Bob Hensley

Try RE Caddy company, everything for broom makers - http://www.recaddy.com/ec/index.php?osCsid=e1684418d00ebedf56304b053bd8f261

They look good! My question is how are you keeping the stones in place? The first couple almost look to be gypsy set, but the others don't seem to have anything keeping them attached - are you using some sort of adhesive?

These are great ideas, I have been thinking what I should start with at our local markets, and now I have a better idea. But the next question is "How do you price your work?" This always seems to be the hardest thing for me - how do YOU figure what your time is worth and what the market will bear without pricing yourself out of the market?

Conroe is about 40 miles north of Houston, and I play most instruments with strings on them. I worked in and then owned a music store for 20 years, and it is the legacy of many slow days :)

There are a huge number of books available on the web, try searching everything you can think of that pertains to blacksmithing and metal work.

Here are some links to my favorites. Be sure to check out the Basic and Intermediate Training Manuals by JB Stokes, they are written to be used in other countries where English is not the main language and so the illustrations are VERY good. There is an Advanced training manual in that series, but it doesn't appear to be available on the web.


Multiple Blacksmith ebook links - http://lametalsmiths.org/news/downloadable_blacksmithing_books.htm

Basic Blacksmithing A Training Manual - J.B Stokes - FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin 88/1 - http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/ah637e/AH637E00.htm

Intermediate Blacksmithing A Training Manual - J.B Stokes - FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin 88/2 - http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/ah635e/ah635e00.htm

The Countryside Agency in the UK has recently posted all of their blacksmithing publications on-line for a free download.
• The Blacksmith's Craft (1952)
• The Blacksmith's Manual Illustrated (1930),
• Catalogue of Drawings: Wrought Ironwork Gates
• Catalogue of Drawings for Wrought Ironwork
• Catalogue of Drawings: Weathervanes
• Decorative Ironwork, and Metals for Engineering Craftsmen.
Wrought Ironwork – A Manual of Instruction for Craftsmen
Metals for Engineering Craftsmen
All available at http://www.hct.ac.uk/Downloads/craftpublications.html

I have tried to access the Crafts site in the UK, but their website seems to have changed since the last time I went, and I cannot find the books listed... any suggestions, or does anyone have a current link? I see a couple listed in this thread that I didn't see before.

I am looking over the Blueprint BP1004 Hofi Woop Tongs, and I have a question. He gives the starting length and the tong jaw bend dimensions for the 2" tongs, but what are the dimensions used for the 1" and 1.5" tongs? I find myself needing some good multi-purpose tongs, and this looks like the one.

What about the baseplates (or tie plates) that the rails ride in on the crossties? Any info on composition, or suggestions for usage? I have just located a stash of them, and will snap them up if they can be useful to a beginning smith.