Bryce Masuk

I actually met up this fellow I was hoping to buy some tongs and hardies and stuff and check out the forge

he didnt seem too inclined to split it up

he said he was offered 2500 for the anvil but I guess it didnt happen

not that many people are buying this kind of stuff out in this area selling the forge for 1000+ dollars would be pretty hard

if he wanted to sell it all as a lot 5-6 grand would probley be a reasonable price

he could sell it all piece by piece over a few years and probley get the money he wants for it maybe not though

things arent exactly booming

I have gotten emails myself from guys with incredible skills looking for jobs as blacksmiths and fabricators

Bryce,

I ran a long piece of 3/8 round down the face to the hardy hole and tacked that to the anvil. I laid pieces of 3/8 along each edge of the hardy and circled the pritchel, tacked them, then added another piece leading from hardy to tail. The pattern on the face was sort of like this:
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"-----------------[]---o----"
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I placed the plate on top and tacked it front and back. I used 1/8" E6011 rod to reach down into the gap and did a weaving pass to cover from one side to the other. I chose 6011 because you can weld over the top of it without chipping it all away and it is not subject to bad slag inclusions. I had to move from side to side because the plate had a tendency to draw down on the side getting the welding and in fact, it was not perfectly square when I was finished so I had to grind the top with a slight bevel to get the face square across the body. I kept welding until the bead was standing proud on all sides then ground it away (although you can still see a the bead on the side facing the horn).

I've replated a few anvils this way and it has always worked. Let me know if you have any other questions.

seems like a pretty cool method of doing it
should be less grinding than just building up right on the face unless it warps too badly on you

you can save anvils that are really far gone as well

wrking 4 living you should preheat any anvil before welding on it

welding from the inside out would be pretty tricky to say the least

did you stick a something like a 1 x 3/8 flat bar in the middle and work your way out cleaning the slag would have been a nightmare it would be pretty hard to clean 5 inch's in or at least really slow

I bought a new anvil it needs some work it was used in a blacksmithing school in england the right side of the horn and the face are worn near the front its not too bad but it ould be nice to have a real flat face on it

I have seen some bad things in my short time as tradesman and nearly had some bad things happen to me using mostly hydrulic equipment every bend you make with a big bender has the potential to hurt you and bad

milling machines and gear drive presses dont stop when you turn them off they keep going until all the gears stop

just today I nearly picked up a 8000lb piece of steel with a 7800lb strap that was worn eventually we got the same thing done without the strap

just be sensible I could have used two straps and a link but if it broke then you have a 2 pound bullet

I shudder at the thought of the damage it could do you never know where it might go.

sometimes I just think to myself of what the shear or ironworker or press brake can do to a human being

the effect is similar to what would happen if whatever body part was under a powerhammer,

just think of it as GONE and never coming back

sometimes its simple stuff that hurt people though like getting a piece of steel off the rack that is too big or something rolls off and falls on you.

or even the accumlative damage from welding smoke and grinding dust or the numerous flashes or the sounds of steel on steel or grinding/cutting

some people never worry about it and always seem to be fine, but then again some people smoke 2 packs of smokes a day and inhale welding fumes and dust and never get cancer either.

so what's the answer I guess maybe just think abit and try not to rush into things even if you are pressured into it

I like how 500lbs is blurry in the video on the end of a wooden beam

gives you a good dose of reality I bet running that thing

mechanical hammers are cool in my books some people have told me the bradley's are undesirable I couldnt figure out why other than they fact they are the size of most blacksmiths shops themselves lol

Beauty shop I take it most of those in inventory are 88's

I bought mine but cant use it because my shop is small and too many people live close by I have been searching for place with a upper messanine that I can move into and set up shop, or find someone who does welding and share the space and hopefully set each other up with work. either that on on farm land out here

you quite the setup looks like you have an engine drive welder under that cover too


the thing i hate about my shop is its about 18 x 19 and a full length of steel cant be stored inside so it all stays outside doesnt really matter much if its solid steel but tubing rusts overnight so i have to order it as required

that and its power supply is inadquate for my needs I was suprised I didnt blow the breaker welding 3/8s plate for the power hammer base

Now i want something that bangs big holes in stuff


gate looks good hopefully you got a decent price for it

Hey those hooks should last forever! that's bad business in the production world

havent you heard every year you need to apply gravity coating to them otherwise whatever is attached might just float away

I have to be careful at this and I know this might offend someone. An artist can call any twisted piece of metal art and someone will buy it. I find it difficult making 100 tools all the same and selling them for $l0.00. We have a bad habit of selling to our customer needs instead of selling them something I'm trying to convince them to buy.

Hey if they can sell it then so be it

Look at some of albert paley's work

some of it is incredible... and some of looks like shrapnel

so be it

being good at something isnt the same as being good at making money at something

I have just spent twice as long on a project as I should have to make it my way and be happy,
will it get me any more money... Nope but doing something right is different than getting something done

Well guys, I got out to the LAMA event at 7:45 this morning. It is 10:30 at night now. And I absolutely loved every minute of it. Brian is a great demonstrator, and though I didn't get to make a hammer with him today (Perhaps tomorrow ) I did get to make two steak-flips (I'll try and get some pictures up within the next couple of days) which I had a blast making. I started off a bit slow, but I think I'm getting the hang of it...and even if I'm not that great, its still something I definitely want to do. I do hope I'm able to scrounge up another $150 or so for this blacksmith set someone is selling, then I can get right into it!

I'll blog either tomorrow or Monday, I would do it now but its been a long day and another early start tomorrow...and I can't wait.

