BorisTheSpider

Sounds like a good time. Naturally, we are expecting baby number two that week, so I doubt the wife would allow it. :D

Amazing offer! I would take that 8-hour drive in a heartbeat but I'd bet the gas money alone would be enough to buy anything I actually need. Thank you for the generosity though!

Been kicking this around a lot lately. Nothing jumps out at me as "THAT'S IT!" But I do have some ideas. Leaning (or Falling) Forge (or Smithy), because my shop is in an old garage that appears to be standing mostly out of habit. McMash Forge, for a very long-winded reason. Ready? Here goes: My hair/skin definitely suggests I'm of Irish/Scottish descent (though, truthfully, it's more German than anything else). That's just the surface though. The name is the pronunciation of Michmash (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michmash), a town on the road to ancient Jerusalem, that was the location of a battle against the Philistines, led by Saul. The name actually means "hidden treasure," which also works well with how shabby my current shop is (or as a reference to recycling old steel). Also, 1 Samuel 13 (19-22) talks about an unfortunate (albeit engineered) lack of blacksmiths in Israel, because the ruling Philistines feared the natives would create weapons and revolt. This created a dependence on the nearby Philistine forts for repairing their farm tools. That whole section sounds a warning of a tactic that has been repeated throughout history, and is indeed something to avoid, even today. Thus, by being the blacksmith "of Michmash," I am helping to preserve our freedom and independence. The third option is some play on my family name, or perhaps some local allusion. Again, none of them really jumps out at me. McMash is really neat-o, but I'm not sure about assuming a made-up surname. I could use the proper spelling, but "Michmash" just looks a little confusing. I suppose it could work being pronounced "Mish-mash" or the more proper "McMash." Any thoughts?

"I wanna make swords" can really be like nails on a chalkboard to some, but I'm a fan of honesty. If your primary interest is swordsmithing, then tell the guy when he asks what you want to make. However, you had better be willing to learn to do 6 million other things before you make your first sword. You'll really learn to appreciate S-hooks. I would say that it's so far off, you'll either lose interest in the craft, or lose interest in exclusively swordsmithing by that point. Others may disagree. Read a bunch, do what you can on your own time, read some more, ask questions, and write a bunch of stuff down. Some of these guys can spin a yarn, some beat their chest a little, and a lot of pro-level guys downplay their abilities. Whatever the case, pay close attention to what they say, and closer attention yet to what they do. Ask 3 smiths how to do one thing and you will get 5 answers, and they're all right. You'll develop your own methods, but be willing to try everyone else's methods too. Never, NEVER undervalue any help or advice you get, especially when it's free. There are lots of guys who charge an arm and a leg to teach even the basics, and lots more who should. Anytime you get the opportunity to learn something, it is a privilege. Remember to treat it as such. Offer to help any way you can. I often offer to hold pieces for other guys (while they strike, cut, or whatever) in my local ABANA chapter, in hopes that I will learn something about their methods; and unsurprisingly, I have. At least that's the way I try to approach it.

Excellent thread, guys! I have an old lawn chair (you know, not one of the cheapy, folding deals) with some damage to one of the legs. It's like a rolled sheet of steel -- not a tube; more like a flat section with a tube on each side, if memory serves me. Wonder if I can fill the void a bit with some spare sheet, and braze it all together. No reason I can't try anyhow. Now off to watch some videos.

Just wanted to put out there that I found an old reprint of a 1923 Sears, Roebuck Catalogue (ISBN# 0-910676-02-X). First, the blacksmith supplies are amazing. I would love to buy an entire shop at those prices. Anyhow, what it says about their Fulton anvils (on page 875) is: It should be noted that it is listed next to a different brand of steel-faced cast (nameless) anvil. The Fulton displayed has the very distinctive logo. Mine must have been the 120 lb. model before the heel broke off. The price in 1923 was $20, but it was not mailable. Resurrecting old threads is fun.

Someone mentioned adding roach killer to borax to make it better. I'm just not convinced I would want that turned into something I could inhale in my shop.

