Sam Thompson

If I was going to fit something that ugly to a door, I'd go and buy one! (sorry John, it's very nice really)

The flue pipe needs to be of sufficient diameter and height to suck the smoke away. It will work better as it warms but it sounds like yours doesn't work at all. A cowl on the top may help to prevent down-draughts, as will fitting doors and windows to control any gusts of wind.
If you make alterations, use paper or sticks to test the suction before risking something as noxious as coke. Good luck.

Try this:

http://www.iseekgolf.com/clubfittingandrepairs/5808-the-making-of-a-forged-club

That's a useful heap of tools! You do realise that most of them are struck tools and not hammers? It's not a good idea to use wooden handled tools under a power hammer.

If the blades rotate freely and still cut then the most important point is to make sure that they are balanced.

I meant to agree with a dislike of unnecessary regulation. You're certainly right about paper qualifications, if anything they only show an individual's aptitude, no ability.

The typeface of the stamps looks 18th cent, although the same stamps could have been used for years.
The hammer marks under the bick are interesting; are they from some unusual working practice or left in after manufacture?

If you make a cone-shaped header with the hole down the centre, like a little flat-topped volcano, you can strike at an angle to give a more three dimensional shape to the head.

I've always found it helpful to set the motor speed and use an air gate as an on/off when I don't need the fire for a few minutes. Unless the air gate is fitted to square tube, it is very hard to get accurate control as the increase in the proportion of the pipe being blocked varies as the gate moves across a round hole.

I trust your cynicism isn't the result of the events last week at Hereford!

I agree with what you say about 'smithing; it has always seemed that there was a generation of 'artist' 'smiths who managed to get tooled up for very little money during the industrial recession of the '70s and '80s who are operating pretty much as a closed shop as regards public/large work.
I can't see the point in setting academic standards for work that is entirely decorative; particularly as the courses have recently become shortened and debased (so I hear!). My experience of making work for 'heritage sites' is that any structural work is specified as stainless, made by fabricators and is mostly hidden from public view. Having a bit of paper to say that you can make a nice taper/scroll etc does not make anyone a better or safer designer and maker of decorative fittings.

To return to the subject... Having mentioned to friends that I was going to buy a pair of clogs, I was told of several people who have downsized to the country and set up a workshop to make clogs. They will presumably have read a book about it and will believe that they are doing something 'sustainable' and that there is an intrinsic dignity in 'hand-crafted' goods'. I however want some industrial quality footwear and will be dealing with a company that knows what it's doing.

Not everything handmade is superior. I once worked for a chap who insisted on hand mixed concrete for his yard!

They'll be good for catching smoke.

There are probably more of them hanging on pub walls than there are in regular use.

I'm sure there wasn't that much info when I posted! Good luck EZDUZIT and son.

You could kill terminators with that.

Jeremy, I like the hair styles, they look like little Elvises!

I stand corrected; although, even as a smith, I can't imagine why they bother!

There seems a huge cultural difference in the way that the customer feels about the product. I know that people will buy pattern welded swords or knives but I don't think that there would be a huge market for hand made saws in the west. No matter how beautifully made, there can only be a very limited number of people who appreciate the skill involved and are prepared to pay the price. The Japanese seem to imbue these kinds of things with an extrinsic, mystical quality.
Does anyone know what they are used for? Is there an ancient sect of warrior tree surgeons that roam the country in search of the eternal truths?

Smell the Hovis.

Is that a Kuhn hammer?

I seem to remember from somewhere that the noise of metal cutting: drilling, milling,turning etc. is particularly damaging.

The main point of my original post was the danger of forcing swarf deep into the ear with a dirty plug, I always
use muffs myself although the dog likes to chew them, I think he likes the taste of the sweat.

Eh?

Some put them on their knees.

No, I'm from Herefordshire. Near (BUT NOT IN) Wales.

?

So you are voting against it being wrought?

No, they're definitely WI but with the grain parallel to the bolt they are too easily split. High strength nuts are made by welding a ring from a length of bar, forming the flats, sizing the hole and then cutting the thread. With a nut made like this there is a weakness as the fibres are tending to be pulled apart rather than stretched along their length. I suspect that with this size it probably doesn't matter much.

I'll be investing in a pair in a couple of weeks and will report back.
Thomas, On another part of the site, they invite those with unusual feet to send in a template for custom made footwear. Walkley's are situated in Yorkshire where the people have a tradition of unstinting helpfulness and are known for their sunny dispositions and willingness to go the extra mile, particularly for those from the south, whom they pity. :P