MooseRidge

Appears to be of a size that would require a striker.... Perhaps a tenon drift tool.....

If you had only asked 2 weeks ago... sigh.... Wife and I did SCA for many years, Russian and Lithuanian respectively, and just sold a number of our books to a book store here in Chattanooga. You may wish to contact them directly (even though a few have already been sold....) A Novel Idea Book Store 38 Frazier Ave Chattanooga, TN 37405 (423) 265-1700 The rest went to McKay's... Mckay Books Home

And this word from our sponsor.... Personally, looks like a globe form for blowing glass spheres.... Depending on the size, might have been for the glass floats they used to make.... And now, back to your regularly scheduled harrassment..... :D

Only if you use them both at the same time, in the same circuit.... Only issue might be ventilation (blocking the other's air vents)....

That's assuming the first set doesn't come out correctly.... First set I made were the best of the first 10! Scary! Besides, assuming you will fail helps to make it happen.... read up on the techniques, practice the seperate skills, then make the tongs..... My only advice would be to warm up with the practice skills, drawing, tapering, slitting, drifting, etc the same day you want to make the tongs... I've found that I make fewer mistakes and mis-strikes that way.... I also plan out each step so to minimize the time spent with the steel out of the fire.... Walk through the steps, especially for forge welding, before the metal is at the correct temp.... works for me.... ;)

On sound dampening.... Best to use combinations of hard and soft materials (carpet/foam/carpet) to insulate and trap the sound.... Windows are prime areas for sound transmissions so some extra insulation would be best (but make it moveable so you can open them for ventilation in between sessions).... One method that has been used in the past for a garage setup was an carpet/mattress/carpet insulation that hung from hooks along the walls/windows/doors.... deadened the noise, but made it very hot inside.... extra fans were brought in as well as extra water during sessions.....

Saw a house being cleaned out (how someone lived it that mess I'll never know!) and there was a welded steel truck rack, a large O2 cylinder, and an old acetylene cylinder lying outside in the junk pile..... Wrote a note with my name,phone number, and what I was interested in and tied it to the trash trailer parked out front..... Got all three for $40, O2 tank was swapped this morning for a full one (BTW - was originally made in 1917!), acetylene tank will get scrapped (ICC8-style, not made anymore, made in 1946), and the rack only needs minor adjustments to fit my truck..... Any ideas on uses for the acetylene tank? MooseRidge

The metals in the engines and shaft bearings should be pretty modern (unlike the electronics inside during my 12+ years in P3s!).... However, the nose wheel steering was very 1950's.... If you can make out the manufacturer on the race/searing set itself, it may be best to wait on their reply.... Did her friend say what part of the plane it came from?

But.... it could have worked.... Too many people stop trying out new ideas because they MIGHT turn out badly.... If you (or anyone else) were not hurt, no loss.... Keep trying out those ideas..... that's how new techniques and new inventions are created!

I'd start from the "short" leg.... Probably 2ft piece of 1/4 in round or 3/8 in square (have to see what's available...) 1/3 of bar for "short" leg Forge the taper for the leg, fold and form the nub, then the "spring" part.... Taper the entire section remaining section, then create the "trap"..... Taper the rest of the leg to match lengths and cut off any extra.... Probably would need to tweak the trap and nub after forged by light taps and squeezing with pliers... would need to be extremely tight along whole range to keep position ( the nub should be twice the size of the stock to give good purchase...) If I can get some forge time tonight (meeting night), might try this myself.... All this being said, have to try and see how close I really am....

I'd like to see you try the one piece version you drew.... The one from Nett is more compass than scribe/divider....

Looking at your drawing, I would make a similiar bend in the "free" leg. However, this bead would be closed (basically a knob that traps the other leg.....) and perpendicular to the other bend, passing through the other bend... It would like the profile for a railroad rail....

steady supply of paying customers, new ideas, and the TIME to do it all....

My truck has a similar issue with the tailgate.... but I just push back against it and reach in and flip the sear by hand.....

My handles are smooth, larger than "normal" to fill my hand, and flared at the end... I found that smaller handles cause my hands to cramp as I have to squeeze tighter to keep control.... plus my hands sweat and the flare prevents losing the hammer.....

Looks like youre working on a still.......:cool:

BTW.... if you look at my pictures in the gallery, the picture of the old forge setup has my old "Oliver".... a sledgehammer on a stick.... not bad for rough forming larger pieces, but not the most accurate tool in the shed....:D

the tire hammer style of power hammer actually takes up less space than a treadle hammer.... I plan on having both as they both do what they do well.... but there is little overlap....

flintlock....

...... iron oxide.....

One place would be the ABANA Store... This is the inline version... Another would be Centaur Forge This is the basic version...

Before you put in a gravel floor, make sure that you have placed a moisture barrier down first. This includes in the hole of your stump (if wanted/required) and any concrete bases for power hammers (plan ahead) and other items. If you have a gravel floor, you will need to either place the legs of your forge on the dirt/clay floor or attack flat metal "floats" to the legs to prevent the forge from sinking into the gravel and pulling away from your chimney..... This goes for any tables etc.... As far as the structure goes, a quicker method would be to add a layer of fire-rock backer board (the type of thing that goes on walls for wood stoves) to the floor around where the forge and work area will go.... Much cheaper and faster than tearing out the floor....

Most of the time, I just answer "okay".... As far as "taking" away someone's customers, haven't to my knowledge, but if I was full-time and could make similiar items (MY designs/variations - not copied) and sell them for a price I was content with, then the choice would be up to the buyer... That being said, seeing what's being charged and then setting a lower price is wrong in my mind.... Just see no reason to up my prices to match someone else's if they are my normal prices (though getting more buck for the bang IS very good too!)....

old beer keg

Like I said, my first forge... all I had access to at the time, but it was cheap, fast, easy, and it worked! Still have my 2nd forge, getting old now, made with a 16 guage sheet top, half a cultipacker blade (solid side) and wood frame.... Still use it outside for melting lead..... Inside the shop is a centaur forge firepot, steel table and hood.... it took YEARS to get to that level.... years I spent using the equipment I had..... good luck...