cheftjcook

Fluids, Moving air and all the other hints and tricks are a must. I would like to add a side note. Someone in an earlier post mentioned "tell someone if you feel it" I would second that statement. That is the best thing to do after you have taken all precautions against. It can sneak up on you...still feeling like you can function and are fine. But others can see it better in your movements , eyes look far away and speech is almost silly or doesnt make sense, sweat may stop and your skin is clamy almost cool to the touch. I have seen it a few times and I had a "mild case once myself. Three 16 hour days in a 120 plus degree closed kitchen(no ventilation) on a big fancy catering job and the stress level make it perfect is off the scale.... I don't really remember going home when the job finished, don't remember sending my crew home, wife says I took an ice cold shower and fell in bed, woke up a day later like in a time warp and weak. Went to the doctor and he said all was fine and I was very blessed to be healthy....Have not had it happen since but it shocked me into paying attenttion for myself and those around me. Many times when we are in the middle of something we can not or do not grasp what is happening, making others aware could save someones life. Maybe even your own A neat kitchen trick trying putting a couple of cold slices of cucumber on your forehead. Sounds funny... Looks funnier... but Cools you right down.

Welcome Steve, I'm from NJ also, Wayne. As I am sure you have gathered, This is a great place, everyone is always willing to give advice and talk you through just about anything. The Collective knowledge of these guys & girls is amazing. And they are willing to share that knowledge freely. Any & all questions I or otheres have asked answered have always been meet with helpfull suggestions as well as well intended warnings and tips for safety when needed. Have fun Steve Tim

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" "You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time - But you can't fool MOM!"

Just my luck - the pot at the end of the rainbow...

Forgive me, but I am only realizing how great an effect the Blacksmithand his trade as a Whole has had on the world. The more I read the more I am amazed by the roots, all the way back to Bible times, and the ripples still felt today. and what we owe to these forerunners as so many current proffessions have roots in blacksmithing or related to. ...I was thinking how even speech is effected. It has even worked into common day cliches' or sayings Like "pound it out" or "You've got to forge ahead" and "Strike while the Iron is Hot" I know there are more, What others can we come up with. *A suggestion to those more learned I think it would be great to see a thread on the dirrect/indirrect connections between blacksmiths of old and current proffessions such the "Smith and the Modern Machine shop" ..."the smith to the mechanic"..."the smith to the tool & Die Maker" or others that at first glance have no relationship. A sense of heritage or historical influence and connection is good for the mind & soul. Like belonging to something greater than oneself... its humbling yet inspiring. Anyway enough of my going on.... What other sayings can you come up with.....? TIM

Dodge, liked the stress one!!! Grandma told me "Child...Even a broke clock is right twice a Day" I wonder if she was hinting about something...???? One of my favorites "Tis' better to light a candle, than curse the darkness" And always Remember "Today is Yesterdays Tommorow"

"The Grass is always greener over the Septic Tank" "If your not the lead dog ...the scenery never changes much" "Beauty is only skin deep.....But Ugly goes right to the Bone" "Lord, Give me the strength to change the things I need to change, the ability to accept the things I can't change, and the wisdom to tell the difference"

Thanks pointing the way Swamp Fox, Still finding my way around. Rich, I see why you referenced that BP by Quenchcrack, That is Some detailed BP with alot of research and information !!! Just printed it, now to get into it! Thanks Again Woody, I sent you my email, hope to hear from you. Thanks

Rich thanks for the advice I can see this could be addictive in a very short amount of time. But I don't think that is a bad thing!!!! I am trying find the BP you made reference to #0087 but I can't find it. Sounds like something I would need to read to better understand and do the heat treatments properly. Thanks TIM

Thanks for all the information Guys keep it comming, Soaking it up like a sponge. I will get out the Garage/Forge later this week and will try the tests and let you know what happens. They are new to me in the boxes but appear to be older by the condition of the boxes Thanks again for the time and info it is appreciated looking forward to more. Tim