I swear I won't make this a daily journal, but today was pretty great too. Here's why: I went to Rogers (big area flea market) this morning and got a few pairs of tongs (my first). I chose pairs I thought would fit my most abundant stock - rr spikes and horseshoes. I got a couple for other uses as well. Should be a lot easier to make more [tongs and other things] now. In fact... In preparation for tomorrow's joint WRABA/PAABA meeting, I decided to make a Brian Brazeal style horseshoe heart for the iron-in-the-hat. I chose a small shoe (need to tweak the forge design to allow a larger one) and went to town. I made several mistakes, literally from the first hammer strike on, but I learned SO much and it still came out fairly well. Honestly, because it's the first thing I made completely in my forge, on my anvil, with my hammer and tongs, and from my stock, I may just keep it. So I'm working on my security, and having more success. Awesome stuff.

Today was better. Didn't have time to go fill the propane tanks today, because I spent most of the day with my kid. After that, I went to an auction a little ways away. Not much there to speak of (aside from a flatter and some punches/chisels I missed out on), but I managed to grab a few things. Got a new hand sledge and a couple really small ball piens. Somehow came home with a few more electric motors and a couple of sturdy canvas tarps. And of course, because it was there, I just had to grab yet another propane tank. So now I'm up to three. Best yet, this one is about full so I can play a little more before running out and refilling them all. Regarding dogs: I do have a couple but they stay in the house. I have a lot of yard besides the driveway wherein someone could lurk at night. I do tend to keep strange hours, and I don't have a regular work schedule so it would be awfully hard for someone to plan a time when I'm not letting the overly excitable dogs run out into the yard or coming home, leaving, or otherwise have a reason to be outside. How do you guys typically mark your tools? It seems most smiths use one or two colors so they know which is theirs in a shared shop situation, but is that all you do (in regards to marking the tool itself) to aid recovery in the case of theft? I think engraving is excessive but I suppose paint should hold pretty well assuming the tool isn't perfectly non-porous (and not a single one among them is).

Michael, that's the same basic tactic I've relied upon until now. The garage appears ready to fall (actually the tree pushing on it is probably doing as much to hold it up now), and the house is a rental that's been on a downward swing for some time. In fact, there are no garage doors. The whole county probably just expects a bigger pile of trash in there than before. Once I started putting a couple things in there, I slapped some tarps up over the openings. I still only had a few hammers, the [broken] anvil, and some really basic tools in there. After some good fortune in the way of finding bargains and making friends, I've actually got what resembles a shop (once you get past the tarps). The exterior looks the same, but now at night when I'm working, I have some lights on in there. Also, anytime I have a "door" open, I park the truck in front so as to obscure the view from the road. Despite all that, it would only take one nosy kid to poke his head in there and see a multitude of old tools and other potential scrap steel. I am getting to know the guys at the local scrapyard pretty well. I intend to mark my tools with a specific color or color scheme just as soon as I come up with something unique and buy the paint. There are no pawn shops in town but most people find their way to the next major town with some sort of regularity, and there are a number of pawn options there. Not sure how much you can get for an old, unmarked ball pien hammer though. I think I will take the advice of waving around some pictures of my paint scheme at the scrapyard. Those guys seem to see everything, even when it's hauled in by the truckload. OddTodd, I didn't welcome you in your thread, so I want to take a moment to say thank you for your service, and to let you know that I have been and will continue to pull for you. What you've done is admirable, and your current position enviable. Chances like you have can be quite rare, so I'm happy that you're making the most of it. Wayne, for the most part, I'm not a worrier. I do procrastinate for fear of failure sometimes (working on that), but I'm pretty laid-back mostly. I think the gravity of it just set in. I don't have a ton of $$$ invested in any on thing, or even everything as a whole, but I spent a lot of time and energy putting together my dream and the realization that someone could walk off with half of it just caught up to me suddenly. What's the old saying? "If you don't worry, you die. If you worry, you die." Dave, that's about the long and short of it. I've been stuck in a bad place for years and finally getting started properly down this path has been a huge improvement to my mindset. I guess I'm just a little worried that it's going to get screwed up either by me or by an outside force. Thanks all for the tips and encouragement. I'm going to go back out there and get back at it the first chance I get.

