Whirly

Perrin, go into a knife shop Mate. There are umpteen blade shapes and all have a different use, so before you ask what is the best shape, you have to decide what do you want to use the blade for? Skinner, slicer, hacker, boner, utility, stabber, etc, etc, etc, ad nauseum

MO, what the hell is 'sucker rod'? I keep seeing it refered to. Is it what we would call pump drive rod? as in pump down the hole, motor on top and jointed rod going down to drive the pump?

Good effort Mate. You can make this set more user friendly by bringing the bits/jaws back closer to the pivot point. If 'twer me, I'd heat the curves and grab that RR nail and clamp it in a vice and then push the pivot closer to the vice. May look a little funny, but should give you more gripping power....and you're right, "getting better, which is what counts"; don't we all strive to achieve our version of 'ideal' in what we do, otherwise why strive? Keep up the good work, it's coming along nicely.

Whoa, Tim! That is a serious looking bit of kit. I like it! Might have to make meself one....

That's a great looking blade. I want one! and you've done a fantastic job on the bolster and handle fit. Well Done!

Glad you had to share John, feel free to share anything else :D Nice clean piece Mate. Well done!

Yup, what they all said. Good strong looking tongs. What did you use to make them from, mild, spring?

Glad the bugs are gone. It's great to see you building something so beautiful and lasting, even from such a tragic event. I know nothing will ever compensate the parents for the loss of their girl, but she died doing what she loved doing and with this sculpture, you'll imortalise her. People who see it will know who Taylor Farley was and what she loved doing, for as long as the steel endures....

Yup, think you just pegged it Sam. Was going to wade into the BS, but thought better of it. <_< Anyhow, I'm glad YOU posted pictures of what you've done. Thanks. I have a slab of 2" sitting in the shed I was going to use to build up an anvil, but maybe I'll hack a lump off it and go down this road. Like the Anvil/Swage idea. I too like your 'safety' bib....and power tools while standing on a wet surface?, yep, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do...

Ah Man, sorry to hear it, that's a mongrel trick. Hope your stuff does turn up and hope the XXXXXX who took it get a bit of Karma visited apon them. Perhaps in the form of being T-Boned by a Semi. They'd be no loss to society.....

Great to see the progress on Jaffa. Your talent is awesome Mate. With the front legs set like that, is Jaffa going to be hurdling/steeple chasing? As for the log on business, no dramas here, so .....Gremlins???

Hey hiltsbilt, have you arced this baby up yet???? Does it work as good as it looks? Think I can see one like this getting built here in the future.....

Well, I just like it!....and you can send one in this direction any time you feel like it Sam.... :D

Sam, Kevan, Cheftjcook thanks. I enjoyed making it. I'm not a sheet-metal worker, so it was a trial and error sort of thing to get the shape looking sort of realistic. Anyhow, it was fun putting it together, and it's become a bit of a photo celebrity with tourists, who've creating their own lay-by beside the road by stopping to take pics....

Oh yeah, Hiltsbilt, nice looking set-up you're making. Let us know how she fires up....

No Ratel, not possible in Oz. The mongrels have it stitched. Tanks are now bar-coded as well. As to cost of a gas-axe set up, unless you're doing a lot of cutting of odd shapes, or wanting to weld with it, a couple of grinders, 4" and 9" are a cheaper option. A 9" grinder with a cutting disc will handle 3/4" plate, or RR line. The more you need to cut, the more discs you'll use of course, but a cheaper option to buying a gas set up. (Unless you get a good second hand set). I have access to both gas and grinders and pesonally, I'd try to find the funds or save up to have both. Once you have gas available, you won't want to be without it. If getting gas, make sure you have blow-back arresters on your gas lines, between the torch and the bottles, otherwise that saying "one flash and you're ash" is a real possibility. Probably more like "one flash and you're small cooked chunks, plastered around what's let of the work shop"

What SoCal Dave said...If I'm beltin it, muffs are on. I'll take them off for finer/quieter work. Any grinding or loud noise/high freq, muffs are on. That happens too regularly during a day in the shed for music to be enjoyable. Muffs on, muffs off, muffs on etc. I find music is for driving, when your driving usually involves hours in any direction, so beltin metal, no. Behind the wheel, definate yes, and anything from Beetles/Roy Orbison/Glen Cambell era though to Creed/AC DC/Nickleback, etc (well, got grown-up kids, they learned me :D)

Hmmm, yeah, I can see why they went out of fashion, still, nice work mate....

Man you've done a good job on that! It all looks just perfect, well done!

Yowzer! Tim, Mate! that's fantastic. I hope you feel proud of yourself, because you've done a wonderful job on these...and as Beth said, you've created an heirloom. You can pass this onto your kid's kids...

G'day Matt, that is a strange looking unit, but for some reason, the more I look at it, the more I like it. Would make a great skinning blade. Nice wood-work. Thanks for putting it out there. Great effort for a first go. I too like the 'character' look

Greeny, no idea what you're talking about Mate. I'm in a part of the world where the termites are about 3/4" long and they'll eat everything that isn't native (and a lot of stuff that is), so not much tillering goes on around here, but thanks for the thought. HDF, Ive only been test driving it as yet, on it's wheels and it rocks a bit, as to be expected. I got some conveyor belt last week, so hope to really trial the hammer this weekend. The plate it's bolted to has a slight curve, so some areas of the base are on filler pieces. Not ideal, but ok to start with. if it pans out alright, I may build up the area under the hammer, or I'll look around for another flat sheet to replace with. Sam, thanks Mate. I'm pretty chuffed to have this thing up and running finally and hope it works as well as it is looking to do. Will keep you posted as to how it performs....

Good for you Kendall, keep asking the questions. There are a lot of experienced people on here who can help you get to where you want to be. Not all of them have forgotten that they too were once learners...however, as the man in the long coat with the sword has pointed out, it's good to start with reading the 'Stickies' at the start of each section. A heap of good info has been put in those and most times the answer will be in there, saving you from asking the 'Stupid' question (BTW, there's no such thing) and getting some folk frothing at the mouth. Personally, if I can't add a helpful comment, then I don't usually comment. There's also PM to members. I've contacted clever, experienced folk on here to ask for straight forward answers and have recieved helpful, easy to understand answers that I can then apply to what I'm trying to achieve. Keep up the good work Mate. If a person is trying to learn and isn't, then the teacher is at fault.........

Good Grief! Chris you turn weapons and tools into works of art! I am just totally gob-smacked at what you produce. Awesome, keep it coming......

Very nice looking tongs Mate. If this is how you're starting out, I look forward to seeing what you'll produce in the future. I too am fairly new to this stuff and have produced a few sets of tongs. I then took a leaf from Sam Salvati's book and have started making them from vehicle coil spring straightened out. Have a go, you'll notice the difference. Well done.....