divermike

I attended a demo yesterday where the smith (Steve Josalyn, New York) developed a decorative piece by using 1-1/4 by 1/4" stock, cut it into 1-1/4" squares, cut deep grooves in the back side from point to point crisscross, then make a pyramid punch, drive it into the center of the grooves, backed up by a swage block, or stump or whatever, when force is applied, the point sinks in as the grooves collapse on themselves, and you get a cool little pyramid shaped door pull. This would then need to have the threaded section welded on and whaaalaaa, you have a very cool decorative element. I forgot to take my camera, so no pics, sorry.

We sat with Tom at quadstate, and he was very forthrite about what was going on, he also stated that he wanted to make amends to anyone he might have offended, he is a very decent guy who had the energy of 3 men on steroids when he was going full steam. I personally did not have anywhere near enough time to spend with him, and his loss will be huge. May the Lord bless him and embrace him.

I scored a bunch of black walnut at an auction recently, will this make decent handles??

Matt, one of the NYSDBA members can get old bridge segments, he gave us some, 14 by 14 old growth timbers, he said he could get more. Any chance you will be at the Sylvan beach all hands meet?

OK I'll give it one more shot, does anyone have a gripe with me naming my forge "Forge In The Forest"? I already spent a great deal of time on a sign for it, and it really does look good on the front, I promise to ring the bell in honor of Francis Whittaker upon entry!!

Tomorrow is our all hands meet in Sylvan Beach, I'm having heart palpitations, I know I won't sleep well tonight, we have 2, count em 2, really good demonstrators for the event, ok let's see, need paper, lots of paper, a couple pens, my chair, probably plenty of fluids, oh the heck with it, who needs sleep anyhow, maybe I can forge up somethin for iron in the hat. I guess I could take a blanket out to the forge in case I get sleepy, now where is my favorite hammer......???? Only 10-1/2 hours till my ride shows up, aggggggggggggg

Ever heard of this place?? I'm gonna be booked there, and planning on taking an extra night to free up time for sightseeing and visiting.

Pretty sure it's the one near you, but I'm checking with them just to be sure. Thanks.

Gentlemen, I just recieved the date of the event, it is January 12th 2009, I told them I needed another night, so they are footing the bill and all expenses, so I'll be there a day before or after, depending on you guys, does a sunday work?

I have always wanted to see the northern lights, and since moving to Western NY, the meteorological conditions have not been just right yet, but your lamp is very striking, and indeed, it does, in my mind, bring that vision to the fore front of my conciousness. Well done, if art is indeed in the eye of the beholder, I'm holding my eye!!

Hi, my name is Mike, and this is another of my visits to get help for this addiction. I have discovered another sign that this problem is bigger than I thought, I discovered I will be travelling to San Antonio in January, prior to gathering any business related materials, I immediately started thinking about trying to find some local smiths there to visit. This problem appears to be an all day and sometimes in my sleeping dreams obsession. While the business convention is important, all I can seem to think about, is this seems to be an opportunity to go meet smiths in a different part of the country. Has anyone been through this? I may need to seek professional help!!

I would like to toss out an idea, what if we had a database for visiting traveling smiths, we could have catagories for people with a room for a night, or just shop visiting hours etc. If this has been done, forgive me, I looked around and did not see anything like this. It is inspired by the fact that I travel a lot on business, and am always looking for smithys to visit and share stories etc. If there is already something in place, I'd like to add my name, the Finger Lakes is a really beautiful place to visit.

Fellow blacksmithaholics, I just arranged a speaking gig in San Antonio in January, I was wondering if I might visit some smiths while I am there, I have all my accomodations paid for, so this is just a during the day stop by, lookyloo kinda visit, share some stories etc. maybe enjoy a beer together, Let me know. Thanks.

JosephPrivot don't be suprised when no responses come, these things happen, I posted a question on this very same thread some time ago about using a name for my forge, and all I got was cricket cricket.......

The New York State Designer Blacksmith Artists association has an all hands meet at a members shop in Sylvan Beach, 2 demonstrators (good ones) are scheduled, no hands on that I am aware of, should be fun.

Divermike I used to be a commercial hardhat diver, and still dive recreationally when I can, usually in Belize, when the cold winter of western NY starts to get a bit much.

I was out taking signs down this morning (legally, as I am a zoning officer for the Town), and I stripped a bunch of em, and lo and behold, now my truck has a bunch of rose stems in it, yeeehaw!!

Be aware of the differences in the product going into the shared system. If creosote is allowed to form, to any degree, your chimney can catch fire and you might have a problem. Coal burns so much cleaner than wood, that some people forget about the creosote, make sure that if the wood burning section is run a lot, that a hot fire is burned on a regular basis to burn out the creosote.

I picked up a french pattern from kayne and son, and it is becoming one of my favorite texturing tools.

me miller, where does one get Jet equipment?

I was reading about the wood box forges, and realized the firepot I just picked up might work in the making of one of these, it is a narrower firepot than I have seen, but longer side to side, here are a couple pics of it, what do you who have made one think about this idea??

Fellow members and blacksmithaholics, I just busted my cheap chinese metal cutting bandsaw, and it will take 8-10 weeks for the replacement part. I have had second thoughts about ever buying another cheap bandsaw, and now I need your advice. For a hobbyist blacksmith such as myself, I need a reliable metal cutting bandsaw, price is only a part of the issue, I'm tired of dealing with a piece of crap, so the question is,what bandsaw should I buy? I use it to precut christopher crosses a lot, and several other small projects, and now the rolled rose napkin ring I posted on the other part of this site, I ended up using a hacksaw today.,, no mass production, but I need this advice, where to get it, what style etc.... obviously how much, thanks for you time.

John, I got out and tried one, I have much learning to do, none the less, here is a pic of the first one I attempted, it is a cut and rolled rose, not sure what the actual name is, but for the first attempt, I'm fairly satisfied, the finish is hot wax. My wife liked it, and that is all that really counts in this home. thanks for sharing, we need these ideas!!

really cool little project, what satisfaction we get for getting paid to do this stuff huh? I would very much like to make some of these, with your permission of course, very very nice!!

Because our group meets at my place, we have about 7-8 ton sitting in a big pile just outside next to the pole barn, we have 55 gallon garbage cans placed next to the 5 forges in the barn, gets tough in the dead of winter when it freezes, so we tarp it.