notownkid

I have a large number, not large enough but, Pictures of OLD Blacksmith shops dating to the 1880's and there is not one without a vise and generally vises.  I have a number of vises in my 4 shops on 2 different farms all with at least 2 vises each.  they are in fact a third hand.  Somebody above said don't sell tools, I agree Will them but don't sell unless it's to me! 

My Will doesn't allow the selling of my tools or guns, they can be placed with someone to use them and care for them but No Sales Allowed. 

If one was to go to all the work & effort needed to build a bellows wouldn't make sense to use decent materials? I understand the $$ factor but OSB is really junk wood unusable elsewhere glued together to make a cheap product.

I showed this to my wife, she was still laughing when she headed to work, I'm taking that as a NO doesn't even rate a We'll see!

If you are interested in or practice an art and there is a book on the subject then it should be in your library.  If and when one gets to know everything about a subject I feel sorry for them.  I find it impossible to read a book on a subject that I'm interested in, or have knowledge of and not learn something from the book, maybe not every page but something.  Must be the reason I have such a large library and small bank account.  Maybe my next subject better be Economics. 

I've been involved with a number of carriage/buggy restorations and that really doesn't look large enough to go a Horse draw carriage by the looks (of what I can see) of the "bottom" it would appear to be more like the baby carriage variety and the Pegs sticking out would be for the wheels.  I doubt it would have been a buggy part.  What is the material?    

As my grandfather would tell us kids "You will learn a lot more if you keep your yap shut and ears OPEN."

60 years later I find he was correct but would add Eyes OPEN as well.   

Same here in CT after 11 months and nearly 20 barns, sheds, garages the Department discovered only one person made every one of those fires always at night and he was always one of the first 5 to respond and always made the first truck.  19 yr. old rookie firefighter.  He's in Jail at this time.   Happens all too often and I was in the volunteer service for nearly 30 yrs. 

Donnie

Have you tried Glucosamine & Chondronitin with MSM supplements?  I don't know your age but this might help.  I've been on it for 20+ years and have had Chiropractors and an Ortho surgeon and Nero surgeon tell me to keep on them.  Many friends and relatives of all ages take them daily.  Biggest problem is it takes 3-6 months of taking 1500mg a day to get feeling it.  There are a ton of stuff on the market today with Glucosamine in them that I don't know about, but many articles have been written about the good effects of Glucosamine from all over the world many by Doctors.  Can't hurt, never heard of an adverse problem like most prescribed medications, doesn't effect your stomach or digestive system either. 

As my mother always said "of those Riitis Boys Arthur is the worse"  She wasn't kidding. 

Until the days of the EPA there was no laws about burning your house for whatever reason as long it did not endanger other peoples property.  Your home was and still is in some states your Castle to do with what you want, don't burn it and try to get insurance that is Fraud or if there is a mortgage on it .  In Vermont & NH about 1900 or so there was a mass exit of farmers headed West into NY and Ohio, while I don't know of any of them burned for nails my father said the vast majority of houses left had all the windows and doors taken when they left.  There were still some houses standing in the back country when I was growing up that had been abandoned with the windows gone.  Just an old house "standing" in the middle of the woods with stone walls all around it, road impassible other than on foot mile or two from a town road.  Only cellar holes left today.

I'll vote for "Trigger Finger" I had it in a thumb a few years back.  It is caused by the sheath that protects the tendon where it passes over the knuckle in front swelling up and not letting the tendon slide back and forth. It's a repetitive motion injury.  Best thing for it is a short operation where the surgeon slits the sheath open so it lets the tendon move.  I had it and I was back working in about 3 weeks.  I know it isn't manly but might want to consider wearing a padded glove for a while.  Always worse in the morning and if you listen close you can hear it click when it lets loose each time hence the term "Trigger".  I've had friends wait 6-8 months fooling with it and getting it cut in the end.  I suppose a lot of resting it might help? I didn't have the option of that much time.   It is down right painful. 

I don't think that 3D printers are going to make a big difference in Blacksmithing.  I don't believe they can take the heat of being placed in the forge or being caught between an anvil and hammer.  Blacksmiths have evolved over the many centuries from making swords and armor to what we make today and tomorrow will simply bring more evolution. 

Now looking on the bright side of things IF 3D Printers do in fact kill off the blacksmiths it should drive down the price of anvils and shop tools so anyone trying to keep it alive can finally afford them. 

I'd get her a mason tender and see if she could finish it tomorrow.  I'd also get a guard to keep her from being poached.  She is a valuable asset. 

I grew up in an old Livery Stable in Vermont where we Restored Carriages and repaired harness and saddle stuff.  We had a number of 18" x 18" x 1" pieces of granite with a soft pine board on top of it to bunch our holes into leather.  Kept using the pine until it was used up threw it in the kilning bucket and got a new short piece from scrap.

Of course we were only 30 miles from Granite Quarries. Wish I knew what happened to those pieces of Granite but it's been nearly 60 years.   

its a thingy to keep Ewes from loosing their lambs. or it's to keep a calf from sucking!  can't see well enough.