I'll throw my opinions out there, First I can't forge a knife yet( realy admire those who do) but I've worked with them for 25 plus years in my kitchens and i can tell you what works for me. Henckles, F.Dick, R. H. Forschner, Victorinox, Gustav Emil Ern and Wusthof-Trident, then the awesome japenese knives, Misono & Bunmei that are priced high but are incredible quality. Having used or owned each of these, All excellent and Everyone has great proffesional knives but also at other varied levels of quality, some at huge prices. The price is not always worth the name with some. Gustav, older Wusthof & Foschner are my favotites. I think every kitchen I have ever been in has had dexter-russell knives and they, in general, are the best bang for the buck in a commercial setting. And might be a great choice for good durable cutlery at home. I checked some of the knives guys mentioned earlier all look good as well For me a bigger first question is who will use and care for the knife. Do I want wood or Plastic handle...etc , both good just different care levels. In my kitckens I use high carbon in the Bosses Joint (my wifes Kitchen home) I purchased a Wolfgang Puck set for her, lower carbon content holds a pretty good edge still doesnt go in the dish washer, but needs less care & attention than my work knives. I went with the japenese style blade with the tip more rounded or blunt, can't remember the name of the style, they work fantastic and were cheap on "HSN" or one of those tv shows. She loves them and feels like a champ useing them. As for sharpening or trueing a good knife, a diamond lap will remove metal to sharpen and shorten the life of the knife which is a neccesarry evil when you have stainless knives, were as a "steel" on a higher carbon knife will true an edge with out stock loss. pushes the fibers of metal back to an edge. that is why you see chefs or butchers working a knife on a steel as they work. An oval diamond dust steel works very well also, for a truely sharp edge with out as much stock loss, sorta middle of the road type sharpening/trueing A ceramic steel is also a neat thing to use and gives a finishing razor sharp edge. The diamond dust steel is my favorite day in day out! Jb Prince is a great Chefs joint that sells in NY store front or on the Web http://www.jbprince.com I dont know if you are close to a Chef Central we have one here and they send out great coupons and have good sales on cutlery, they also have great web specials on cutlery and classes. http://www.chefcentral.com/index.htm We have a "Resturant Depot" here for purchasing food and kitchen supplies. If you have one local and if you know some one with a card they can take you in, ask one of the local chefs they are more than happy to help a guy out and you can get great deals on dexter-russell and other pro quality cutlery. Sorry this is so long winded but it is a subject I enjoy. Cooking is a real Passion for me, Has been since I was a kid. I don't know if this helped but if I can help you drop me a note. I have kitchens in NJ as well as the stores I mentioned near me and would be glad to hook you up around here. Always willing to help out an other Budding Chef!(Grin) Tim

A bit of help and Advice needed I was at a garage sale and bought up about 6 sets of brand new lawn tractor blades for $2.00. Hearing different chatter about knives here I was hoping to try to make a knife Will these work well for forging a knife? they were cheap but I am hopeful they are good for this. My experience is very limited, I have made a few letter openers and a few knives of sorts from a rail road spike or two, neat looking for gift for hunting buddies but I don't know much about knife making so I don't think they were functional ?! Can anyone give me some advice on useing these blades if they are indeed useable? Maybe I am better asking for advice also on what not to do to!!!! I realize I am not going to create a master piece as many I have seen here but would love to give it a whirl. With a bit of good advice maybe avoid some pitfalls and common mistakes, learn something new and have some fun along the way. Thanks Cheftjcook

I stand corrected IRNSRGN, Thank you for correcting me as I miss spoke. The proper name, as sold buy "ROCKLER Woodworking & Hardware" is a "4-1/4'' Reach Hold-Down Clamp" The bench Hold down... Use this clamp for wedging the workpiece against your bench. 4-1/4'' reach. 8-1/4'' long. 11/16'' diameter and is sold for $9.99 each. I still do believe you have a great Idea to sell a hand forged version to serious wood workers.

LEAH-- Heart felt condolances and Prayers for your family. I lost my father when I was 10 and last week lost my Grandpa he was 96, but I still have great memories I hold onto of them both and am looking forward to the hope and assurance of meeting them and others in Heaven as you can also. Though It is tough now for you, your Mom & Family. I am sure, by the way you speak of him, your Dad will be waiting to welcome his family and show them around, as God calls each Home in his time. Then, there will be tears again, but of pure Joy. Our Family will be praying for you and yours TIM

Hello Irnsrgn, I have hard people call them "bench dogs" or a bench dog of sorts. I have tried a cheap version in my wood working and it was horrible. I ended up buying a better version with a spring clamp. Still drops in a drilled hole in the bench and wedges in to place. Funny thing for me is as I got more into Blacksmithing I brought it into the garage and it fit right into the pritchle hole works on the same principle. I do believe you are correct, a quality forged Item as you described would be welcomed by wood workers, because as i said before some of the store bought are very "cheesy" not worth the money or aggravation they cause

