Ed Thomas

Roger: I visited your web site and watched the video when I saw you join. Terrific stuff! Now we all have to go to Sweden. Thanks for showing up here. I hope you check in every now an then. You people with the big hammers are hard to find.

Okay... you guys are having entirely too much fun with this. :lol:

Rick: Right now I'm getting: We can't find "www.artist-blacksmith.org" I also got my renewal notice in the mail, so I guess I'll be mailing mine in. The last time the journal was delayed (I guess it is actually late again) and the site was down, I emailed Mindy Gardner who said everything's still on track and will be back up soon. As I wrote back to her, anything by George Dixon is worth waiting for. I just go re-read the last journal a few more times.

Another hint for scroungers... You can buy 3" flex pipe to go from the fire pot to the blower pictured above from Centaur Forge and others. It is several $$$ per foot. Or you can dumpster dive wherever tractor trailer maintenance is done. The flex hose from the exhaust is 3" and usually stainless steel. I think you can buy it new, but I'm not sure what fun there is in that.

As always, Hollis has captured exactly the issue. So go back and read his post again. :mrgreen: A good way to capitalize on what he said is to look for paddle vane blowers. Centaur Forge has a very nice one that is strong enough to handle at least two fire pots. It is expensive but is a lifetime blower. Another way is to keep an eye out for REALLY junked hand crank or ancient electric blowers. Those will be pretty cheap. All you need is the housing and the paddle wheel. In every one I've seen, the paddle wheel slips onto the end of a shaft from a motor or manual drive. Find a motor with the right sized shaft that is long enough and a good speed. Right now I'm using an old washing machine motor. It is perfect for my forge. I used a succession of 220V free motors for awhile, but they were too slow. It seems to work better with a 1750 rpm. The one in use now was SO crappy looking and trashed that I almost junked it. It was a throw-in when I bought a pair of blowers that almost worked. With just a little TLC and proper mounting, it is the best I've used so far. You will have to build a mount for the motor, of course. And wire and switch it, but that isn't rocket science. In my opinion, variable speed motors are a waste of money. I used one for quite awhile and found that I generally left the blower on some medium high setting and seldom changed it. It is much better to control air flow with a gate. You can see by these pictures that all I had to do was make a motor mount (wood to dampen vibration), a simple angle iron mount for the paddle blower, and wire it. Oh, yeah... and clean & paint. My least favorite task. These shots were back when I had a 220V motor on it. As I said, the washing machine motor is much mo better. You can also see by the tab cast in the bottom left, that this almost certainly started life as a manual blower.

Mike: Cone mandrels are absolutely worthless in the flatlands. They only work on hillsides. On flatlands, they simply roll around in circles whereas on the side of a mountain they roll pretty straight. Since these are useless to you down there, I'll take them off your hands and use them over here where they can do some good. Mandrels and swage blocks are tools that you REALLY need when you need them, and are in the way the rest of the time. Think of them as small children. Only harder. And don't move as fast. And eat less. This is breaking down fast....

Henry: Why don't you ask the folks at Nimba what they prefer? I have a metal base under the Fisher, and don't care for it.

Nolano: One reason I compared the sound to a Fisher is that I also have a 500# one of those. I understand that Fisher made a double-horned anvil, but it was rare. Since I much prefer to work on a double horn, I don't use my Fisher much compared to the one in the picture which is actually a Czech anvil. Andrei: This anvil is the same one that Old World Anvils sells, although I bought it from Euroanvils back when Steve Feinstein owned it. Since then, Steve sold the business to John Elliot in Virginia http://www.blacksmithsupply.com/, who sells this pattern as "German Style". I also have the smaller one, which I bought for demos partly because the hardy hole is the same size. That way my tools are all interchangeable. (Including between my power hammer and treadle hammer... but that's a different story. ) There are a zillion ways to reduce or eliminate the ringing. Straps across the base work quite well also.

