bigjohn

Wow, I knew the polar bears were in trouble and the Amazon rain forest is being depleted. I just never thought we would see the demise and extinction of the Australian Blacksmith. Good grief, how did we ever let the levels get so low. We really should go out with a tranquilizer gun, knock them out and remove them to a much safer environment. Enclosed please find my check for $5.00 to help with this effort.

I've dealt with McNichols for many many years. I have always found their staff to be very helpful. They are very fast on shipping and are very reasonable on pricing.If you need something cut to ship, they happily oblige.

Surely it is a good looking knife and you put a great deal of effort into producing it. However, you are donating your time, skill and energy to provide someone else with potential scholarship money, an opportunity they might not have otherwise had. Was it worth the sweat and effort you put into it? I would commend you for making that effort. That is a part of being a blacksmith/bladesmith in my opinion. I donated a large installation of railing and sculpture to the Memphis Oral School for the Deaf in 2007. It was in the summer and it was hot, I cussed a lot about donating it. But then later I found out that 4 children received cochlear implants with the money they had not spent on handrails for their new building. By the way, it took them almost 6 years to raise the money to build their new school. My rambling on point is that the small gifts that you give can be multiplied with great effectiveness. Happy Forging, Big John

If you are in Venice, walk through the narrow paths on the way to the vapparetto stop going to Murano island. On the way there is a small blacksmiths shop. I walked right past it on the way to the vapparetto, on the way back chomping on a gelato, I stopped in to say Hi and see what was going on. I did not speak Italian but I did find Spanish worked almost as well. They were building a series of grates and grillework. I've been to Venice twice and would highly recommend the vendors on the sidewalks. I had the most wonderful peach I've ever eaten. It was so unbelievably juicy and tasty. I know I know it was just a peach. Give it a try and dont forget to eat all the gelato you can stand. The first trip I just got one, the second trip my record was six in one day. Enjoy your trip and if you get to go through the mountains visit Aosta they love Americans and dont get to see them very much.

Wow,the wood rack only holds one log......makes for a quick fire. Just kidding .. good looking work you have there. I like the handles on your tools.

I think perhaps that some willing soul in Oz should do extensive testing and provide the group with a full report. Alternatively, if there are none brave enough for the task, you could ship a case to me and I'll gleefully sacrifice for the team.

I'm thinking the blueprint/ drawing was mislabeled and you were indeed manufacturing Chinese throwing stars. They appear to be very effective. In high school metal shop circa 1986 , I stood next to my friend on a big Baldor grinder and watched him grind his finger off up to the first knuckle..Please use extreme caution on bench grinders and the like.. Actually that goes for bandsaws/ drill presses and virtually all other tools with moving parts..

I wanna see the hammer that is gonna drive that one

If you need a post drill I'm pretty sure I have two in my stash of tools. You are welcome to come by on your way home to check them out if you like. I'm sure we could work out a deal on them. I know one of them will require a weld to get it running,it just was not on my priority list.

If you should happen to breakdown on your way back, just on the east side of Memphis there is a secure place to leave all my... I mean your stuff. Happy Hunting and do report what he has and exactly how proud Mr. Nerrin is of his merchandise. I'll be heading that way in the spring.

Are you going to Portland, Oregon or possibly Portland ,Maine? If you give just a bit more information then the right folks will be able to help you better.

I particularly like the blue crepe tape, it adds a bit of color...........just kidding. Those are really nice looking handrails. Good job.

For a first anvil, I would just let it stay as is. Think of it as a practice anvil. So if you really make a mess of things, you don't have to think about how much time you put into making it pretty. And most times you would like the extra character in your work. I'm not into making things perfect. I use what I have on hand. Happy Forging

Frosty, Frank Lloyd Wright must have really liked red. All of the fireplace equipment at Falling Water was indeed red. I got the chance to visit there about three years ago. It is a very appropriate color for iron I should think. Also, in many of his stained glass drawings red is very prominent.

I'm considering building an ark this weekend. We've had quite enough rain and here comes another 3-5 inches today. Got a pump working on the shop to keep the water out. The house is on a bit higher ground. Hard to work in a foot or more of water. Hope everyone else is keeping their feet dry.