I'm just going to spout off a bit. Had a little frustration today after some successes, and I kinda wanted to vent. I've spent the last several days putting together the shop. The community garage sales a couple towns away were very lucrative for me. In fact, even with two pickup trucks, I still only had to stop shopping because I was out of space for hauling stuff home. I got hold of some workbenches and some more junk. The garage was full of probably 30 years' worth of crap - not much good, mostly just trash, dirt, and ruined wood. After a lot of lifting, rolling, sweeping, can-crushing, trashing, grunting, and cursing, my poor, leaning garage resembles a shop. So that's great. So today, I proudly strode into my new shop, lit the forge and started banging things. I didn't have much of a plan, mostly just trying out the forge and test-driving some hammers. May need to tune the forge (may have to get some help there), but it does work. Steel got hot, I found a few hammers I like, and I developed a plan. This took maybe 20 minutes. So I grabbed my steel, and mentally went through my plan, and stuck the piece in the forge. Naturally, that was when the propane tank ran dry. Dangit. Looks like I will be filling two propane tanks after work tomorrow. Also, my shop is far from secure. We're out in the boonies, but theft is not quite totally unheard-of. I now fear that if someone learns what I have in there, it would be a prime target. I've got an old fridge (never got around to scrapping it), so I'll probably put a hasp on it and stick the small stuff inside. I can't imagine the bigger or heavier stuff walking off so easily. Still, I am concerned. It's bittersweet that the newfound fear is due to the newfound windfall. It's also bittersweet that the last few days (and to a lesser degree, the last few months) were spent setting up for today, and then...nothing. I guess tomorrow will just have to suck less.

There is the old adage that an item is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. They can certainly be had for less, and I would indeed try to talk the guy down when you're talking about a quantity like that. Another old adage is a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. $2 each isn't ludicrous, and they're right there, available to you. You don't have to track them down or pay shipping. The last consideration is what you're using them for. If you're selling them for $20+ and each item only takes a few minutes to create, $2 each doesn't seem bad at all.

Not sure if I posted my haul from the auction a few weeks back. It includes (but is not limited to): 4 wagon wheel rims Crapload of horse shoes Bucket of files Hammers - 3 ball peins and an old and rusted cross pein head Benchtop flex shaft grinder A handful of channel locks 3 hand-crank grinders A bunch of glass insulators (the old blue ones mostly) Some other random odds and ends (including things I can't identify) Price...eh, let's not talk about it. On Saturday, I went garage saling. My haul there includes (but again, is not limited to): Work benches - 8-foot, 3-foot, and a thigh-high 4-foot (built like a tank) More hammers - mostly claw hammers Portable power generator BB gun (I said it was for the kid. I'm a terrible liar) Another 5-gallon bucket (I can't seem to collect "enough") Some other random tools and other household goods Price for all - $60. The lumber for the benches would have cost twice that, if not more. The best part is I had some extra hands follow me home the last few days and help me rearrange and clean out my garage. There was a 30+ year collection of junk and dirt from previous tenants. Now I have a floor and a place for everything. Found a bunch of auto coil springs and some brake drums. Also, a load of cans. Maybe the next trip to the scrapyard, I'll actually come back with money. Yeah right.

If you play with modeling clay more than your kid.

That stinks. Perhaps if you list your location in your profile, someone in your area could even help you figure something out.

Wait, what? I didn't realize this was actually a concern. How big of a problem is it? I mean, is it just something to be concerned about for certain jobs or is it something to be worried about with any light you make? How does it work with those "lamp kits" you can buy, ready to be installed in a new lamp?

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Ben Franklin's advice would be to ask her for a favor. Even something small or trivial. Maybe she has something in or around her house you would love to make a recreation of? Or maybe she knows a blacksmith or farrier who she could put you in touch with.

So here's how it went. Plan was thrown totally out the window because the auctioneer changed everything randomly, on the fly. All of the individual lots were randomly picked-through, combined, and separated to form new lots at the moment of bidding. Most of what I wanted was thrown into a big lot with much pricier stuff I don't want or need. The abused, barely-there bridge anvil was the first to sell at something like $650. The very rare post vice went for about the same. I stayed to the end, hoping for a better deal on some specific items. However, the pace was accelerated by bundling several bundles to form mega-bundles. The guys with big money and huge trailers stayed to snatch up every piece. I sound negative, but I had a good time, learned a bunch, and picked up a few things. Specifically, I got more horse shoes than I will use this year, some wagon wheel rims, some files and rasps, a few hammers, some rivets and nails, and some other random stuff thrown in with lots I bought. I did totally miss out on every railroad spike and set of tongs. I also got some non-blacksmith-related things. Overall, I'm happy with the day. Less so with the sunburn I got for forgetting to bring a good hat.