Great, I am glad your liking it

Blacksmithing is more of an obsession than a profession or a hobby

those are huge lol

made on a power hammer?

they match up pretty good

how do they work they stand up vertically? with a hole in one in pin in the other?

or do i have it wrong?

you have an excellent mind for design into reality

it says on your website you started your business in 2002,

were you an experianced metalworker before? I noticed all your other jobs were more art related in one way or another.

like southshore smith said it depends what you want to do

if you planning on hitting things real hard in the vise without a striker lower is going to be better

if you have a benchvise too i would probley mount it pretty low

the heavier the leg the better the one you have if the leg was cut off was probley really bent so it was lopped off or it could be a box vice

I think its pretty cool

its not a typical handrail if the house suits it then it will look good

all your work seems to match itself

I am sure your sister is quite happy

Bryce,
I got a chuckle out of this before I read your second post. I'm thinking to myself- if this guy thinks this is a sheet metal job, I'm scared to think what he considers to be heavy plate! FYI, the frame is 3/8" x 2 x 2 angle with one leg cut off. The panels are all 1/4" plate. The whole mess weighs several hundred lbs.

DB

how did you cut the one leg off? with a bandsaw? I havent seen a shear that would clear that past the buttons unless it had a groove you could snap it into with one leg down

that sucks larry cutting up nice work is like a double waste of effort

one day I will need a platen table but for now I need a bigger shop where I can run my power hammer, its on the list of goals first i need the work or someone to share space

the old shop that my dad worked in has some weird machines from the 40's

they had this giant tube with a glass window where 2 electrodes ran down inside the chamber welding I forget what it was about I was probley 10 at the time when I saw it looked real cool though

Bob you definately have it right,

That is one thing about metal it has this feeling it creates of entirely being solid like nothing could possibly behind it
wood doesnt have the same effect it always looks soft


Back to the drawing board its time for more idea's

Good or bad weather I will keep going down the path.

Bryce, the gates look great. Don't worry about the shop too much,not everyone can have a shop thats 100% clean, if your happy working in there then everything is sweet. Then again there's always the safety aspect.Where did you get the Chip Foose helmet from? I have a cheap auto helmet at the moment and its a bit slow to respond some times, and Miller ones out here in Oz are about $400 plus.

I bought it from kms it was on sale for $290 they didnt know they had it in stock and the paint was chipped with nothing in the box
they found a bag and sweatband for it and gave it to me for $200
i didnt care about the paint its going to get splattered either way

its the vista 3000 helmet it makes the elite screen seem tiny and its screen is pretty big on it

but this one has 3 7/8 x 3 1/8 screen or 98mm x 81mm has no battery in it either
usually I wouldnt spend that much on a helmet but honestly you would be suprised how much quicker and easier welding/fitting is with a really nice view

i have a cheap everlast helmet I won on welding web I dislike it more than a regular flipper mask the way it fits my head I see more helmet than screen and when you bend over the helmet has no grip system so it flaps down and entirely blocks my view if anything it hinders my welding

its really annoying using your hand to block the light from tacking or looking the other way so it doesnt blind you
eventually those missed blocks/or looking away into someone else running a bead it adds up to poor vision

having a good helmet especially when tig welding makes it alot easier,
when your putting pressure on something with one hand so you can tack it tight
you have the torch in the other hand
pedal under your foot
and the filler rod within reach
its tricky I can do it but not perfect everytime

most old school guys all use a flipper mask once you get used to it after 20 years a automask probley seems pointless by then after the thousands of flashes you have gotten one more doesnt seem so bad

thanks for the comment on the gates they are pretty simple lots of guys make gates like this you will see them with the same spears and ball caps but its what my friend wanted.

I figure if you cant make a basic gate forget about making a fancy one

Well here we go

I bent the back supports by hand on my table and zip cut them to fit

I was going to push myself to clean and paint them today but its so close to raining its probley not worth it

everything is an exact fit with no adjustabilty with these hinges

Instead I will clean my junk up and the back of the shop too

haha working with wood is also good, I like it

you really have to be one with the wood though look at it and know what its for

that gate is great though it might techincally be "sheet metal work"
Did you use a Large pittsburg type machine to turn the edges on the radiused pieces? or roll them by hand on a rotary machine?

whoops I see that is the thickness of the material not a break

Even Sam Yellen didn't call himself a blacksmith, all of his cards and advertizing said "Sam Yellen, Metal Worker"!

Nice stuff, thanks for sharing. Some people use the term "blacksmith" to limit themselves. That's OK, we each can choose. It's just when they want to impose their limitations on me that I take umbrage.

haha working with wood is also good, I like it

you really have to be one with the wood though look at it and know what its for

that gate is great though it might techincally be "sheet metal work"
Did you use a Large pittsburg type machine to turn the edges on the radiused pieces? or roll them by hand on a rotary machine?

Will do I think I should spend time drawing things separately then put it together

the trick is making it all fit and make sence and still be right.


I usually sketch for line drawings you mostly want to make single swoops but for a scroll that is pretty tricky definately an experiance thing

Wow they turned out really nice

totally different than what I was picturing I wondered what was going to happen in all the other space

Bryce,

Good start, I'm sorry man but CLEAN UP YOUR SHOP!!!

yeah its about time for that lol

I swear I was using everything in there at once...

my brother wanted to see somethings so i just kept pulling stuff out and not much got put away

I try to stay out if there because I know i will start working myself too hard if i am in there

today is the day i finish this thing though

here is one for a friend

I picked up this chip foose helmet for a sweet deal today $200
I really really like it I own the miller elite and this is way nicer it fits my head better the viewing is nicer it has no batterys and it picks up the arc better and instantly turns on properly

I paid 300 for the miller it will end up being my work helmet now because its what my boss uses in the shop and he has all the lenses for replacement for it

here are a fee random project/tool shots as well