arkie

RE: Workers and non-workers.....see "The Peter Principle"

Ain't nothin' like a porta potty on a 100 deg. day!!!!!! Fellas, thanks so much for the kind words re: wife. She can get around the house for the most part, most of the time. When I go out to the shop to work, or mow the field next to the house, I take my walkie-talkie. Works wonders! Just long periods away are problematic. We could get a friend to come sit with her, but we don't like to burden others...just manage around the situation pretty well.

Have you ever heard John Switzer (Black Bear Forge), fellow Colorado smith, play his banjo on his alternate channel. When he plays, he sorta spaces out into the ether. I love old John, great fellow.

Thanks, Frosty

Good or bad?? LOL I miss the meetings a lot. Your's would have been a hoot! At first it was COVID, then the past year or so, my wife has become disabled/semi-invalid therefore I can't be gone for the long trips to meetings. One of these days.......maybe.

Billy, you had a good turnout! Great setup. Good pictures. Not many, if any, have that many anvils, blowers, etc. Dale C. made it all the way from Little Rock...wow! I saw a lot of familiar faces, looked good to see them in attendance. I call Hardy and Clyde the "Bobsie Twins" LOL.

Went to a blacksmith gettogether once...three of the attendees all had orange paint on their tools...time for patterns, stripes, dots, etc. Billy, have a great hammer-in. Sounds like you are rip-roaring ready to go!!! Wish I could be there.

Billy, a common use for the step was to cut metal with a chisel or punch to refrain from using the face. The steps were usually softer metal (except cast steel anvils). Chisel marks would/could be expected. Seems most anvils had the chisels tested on the softer sides.

Maybe a nice find. Those rounded corners could be cleaned up a little (very little) to use for curving stock. Use chalk or flour on the base under the horn and you might be able to make out some numbers.

Wire wheel followed by vinegar, muriatic acid, evaporust, electrolysis, etc. (not all at once!)......to name a few. Might need a big tank or take it apart. Degrease/de-oil for best results. Search threads here and on the welding web for how-to's.

Billy, I believe they call those "roundtuits". Congrats on hosting the BOA hammer-in. You've taken to BOA in an admirable way. The old club needs more of that.

Beautiful scroll work!! Looks like a gust of wind starting on the ground, flowing smoothly.

I like your big, flat plates on the anvil stand and table. Good for just about any place like the sandy spot where you're set up and maybe even some Gulf Coast gumbo soil...! I see you are gung-ho on the hog hunting. Go for it! Texas is eaten up with the critters (no pun intended) and they have to be controlled.

Try the Houston Area Blacksmith Association, even closer to you! Pretty sizable organization. https://www.habairon.club/ They are having a forging meeting today in Magnolia...close by!, but unfortunately it's probably too late for you, what with registration etc. On their website, look on the right banner for "Events". They have this meeting last Saturday of each month.

HogHearse... I like your horsehead bottle openers; simpler than the ones I make...I just stole your idea, BTW, LOL That hand injury....ARGHHHHH!!!! I hope you heal up well. That should encourage anyone to use a guard on their grinders and wear safety glasses. I have a picture in my files of a guy who had a wheel explode and about 1/2 of the wheel hit him in the face right along his nose and between the eyes...I don't think a face shield would have prevented that. I used to goose hunt around Katy in the rice fields...back before it turned into a mini-Houston. "The times they are a' changin'"

alexandr, beautiful bench...nice lines. DHarris, ashtrays aren't the only victim of low demand. Bottle openers, with the advent of "twist-off" caps, have suffered as well. *Some* craft beers and other beverages still have the "opener required" caps, but not many. I have a box full of bottle openers that I haven't sold at several demos and tractor shows.

I believe this has been covered before here on IFI, but MAPP gas (and propane for that matter) does NOT get hot enough to properly braze in the normal sense. One has to use oxy/fuel (fuel being acetylene or propane). Soldering, a lower temperature process, can be done with either MAPP and/or propane.

"Who's on first, what's on second, and I don't know".......ABANA Conference. LOL

Randy, put a large wood screw under the bottom edge of the pick head...keeps it from sliding down.

A cover is great during non-storm times, but with the winds accompanying a tornadic storm, it would have to be heavily weighted down to stay put and prevent rain from getting in. Would you have time to get the heavy weights off? When a tornadic storm hits, with 100+ mph winds, I doubt very seriously anyone could keep the lid down when inside. The high winds pull a heck of a vacuum off a closed space, it's an intense low pressure system...witness roofs and homes exploding. The culvert pit even without a cover during a storm is better than being exposed. There is risk of injury, but it's not a commercial shelter either. If that's all I had, I'd jump in it in a heartbeat.

(Written just as Thomas posted his suggestions...) One very economical shelter for only 1 to 3 people is a concrete culvert, probably 6 ft. in diameter and about 6 ft. long. Dig a pit, put it in vertical so the occupants can jump directly in (with a small stool to aid crawling out). The storms pass quickly, so just hunkering down gets you below the debris field for the most part and beats being on the surface in a building. Don't worry about a cover; it probably would be blown off. Best used in areas like that are relatively dry like where TwistedWillow lives...TX, OK, KS, etc.

My usage, when I was still using coal until the mine quit selling the cheaper coal, was very similar to Irondragon in his post above. I use an electric blower, but economized on burning coal by shutting off the air/blast gate between heats. I maybe used 2 to 3 pounds an hour for thick or high carbon stock. Now, with the coal supply being abominable, I have switched over to lump charcoal, which burns much faster.

I'll give you one guess who's gonna pull it!!!

Pat, MAPP (and propane alone) will not get hot enough to braze in the conventional fashion. You have to use either oxy/acetylene or oxy/propane. Or...as Frosty mentioned, another type of "brazing" or soldering.

Very nice and neat! Looks like you may even have room on the front to add another row if needed.