rlarkin

OK. So this guy comes into the lumber yard I manage, walks into my office and says, "I know you are a blacksmith. I have something you might want. Been sittin on my garage floor, and I have kicked it for the last time." Walks me out to his truck, opens the gate and says "$100 and we can lift into your truck." My mouth said "OK" before I had even thought about it. Comes in at about 125 lbs, and is in EXCELLENT shape.

Forgot to attach pics!

Didn't do any forging. Matter of fact, forge hasn't seen fire in weeks. Did work on a firepit hood though. For a contractor that uses his own place as examples of the work he does. Should be good advertising.

A buddy of mine was just given a large bin of coal that was in a OLD barn. Mixed in with the coal is a bunch of what looks to be coal fines that are compressed into cylinders 2 1/4" long with a diameter of 2 1/4". One end is slightly convex with a R in the center of a diamond. Can try and pics up this weekend, but does anybody know what he has?

Thats what I get when I try to spell when I am tired! Fixed it.

Havn't had much time to forge lately, but made these today. I was recently contacted by a lady who was restoring her Grandmother's Buffet and hutch. She wanted some old style door pulls to replace the busted wood ones. Made these from 1/2" roundbar, with 8/32 screws brazed to the backs. The long ones are 9" tip to tip, and the 2 shorts are just under 5". Heat colored and brushed with a brass brush, then applied furniture wax while still hot.

Used to golf MANY years ago. Had a bad habbit of standing too close to the ball after I hit it. So I quit.

A spare LG 25#! I HATE YOU!

Actualy, I think it is DROP, BOP, and SCROLL!

Made this as a test to see how it would look, so the edges are not as refined as they should be. It actually came out better, and more comfortable to hold than I expected. I left the handle end in-tact so you could tell what it was. The "ST CROIX FORGE" stamp is perfectly ledgible on the other side. Over all it about 16 inches long. Heat blued and brushed with a brass brush, then treated to a linseed brushing.

The triangle is 12,12,12. The holes are for 1/4", and it is about 3/16" thick at that point. Drilled, not punched. Intention was to make some rustic headed lag type screws, but the person that wanted it didn't want to wait. The leaf section was flattend to about 1/16".

I only seem to get 1 weekend a month on the forge. I try and make things that I can hang on to for a while. Maybe use as advertising. They don't last. Got some forge time Sunday morning before it hit 103 here. Made one set of BBQ tools, and this dinner bell. Well, the dinner bell is gone already. Did manage to get $50 for it. 1/2" scrap round bar. Forged to shape, then heated and brushed with the brass brush just enough to show.

Hey, isn't he required by LAW to post the working drawings. I thought I saw that somewhere in the posting rules. THAT IS SLICK! I understand the basic mechanics. What I would like to see is how the head is kept stable. I know the angle of the dangle part, but what stabilizes the head? Is it just the bushings in the arms, or is there something I can't see?

I just finished one last week. Made a roller jig and used an angle grinder with a flap disc to remove ALL paint and apply an even grind pattern from the flap disc. Put in on one of my paint stands then applied a heat patina pattern that came to me as I did it. No planning. Three coats of clear and with the right light, the effect is awesome. Didn't have the clapper done when pic was taken, but it is done the same way.

Breakers are designed to protect not only the equipment on the circuit, but also the wiring. Most newer homes are run with 14/2. A 110v welder on a 50 amp circuit should have at a minimum, 12/2. Is your dryer elect., and if so, is it the garage? Where is the main box? On a exterior garage wall? A new, (correct), circuit is a lot cheaper than a fire repair. MOD NOTE: these figures are not correct please see a real electrician for wire needed. 12/2 is only rated for up to 20 amps not 50.

Here is you pic resized to 1280 x 960

For web pics I use a old version of Paint Shop Pro to resize. The pic you posted has a pixel size of 3648 x 2736, using 1.92mb. A pixel width of 1280 usually works fine for most web sites. Just remember to "SAVE AS" and asign it a new name so you don't mess up the orriginal.

If you can, try and find a 135+. The 135T has a taped current selector, the + has a infinately variable selector. A lot of people will say the the taped works just fine, and it does, but I have used both, and now have a 135+, and trust me, the ability to set it "in between", comes in handy on thin stuff.

I have a 87 lb Peter Wright. Do I wish it was bigger? Yes. Does it do everything I need? Yes.

I have the Grizzley G9742. http://www.grizzly.com/products/4-x-6-Metal-Cutting-Bandsaw-w-Swivel-Head/G9742 I love it. I run a 18tpi bi-metal blade and can cut thin sheet to solid stock. Have cut 3" solid bar witht eh 18tpi blade. Just takes a while.

Perfect. I knew somebody could tell me. Thanks.

A buddy of mine works at a rail yard. He brought me these (seven of them) saying that they are the clips that hold the brake shoes on train cars. They are about 12 to 14 inches long, 1 inch wide, and 1/2 inch thick at the bent end. I stuck one in the fire and straightened it out, mainly to find out how it would hammer, and decided they might make a nice starting place for a knife. It actually was very easy to work. At first I thought they were some type of spring steel, but he told me that when the need to adjust them they just lay em on the track and whack em. Any train guys out there that know what they are composed of?

I use one that I made. I think the actual name is "slotted nut socket". I repair pnuematic nail guns as a side line, and the trigger assembly on a Hitachi NR83 framing gun has that on the trigger cartridge.

Unicorn, Info is, was, should be, in the profile. Been there since Dec, 07. Apparently the new software did not do the conversions.

Drove to Sac this am to spend some Xmas money on coal. Price is up again, of course. While waiting for the truck to get loaded I glanced over the hammers and saw a 2 lb Nordic rounding for $30. Can't wait to try it out.