Thanks for all the tips guys! I really appreciate it. I'm really excited about this. I hope to fill some *very* bare spots in my shop. A local knifemaker is considering joining me, so that should be pretty fun. Seems like all of the advice is ultimately "take your sweet time and stick to a plan." I can do that. Of course, if it starts at 9AM, and it's 2.5 hours away, and I want to spend a fair amount of time previewing...I have to leave my house stupid early. Maybe if I end up going alone, I'll spend a night in my truck at the nearest Wal Mart. Beats waking up at 4AM (I often don't go to bed before then). Having never bought them before, what sort of prices should I expect (or definitely not exceed) for horseshoes and rr spikes? I can figure out other, basic stock and tools (having some experience shopping for them) but I don't want to overpay for this stuff just because of inexperience. And I also wanted to ask, again because of inexperience - did anyone notice anything in the photos that is particularly rare, valuable (for use or future trade), or otherwise noteworthy that I may have missed?

I'm not really going to look at anvils but of course I will take a look at the dozen they have. Going to try to rustle up a ball bearing to stuff in my pocket. What I really hope to come away with is the boring, basic stuff - mostly hammers and tongs. But there is so much there, I don't know what I'll end up unable to live without. I like the idea of doing a lot of projects with rr spikes and horse shoes, so I may see how many of those I can grab, as well as some other random stock. Trying to thumb through all the dang photos and develop some kind of plan, but I think it's just too much to see. Going to have to get there early and take a notebook. How early can you go to one of these? Wasn't able to get hold of the auctioneer today. Will probably try again tomorrow.

The big blacksmith/farrier auction in (near) Marietta, OH on April 27. I took the day off work and am planning to head down there. It'll really probably be my first auction (may visit at least one locally before then) so I'm not wholly comfortable being there solo. Just wondered if anyone here was going to be down there - maybe we could meet up and I'd feel like I have an ally. Here's a link to the auction site: http://www.auctionzip.com/Listings/1637203.html Also open to any tips on what to look at/for while I'm there. There is a TON of stuff going up.

Last trip to the scrapyard yielded: 7 auto coil springs, of varying length and thickness 1 set of truck leaf springs Not my favorite price but acceptable at $25.

Gee Thomas, you make it sound so awful. Actually just didn't occur to me. Have yet to join SOFA as they're pretty far fom me. Will have to rectify that.

Yeah, I seriously doubt the DW would be interested in moving so far from family. It is interesting to hear that Alaskan winters are milder than those here. However, it is not so surprising. I've often said that the winters here are every bit as harsh as any part of the country, and the summers can be as well. After moving as far South as possible for a while, I stand by the latter. For the forge, the design was originally going to be a direct copy of the simple gas forge Larry Zoeller shows on his site - a single-burner 5-gallon bucket with minimal modification. I started there, spoke to a bunch of people a lot more experienced than I, and changed things up a bit. I'm adding a door on front and back (probably with a NC Tool cast iron sleeve on each), reducing the ID slightly, and running a purchased burner (from Jay Hayes). Ultimately, I'll be dealing with enough variables because of the body design that I don't want to deal with troubleshooting any number of possible problems with building my own burner. Still have a tiny bit of work to do, figuring out how to handle sharp edges (think I got that), legs (maybe some bent galvanized pipe - will it get too hot?), and how to make hinges that work on a round body. I don't have a welder, but I may be able to get a little work done by a friend if I have to. I'm trying to stick to more basic tools, though, like the angle grinder and drill. It sounds (and on paper appears) a little complex, but it's actually pretty simple as long as everything is planned out well beforehand. Cost is a primary motivator but so is just making it happen with what I have available. I do have one question. I don't yet have a propane tank. I live in an area where getting one refilled isn't much of a problem, but what should I buy? One or two 20#s (maybe include a tank manifold?), a 100#, or something in between? I want to be able to upgrade later, to a bigger setup without worrying about freezing issues. On the other hand, even though it's not impossible, getting a 100# tank refilled is considerably more difficult than any number of 20#s. I also don't want to blow the rest of my "startup" budget on a single item. Hrm, thinking about it more, in my less-than-secure "shop," I'd rather a full 20# tank disappear than a half-empty 100#er. I suppose a lot of the propane "exchangers" are open a bit later than anyone who would refill a bigger tank. I think I know which direction I'm going to end up here. I suppose then, the question is, with a single-burner setup, would a two-tank manifold setup be a worthwhile gain over a single 20# tank?