Charles R. Stevens

Some one posted an exhaust stack cap adapted with a counterweight, simple cheap and quick.

Goat is very very good eats, usually it will be kid, under a year for chevon and under 6 moths for cabrio. Older goat is still mighty good. Lends it s self to traditional, Texas slow smoked BBQ. Not as strongly flavored as lamb, mutton or vinesen. Feral hog is good to, just avoid them over 150#. For the same taest, Vietnamese pig (potbelly) are great, and you can eat the young ones and the old ones with out any "boar taint" Sure think your cleaver beats my old scout hatchet for prosseing. Them in to meat.

Might be the case Nick, I just figured the director thaught it looked cool. the multi striker seen from the hobbit was better to my eyes. Jarom. Never pas up a big chunk of steel, especially if you can turn it in to something you can use with a minimum amount if work.

Every once in a wile I get one outlaw, as bad as a heeler, either goes over or under the @&$$ fence. I agree Frosty, there where times I would have gladley eaten Alex and Dannie, especially as teens. Still haven't found any one dumb enough to"buy" Dannie yet.

Try see bing for ornamental iron shops. Their are a few that employ smiths. As to being a farrier. Owner "mental instability" is all to true. Most (95% or more) problems you have with a horse are Peaple problems. Not to discourage a man with no horse handling experience. I didn't have any. But it's a very steep learning curve. If you want a long working life you learn to handle horses in a way that makes sense to a horse, often the runs afoul of the owners expectations ( this isn't Disney) I love and respect horses, but they aren't Peaple, they have a difrant worldview and social order (manners) training horses to stand, "explaining" to a horse that" yes I'm higher in the pecking order than you" dealing with psicological problems from abused horse (and their owners) is all in a days work. Then we get to the feet, you need a firm understanding of the structur of the hoof, the unninformed and he missinformed can do a lot of dammage. Clients often have a expectation that is contrairy to the horses wellbene. Then we come to the forge, your bread and butter is simply trimming the exces horn and corrections the groth of the hoof. Showing is a theroputic appliance. Some horses need it for the work they are expected to do, and the environment they are expected to do it in. Others need them because we have bread them for looks and not good feet. Then comes dealing with the clients. Have I mentioned that Peaple are craZy? Horses aren't dogs, or 4 leged Peaple? Or the fact that just because John Wayne did it in the movies doesn't make it good horsemanship? I don't care If the old drunk down the street only charges $15 to trim $25 to shoe. You know, I could really use a cup of coffie... But then again for some of us it's a vocation. I never pas up an opertunity to make a hoof pick for a kid, or a set of gate hinges for a stall door. Straighten a bent bail spike. A fid with a botle opener on the end goes a long way with the working cowboys. Not to say there any horseshoes out their that don't like horses, or the forge...

I'd have to agree with Dogsoldat. Not that it can't be re forged into a Useable cross peen. Sadly they used one in The Lord of the rings during the elvish sword smith seen.

By them books... And all they do is eat the @&$$ covers!

Goat is mighty tasty, Frosty. Especially the outlaws that get in the garden or on top of the better half truck.

I have a multi disciplinary approach. Hand cart, 2 engine hoists, transition jack, 10,000# twin point hoist, tractor with pallet forks, auto-crane and a over hear trolley made up of a chain fall and barn does track. Lets me move up to 300 pounds in a 90 deg arc from forge to anvil, or welding bench.

Tomas, you know why the put threads on those things don't you? To get them out ;-) new am old carpenter that drove them with a 4# hand sledge. Frosty, I say let Mr. Darwin's theories play out. Not saying the ignorant and those not blessed with intelligence should suffer if we can help, but the stupid among us need a reality check.

Old hard rock miners had a rule, if you missed and hit the guy holding th drill, it was his turn to swing the hammer.