Henry the IIIIIIII: Is this what you are talking about? This is also a 260# anvil. The tray is probably 1" tall and a fairly snug fit around the anvil base. The contour of the base is welded to a flat sheet, which it bolted to the top of the stump. Under the anvil, and whatever small gap is left around the pan, is filled with sand. This anvil will ring like a church bell outside its sandbox. In this setup, it sounds like a Fisher. No ringing at all. I made a similar pan for a smaller anvil on a lighter stand for portability. But I deliberately made the pan to be a looser fit. Don't. The anvil wanders around too much in the sand and for some reason the ringing doesn't get dampened anywhere near as well. A snug contoured fit seems to work best.

Leah: I think a more likely result is that my feet would get all black and slimey and the rags would all jump out of the bucket in stark fear.

Sometimes it is appropriate to drill holes. However, try to think of punched holes as the forged iron flowing around the hole and reconnecting, rather than making a hole. The amount of iron you remove in punching a hole is negligible. Instead, you are forging almost all the iron around an opening. That is what makes forged holes so beautiful; the flowing from one side to the other. There is always a lot of "discussion" about the technique for this. I go with the quickest way, which does require a bit more attention and skill. I use a slot punch (not a slitter). Drive till its dark outline is seen on the opposite side. Then shear the plug. Upset the new slotted hole until it is round, and drift to clean it up. Recognize that this will make the bar slightly shorter for each hole. So the easiest way to get accuracy is to use test pieces. Mark and measure, then punch, upset and drift, then measure the difference. As in all forging, iron will bend toward the path of least resistance. If you punch slightly off-center, the thinner side will open more easily and drift more easily, thereby skewing your hole toward one side. Likewise, if you heat one side of the slot more than the other, it will be softer and bend more easily thereby stretching the material on the hotter side and skewing the hole. You can take advantage of this knowledge. If your slot is slighly off-center, you can keep it toward the center by heating the fatter side more than the thinner side. Don't fake things. Either do them or don't do them. Drill or forge. It's much easier to forge it than to fake it anyway. And if the forging doesn't matter and you need accuracy, then drill the hole. There are other ways to punch holes which depend on material. If you give an example of what you wish to perforate, we can give you specific opinions. For instance, sheet metal is a different issue.

yesteryear: Try Monger Coal & Oil in Elkton, VA. I connected Phil Rosche in Charleston SC with them and they delivered 20 tons to the guild down there a few years ago. Recently, the new art school there also got Monger to deliver a large truckload. Within Virginia, they will probably deliver a 5-ton load. I think my minimum is 3 tons but I'm in the same county as them. I have been happy with their coal for years. Ask for "pea coal" or better yet, "blacksmith" coal. They have become such a common source for blacksmiths that they know which stuff to send to you. (540) 298-1256

Marc: That is an excellent observation. When Glenn started this forum, I realized it was a much better layout than any others. Now I can skim past the posts that might get me worked up, and just read the healthy stuff. Hollis: As usual, you have good things to say. I'm enjoying seeing you over on the Practical Machinist as well.

Well, right now every old dirty greasy rag I could find in the shop and barn is stuffed into a 5 gallon bucket filled with dish soap. My wife handed me "Joy" instead of "Dawn", but I don't think the grease cares. It was a tight fit. A friend gave me discards from the hospital which are even better than shop towels. I don't mind throwing out T-shirts and such, but these are just too nice. Big, sturdy, cotton, and absorbant. Another friend said his wife also used to get some from the hospital and noted that sometimes they show up with some... er... unusual stains. eck. :shock: Oh, well. Childbirth is natural, isn't it? I haven't seen any like that yet, but I try not to look too hard now. They have all been thorougly laundered before I get them anyway.

Thanks to those who offered useful advice. Looks like a simple case of a manual pre-wash cycle. Most of these rags are good heavy shop rags, not old T-shirts, etc. It is dumb and wasteful to throw them out, in my opinion. It will take me less time to re-cycle a bucket of these than to find a dumpster full of old clothes, most of which don't make good rags anyway. The nearest thrift stores are 40 miles away. I will try very hard not to throw my dirty rags under your deck, Dan. However, if machine grease was THAT prone to spontaneously combust, all the machines in my shop would have gone up in flames years ago.

