutting steel/iron. It will make a nice texturing hammer tho. Heck, for $2.00 I don't think you went wrong.

I'm not sure why you would want a website but will wait to put a business card together. I have no website, just the cards and I can't keep up right now. I am having to put off some folks til March or April due to my work load, (of couse, this is along with my day job;) ). I have a friend near Dallas that HAD a website, didn't get any work from it and had some unscrupulous smith using my friends site as his! needless to say he shut it down. (he didn't say what the other smith was doing now. ) IMO, the cards will get you all the work you can do, that is along with a "new baby, wife, 3 other kids and your day job".

This is what I do, YMMV. 1) I went to our local museum last fall and left my card. (they are cheap and I think well worth the money and you can print your own if you have computer skills!) The "Head Lady in charge" was very excited and asked if I would be interested in demo-ing at their Christmas open house in Dec. Yep, did that and got several good calls from it. Was asked to do it again and I will be there this Sat. I do have some items made up to sale, that was one thing I did wrong last year, no inventory. 2) I took some steak turners to work with me a few yrs back and still get orders for them. Last yr a friend ordered 9 at one time for Christmas gifts, the day before we got off for Christmas! (I was busy that night!) Yes, I do get bored with making a bunch of the same thing but the $$ is good. 3) Have some pictures of your work. Doesn't have to be professionally done but they do need to look nice. This will generate ideas with a customer..."Wow, do you think you can do this n such to one of those?" I have done several different "this n suches" to some items because of pictures. When you price your work, charge enough to make it worth your while. Otherwise you are cheapening all hand forged workand some folks will not buy it if it is priced too cheaply. They want to tell their friends how much they paid for it! go figure.... Look through the BP section here, TONS of good ideas and you can alway tweak some simple item and make it uniquely yours. Good luck, hope I haven't bored you but, you did ask....

Hey man, welcome to IFI! Good idea with the lead hammer. I had a 4x4 piece of oak that I drilled a hole in and went out and cut a sweetgum sapling for the handle. Used my old draw knife to shape the handle to fit. Have an old stump and lay the twists on the stump and use the oak hammer. Works great for me. I can think of several things to use a lead hammer on but I don't have the lead...not yet anyway. Now, hows bout heading over to the "introduce yourself" and give us a little tidbit about yourself. Hope you enjoy the site and don't forget, we LIKE pictures! :)

DANG!! You are good. Thank you again!

I thought after I posted the 2nd one it might get removed. Had I been thinking tho, ,I would have posted it in this section as I believe it gets read more. No problem and I do understand the reasoning. You do an amazing job with this site! Thank you.

You can go to the "Calendar of Events" to find out more about this birthday party. It is to be in Nebraska City, NE on Jan. 11 & 12, 2008. I had posted all the info here in this section also as I know not everyone looks at the "Calendar of Events" section but it was removed, most likely due to a double posting of the same material. (I can understand that) Anyway, check it out and mark your calendar. Should prove to be a great event. The two posts have been combined under this thread so as not to divide the discussion

Mark your calendars for Jan. 11&12, 2008! It's going to be the Mother of all birthday parties! Sid and Mary Suedmeier are throwing a birthday party for the FIRST 25# Little Giant, yes, it's serial #1. Also attending will be younger brothers, the LAST 25# Little Giant, serial #8876 and the LAST 100# Little Giant serial #1603. Win door prizes and play with a Little Giant hammer. Registration is $35.00 which includes 2 meals and ticket for door prizes. Demonstrators are; Blacksmiths; Bob Bergman, Phil Cox, Tom Clark, Ron Loken, and Dean Slader Bladesmiths; Don Hanson and David Sloan Tinsmith; Chirs Hageman Vendors; KA Airhammers/Old World Anvils, Reffinghaus Anvils, and Ozark School Tools Send your registration check to: Little Giant 420 4th Corso Nebraska City, NE 68410 Or call (402) 873-6603 and register by phone. Remember, Jan. 11&12, Nebraska City, NE. BE THERE! I'm sure cake and ice cream will be served too! :)

keykeeper, I know you know this but I have to say it anyway...If there is any galvanized material use it for your gas forge, don't forge it into any pepper or such. sorry, just had to say it. Nice score tho. And like AM said, take him a goodie that you made from his scrap. He will be amazed I'm sure.

Above post-read 'speechless' Awesome work

..........

Something that may help you locating a fellow bladesmith is to give a closer area of where you live. something like I'm 25miles southeast of XXX on highway ZZ. You may be pleasantly surprized at the results. Me, I'm in East Texas just east of Longview, TX. You are welcome to come 'bug' me but I don't do blades...yet... Good luck and welcome to IFI.

ATTA boy! Electricity is a wonderful thing in the shop. Now you can start gathering up those big toys, ahem, TOOLS you NEED. You may want to reconsider the spot light on the anvil. IMO, too much bright light and you can't tell the color of the steel on the anvil.

Howdy from East TEXAS! and welcome to IFI. You can post pictures in the Gallery AND the bladesmith section. Won't hurt a thing. I don't do blades, yet anyway. I have been in the metal trade for 34+yrs but feel I need to master blacksmithing before attempting blades. Kick back, look around, ask ?'s (if needed), and chip in on the different threads. All of us will be glad you did. Let me THANK YOU for your service to this GREAT NATION and the sacrifices I'm sure you and your family gave. I have a nephew-in-law that retired last yr after 28yrs service. He now works for a civilian company at Randolf AFB. Anyhoo, Thank you, sir.

What everyone has said about getting steel, ditto. Scrap is cheap so check out your local scrap yard. It would serve you well to let them know what you are looking for. Wear your PPE; hard hat, safety glasses, leather gloves, and a safety vest would also help. It shows good sense and gives the owner a little piece of mind. Aprons. Well, you will get varied responses here. Some wear them, some don't. I do. I consider it a tool. It serves as padding against the leg or wherever when doing several different tasks, such as upsetting. Rawhide is too heavy and the aprons you get at the big box stores are too light, IMO. The leather needs to be pliable but have some weight to it. Not real sure how leather is graded; thickness, oz. per/foot, pliablity....? Heck, you're the leather man! Also, I like the apron to hit about chest high and just above the knee, and have a pocket or 2. Good luck getting started. You'll LOVE this new art and it should serve you well. Let us see some of your work also. Like Glenn and others suggested, check for groups in your area ("BAM" is the ABANA affiliate for your state) and become hard fast friends with them! IFI is a wealth of information but seeing it done and doing it yourself can't be duplicated here.

Right noble of you, hibjib10987, to admit your mistake and then thank solvarr here for all to see. You are to be commended. Smart also about getting someone to help with the gasser! Listen, watch, and ask ?s when you need to, not just to hear yourself talk. Good luck.

Lorelie Sims has a hint in her book stating that an oldtimer blacksmith said that the water in your slack tub would rid you of poison ivy/oak/sumac when you wet the affected area with it. A friend of hers did this and came back the next day with no rash. She didn't state what kind of water was in the tub.... I use tap water, mainly because it is easy to get and our water is not hard. I do have a galv. tub that I am fixinta set up as my tub. I don't have problems with mosquitoes either. Not sure why, we have them as big a buzzards here. I guess we are too close to Louisiana! :)

I wire brush then heat (usually with a torch) til blue, then spray with a clear finish. Beeswax, or other waxes or oils are good. But I would not use motor oil. The end of the poker I usually just leave as is for about 6". Any finish you apply here will just burn off anyway and the first few times of use will most likely smoke up the room after it was used and placed back on the rack/holder. Would like to see them. Pictures please. :)

Make it, really varly simple to do. Not sure you can purchase it.