I love all these posts.  60 yrs. ago my father told me to listen and learn from other peoples mistakes and errors as I wouldn't live long enough to make all them myself.

Lord knows I've tried over the years. 

Safety glasses were not a big item when I was growing up so never thought to use them when working (that has changed)

My first eye doctors who spent many hours fixing my errors in judgment retired.  A few days before he was done he called me and told me he had given my file to Dr. So and So and had warned him about me.  I asked if he was good and he said "he is as good of one as I could get to take you as a patient after the others read your file".  When So & So died I got my own new Doctor without the files and he Just shakes his head after an exam. 

After nearly 30 yrs as an emergency responder to fires, accidents and stupid stunts it is amazing to see what people manage to do to themselves by being foolish. 

Using an idea of someone else and then selling it for profit is an age old question.  If you got the idea of IFI and it's from South Africa and you are setting in Vermont USA you are not taking his food off his table.  When we make these things handmade no two are alike even from our own shop.  If the idea is copyrighted as Steve says you better not be copying it but when is it similar and when does it become a copy? 

If you have something really neat and your afraid someone will take the idea and run with it, DON"T POST IT!

This will be conversed over for as long as there are two people doing the same thing.  If there was a rule on this we might all be driving FORDS!

Subject of Bottle Openers, we use to make them in our old shop until someone asked, Just How Many Bottles are out there that need an opener?  We have a couple hundred made from RR Spikes left that nobody seems to need.  We did make many 1000s of them custom in different designs for a customer who had different Bars and Brewers stamped on them, sold real well for a number of years, he died and the market with him.

He Appears to be holding a tong class in Reno, Nev. this weekend 7th & 8th.at Jean Meneley's shop, call there and ask about the book.  Hopefully the same fellow.

Contact # 775 233-9937

I agree to keep it in the news to get donations, people's mind change to a different concern about every 10 minutes these days.  I wish I was closer but 1000 miles is a bit far.  Those of us "New" people on IFI got a chance to see what Steve looks like anyways. 

Does look and sound suspicious but FD's like to call it "Undetermined Origin" .  Good Luck.  Steve.

No room in life for a thief or a Liar they should at least get a hernia out of stealing our stuff and then being made to return it.

Will be interesting to hear what the official Fire Department determination of cause and origin of the fire is. If there is no or very little insurance on it they will not spend any time on it unless they suspect arson. I always found after nearly 26 yrs in fire the insurance investigators get better answers than the FD does, more money and time.
You should know the extent of damage to the vise real fast once you get to try it out. We had a large heavy iron bar that came out of a horse barn fire and it was like a noodle.
So hard to replace something like this today with lack of money and time but a surplus of regulations.

Stopped by the shop today talked with a neighbor who said he saw the Southbend leave Friday on the back of a salvage truck not looking all that great. Sad ending to a fine machine but a lot of blame to go around. A shop that a month ago was well stocked fully operating as it had for 2 generations, owner had tried to sell complete and he wanted to be rid of it all. Today not a thing left in the building. An auctioneer who did an all around bad job of advertising the sale, only ad seen was the day before.

It's easy outsiders, non farm people with lots of out of state $$$$$$ have shown up in the last 20 yrs.and have taken over our area. Second thing they do is unpack first is to run for office. My closest
neighbor case in point is now head Selectperson. State law allows us to build a slaughter house on a farm and local zoning has no say but water in a building requires a legal sanitary way for water out, ie. a very expensive, engineered septic system. Oh yah, the newbie next door is a unemployable(by all accounts who have tried) civil engineer who would like to do the design, so says the head of the zoning department, Got to love small town politics!

Bullet Trap and a CO2 pellet pistol. Great for frustration removal and "visitors" remember places they need to get to when they have bothered you long enough. Although I had one guy show up with his own pellet gun and wanted to shot with me as he needed "instructions".

Chairs are a must for bad backs & old age, electricity is as well. Zoning was giving problems about water in the shop as they said I had to put in a septic system but I could put a Frost Free Hydrant next to the door as it's on a farm and I might want to water stock, didn't tell them my stock left 5 yrs ago.

I too will give a "Thumbs Up" on this book, given to me by my son and it's great. I have traveled a number of times to Sweden and was a SAAB Dealer for 35 yrs so know the Swedes well. Good book to read and keep on the shelf.

I was at an Woodworkers Shop Auction last week, there was an old but great shape Southbend Lathe there in the basement. About 6' with all the extras with it. It sold for $30! There was a Representative there from a Rigger/Mover outfit who said it would cost at least a $1000 to move it out of the basementThe outside wall had to be removed, no headroom for equipment to get in there, etc. etc. I think the buyer might have asked before bidding. I had.

Did get a 5" post vise that after selling off other stuff that came with it didn't cost me anything and a Bandsaw for not much. A Fisher Anvil, about 175lbs. went for $300
nice shape but I was being cheap and didn't need it. Wanted yes Needed No!

A lot of nice old woodworking machines went for scrap because of no OSHA compliance guards and cost of moving.