Candidquality

That's a good one Aaron. I have to remember that one.

Well, they say they are hand forged with a twist(though not quite as agressive) to them. We know that making things by hand does tend to cost a bit more than production line cast materials. So for hand crafted, I wouldn't say it's out of line. I personally wouldn't pay that for it, but I would just make my own anyway. This is more of a mental exercise than something that would ever make me money. Odds are someone has had no other idea for a damascus billet and at one point thought of making it into a wedge for all I know.
So yes, cheap cast is always an option, but what would you want to do if you had the time to play with making your own.

For Paul Bunyon...what type of maul would you make? I would guess it would be nice to have a re-inforced handle brace in front for the ocassional miss, but what else would be a nice feature. And how about the angle. keep it a constant or have it spread out for greater split at the end(or in the case of a wedge to have a bigger target to hit )

A buddy of mine asked me for some splitting wedges for his woodpile, and I started looking around. The first place that I saw had these Traditional Woodworker - Splitting Wedge by Gransfors Bruk and it got me to thinking. Anyone here have any interesting ideas that you use for spitting wedges? Or do you just run down to the local china import shop and get some for $6 each? These are noted to be hand forged in sweden and sell for $50 each

I can imagine the price would be exceedingly high, but if it stops a major injury like that, would be nice to have.

Nice work. Didn't know there was a fur boom. Are you thinking about finishing these out now with the things you've learned in 25 years? Or are you going to hold on to them for sentimental value? Actually I think those can offically be sold as antiques now since they're over 25 years old. ;)

Glad to know you are ok. Did you decide to put up a few barriers just in case this happens again to minimise the swath of destruction? or are you running as it was before? Glad to hear you're up and running again. Hopefully you're not too far behind on that hot project. And don't forget to let us know if they ever decide to tell you what happened, should be an interesting find.

something along the lines of this Stick-On Bifocals
but these are for use as reading glasses. I know i've seen the stickable shades somewhere. I'll keep looking

Now if they would just make shaded prescription safety glasses at a reasonable price....oh well....guess I'll keep using the clear fit-over safety glasses and a tinted face shield when needed (that is three layers of protection after all;) )
-Aaron

I vaguely recall there are stickable shades for prescription's that are available, I believe it was the shades that stick to the front of your prescription glasses, so that when you change glasses or they get scuffed you can replace them easily. I've read about it about 6 months ago. I'll try to look them up again and see what I can find.

Hill's Manual of Social and Business Forms: A... - Google Book Search

Apprenticeship contract

It's a shame this is no longer allowed in the U.S., nice find though.

I know to many this doesnt seem appropriate to post here, but I thought at least in the off topic it might have a small part. I found a link to a site which is currently researching the genetic manupulation of the American chestnut tree. They are currently expecting to be able to present these seeds for sale to the public in 5-15 years. Seems like a long time off, but it would be interesting to see my son or grandson forging out under the beautiful chestnuts. Just in case any of you are interested. The American Chestnut Foundation

As a side note the trees they currently have for sale are not modified but the current blight succeptable ones.

Thanks for taking the time to show us. Nice looking shop. Should be an interesting pattern. How long before you try to finish it up?

Welcome to the boards. Glad to have you here. lots to learn so don't be shy about asking questions. Oh, and that push pull thing would be called a rake.

The changing twist is actually a benefit. You can tell stories of how you worked long and hard trying to get that gradual change to make the legs appear longer. That would be called marketing.
Even heat is the key to an even twist. Never seen anyone take the time to fix it so I don't know if it's possible or worth the effort. Just take it as a lesson learned for next time.

You've actually noticed the IR quite a few times looking at pictures of hot things taken with (cheap) cameras. Anytime you see a purple glowing rod, it's from the IR. Actually one of the easiest ways to see it is pictures taken from a cell phone.

I've got a catalog for Cotronics who specialises in high temp adhesives, but what they have actually costs more than the ITC now, though it's better. I'd be interested to find some higher temp that's cheper myself. Though I've plans to order the 931 graphite from then ($65 a pint) for a bit of fiddling I'm about to do.

This might give you a basic idea http://www.espi-metals.com/metals/catmonel.htm

Welcome to the site. There's a lot of very valuable information here and the members have more to share. So don't be shy with the questions. You just missed the live blueprint last night. Happens at 9pm central every tuesday. We do as many as we can squeeze in in an hour. Don't forget to post a few pictures of what you've made if you can. We always love to see new work or a new technique.

probably the more varied of the three would be O/A but i wouldn't touch it without a course in it. Or we might be reading about you on the news over here. I'm sure you can find a basic book and read up on it somewhere. But i'll let the experst tell you about that. I wsa actually just going to mention that plasme was used up untill the mid 50's exclusivly for welding, then they figured out how to set it up for cutting. Pretty interesting history actually. I'd post a few links but I think they're all on the home pc. Good luck with whatever you choose.

looking good. And just think, in 20 years you're going to be stumbling over all the tools you've made and thowing them into a pile in the corner, for some other smith to find in 60 years and go ooooooh, nice drift. and "I wonder what this one was used for"

I thought the whole point of smithing is to have a fire and do some work. how can you possibly get cold doing that? :rolleyes:

The only dumb question is the one you don't ask. Welcome. and feel free to ask away. Might even try a search or two first, since there's a lot of information already around. We all have to start somewhere. I decided to start in the middle and work both ways See you around

Interesting application of Neoprene. It would definitly be better than nothing as it would partially seal the area creating a air pocket that would be the actual insulating factor, but the particular design these are for(wetsuit) is designed to allow water(and this also air) through. I might use it to stop a draft or for a gasket material around a window. but not for a sheet of insulation. Now if you decide to use it to fill up a space inside the walls and it's shredded, it could actually be very effective (all that air trapped and movement restricted).
If you happen to get on that's designed for insulation it will have glass added to it (from 50 to 80 precent) and normally won't be able to be burned. But that wasn't what you mentioned.

As far as fire is concerned. it's a synthetic rubber wth a flash point of under 500 degrees(think tire). but you already know not to catch it on fire.

I finally had the chance to pull the covers off the grinding/polishing wheels and see what it is we use here at work. It's a 8S ESL deburr and finishing wheel from 3M. We have both the medium and fine.
If you've never had a chance to use a bench grinder with a polishing wheel, these things are amazing. Their cost is about $60 each for a 6"x1" wheel, but I have to say it's more than worth it. I think it would be great for anyone who knows the polishing process as these can be much more aggressive than anything done by hand still, but it's not a bad place to start learning either.

I just thought i'd mention it in passing as I'm planning on buying a Baldor motor and a couple of wheels at Christmas time. If anyone happens to decide to get one to try, let me know what you think. It's almost better than sliced bread.

Be sure to keep us posted on what you figure out about the venting up there. I think it would be very handy to know.

And welcome.

Actually very nice. I don't get much time to reply recently. Kind of surprised that you've made so many. For some reason I had it stuck in my head that you were just starting out. Looks like you've done quite abit already. Good luck and hope to see more soon. and that hilting technique