HWooldridge

Jr., I like using angle iron too. I make my bootscraper cross pieces by swatting a length of 1x1x1/8 to make an interesting element that can be drilled in 4 places and riveted to a couple of uprights. Makes a quick but different looking scraper...H PS - Another thing on an angle iron leaf like Jr shows is to fuller aggressively between the veins. Makes the leaf move around and twist in a life-like manner.

T, So, these are made from fairly small stock - like 1/4"?

Rick, Dish Network carries it - I don't know about cable or other services. The channel is strictly about farm and rural life and has a variety of programs aimed at that market.

Pardon my ignorance but how are these used? (My wife has relatively short hair so I have no point of reference).

- Even a blind hog finds an acorn once in a while. - It rained like a cow peeing on a flat rock.

RFDTV has a show running now alternately called "Anvil and Forge" or "Forge and Anvil". Don't know which moniker will stick in the long run but it's nice to see someone on the TV banging on hot iron. Visit the RFDTV website for listings in your area. I watched what I think was chapter 1 today.

This is an enjoyable discussion and yes, I do believe everyone is being quite the gentleman... 8) Went to an art show today geared only to metal arts and products. I was by far the least priciest of the 25 or so people there but I still did well on sales. It's one of those deals where the average artist only needs to sell one item to make it a good weekend. Anyway, I had a ton of customers coming thru the tent and buying stuff right and left. Many people asked how I made a certain finish, color or texture. Only one guy wanted to see a forge weld and I showed him some I had done on fireplace tools. Not one other person asked about welds or how I had fastened something. Now, some of my stuff had a MIG weld holding elements together, some had rivets and still others were forge welded. One of my smithing buddies knew I was there and walked up mid-day - know what he razzed me about? - THE MIG WELDS! Know something else? - he didn't buy anything. Want to know one more thing? - NOBODY but him mentioned it. The customers are looking for items that are functional and appealing - no one but a blacksmith really cares about traditional joinery... Now, with all that said (and none of the preceding is meant as a criticism), I demo'ed a simple iron cross with split ends and the cross pieces held by a single rivet. People thought it was NEAT that I could stick a little, bitty, solid iron rivet in two pieces of steel and swat it just once to make a sound and tight joint. A guy walked up after the demo and said he wanted to buy that cross - I told him I had some nicer ones at the booth but he wanted the one I'd just made for his daughter. So, the upshot of my opus is: (drum roll, please) The public doesn't care about joinery because they don't know about joinery. You can sell arc welds all day long or you can educate your customers and separate yourself from the 'smell of the crowd'. I have to confess that I do both and will continue to - your mileage may differ... :D

The most I have seen a scrap yard PAY for scrap is $4 per hundred pounds so he's making around fifteen cents per pound. Of course, the dealer has other costs to deal with so it's not all profit.

1. Hotter'n two mice in a wool sock. 2. He's as sharp as a sack full of wet mice. 3. Loud as a fat pup's f$%t. 4. Two hollers short of a mile. 5. Tighter than old Dick's hatband. (I'll come up with some more when my son gets home this weekend - he's lived in West Texas long enough to come up with a few good ones).

A monkey tool is usually for making round tenons on the ends of bars. It has a slightly oversize hole for a specific size and square ends, e.g., a monkey tool to work 5/16 might have an 11/32 hole. In use, the tenon is forged and the tool slipped over the end of the bar, then struck so the shoulder around the round tenon is squared. The name comes from the belief that "any monkey can use one". (BTW, my grandfather, who was the real blacksmith in the family, called all ornamental smithing "monkey work" not because it was easy, but because of the various tools designed for repetitive processes). An anvil devil is a little hardy with replaceable cutters designed primarily for farriers to nick horseshoes.

