blkbear

Alright!! Good job. Mentors is something that many kids today need and there are not enough around. Brian

This is such a cool thread. I find it fascinating and very interesting to see this type of family history. It also shows us that we are really not that far removed from the hayday of the everyday working blacksmith. Brian

In Africa I have seen them used as barbecue grils. With or without holes in them to allow grease/fat to drip through. Weld a 2 inch piece of pipe at one point with a screw hole tapped into the pipe. The disc will be horizontal and the piece of pipe welded to it will be perpendicular to the disc. This slides over another piece of pipe/stake, ususally one size smaller than the piece welded onto the disc, that is hammered into the ground beside the fire. You can adjust the height and swing the disc over the fire and tighten the screw - the ones I used had a buttelfly type screw for ease of usem and adjustment. You can have 2 or three discs - one with holes in it to allow for grease/fat to drip through and another with no holes - say for morning eggs. Several can be slipped onto one main upright pipe/stake. It can be a permanent part of a BBQ pit or you can point one end of the pipe stand so that it can be hamered into the ground for camping. Brian Ottawa

Welcome to the world of smithing. You will definitely find it addicting and the more you learn the more you will find out you have still yet to learn. The creative possibilities are endless. Brian Ottawa

Oh my. Such a young soul that has had such a hard time in life already. SFduck, I will echo your prayer for Ainslee. Brian

So sorry to hear about your Mom. Brian

Contact Cory Walthers at Curvesoftime.com. He is south of Winchester. He might be able to do it for you. Brian Ottawa

That is a beautiful pattern. I can hardly wait to see the finished product. Brian Ottawa

Very very nice work. Brian Ottawa

Nomad - I am also glad you mentioned it. When I saw the title of the post I was laughing at the many different ways this could easily get of topic. Brian

In addition to all of the excellent advice given so far, go to the different manufacturers web sites before you buy. There is a ton of essential information on the web sites that can help you decide what type of welding outfit you want to purchase. Lincoln Electric is one web site that is just chock full of information. There are also other web sites devoted to welding that are not manufacturer based, although the Lincoln Electric web site offers a lot of information not necessarily based on their products but welding in general. As mentioned in a earlier post, a course at a community college is an excellent idea. There you can get proper instruction on of the different types of welding without making mistakes and burning out your own newly acquired machine. You also get to practice using their supplies as well. Brian Ottawa

Very nice! It all fits together to make an excellent and pleasing visual statement. Brian

Very nice work! Brian

You will have my prayers. Brian

One of the worst possible scenarios happened last night, as I am sure you are now aware of. Rescuers were turned into victims last night with 3 recuers killed and 6 injured. We must now redouble our efforts for those still trapped and send condolences to those killed and support to those, and their families, who were injured. I do not like to be a pessimist but you have to face reality. But, it is looking less likely that there could be a fully successful rescue. A very disheartening situation. Brian

I am so sorry to hear that. She and your family will definitely be in the forefront of my prayers. Brian

I am interested in doing the same combination but with fireplace screens. I have not yet had to chance to try but the technique that I read was to forge your iron/steel to shape and then melt the glass into the area where you want the glass. Seems pretty much what you had in mind. I have no marbles, being 55 and working ing the Canadian federal bureaucracy for 32 years, I have definitely lost them all!!, but was going to get cast offs from a stained glass shop for a bulk price. It seemed to me that a fireplace screen with several spaces filled in with different coloured glass could be attractive in front of the fire and to potential customers. Customers could custom order screens and contribute to the design of them as well if they wished. Brian

That is truly an amazing video. I can't imagine the heat, noise and dirt in the different shops where pieces were put together. And one fella with a vest and tie on right in there pounding away with everyone else. Thanks Brian

Very nice! Particularly with the twist in the copper strand. The wood handle with the copper decoration is very good. Brian

I have done several searches in different forums but cannot find any info on cryogenically treating blades. I have a number of questions that I hope someone here can clear up for me. I am in the process of making some blades from O1 and CPM3V steel. If I choose to use cryogenic treatment for them what exactly does the cryogenic process do? Does it harden and temper the blade? How many times should the blade soak for hardening and then tempering? Also - final edge sharpening. Before or after cryogenic treatment? I have found that when using heat to harden and then temper blade steel there is mixed opinions. Some like to sharpen before hardening and tempering and some prefer after the hardening and tempering process. Can I have your thoughts and opinions on this issue as well?? Thanks!! Brian

Oh man!! I haven't had a kidney stone since 1994 and I still vividly remember the discomfort - read excruciating, unrelenting pain. That was the third one I was hospitalized for. When my wife was discussing how bad the pain was her evil twin sister exclaimed that the pain was nothing like what a woman has to endure for childbirth - being childless one wonders where she becomes an expert on these things. My mother-in-law spoke up and said she has had one kidney stone and given birth to nine children in her lifetime and she would take giving birth to another child over another kidney stone. It feels like someone very large and very strong has a death grip on your scrotum. And it feels sooooooo good when the stone finally makes it down to your bladder and the pain stops. Brian

Here in Ottawa you can get fireclay at Home Depot as well. Go to the section where they have firebrick and other accessories for home wood burning stoves. You might have to wait a few weeks until the "fall" stuff comes back on the shelves. You could also look for refractory cement. A commercially (contractor) oriented brick supply business might have bags of it. I did find a 40lb bag here in Ottawa but only after going to one of these contractor supply outlets. And then it took the yard guys almost 15 minutes to find it. Not much demand for it here so it was buried in a back corner. Places like Home Depot won't or generally don't carry such specialty material. Brian

This looks great. Thanks a million. Brian

I better not mention thermite to him. It will only breed some unhealthy inquisitiveness - although he will probably figure it out on his own - I don't want to be the source of his neihbours' misfortune. It took a delegation of neihbours for him to clean up the bits and pieces of three Land Rovers he had in various stages of dismantle I bring Land Rover parts home a few at a time and install them as time permits and discard the old ones on garbage day. My friend brings home complete Land Rovers and salvages bits from several to build one. He only has a 2 car driveway so his and his wife's daily drivers get preferred spots there and the Land Rovers collect on the lawn. And he is impulsive. That's a bug reason not to tip him off about thermite. Brian

I know this not blacksmithing but it is working with metals. I have a friend who wants to do some backyard aluminum and brass smelting and casting. Does anyone have any internet links on how to building backyard, small, smelting furnaces using propane or natural gas?? Thanks This one will really get his neighbours nervous Brian