I usually mount my anvils at knuckle height. I always get a good laugh when friends come over to play in the fire. Most of my friends are average height and I'm a bit above average at 6'9". So what is comfortable for me, is at eye level for them. I actually took a chainsaw to one of the stumps and lowered it for them. All of the shop tables are cruising at 40" in height as well. So if you come over consider bringing a box to stand on.

Only one place left in Memphis where you can buy off the lot. They are getting really xxxxx about letting you in now. It was really sad when Lazarov Brothers shut down. They had mountains, literally of scrap from the Millington Naval air Station. I remember being able to buy the fuselage from F4 Phantom jets that were discarded there. Tons of military hardware and really beautiful alloys,Titanium, aluminum and stainless, S7 and loads of D2 made for wonderful tool stock. Sniffle Sniffle :(

Kinda makes me wish I had a brick set this past Saturday. I set up at the Fayette County Cotton Festival and quickly realized I had left a hot cut in Mexico,while teaching there. There was in fact a hardware store 100 yds from my setup. I proceeded to kick myself furiously and then took about an hour and a half to make a new one. That is what blacksmiths do, they improvise in bizarre situations. Good job on doing your demo, nice looking products.

OK that is all you really need .............STOP NOW before its tooooooooo late. I've learned you have to save em' early in order to prevent endless trips to other parts of the country bidding against guys that are five times your age and seem to have exactly 3 dollars more than you were willing to spend on a nice William Foster anvil. What they are going to do with it, you wonder as you drive home empty handed. Not that I would have any experience in these matters. Happy Forging and oh yeah you need a much larger pile of scale around your stump... work on that will ya'.

Thank you for your kind words. The longer I hang around this planet the more I realize the ridiculous amount of wealth I have. I don't mean money or assets. The real wealth is sharing in other people and their lives. I love to hang around and talk to people.....one of the reasons I'm late finishing jobs sometimes. I will look forward to sitting around a bonfire... probably a small one, if you've been in the South in July you'll understand why. Hot doesn't begin to describe the experience. In addition to outdoor camping facilities we also have a couch and bed for use during the conference. You may have to wrestle with one of our Irish Setters to get it, unless you really like dogs they don't share well.

Bill, I have the capability to support up to two RV's at my place. My parents are full time RVers and they drop in frequently so I made hookups for them. I could probably run a third hookup from the shop. If you are budget minded you could save the camp fees and stay at my place.Current Agricenter rates are $27 daily or $160 weekly.This means you could save that money to buy tongs, hammers, beer, BBQ. You would be more than welcome. That applies to anyone else thinking of traveling to Memphis for the conference or otherwise. I have lots of room to "dry camp" as well as space for tents and so on.

ABANA was talking about rolling the conference fee back to what it was ten years ago. I've been to three of the last four conferences. So if I had to guess it will be just under or just over $200.00. If anyone decides they are going and require information about Memphis or surrounding areas just contact me. I've lived in or near Memphis forever. We have a small farm in Somerville 25 miles east of there now. I'm really glad they chose the Agricenter site over Mud Island. Agcenter is a cool venue for events such as ABANA.

Just my 2 pennies worth. I've done craft shows for just over ten years and have never taken credit cards. Usually on site there is going to be the ATM. I've not lost but a couple of sales over this time. I'm a pretty die hard Dave Ramsey fan and opposed to the use of credit cards. If you do many shows a card machine may be for you. If just starting out don't bother with them. What point is there working for Visa if you wish to be self employed. Hope you have a good show no matter what form of payment you accept.

you could get a 4" sphere from r and b wagner they sell hollow spheres that may work.

If you are really set on making a rail anvil, it will ring like crazy. Be sure to wear earplugs. Also, when you mount it to a stump, take a large blob of Bondo about 1/4" thick or so and put it between the anvil and the stump. This will help deaden the sound quite a bit. I had an anvil that rang like crazy and tried the Bondo, it works pretty well. Happy Forging