Met a buddy for lunch today and was killing time beforehand, so I went into a Tractor Supply and really combed the aisles. A few things I noted: 1) They carry a nice 3 lb cross peen hammer for $8.99. Of course, it is Chinese but appears very well made and comes with a wooden handle. Other than maybe polishing and widening the peen a little, it could be used as purchased. Might be a good hammer choice for the beginner. They also have a selection of conventional sledges from 4 to 12 lbs. 2) A 4x6 stall mat, made from recycled tires and about 1" thick, for $46. Designed to support horses up to 1800 lbs or so, I thought this might make a good cushion pad for anyone mounting a power or treadle hammer. 3) A variety of different sized cut-off wheels, starting from 2-1/2" diameter, 1/4 shank, which is designed to be used with a die grinder. They also carry some good price packs on cut-off saw blades, including a DeWalt number which is only 7/64" thick and designed for "bar cutting". I bought a 14" dia for $5 so will see how it lasts. The value packs were $12.99 for 3 "no-name" blades - not bad for something that's consumed anyway. 4) Although most of it is Chinese, many of their 'farm grade' tools, motors and other accessories are sturdier than some of the usual items you find in Lowe's and Home Depot, with similar price ranges. For example, they have a much better selection of both rope and tarps than either of the above two chains. I don't own stock in Tractor Supply or have any affiliation but thought I'd pass it on to anyone who has one nearby. We have several stores in the area and they vary a little from place to place, but most are set up and stocked similarly. Although not as good as a regular supplier, they also carry a decent variety of welding stuff - in case you get stuck on a Sunday with no MIG gun tips.

A hundred years ago, there were very few hobby blacksmiths who engaged in the business purely for self-expression or in the interest of preserving the craft. Subsequently, most folks worked for a living and like the weldors, machinists and fabricators of today, would have used any tool available that made the job easier, faster and/or better because the goals of the working man have not changed. The definition of "easier, faster and/or better" is where everyone gets into the discussion on use of modern tools, which usually becomes a conversation geared toward intent or final look rather than actual process - unless mastering a particular skill is the primary aim. Some people will never use an arc welder for any purpose, others will judiciously hide welds and still others have no qualms about the open and honest look of well executed welds. I am in the latter category and believe there is no sacriledge in using any process if the final product is something you are proud to sign. Let the stoning commence... :)

No, Ed, I didn't think to call the manufacturer - DOH!!! Think I'll do that today... :oops:

That's interesting because I thought a fellow named George Ferris designed/invented one for the Chicago World's Fair (the big one - with seats - so people could ride it)... However, I like "ferrous wheel" better.

Well, I went out to the shop today and assembled the doors so here's what I did on the screen: The frames are from 1-1/4x3/16 flat stock and I made "pinch plates" to lock the screen from 1/2x3/16 flat. I laid out the holes on 5" centers up the sides and 6" across top and bottom. After drilling one set of holes, I clamped the pinch plates to the frame and drilled thru them also so all the holes would match. I had a spare set of vise grips laying around and welded a loop on the adjustment bolt so I could pull it, then welded two pieces of 1x1/4x4 flat iron in the usual jaws so I had a set of long flat jaws. I could therefore clamp the screen with the modified vise grips and pull 4 inches at a time with a come-along fastened to a heavy table. The door frame was clamped into a vise, the pinch plate aligned then clamped with a normal vise grip and the screen pulled. When I had a section taut, I would clamp the pinch plate in several places around the hole, drill thru the screen and both pieces of stock then finally slip in a 10-32 machine screw. After installing a nut and socking it down, I removed all the clamps and took another bite. By working my way around the frame, I was able to pull out most of the waviness in the screen and left it quite taut. In fact, the first frame was so tight it bowed a little so I had to tweak a bit to straighten it. After the whole thing was assembled this way, I started replacing the screws with rivets. I used a vise grip to clamp near a hole, then removed the screw and replaced it with a rivet. The rivet was set cold and the clamp removed then the process repeated until all the screws were replaced. This made a clean job and nice taut screen. Did not remove every bit of waviness but also not very apparent - it's just that I know it was there so I see it. I believe using this technique and starting with very flat panels would make a screen tight enough to play tennis with... I'll post some pics when I get the whole thing finished. Thanks again for the suggestions...H

I got an order for a custom fire screen but am having trouble getting the wire cloth flat. I bought a #8 mesh, which has about a .105 opening and uses 27 ga wire. It's a real pretty weave and should make a nice job but it came rolled pretty tightly and had a set when I cut the roll. I tried to bend it backwards with my hands and got it fairly flat but it has a lot of little waves. Now, I can't seem to pull it enough to get it taut and flat. Anyone have the trick to doing this? BTW, the screens I've built in the past were made with precut flat sections so they were pretty flat to start with but I can't get those pieces anymore. Maybe I got spoiled because I can't remember it being this difficult.

