Dragons lair

Will, great idea. Most of us have the std fire extingushers. A pressureized water would be a whole lot cheaper. How many have had to clean up after having someone trigger a chemical bottle. Ken

All my anvils/post and caulk vise were wire brushed then stove blacked. Left the anvil tops alone. Diver check at the oldest hardware in your area. Get the paste if possible. Do a karate kid rub on rub off. Use rubber gloves. Called stove black or polish. Great on forges also. Ken

Mark, Here in NC mountains railings start at $100 per foot. As an old Conn yankee I know you can do better in Mass. BTW that is for plain rial and pickets. Ken

Be prepared for sticker shock. Needed a water pump for a lincoln water cooler. Mfg said its propriotory pump call lincoln. Price was almost $300 Found a place in Atlanta repaired it for about $30 Next was a board for my miller 2050 plasma over $600 I wish you all the luck with lincoln. WE have a great motor shop up here in Asheville if you need to try that route PM me. Ken

especially if your anvil is wrist high. Ken

Just a note on securing things. Had a neighbor bought a nice harley. Picked up a large anchor chain and monster padlock. Chain thru the frame and around a 2 foot oak tree. Came home 2nd day.Bike and chain gone tree laying on/in his garage. Ken

orgtwister you are correct however a magnet won't stick as well to say 416ss as it will to a36. Ken

I would have to say when a majority of your peers say you are a master you probably are. To claim you are is arrogance at its worse. As a welder with 40+yrs weldin micro to massive. Areo space to submarines aircraft to race cars. am I a master I think not.I will never be a master. there are too many other things to do. If my client is happy I am happy.x Ken

From what I have learned posession is not the issue. just picking them up is a crime.The RR right of way is thier property. Go to the rail office and ask permisson tell them why you want them. Same for track pieces. By law it dosen"t matter if the line is abandoned its still RR property. Some states will arrest you for walking the track. Better to ask. Ken

Come on Dodge I know you ingested a lot of those 1940ish c rats. I sure found a few with rust in the cans. Hmmm John Wayne cookes and pecan rolls and lucky strike green

Hey Yance, I was taught gun control is hitting what you aim at. Ken

Junker slap a magnet on it if it sticks well its not SS. Also nice vise use it for holding not hitting those cast iron vises were not made for smithing. Ken

Junker, get rid of the bent ram Weld a 4" dia 4" long bar in its place. Bore a 1" hole 2" deep. Cross drill and tap a 1/2" hole. Make your tooling with a 1" shank lock it in with the 1/2" bolt. Works great. Mine has a 20 ton air over jack. Unless you like to pump the handle about 100 strokes per inch go with the air. Ken

And here I thought I was hearing thunder down here. Its only Frostys new toy. Now I want one. Ken

Engineers I have to deal with think 1/8 .125 is .120 out of spec. This on a large welded frame. Every dimension was a 3(dismal) places. Anybody got a .409 drill? Hole centered on a 13.137 piece of sq tube. Its done can I retire now? Ken

Just add the campfire? How about the beans? I should be able to smell them from here. Ken

Hmmm Let me think, $100+ hammer or $15 hammer. Which shall I chance. I'll use the $15 one till I can afford a cheaper one.

Just who and how would set the standard? Ours is a unique field, There are few if any here who are old masters. Shall the standard say NO modern tools NO modern materials. Or will the smith with brick forge hammer and anvil compete with a gas forge power hammer and CNC equipment. I think we need to worry about doing the best we can to make ourselves happy. I really don't care if you like what I do or the way I do it or not. If I am happy and my client is happy. I don't need any other approval or test. Ken

Its not ugly but It sure belongs in my trash barrel. Can you get it here just after noon tommorrow. they pick up about noon. I am not a knife person but that is my kinda knife. Ken

I also use the 50%. It ain't rocket building Ken

Igor, Watch out for flying enamel. I think it will spall off the cast. looking forward toSept Ken

Great for twisting also. I started with a light weight 4 legged one. Knocked it over all the time. Traded it for a heaver one much like the ebay one. Made a set of new jaws out of cold rolled. freed it up. Then grabbed it by the jaws to move it. It SLAMMED shut with 2 chunks of me in there. Surprised Frosty didn't hear me cuss. Ken

Elitest NO I have spent 40+yrs learning what i know. I do resent high schoolers who after 6 mos of shop class jump in with answers. I have delt with teachers/ instructors who have NO real knowledge. They took a class and now are qualified to teach. Firearms instructors who state remove the clip the weapon is safe. Welding certifierers who never welded. I do believe in training however make sure the teacher knows what they are teaching. I have opened my shop to a dozen new smiths, have offered tools, anvils to newbies at a loss. Most have failed to follow thru. They know who they they are. I will only deal with local newbies. They have at least have a 50 percent rate. Ken

Fe-Wood, I feel the heat again. 20yrs in FL 105 in the booth summer 30 in wimter. Moved to NC mtns 12yrs ago. 6 Yrs in a shop. Opened my own 6 yrs ago. Have Welding/Fab/CNC cutting/blacksmithing also consulting on a green energy project. Have AC in the office. Open the shop door turn on the exhaust gets it down to about 78 in the shop as long as I keep the overhead door closed. Ken

I spent about 60 hrs making a 37lb track anvil. Round tapered horn,table, pritchel and square hardy,tapered heel,polished face and horn,hourglass shaped base. Its a great anvil for jewelry or 1/4 stock. Not enough mass for heaver stock. Frostys adds mass or weld a couple of track ties. I lucked out just after I finished I found 6 real anvils. Still have 3 other 3 went to new smiths all local. Bottom line do not build a nice one unless you just like doing it. Ken