Marc1

To your specific example, I was involved in a build for a church, two in fact, one the construction of a new kindergarten at the back of the church and another a large renovation expansion of another church.Both jobs in the order of 250,000 dollars some 10 and 15 years ago. Both turned out into a nightmare scenario for very obvious reasons unfortunately. Churches are run by amateurs. People who volunteer and others who get paid, but they are all amateurs and act accordingly. When it comes to contracting work that the local volunteers can not do in a working bee day, the contractor is an outsider, a quasi enemy that needs to be tolerated for a short period of time. Don't expect a professional or even logical behaviour because you will not find it. Add to your list of bad clients anyone that makes religion a business. There are many kinds of bad clients in the building industry, some are professional crooks that know exactly how to hurt you and how to get work for free. Others and I think this are the worst, are pretend professionals, people entrusted with a job that is too big for them. Incompetent and arrogant that believe to be above you and that you owe them something just for considering you to be worthy. Walk away. Plenty of fish in the sea. Was it you that posted the Dunning-Kruger effect? Apply with prejudice

Sorry to hear that John, may you find a buyer and enjoy this new chapter in your life. Retirement is never easy to begin with until you find new interest you never considered before. God bless. Marc

If in doubt, use something else. I am sure you will be repurposing the dog chain for another project.

Lovely welder. Reminds me when I bought my first 250A MIG, what a difference it makes to AC transformer welder! One thing I learned is that when it is windy, and the argon get's blown away, you want to use flux cored wire, that far from what I thought it's actually a very good and hot weld. Furthermore if you try thicker core fluxed wire and change the torch bits accordingly you will be able to weld very thick material.

Mm ... steam museum ... did not even know there was one. Will do

I agree. i would also clean from rust and oil a few tongs, hammers and the anvils, and leave a pair of gloves laying around as if the blacksmith had just left for a smoko

I am amazed at how lightly you take this sort o questions on electric wiring. In Australia this thread would either be deleted or the answers would be in unison, "call an electrician"

Just Google "how many continents" and you can read at your leisure. They go from 4 for the purist to 6, only 7 if you artificially divide America in two. Science and politics are indivisible because politicians direct the flow of funds for scientist, so the scientist like the oracle and the alchemist tell the boss what he want's to hear. Just look at so called global warming "teachings" and you see the same link. We live in interesting times

It all depends from who is doing the naming. Geography is one thing, politics is a different issue. Popular likes and dislikes a further issue. The american continent is one thing according to the definition of what a continent is, not debatable. But the schools in the USA teach there are 7 continents when in fact they could be as little as 4, 5 or 6 according to who does the teaching. I learned that Australia was part of the Oceanic continent, or Oceania. However schools today teach Australia is one continent and the rest of the islands can go jump. Pure fashion and PC. In the case of America, an artificial canal does not break the continuity of one single solitary continent. Considering the vast difference between the countries, I can certainly see why someone would try to introduce a division north south or even north "central" and south. South american countries are notoriously indoctrinated to be "anti" north, imperialist and all that, so the schools are the way to follow through with that sentiment. Not much to do with real geography.

You don't know what you are missing. Porcini mushrooms picked in the wild and truffles ... oooh truffles ...

All of the above ... but for the swamp cooler. If the swamp cooler is a portable evaporative air conditioner, that needs to be in an enclosed space with an outdoor vent, hardly ok for a smithy, plus they tend to be small. Since you need to have ventilation and so open roller door, I would have a misting fan. They are big in Vietnam and lately are coming to Australia for outdoor airconditioning, can reduce ambient temperature by 20C and are on the cheap side. Works on the same principle of cooling by evaporation but use a very fine mist that is pushed by a big industrial fan. Work outdoors on verandas so would be good for a smithy, even one with just two walls. javascript:;

Love those pythons, we get the diamond python, very similar to the carpet but very placid. You can grab them with bare hands and they just wiggle to get away. Don't even try to bait. Good rats' deterrent. We had a resident one a few meters long but someone bagged her. Probably sold at the pub. Hoping for another one to settle in. They are the nicest snakes to have around. Can't say the same for the red belly, the brown and the tiger snakes ...

Yes, way to go, we can all lough about ourselves. However and sadly, my question even when intentionally stupid did happen to a friend of mine. He bought an old property and the entrance porch floorboards needed a bit of a sanding. Being a newcomer to "renovations" and since his toolbox consisted of one ancient 4" angle grinder, he thought to use it to sand the little 3' x 6' entrance. So far so good, but he also decided to do the job quicker so he fitted a 5" grinding (yes not sanding, grinding) disk and removed the guard to fit it. He was crouching down sanding away when the grinder came off his hands. Being an older model it not only did not have a handle but no dead man switch either ... so it kept on going ... according to eye witness, he started screaming and jumping to get away because the grinder was running on the floor, and up the walls and up his legs and over his back and after chasing him around the small enclosure he was working it finally chewed up the cable and died. He did not die but had extensive grinding mark in a dozen different places. Moral of the story ... do not alter a power tool, don't use the wrong attachment, and don't use it for what it was not intended for. And this is the right time to tell you that I came first in the 4" belt sander racing competition sitting on a Makita, and way in front of Bosh and Metabo

