Eddie Mullins

The NE Chapter will also be setup at Maynard AR for the Pioneer Days at the Park in Maynard on September 16.

I have been wanting to build a press also, that is an interesting design. I like the compact size and the top mounted cylinder. What made you decide not to go with a two stage pump?

I always wear eye and hearing protection, gloves and apron as needed. One thing I didn't notice anyone mention was any sort of respiratory protection. Coal and grinder dust are not known to be good for the lungs. I have a respirator but don't honestly use it very often.

I have only made a few headers, but what I do to thin the underside is simply use a ball peen. Using a tapered square punch I start punching the hole from below, flip over a punch/drift to desired size from the top. I use spring for the header with a welded on mild steel handle. If I had a power hammer I would probably draw it out of the same stock.

I have been pondering hammers as well. One drawback to me for the Tire Hammers is the lack of clearance between the dies if you wanted to use tooling. Perhaps the design could be modified, but to my knowledge there is no way adjust them as with the Rusty style hammers.

I built a side draft for my coal forge, my chimney is recycled corrugated tin roofing rolled into a tube, works great.

Got any pictures?

I think you did, hopefully my post was not taken to imply differently. The integrations and flow of the wood into the guard is certainly impressive.

It reminds me of Joe Keeslar's Brute de Forge knives, but has a look all its own.

I have always been told those were candle snuffers, but don't really know.

Here are a couple of responses from trewax to others in regards to food sage use - its not recommended. My guess is the problem is the solvents used to keep it soft. I believe this is probably the reason why the butchers block products use food safe mineral oil instead to maintain the desired consistency. ************************** The Trewax Paste Wax is made up of Brazilian Carnauba Wax, it is the Worlds hardest natural wax, and will provide a hard long wearing finish that will help protect the table from stains, I would recommended using at least 3 thin coats for the best protection. Keep in mind- this is not considered food safe so do not put food directly on the table. Please contact Customer Service at customerservice@beaumontproducts if you have any further questions. -Trewax Customer Service ************************ Trewax Paste Wax can be used on soapstone. However, Trewax Paste Wax is not considered a food grade item, therefore it is generally not recommended for countertops.

I have pieces shipped all over the country, can't really run over and touch them up myself. My camping cookware I apply a hot vegetable oil finish and advise customers basically to care for the pieces as the would cast iron cook ware. I was just wondering if others had care instructions they provided for different applications and finishes .

Not sure what you mean by this. I would think it would perform as well or better than the beeswax and BLO mixtures. I expect it might be less tacky depending on the bees wax proportion of the mix. Yes, it was the Clear Paste. It states that it is made with carnauba, or similar verbiage, but does not explicitly say its 100% or have an ingredient statement I could find.

There have been a couple of posts recently mentioning passing on care and maintenance instructions to the customer. I think this is a great idea but it got me started thinking about what those instructions should be. We obviously can't ask them to apply hot like we do. What instructions do you or should be passed onto customers for care of pieces with wax or finished pieces? and what products do you recommend for customers to use?

I picked up some Trewax recently, but not certain it is 100% carnauba and food safe, if some one has info that is please share. So I started looking for food grade carnauba wax and stumbled onto butchers block conditioners which are a mix of carnauba, bees wax and mineral oil. I have seen pastes and even in a squirts bottle. Seems to be an easy application with good potential for a metal finish. Also likely easier for customers to use later rather than a solid paste. Almost seems to good to be true. Has any one used this?