Make sure it is secure - don't want it mashing any cute little toes... and maybe set it on cinder blocks, big wooden posts or something similar. There may be a premade peat pot (say that 3 times in succession) size that will fit the holes real well. Just be aware there's little doubt in my mind that the combination of moisture and fertilizer WILL make it rust.

Welding or flame cutting will very likely spot harden the blocks where they cannot be drilled but it won't be a proper heat treat so the hardening will be isolated. You can do a couple of things - either do all the machining ahead of time or weld everything together and anneal the entire mass. From the block sizes, I think the first option is easier.

Ed, I might add that I also built a lower die with less height so I could use tall tools without messing around with the ram setting. I simply took a piece of 1/2" plate, cut it to the same LxW as my normal die and welded a dovetail to the underside (one I forged to fit from a piece of mild steel). I also welded a strap to the end that allows normal saddle tools to be fastened to the side of the die. Normal lower die is 2" tall so I can gain 1-1/2" just by knocking out the wedge and replacing with this one.

I suggest removing all the pipe from the nipple up. In other words, the top most piece should be the reducer that holds the gas fitting. That is easy to try and should make some difference. You also need a hole to let it exhaust - like a car, plugging the tail pipe will make it quit running - but you already have that back hole, which should be enough. That is a good flame but the color looks rich - maybe too much gas, so I would also reduce the orifice.

Ed, That's very interesting about the hammer/anvil setup. Almost sounds like someone cobbled it together from parts but if you have a set of plans, I suppose it was a factory job. Every Beaudry I've seen working (only 4 so far) had the typical short anvil that allows an even setting across the frame. Brake pads: Mine had some sort of hard, cork-type stuff on it when I got the hammer but it was frangible and went all to pieces pretty quickly. No telling what it was originally. I have heard of using leather but never tried it. I did use old cloth belting strips and those worked fine until they got oil soaked and started slipping. However, now I see the thing was always out of adjustment so brake material may or may not be a big deal. Currently, I am using a piece of commercial brake lining that I had laying around and it works just fine. Play with the adjustment screw on the bottom of the brake and make the brake grab just enough to stop the wheel. Any more than that is too much - you'll see what I mean if you over tighten it - won't run worth a tinker's dam.

Ed, I just figured everyone had a good laugh at my expense on that one - and I'm glad you got your hammer tuned properly. They are smacking son-of-a-guns when they run right. What made me so @#$%^& mad is that I have worked on a LOT of mechanical power hammers in other people's shops but I didn't have the smarts to see the problem on mine. :oops:

As a sidenote, we are 500 miles from New Orleans and people are starting to arrive here. San Antonio has agreed to take 25,000 people. My wife teaches middle school locally and said two kids showed up today to enroll - without their parents. Makes my heart hurt...

Slack tub used to be "slake" so that is where you could 'slake your thirst'. I'd also heard somewhere that "face down" came from the smithy - probably when the smith drank some of that good old honey mead.

First off - I am not knocking anybody's design and I don't know if any of you fellers ever built one of the old Sandia forges designed by Robb Gunter but the burners were pretty simple after a few bugs were worked out. I eventually made a little single burner that was no more than a short piece of 2" pipe necked to 3/4" pipe size. A factory 2" to 3/4" reducer weld fitting will work just as well. I drilled a cross hole in the two inch just back of the neck to hold 1/4" pipe for the feed tube. The jet was drilled directly in the small pipe - #68 drill. A file mark on the cap end shows approximate orientation so it could be both rotated and drifted right or left to get the flame right. The 2" pipe was only about 3" long including the necked area and was welded to a 3/4 pipe nipple, which was screwed into a 90 el, then another 6" nipple went down into the forge. The whole burn tube length was therefore about 14 inches from jet to forge. No special flaring or other tip treatment was required on the pipe. If all the stock was in the shop, you could make one of these in an hour or two. Everything can be black iron EXCEPT the small cross pipe for feeding the gas should be stainless because the thermal cycles make black or galvanized pipe drop scale and the debris will clog the small jet. This burner will make a blue flame about 3-4 inches long at 12-15 lbs of propane in the shell of your choice. With all this said, I eventually changed to a 60 cfm squirrel cage blower and no jet. I just dump gas thru a needle valve into the air stream at 4 lbs of pressure and get welding heat in about 20-30 minutes. The combination of needle valve and blower cover to choke the air flow gives me infinite adjustment for the flame.