George Geist

As for jurisdictional agreements of the various labor organizations...... Stuff being talked about here is domain of the ironworkers. Any construction blacksmithing to be done is job of the boilermakers but ironworkers pretty much handle what's being talked about here. George

Not made with that in mind but I suppose it could be used for that. Essentially those type of patterns were made with horseshoers in mind. The bigger horn and narrow face with cut under heel as well as 2 pritchel holes are very handy for shaping horseshoes as well as the tools associated with that specialty. The thing I like best about that one is the size. Most horsehoers anvils are between 100 and 125 lbs. That one being so much heavier (obviously a shop anvil) is a big plus. George

Real nice one, obviously the pattern copied years later by multi-products, AP BigTex and so on. Hole in horn I'd guess to be a modification somebody did to it for some reason known only to themselves. Wish a contemporary maker would still offer that pattern. Is excellent for horseshoers. George

Mr Elliott, Thank you for your service sir. Here's a link to someplace else where yours truly posted a few vids of how to build your own: http://horseshoersforum.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/111-build-your-own-forge/ Not really that hard and perhaps a little less aggravating than trying to fix one? The one you have looks like an old riveters forge. Nice find though. The TPAAAT is probably best way to get an anvil. To each his own and all that kinda thing but in JMNTBCHO an NC is barely out of the ASO category.

Can you give any examples of any such individuals or groups who might be doing that? Very true. Is why I said there is nothing new in the trIe. Twas all known by 1900. Ok, assuming you've had some good luck with this, do you do a resection on the toe in combination with this package? If not, what do you do about the inevitable abscesses? That I find easily believable. Too many of the schools merely prostitute the trade with no concern to the destruction they bring on the industry. Not sure which certifying group you're referring to. If you're talking about AFA you're incorrect. I think both of you would like the Unions test. Is a better way to do things. Aside from that I think best thing about certification is legitimacy. I don't know either of you from a can of paint. If you were certified Id be sure you'd made the grade and earned your place in the trade. Without that, all I can be sure of is that you folks are some people on the internet. Another good point. Certainly nothing wrong with earning a living wage.

Asked before. For some inexplicable reason you never answered.......What is balance? I kinda like how it was done during the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods. Not really sure how much it differed during the Dark Ages but I'll check on that for you With the exception of radiusing the wall with a bevel just what do you find different about one trim versus another? We needn't mention Strasser butchery. Hmmmmm, can't help but wonder who it was that taught these super trimmers how to trim? Nah, I'll stand by what I said before. First week apprentice work. See above. Live sole isn't wittled away at by anybody competent that I know. Why is it talked about as if it's a widespread problem? Flares if not dealt with can and will cause much more complicated issues to develop. Ever see a Heavy Horse with hooves split like three leaf clovers because of flares? I'd contend that when you see them you better get pretty aggressive about dealing with them. If horses are kept on proper schedules such issues should be minimal though. Doesn't mean anything of the kind. Those excuses are pretty sorry. On this forum we have a lot of welders. Welding certs require a test. They're also tested at every job by every contractor. If they don't weld for 6 months they need to re-test. It's pretty redundant but they do it. Is there a law requiring certs to operate an arc welder? No. It's the JOB MARKET that demands it. Do they whine about it or the testing bodies? No. They just do it. Truck Drivers take a State test then are re-tested at every job. Do they whine about it? No. They just do it. Any occupation you want to name. The JOB MARKET demands it people do it. Crying out loud this is the only occupation I can think of that the practitioners of fight to the death to keep any kind of standards from being introduced to their industry. To what question is that which you refer? Correct answer is "it depends". Clarify what situation you're referring to. Agreed Exactly, nor am I attacking anyone else. Just encouraging folks to use a cauliflower shaped object located behind their eyeballs. Truth be told they probably still trash you behind your back same as they always did and probably sent you stuff they didn't want 20 years ago same as today. Me too As long as we're not running for office or asking for any of their votes we really don't need to give a fiddlers fart what anybody thinks of us do we?

Nice one, good score George

Well.... I've made small pony shoes, belt buckles, things like that. Some people make railroad spike knives which are pretty neat after throwing in a twist and polishing up. Basically you're only limited by your own imagination. Steel is steel. If you're new to forging I'd suggest not making anything in particular but use them for practice. Forge the square shape into an octagon. Then forge the octagon round. Then forge back square again. Practice drawing, tapering and upsetting. Basic fundamentals. Is all good. If you do find some wrought iron ones you'll learn proper temperature. Those need to be forged as hot as possible. White or welding heat then stop when it's at about orange. If it cools to red it's too cold and will break. Steel can be worked all the way down to black but not iron. Iron spikes will teach you that if you can find them. George

Yes, they're excellent. Plenty of stuff you can make with them. If lucky, sometimes you can find real old ones made of wrought iron too. George

There's a place nearby called Wertz Coal Yard in Mechanicsburg where you can get good coal. Trying to use anthracite is a waste of time. Good luck to you. George

Interesting. Have you had a lot of success with it? Not sure which bodies you refer to here. AFA? BWFA? Essentially all they ask is for you to pass a pretty easy written test, make a shoe display and shoe two feet with keg shoes. Is really not that big a deal. I'd say if it were administered properly, and not run by a bunch of knuckleheads as it often is, I'd highly recommend anybody who couldn't pass that test to give serious consideration to a different career choice. That's my opinion on it. What would you change about it to make it better? As I said before I'd highly doubt you'd have an ill broke puke on your place. Bad horses are a direct reflection upon the people. In case it went over your head that was a compliment. Never said it did unless we're talking about spelling maybe? The questions I asked you were very open minded actually. Is in an attempt to learn something. I've dealt with a few founders. I've won some, I've lost some. So have you so has she. So has everybody. Hard as we may try, it will continue to be something that confounds horsemen as it has since the first two horses stepped off the ark. I've seen heart bars work and I've seen horses die graveyard dead no matter what was done. I've seen some helped by shoes, I've seen plenty helped by being left bare. Questions I asked of you are in an attempt to spur on some critical thinking among everybody. My apologies if you think I was showing you disrespect. That was certainly not my intent. What happens that gets folks like me started on being a pain in everybody's butt is absolutist statements. The words "always" and "never" should not be in our vocabulary when discussing the trade. When folks do make such statements they should be prepared to defend them. George

Why is that? First off what have you got against heart bars and why would you choose the method you described? Would you always do this each and every time? If so why and if not why not? Again, every time? Even when they're forming a nice rock trap? How about when full of thrush? Do you ever get retained sole? If so what do you do about it? Might you be certified perchance? If not have you ever stood for a certification? I'm sure that's the case. I'd highly doubt we'd ever find an ill broke puke in your barn.

Nice work George

I'm sure Josh will be along soon enough but if it were delaminating I believe it would be a first. Fishers just don't do that to best of my knowledge. Hard to tell from photo but I tend to doubt it. George

Happy Memorial Day everybody. To those still living who served in the Armed Forces...Thanks