yesteryearforge

the town which shouldnt take very long to do , it will just take forever to get paid because

that her pastries and cakes werent that good anyway and everyone is about tired of talking about her all the time because we have a lot of work to do and the list keeps growing
Now that the shop is repaired we will tackle the next item on the list which is ----

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone

Very well written / You you should write short stories !
!

Just have fun and enjoy what you do.
Charge a reasonable price for what you do / if it takes twice as long for you to make something as the next guy you cant charge twice as much.
Keep in mind that what we do is kind of neat but not really that special.
There are probally more people practicing this trade now than ever before in history.
Beware of the self proclaimed Masters and personal horn tooters for they abound in any trade and you should endeavor to never become either.
Let your work do ALL of the talking and let others decide how good you are.

One Rod
If you look at iforgeiron.com under [ TOOLS ] then under Vises , you will see three vises that I have in the shop / The photo on the far left is an I beam with plates welded down each side as SWAMPFOX described.
This way of mounting a vise is very solid.

Bruce WELL SAID

Irn
What was left of the pieses that I tried to describe were part of the orginal mechanism I belive , as I had to cut the broken hanger part free from the bell and although the bolt was steel the wedge shaped piece was cast iron and done in the same fashion as the rest of the castings.
The wedge shaped piece held a pivoting part that the clanger rod attavhed to

As far as I can tell the remnants of the clapper is kind of wedge shaped piece bolted in tight along with the hanger. On this wedge shaped piece there was two 1/4 x 1 inch flat bars / one on each side with what appears to be leather stacked shims that would rest on the inside walls of the bell and the clapper would hang and swing from the center of the wedge shaped piece.
I assume that the leather shims were to deaden the ring from one swing to the other so as to not let one ring from one side bleed over to the ring from the other side / does that make sense ? / I can see it in my head but being an illiterate one finger typer am not sure if I can convey it in words.
Having no experience with bells but trying to imagine the function I also assume that there is a way to tune this bell via. the amount of leather shims and the pressure that they would apply to the sides of the bell.
I also expect them to ring this bell when they dedicate the building and mention my name as to the restoration of the bell so I really want it to sound as it was meant to sound.

Irn thanks for the photos and drawings but would really like to see a picture of the mechanism that I have described above as I dont think this was your ordinary everyday clanger arrangment.
Please keep the info coming. :)

Have been asked to refurbish a rather large bell to a restored condition
Allthough the bell itself is not damaged the supports and clangers were broken or missing, which brings me to the problem
Have made the hanging mechanism but the clanger and ringing [ lever or wheel ] is missing.
It is a number 34 bell that was on the local high school
50 some years ago they decided to remove the copula to make the building look more modern / well they just threw the bell off of the 3 story building which pretty much broke everything to pieces , its amazing that the bell was not broken or cracked.
The county has recently recieved a grant to restore the building to its original state and use it as an extension of the community college.
Any help with sites / books / photos etc. showing the actual ringing / clanger mechanisms of bells in this general size range would be greatly appreciated.
Everything ive found so far only shows the outside of the bells.
I could come up with something but want it to be as true to the orginal concept as possible

SWE Karl
You might want to try GRANSFORS BRUKS there in SWEDEN for an apprentice position

Can anyone point me in the direction of a book or a source for instructions on the use and adjustments of a 25 lb. little giant power hammer.

I have recently purchased one and have no idea how to use it efectively. I have beat the xxxx out of stuff with it but want to know about how to better control it and come closer to replicating a hand hammer. I realize that I will probally still need to put some finishing touches on the piece with a hand hammer but I got it to hopefully do heaver work with, without the effort required with a hand hammer.

Right now its sort of like being in an automobile accident / I hit the petal and hope for the best outcome. The results so far have been pretty much a somewhat controlled disaster. Also looking for sources for dies, as I only have a set of plow dies now.


Edit: words edited

there are a lot of different types of hickorys / one is a mockernut hickory which is almost all hull and almost no meat.
try making banna nut bread with them its one of my favorites

welcome gobblerforge / please feel free to chime in whenever you want

its not elves or leprauchans / everybody knows its the grimlins

this could be providential because

most businesses dont plan to fail / they fail to plan
when I worked for someone else I had one boss
When I became self employed I now have a bunch of bosses, theyre just called customers now :lol:

Youre not in OZ anymore TOTO , this is kansas and

Whatever brass you use make sure that you keep it annealed while forging / you do this by doing the reverse of hardening steel
heat it up and quench it to soften it as it will work harden from hammering

its thr predessor of the modern dial indicator

Cant be a blacksmith holding it the / The fingers still have fingerprints on them :wink:

hit it fair and square

Strine
I would assume that a roo is easier to skin than a beaver or otter that we have over here, so heres my two cents worth.

It doest take much of a knife to skin untill you get down around the head assuming that you are case skinning and not open skinning.This can be done with something as simple as a dexter pelting knife which cost only a few dollars and a not to sharp semi upswept bladed knife.Most of the skinning will be pulling the hide from the carcus and not much actual cutting involved untill you get to the head area where you will have to do some cutting / especially around the ears, eyes , nose and lips.

You can do a reasonable job on most of the carcus with a knife made out of wood if you have to.It all depends what you want to get done / the amount of skinning that you will be doing and how cool you want to look.

You can also skin a roo size animal with a boat winch or your truck / I guess you could say theres more than one way to skin a cat or roo.

Footy ???
Beware of the man carrying copper pennies,????

Blacksmithtec
The pulleys are probally crowned pulleys / they just appear to be flat / the crown keeps the belt running in the center