I'm starting to get quite a collection of seriously greasy oily rags that are too good to throw out. But many decades ago I remember that washing them in the washing machine left enough black gunk to spectacularly affect the next load of whites. I was in the doghouse for awhile then and am expected to be even smarter now. If I screw up this time, I might have to build a bunk room in the shop. :shock: Sooo... anybody got any helpful hints on safely washing a boatload of greasy, oily black rags in a household washing machine? (Next up: How do I keep my egg soufflee from falling? and... What's the best way to remove those pesky water spots from the good crystal???) :roll:

blacksmithtech: The Clifton Ralph power hammer videos are available for rent through the ABANA library. I'm pretty sure you can buy them directly from Clifton Ralph, but you'll have to call or write to him. The last I heard, he doesn't do computers.

For sheer pathos, drama, comedy, tragedy, superb acting, cinematography, epical coverage, and social significance, it really is hard to beat the Clifton Ralph videos. I was on the edge of my seat the entire movie... all 10 hours or so. I can't endorse this saga enough.

Uncle Levi: Welcome. There is no end of joy in blacksmithing.

Rantalin: I think it is very good of you to share what you've done. Anything that is done with a sincere effort to be creative is worth sharing. I think you are attentive to proportion and balance and that will go a long way. I wouldn't presume to suggest you change anything with your design, but I will address some execution issues that might help you in similar projects. 1) In forged work, the biggest advantage you have over a factory machine is your personal touch of the material. If you can "re-forge" the material, it makes it yours. I don't mean "texture". Never deliberately put hammer marks on anything. Rather forge your work as though you are trying to be so smooth that the dings and dents won't be there when you are done Of course that is impossible, but the result is a subtle beautiful set of facets that reflect the light and show your hand on each part. 2) The scrolls at each foot end abrubtly with the same cross section as the rest of the round stock. Take some round stock and try forging different shaped ends. Then scroll those. Work to make it one continuous curve with no "flat" spots. For example, just hammer the end flat, making sure it gradually tapers back to the round stock, like a fish tail. Then scroll that up. If it looks wrong, open it up and scroll it again. Watch someone make a scroll. Give the foot some interest. 3) In addition to working the ends, consider ways to vary the cross-section of the steel as it moves from the bottom to the top. Think of the steel as plastic or clay. Imagine what it would look like if you could make it with Playdough (presuming you could get it to stay stiff enough ). Then figure out or research how to make the steel do that too. You are working this steel as a suggestion of organic material with your vines and leaves. By sagging here and pulling there, you can help that image a lot. Again, I simply suggest some techniques that I see for enhancing what I think you were aiming for artistically. It's all good.

Archie: I think Hollis is certainly right. Is your shop heated? When it's cold, the air is much drier and your skin gets less elastic. I get moderate chapping and cracking every winter from working in a cold shop, and it would be worse if I didn't keep an eye out for it.

Ironscot: Perhaps a sample made by you of what you are talking about would be of some help.

freebird: Welllllll.... technically I think you still have bearings... they just aren't BALL bearings. :roll: I've only repaired two different styles of Champion blowers, so I'm not much help. I did replace the loose bearings and race with sealed bearings in one blower which worked fairly well. A little stiff, though.

freebird: I'm posting the link to the question as you posed in on the Practical Machinist board. Any replies by Joe Michaels are worth reading. He is as thorough and considerate as it gets, so I thought I'd share his help with the rest of this board. Hope you don't mind. http://www.practicalmachinist.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=11;t=001537 Don't forget that machinists love metal as much as we do. They just love it different. :)

Brad: Advice on power hammers applies regardless your level of expertise or professional/hobbiest status. "Amateur" in anything simply means someone does something solely for the love of it, and not for a primary source of income. Most on this board are "amateurs", which reflects the general population of blacksmiths at large. The main reasons for warning against the 25 lb LG is that it is only worth having if you get a really GREAT deal on one. They aren't worth a lot of money as a hammer, yet they typically cost $1,000 and even $2,000. Most of us feel that money toward a hammer could be better spent. If you find one you like, go for it. Notwithstanding, Bob S. just said he bought and liked his 25 lb LG. Back up four posts and read what he had to say. Many impressive folks started with a 25 lb LG and were glad to have it, including Josh Greenwood who is most famous now for his fairly large converted steam hammers.