Two handed style on the battle field would get you killed, the shield is just to effective as a defensive weapon. War hammers and military picks certainly gave good service as a relatively low cost weapon for defeating armor. Economy and effectiveness certainly kept the axe and spear on the battle Felix a long time. But the award as just too effective against the lightly armored peasants for a "Nobel man" to pass up. :-D figure Tommas will chime in and call me a fool, but I look forward to it!

A lot of the factory made tools aren't ground or heat treated properly, I find them to be to soft, forged to fat, and improperly profiled. Made right and the are a dream, I have knocked divots out of a truck radius arm bracket, I spent 30 minutes re forging, heat treating and sharpening a chisel. I still beat my buddy with an air hammer.

I have an anoint habit of missing my punch, punch, pritchel, chisel, ext. and hiring my left hand just about we're the thumb meets the fist. Hurts like &$!!, and I've done it more than once!.

Side draft is fairly simple, for an out side set up you can stack two 25 gallon drums, and just cut an opening about 8x12 in the side, 8x8 will work if you put it 4 inches up. If you need a sun shade, wind break and hood, you might try a geriatrician on Glenn's turbo charged forge, use a 55 to make a wind shield and hood, then use a 25 for a stack. As for inside the side draft works great, that's wear the design. Originated, it allows you to get large prices in and out if the fire, often with the help of a crane, with out hitting a hood.

Found it. http://www.lafire.com/stations/Blacksmith/HALLandMOTHERHEAD-BlacksmithAndHorseShoer.htm

Some were on the web I came a across pictures of a forge wagon used by a LAFD, I think to shoe fire horses, the forge and anvils wer in a low horse drawn wagon with a roof, I'll we if I can find it. I've shoes out of a stock trailer with the anvil stand lager to the floor, no need to take out the anvil.

Glad to have you back.

Might look at a enclosed trailer, you can find used car hauling trailers affordable, if you build a "shed" on it then your golden. Steel studs (use the heavy read painted ones) and roofing tin are light . With some infinity you can make the sides tilt up as awnings. Close it up and it's secure, no zoning hassles and no need for a Crain to get it out of mom and dads back yard.

If you have a few bucks and access to a welder you can lay hands on a large splitting wedge and have it welded to the end and cut it to length, taking the leftovers and make a "t" stake. Latter when you lay hands on a old 20# sledge hammer head you can use it as an anvil and forge the ends of the "T" stake , one to a round taper and the other to a round. Then you can draw out in the middle, turn on the round and refine double 90 on the other. So now you have a post anvil at wrist high for fine work, an anvil with a bigger face at knuckle high for heavy bashing and a stake at wrist high oh, and if you cut off the end of the splitting wedge, keep it, weld it to another stake, maybe the one inch rod we used to burn the hole in the stump? And regroups the end to resemble the curve on an axe. Walla, hot cut hardy! For safety's sake you might want to put a soup can over it when not in use.

You might consider Tommas's advice. You might also consider cutting the rod to hight, then you can have a bick and a post anvil. With some ingenuity you can heat the rod and bend the end 90 deg, then cut it off having a bick (pore mans anvil horn) and a post anvil. Mount them in stumps and your in business. As to how to get a hole in a stump. A 1" spade bit is cheap, then you can use hot coals to In large the hole, or if you have access to a 1" bare you can heat it and burn it in. Make shire to scrape out the charcoal. It will turn to powder when you start pounding it, so you don't want to set your anvil in the char. Just keep at it till you have a tight fit and we've as needed. .

Lol, I got my youngest a T shirt, "I don't have ADD, it's just... cute bunny!"

Are you using a touch phone? If you touch your post it will open a quwote& edit button in the lower right corner. Punh the button and it will reload your post in the edit box.

Every one loves "S"hooks.

Hey Rob, you aren't supposed to link to Craig's list or any outside sales with out Glenn's (sight owner) expressed permission. You need to edit your post or the moderators will. Usually it's ok to specify what area it's listed in and under what heading as a FYI just don't link to it.