I understand wanting to use metal duct or plumbing for evacuation. But it still needs to be grounded at all times. The advandtages to a clear plastic pvc as sold in sears or woodworking stores is if you get a clog/ blockage (murphy's law it will happen) you can visualy spot it & clear it. The second advandtage they slide together for an tight fit with out any permanent glues or tools etc. yet can be taken apart quickly to fix a clog or add on or rerouted. The third advantage is the common availablity of the air gates or ports that are all made to fit the pvc with no alterations and the gates all fit a standard shop vac hose for connection to what ever equipement needs the vac. I have 7 ports set on my system now, not that they are all needed or all used at once, I have a small shop in the basement. But as I move from lathe to sander or chop saw to drill press I only need close one air gate and open an other. I used the clear anywhere I had short twisted turns or bends but on long straight runs where a clog was less likely I ran the less expensive pvc. If you have a section that does not fit as snug as you would like a quick wrap of duct tape fixes it right quick. Regular pvc did not offer the visual benifit but still offers the quick setup/breakdown to fix problems and it matched well with the clear stuff I was using. In retrospect I could have gone all clear just as easy. Sears sells great kits and add-ons that realy make life easy to get started they and others also sell a special lid for a standard 5 gallon pail that causes a kind of vortex effect to help with clean up, maintence, add alittle water and it also helps with fire suppresion from sparks.

The Garage at least until i have time to build a Shed behind the garage. After I build the shed dedicated to Metal work then I think I'll call it "Cook's Corner Forge"! I maybe an amateur but I've got style, understand thats not what my wife calls it but.....

I a set up small dust collection system for my wood shop. very simple plastic plumbing with gates or ports to add hoses and open for use when needed. All running back to a 5 gallon pail then into a large shop vac. As I was learning about them and useing mine I discovered a neat bit of science. As the wood shavings and dust pass thru they create tremondous static electric. Great enough to start a fire in a tube or worse in the bin and give one heck of a shock if you run your hand on the pvc. I had to take apart the tubes and ground the system with a copper wire leads running thru. I think Sears sold the ground system for theirs so I copied the Idea and thankfully have had no problems. Later spoke to a gentleman at a large wood mill and a lady at a grain mill who both explained how dangerous the static is and the potential for large explosions can be.

I think you'all are approaching this lizard thing from the wrong direction. Lizzards or Geckos probably, are all the rage as pets. I know at all the fairs Carnivals and the Boardwalk at the Jersey shore they sell like crazy. Them and Hermit crabs! Anyway this could be a new business venture. Maybe you could start a Niche or trend by Selling the Geckos in hand forged cages. I can see the head lines in the Business mags "leah's Gecko Ranch " serving its elite clientel with its Hand forged Victorian Cages. Maybe even branch out it mini cages that can be worn around the neck on a gold chain by the Rappers with their little pet geckos "showing off their Bling Bling" Alice Copper had Snakes, Ozzy the odd Bat or Bird, The Hilton Girls have their puffy little Dogs. You May be riding the next wave of Trend & fashion and all this right in your own Home. It's all how you look at it!?

That was a neat article Quenchcrack. I have bought a bunch of items including some blacksmithing books from "Poor Boy Blacksmith Tools" all very good at a good price. We have exchanged emails once or twice, his giving advice on use of some of his products and or some bit of technical stuff to help me. Ken is a real professional and a great person to deal with. It was nice to read a good article and put a face to the name.

lOOKING FOR SCRAP IN 'JERSEY IS ROUGH. NOT IMPOSSIBLE, BUT ROUGH. The yards do not allow any scrounging around. Most do not even want to talk to you our have you in the yard other than to drop off. With time & patience I have made some in roads but... To the ones that have been decent, I have made it a point to return with a forged Item(as crude as they may be) or a few cold beverages on a hot day. Both of these are always met with suprise, thankfulness and an invite to come on back!! Most others though claim the liability is to great and they make their money faster by wholesaling the scrap out not piece mealing and can't be bothered. It is a real shame!!!

It is fantastic to hear and learn so many differing but similar ways to accomplish the same objective, All obviously time tested for great results. It really enhances the learning process and encourages the imagination. Thanks, this place is Great!

BT, another cool idea I would not have thought of. I want to try and make a big heart as a flower pot holder and that would work well. Thanks

Woody the cloth tape measure sounds great!! I had 'nt thought of that but it will save a step and be more accurate as well. I like to draw on the plywood because as I practice an item i wll put it against the drawing to compare. Burn marks and the walls will raise the dander of the wife.(grin) But she might prefer that to the "Bud Girls" poster hanging up now!!! Thanks for the tip I will pick a cloth tape tommorow and give it a shot.

May sound crazy.... What if you were to weld a large nut on each corner of the plate, then thread a bolt thru each as an adjustable kind of foot. adjust the head of the bolt to the height needed. Then You would be able to lock it in with a lock washer and second nut. Not to lift but more to make up the warp of the plate or uneveness of a floor. If you move the stand you can readjust the bolts/feet to the floor. Much like the feet on a stove or washing machine.