Yes, all interesting answers from each of the author's point of view. All noted. The issues with students in a workshop environment has no relation to my suggestion of how to answer "stupid" questions. This is not a classroom and most of the time we don't know who the newbie poster really is. May be 60 yo and holding 3 university degree and speak 5 languages. The stories of banned members is an eye opener and I don't envy your task Steve, wow, keep them away ... but my point if I have one, is that sometimes we (and I include myself if you don't mind) can come across as rude or sarcastic or patronising without meaning it. Simply because we seem to talk among ourselves a lot and most of the time know what makes the other one tick. The new person is ... well ... new. Just a thought... Now to my question ... is it safe to use a 5" grinder with a 9" grinder wheel?

What are you making? Spiral staircase? Handrail? The times I had to build one I made small brackets for each thread and used them to mold the handrail to the stairs. Never fails.

Depending on what you do on it, may be worth having a radius that starts as it is now and goes down gradually to nothing at the other end. And have a smaller even radius on the other side. Radius is personal preference, but certainly necessary. It is crisp edges from factory that cause most chips, well that and carelessness. I sincerely don't know why manufacturers don't supply anvils with a small radius. it somehow conveys the concept that a perfectly straight crisp 90 degree edge is a requirement. By the way I like the off centre bolting down provision of that Fisher. Certain to get the OCD visitor into a cold sweat PS At risk of getting stoned, once you have your radius done, that cut will still be visible but much more shallow. Since it is narrow and everything else around it is rock solid, you can simply fill the cut with your MIG or stick welder. Two quick tacks and let it cool down. sand smooth and you will never know where it was.

Oh, I see ... I did not know you have your own private scrap pile. Where did all the stuff come from ?

Guide to answer "stupid" questions if you feel so inclined since it is not compulsory 1) where can I find xyz? answer ... need to tell us where you are. Sarcasm switch is off 2) Where can I find an anvil? Post a link to half a dozen of similar threads. Avoid answers like ... ask your auntie. 3) Can I use reo to make a razor blade? List the type of steel required if you know this and perhaps note what could be done with reo ... no not chuck it in the dumpster. 4) How long do I have to heat up galvanised pipes in the forge for the galvo to burn off? Yes, yes I know how we all care for our fellow smith's health, but remember mental health is also a concern. A link to a medical explanation of poisoning with zinc fumes is enough, no need for public flogging. 5) How much is this anvil worth? Now I confess to be pricked by this question myself more than once particularly when it is posted after purchase (buyers remorse and all that) and answered, "It is worth what you paid for" ... but honestly, it is a perfectly natural question. Links to other threads would be better than my answer. Feel free to add to this list, it may be fun if you weigh your words carefully

Someone started to dress the edge. May be a good idea to continue that and give it a radius to avoid future chips

Looks like an old rotary crusher. Easy 2 or 3000 kilos. Did you actually buy the thing?

Now that is funny ...

Calling "America" the USA excluding everything else is very common but incorrect. And the name comes from the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, born and raised in my dad's town of Florence a long time ago ... and he explored the southern part of America, never set foot in what is now the USA.

Well ... a continent is a continent. Different political animosities aside, the American continent is just one from a geological and geographical point of view. Tectonic plates? Nothing to do with continent definition. Oh ... wait a minute ... is that why California is all on it's own? Now that is a revelation The rocky mountains and the andes from Alaska down to Tierra del fuego should give a hint that it was formed all at the same time.

Oxalis acetosella (wood sorrel or common wood sorrel) is a rhizomatous plant from the genusOxalis, common in most of Europe and parts of Asia. The binomial name is Oxalis acetosella, because of its sour taste. The common name wood sorrel is often used for other plants in the genus Oxalis. In much of its range it is the only member of its genus and hence simply known as "the" wood sorrel. While common wood sorrel may be used to differentiate it from most other species of Oxalis, in North America, Oxalis montana is also called common wood sorrel. It is also known as Alleluia because it blossoms between Easter and Pentecost, when the Psalms which end with Hallelujah were sung. The plant has trifoliate compound leaves, the leaflets heart-shaped and folded through the middle, that occur in groups of three on petioles up to 10cm long. It flowers from spring to midsummer with small white chasmogamous flowers with pink streaks. Red or violet flowers also occur rarely.[citation needed]During the night or when it rains the flowers close and the leaves fold. As with other species of wood sorrel, the leaves are sometimes eaten. An oxalate called "sal acetosella" was formerly extracted from the plant, through boiling. Oxalis acetosella growing atPhoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland. The common wood sorrel is sometimes referred to as a shamrock and given as a gift on St. Patrick's Day. This is due to its trifoliate clover-like leaf, and to early references to shamrock being eaten. Despite this, it is generally accepted that the plant described as shamrock is a species of clover, usually white clover (Trifolium repens).

I thought California and Argentina are in the same continent ... but may be I am mistaken. After all the Panama canal cuts it in two? That may be so but the plant in question is edible. No danger there.