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I Forge Iron

Ten Hammers

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Everything posted by Ten Hammers

  1. Ed, I bought some plain old black pants at the store (black jean material). I then removed the back pockets with a razor blade, and the belt loops. The local Mennonite store sells suspenders that button to the pants (you'll have to buy the buttons and sew them on). My period shirt was made by a lady that does that sort of stuff (she builds tents and such too). My headwear is just a plain old black cap sold at the welding supplier (Kromer). These are good caps. Grab a couple and keep one clean, one in the wash. They look period for a smith and I've had no complaints. My nickels worth.
  2. At a recent Civil War re-enactment, myself and a gunsmith (camped beside each other) were the " Living History" for roughly 450-500 school kids. Busload after busload. Had a blast. One young lady (about 8-9 years old) asked me " gosh mister, did you really fight in the Civil War ? "
  3. Exceptional work Strine. Absolutely beautiful.
  4. Ed, lets hope you get back to feeling good again. Prayers your way Ten
  5. Bob, thanks for the link. I'm still somewhat confused about Bessemer after reading it but I think I'll now have the motivation to look further. Regards, Ten
  6. Steve, I use a Kodak cx6200. wife got it for safety prize last year so waddn't terribly expensive. not a lotta bells and whistles but no big deal to me on that. I'm happy with it. I try to keep lithium batteries for it but you got to sign for them these days. They seem to last quite a while.
  7. Just my humble opinion. I always keep the battery clean and I usually keep the terminals/cable ends immersed in some kind of grease (white lithium in a tube works) to effect di-electric (read non corroside atmoshpere) properties. If (which it seldom happens) I have a battery that needs stored for period of time I just keep it clean in a warmer place like the basement. Trickle chargers are pretty cheap but I don't own one. Really should use one on the mower battery.
  8. H Wooldridge, I would have never done this to a handle either until I visited Junior Strasil's shop. He made me a 3# straight pein that day. I bounced a few of his hammers on his anvil and they were absolutely the most lively hammers I had ever had my hands on. I have since had him make me 2 more hammers and am hoping to get a few more in the future. I have modified my commercial handles (for a large part) to the same thinned way you described. Absolutely amazing and the xtra spot in the center is awful handy for peck work sometimes.
  9. Not sure what auger pipe is, though. Is that a liner used when well digging? Ed, an auger is just a screw used to move product (in this case, augers used for moving stuff from bin on combine to wagon). Augers are used to move corn from a bin to the truck. A tractor mounted post hole digger is an auger without a pipe. A good commercial roof flash will be what you need. Just talk to an HVAC man (unless of course it's a woman) and they should be able to set you up with a leak proof chimney flash. Thats what they do for a living. Are you planning a ceiling and/or wall insulation for the shop ? Nice lookin building BTW.
  10. Actually, this is good done under shop safety. Keeping the wood scraps from the stove swept up, no leaves lying around (that have blown in the door), anything else flammable (I use either blue shop towels or a red rag with a little oil on it for finish work) should be stored properly. ALL drawers to the file cabinet closed, and just general policing of any flammables. I have a set system to shut the shop down (involving bottles turned off, compressor valve closed, damper/draft on the stove etc) that should catch anything but I sincerely believe that the deal is, just pay attention. The nose knows. :)
  11. Mister Hale, you do impeccable work.
  12. Here is my information on the side blown. We at Threshers have a side blown with a fairly big set of bellows (4' double). The forge was actually built long time ago "just for looks" we think. Refractory (knifed in) pot lining over (probobly just) sand mortar mix pot. Some kinda pipe for the blast. NO cleanout on the bottom (and a solid brick forge with no real way to put one in without extreme surgery). Hence, the ash builds pretty quick and the blast pipe is level with the bottom. Clinkers stick to the refractory that is around the blast pipe (big time). This is with first class coal. I will definitely be interested in seeing how this evolves Junior. I can see as much use for the butterfly as I can a dual blower (Jim C) with power and crank. Many times all you need is a puff or 2 but you can also open it up and honk the blast to it if you wish. Are you going to build the pot ?
  13. JJ, be well bud. May the road rise to meet ya. Down time is incredibly tough. Speedy recovery. Ten
  14. To clarify, the 3 legs of bar stock are bolted to the bottom of the auger pipe with 1/2" grade 5 bolts. The 3 bar stock legs are extended outward to not only set on the decking but to also be over a joist. These legs are then lagged into the wood they set on. This makes for an extremely solid flu entrance. Your crimped end of your stovepipe (vent pipe) now goes in the auger pipe and you make a transitioning piece to hook to the flu from the forge (or the side draft setup I described). You will eventually have to replace the flu cap as they are pretty thin and coal smoke is corrosive (when mixed with rain/snow). The auger pipe is of a thickness that it will last for years and the roof flash should insulate it from discoloring your steel roof.
  15. Just my humble opinion. a first class flashing for your roof can be made by a competent HVAC contractor (or might be purchased commercially made). I made mine but it takes a little maint. to keep it up. Just a piece of glavanized with an oval cut in it at proper size. I use a piece of auger pipe through this oval (which is cut to fit tight up against the pipe). I use Black Jack at the place where the leak will be. Will be 3 years since I have crawled up to re-seal it. In reality, a flashed/collared vent pipe entrance would have been better but you know how it goes when you need it late of an evening on Saturday night. This flu pipe is 8" and should be minimum 10" . The flu comes from the roof down to the ceiling joists (which I note in your pics are plentiful) and sets in the center cavity between 2 joists. I have a small amount of decking on top of the joists at the place where the flu rests. I cut a generous hole in the decking and now we have a place that is free of heat radiation for the flu to set. The flu (which ain't light) has 3 pieces of 3/8 x 1 (or mebbe a little wider) anchored to it and these 3 pieces of bar are bent at 90
  16. I have a whiners band that I should wear more (leather band about 3" wide that is worn on the hammer arm's wrist). This truthfully helps some. I have one of Juniors #3 straight pein hammers and it's like a wrecking ball. Forges 1/2-3/4 rod/square exceptionally well. Truthfully I just use it in the shop after the power hammer to tune stuff up mostly but I do use it a lot when doin demos. I can draw a tripod leg pretty fast with it. It don't take long to know if your body mechanics aren't right. Hopefully we don't do too much damage and recover ok. Normally the first couple blows tell me if I'm good or not. No fun havin blowed muckskels.
  17. Woody..., somehow I wish to convey our thoughts to you at your time of grief. the net will have to do for now. May God Bless you and your family and like Ralph said, take care of yourself. your family needs you. Steve & Rhonda O'Grady
  18. OK GUYS, information needed. Upcoming re-enactment. Can somebody please tell me WHEN coal was being used in relationship to the Civil War (documented please). Historically and period correct works for me. Politically correct, I could care less. Charcoal was probobly used, I don't really know. I will be using coal. Also, if you have documented information on when crank blowers were introduced (past industry level) this will be good too. I like to have accurate information and I'm at my wits end to find it. Event should be posted here on the Forum (thank you Glenn). Short notice I know. THANKS A BUNCH !
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