Brian C.

on behalf of my son who is a 3rd class petty officer, at sea somewhere in the mediterranean area, thank you all for the kind wishes to service people. As a firefighter/emt I have directed ems helos into some tight spots, but that photo is just awesome.

I will be in around noon on friday, with my running buddy, Loren of Simplysmithing.com

I never make mistakes, only alterations in design. :)

RR spikes make good crosses. Use one for the upright, 1.5 inches + the heads of two others for the cross members. I mig them then dress the welds, wrap the joints with copper wire to resemble lashings. Then JB Weld the whole thing into a stone. Folks seem to like them.

Apprentice man- U.S. Navy. He is a 3rd class petty officer, Gas turbine systems tech. (electrical). He also serves on the flight deck crew during air ops and is a member of the boarding party when needed. Thank you all for the kind wishes.

#1 son sailed tuesday for a six month deployment to the Mediterranean and/or parts unknown . Emails say they are sometimes working 20 hrs a day. Makes me glad I am back here with a union contract so that I have a little bit of time to mash metal. :)

I would make him an initial offer of $1.00 per pound and see where it goes from there. Negotiating doesnt cost anything>

I dont know nearly enough about welding to belabour the point. I was simply trying to pass on what I had seen done & worked with,. Didnt see what was so funny (LOL).

Sorry if I offended you with my info on the missle rod Jr.. The anvil that I worked on for two days had been repaired as I said and it was great. Made me wish I han not traded it to him in the first place. :oops:

A friend uses "super missle rod" to repair preheated (300-400Deg. F) anvils. Followed by a very slow cool down. Works great for him

Ditto on being careful with the linseed oil for those who use it. Several years ago I investigated a garage fire that turned out to have been started by an open bucket of linseed oil soaked rags. Machinery grease is a whole 'nother animal. 8)

I am 50 yrs. old, married with 3 kids. Two still in high school & one married & in the Navy. I have been a hobby smith for a little over 5 years now. My real job is Security Officer at a nuclear facility (27 years), I am also a Volunteer firefighter and a former EMT. I got the metal working bug from working in my Dad's orthopaedic brace shop while growing up. I don't think there was anything that he couldnt make. I mostly like to make fireplace tools and other small items. Many thanks and fond memories to Jim (Paw Paw) Wilson who was my on-line (and telephone) mentor and friend.

Jim C., Check Mcmaster-Carr for all types of metal screening. Just do a search for "screen" on their homepage. www.mcmaster.com

Doug Merkel who is usually at Quad State makes & sells a nice nail header.

Jr., Those were great. I printed them & mailed to Dad. He loved them, told me that "people would had to have been there" to really appreciate them.

Looks like an interesting system. I passed the link on to my fire chief, and to a friend who is a firefighter and oil rig worker in Austalia. Thanks for the tip.

You got me Jr.. I know. All to well. And I wouldnt have missed a minute of it. Thanks Chief

I am with you Chuck. As long as it doesnt bakrupt us & keeps me off the streets, Sweetie doesnt seem to care. A few years ago she came home from work and there I stood with my new Hay-Budden anvil that had just been delivered along with a pal of mine who had just sold me a riding mower & air compressor. All she ever said was "you got lot's of toys today didnt you?" :wink:

I got an e-mail from Fred today & he says that they have moved the pacemaker surgery back 4-6 weeks.

He has been at it again. Told me yesterday that he had made a leg brace for a jack russell dog. The whole thing was shorter than his forefinger, a real tedious piece of work.

Thomas, Dad told me that the first job they learned how to do in the brace business was how to forge joints (knee, ankle, etc.). Start each morning with six 5/8" bars, heat & beat all day. When you became good at that, then you learned how to do something else. Wish I had been interested in smithing before he retired and let a lot of tools, gadgets, & fixtures get away. :cry:

Ten Hammers, No Dad is not a vet. Dad is a retired orthotist. He spent 50 years making orthopaedic braces for people. A vet sketched this brace for the dog & Dad made it (he told me that if he had designed it, it would have had metal hinges in it). He has also made complete leg prothsesis (sp) for high dollar horses.

Richard, you might try copper belt rivets such as those used by harness makers. I dont do knives, but I use them for many other projects. Centaur used to sell them.

Leah, Glad you got the weld!! Otherwise it would sound like a normal day of my blundering about the shop. :oops:

If you contact Steve Parker over on the Forgemagic site, he can get you the info needed to contact Clifton Ralph himself and purchase his tapes if you wanted to.