RGraff

Beautiful as always. May I ask what the symbol represents?

"Seating" a hardened piece of 1" 0-1 round into a vault door hinge. Pin exploded (I recall thinking grenade) sending numerous pieces of shrapnel into my left hand and forearm. The guy who hardened that batch was unemployed shortly after.

An air driven die grinder is a good way to go but at the speeds they generate, it may thrash a carbide burr in short order. The first time it bounces or jumps you'll start losing "teeth" and it's all down hill from there. I've done quite a bit of detail work over the years to include re-furbishing old safes and re-creating antique jail keys. Sometimes the best route is the slowest, and that may mean a good set of files. ;)

Your leather work compliments it nicely. Very impressed.

As a beginner...very motivational. Gives me yet another reason to keep on trying! Many thanks.

Thanks Mr. Smith...much appreciated.

yesteryearforge...I've seen pictures of other shop floors like what you describe and it presents another option that looks appealing to me. Does the material pack down on it's own with time or did you have to run a tamper of some sort to get it to settle? Was/is dust an issue ever? Chinobi...I'm in contact with our local plumbing supply house today and am gathering more info. regarding the heated floor system. I'll also speak a bit more in depth with my buddy who is actually running that system in his shop. I still think cost may be a deal breaker here but I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised. I appreciate your input.

"...dedicated mat of that rubberized accelerant that doubles as padding." That's perfect.

Regarding walking on concrete all day...yeah, I can relate. I wonder if some of my back and knee issues stem from that. While not an option around "hot" areas (welding booths, plasma/cutting tables, etc.) we usually placed rubber mats to help alleviate some of that. Examples would have been in the machine shop or around a layout table. This shop will be a one man affair with room for the kids to join in. I like having the ability to change things around when needed like for special projects or to accomodate a new piece of equipment, hence my desire to stay away from dedicating a portion of the floor for something specific. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of keeping things simple. It won't be that big (a bit over 900 sq.ft.) so it'll be easy to heat and the equipment I'll be able to house won't be too big either. My ideas at this time are for making some personal tools, building gates and such for the neighbors, perhaps some nice Christmas presents for the family, eventually some hunting knives for the kids and who knows where it will go from there. For some reason I have a hankering to try my hand at axes. Go figure. Long story short, I won't be into any "heavy" fabricating here. I do appreciate all for your input. Vielen dank.

Many thanks John. I'm on my out the door for a trip out of town but will do that when I return.

Been ruminating on this a bit. Not having any luck getting this set up and to be honest I don't know that I "need" it. Even if I do need it, I've got a list a mile long of stuff I need sooner. So, my thought was to offer this up for trade to someone who may need it worse than I do. I'm just starting out so I need to get the basics in my inventory (basic tools). Tongs, hammers, hardies, etc., etc.. I could use a decent belt grinder too. What I really could use would be some lessons. :rolleyes: Anyway, if any of you good folks think this hardness tester is something you can use, feel free to speak up. If you're not too far away, I'd be happy to meet with you and have you give it a good once over.

Oh my goodness. Beautiful.

Good advice. Thanks guys.

I helped a buddy pour his latest shop floor and he went with radiant heat. Six inches thick (another cnc shop) and a wood fired boiler for the hot water. It does keep it warm but it was quite an expense. Not sure I can handle that right now and it would probably postpone this project longer than I'm willing. If I were doing this full time and was putting up a shop in town I'd probably go that route. This hobby shop will have to have cold floors. :(

I'm a bit hesitant to commit to a dedicated spot on the floor right now as a power hammer is a ways down on the list of "needed" tools and it may be a while before I'm financially ready. We all know how plans work...what sounds like a good idea today will more than likely not be so great tomorrow. I think I'll keep it a theoretical placement for now and when I'm ready for the big hammer, bust out a bit of concrete. I'm thinking what I have now or will have in the near future will be nicely supported by a conventional pour. Appreciate the advice guys. Thanks for the help.

Great idea. On your advice I went researching and found a Little Giant site. They have an excellent set of specs for each of the model sizes with footprint and bolt layout. Gave me a good idea as to how much space to dedicate for the future and what size I could reasonably accomodate, generally. http://www.littlegianthammer.com/pdf_files/25%20LB%20FOUNDATION.pdf Thank you sir.

I've been told that since the use of fiber started to be popular that adding steel wasn't necessary, at least for sidewalks and such. I can't bring myself to not use steel, especially in a situation where you've got the potential for a lot of impact and/or vibration. Steel will be in this floor for sure along with a good six sack mix. The existing gravel floor includes a good, thick base and 3/4 minus on top that's been there since the early 2000's. Should be fine. Thanks guys. I'll move forward with a "standard" pour with the idea of cutting and adding more for machines at a later date. Much appreciated. Now if you can help me with advice on where to find lots of money to finish this project I'd be good to go. :blink:

Getting a bit tired of working on the gravel out in the barn or in the garage (wife is frowning on parking her car outside for some reason). I've come to the decision to pour a floor in the barn and build a proper, dedicated shop. When I built the floor for my cnc shop we went with 6" concrete. Is that necessary for blacksmithing or is a "standard" pour adequate at 4"? My concern would mostly be for the equipment I don't have today but hope to in the future, like hammers, rolls and such. Any other considerations I need to keep in mind? Thanks in advance.

I thoroughly enjoy these tutorials for many reasons but most importantly, for me as a beginner, they tell me what sort of tools I need to get added to my inventory. The example pics of your work that utilizes the tenon are particularly inspiring. Very nicely done. Many thanks.

These were the best I could do with the wife's cell phone at 4:30 this morning in a driving rain. Gotta get that barn closed up. <_<

Speed and pressure, just as important as the bit. :)

The controls look very similar although the machine itself looks a bit different. Much appreciated. Thank you sir.

I'll get pics together tomorrow. I do believe it's Chinese. Thanks guys.

I had a tester "thrown in" to a package deal when I bought my last cnc machines. The previous owner never used it but was confident all the necessary parts were there. The machines are gone but I still have the tester. The last time I used a tester was in college (30 or so years ago) and I have no recollection how to set it up or use it. An internet search has been all but useless. Is anyone here versed enough on these tools to help me out either personally or direct me to a resource who can? I'd be happy to post pictures and any other info. one might need to get this up and "running". Better yet...if there's someone here in the P.N.W. near enough for me to make a short trip and get someone hands on with it that would be best case scenario. Otherwise it will continue to be a rather large paper weight and I'll just sell it to someone who can actually use it.

Very utilitarian/multi-purpose shaped blade. Me likes!