eric sprado

Glenn and Family:I am SO sorry.My prayers are for you and also that some good for the betterment of the World can come about from your tragic loss.

OOps! After my long story about John Turkington-I saw your post about going with propane! Sorry! Still-feel free to email me for local contacts that could be of help. Eric S.

John Turkington in Monroe is a good supplier of coal. I've bought coal from him for thirty years: Farrier Supplies,26799Highway 99 North, Monroe ,Oregon. Phone 541 847-5854. John is getting up in years and some folks complain about his crankiness,but when I showed up in Eugene broke in 1982 he treated me as kindly as a man could and I'll always be indebted to him. I'm not one to forget favors.
It was even harder times in Oregon then than it is now and everybody who thought they could shoe a horse was hanging out their sign. I went and bought some supplies from John and he asked to see my rig. At the time I was still shoeing with and old Ft. Riley Cavalry forge. He looked at my tools and said "Oh you ARE a horseshoer" and that was the start of a long friendship and professional relationship. He also told me something that I still value today: When I said something about all the horseshoers already in the area he replied " There's always room at the top"!!!!! True then and true today.. Sorry for my rambling.It gets in the way of my good sense sometimes. Eric Sprado, Deadwood, Oregon.

Think about using the raised tuyere like Grant suggested either here or on the NWBA site.Clinkers melt AROUND it and don't plug it up. Pretty simple design....

FieryFurnace: Thanks so much for posting the picture. I was one of folks who wanted to see it. I bought a used one too and had to remodel it because the top was OUT from the anvil instead of in and you couldn't see what was going on when it started down. Could you tell me the distance between the hammer and the anvil?? I'm having a little hard time getting that right.. Thanks again, Eric Sprado

Old style exercise bikes from yard sales for 3to5 bucks are the ticket for all sorts of powering. The wheel is out in front and you simply build a mechanism to lower whatever you want driven on to the wheel.Grinders,pumps,blenders(a local guy has a shaved ice machine on one),blowers.. I'm in process of hooking one up to my old Champion post drill...

I don't understand why all the pieces,faces,lead etc.? Your local scrap dealer should have a piece of steel that weight and about the right shape for 30 cents a pound. Add a top plate if you want,but it might work just fine as is.Am I being too simplistic here??

That's the prettiest "little" anvil I've ever seen. What a find. If you get a big one and want to sell that I'd buy it a ship it to Oregon for my kid who works on small stuff and jewelry. Don't bugger up the edges! They are really nice!!!

LOVE that treadle hammer in the second video. PURE function and simplicity...

Shop Teacher: Strange as it may seem-YES we all still love seeing "another old anvil".. I'm near you in Deadwood Oregon. If you log on to NWBA (Northwest Blacksmith Assoc.) you will see that we are having a BIG Western States Conference in August in Mt. Hood. You have to go to it if you really have an interest. Demos,Hands on classes,Gallery of unbelievable forged items. One of best parts is the "tailgate"section where folks bring all sorts of blacksmithing guferaw to sell,trade,or show off... You will also find a large number of smiths within 30 minutes of you.. They must have been asleep when you stole that anvil.. Hope to meet you, Eric Sprado. Deadwood ,Oregon. 541 964 3224

Never to late to add to a good thread. Those are BEAUTIFUL!!!!! As pretty as I've seen and I've seen lots of irons.I suspect that "R" might smear a bit but the workmanship has no flies on it at all!!!
thanks for sharing, Eric Sprado

I'll share this one from this Winter because it really can happen to anybody here. Old tried and true Johnson's Paste Wax right?
It was a cold day and I put the open can in front of the propane forge to " warm up a little" It melted and I bumped it with my tongs or something and it caught on fire and spilled spreading fire on my wooden floor JUST LIKE BURNING GASOLINE!!!
Growing up in a Volunteer Fireman family I keep fire extinguishers everywhere and quickly put it out.
I spread the word to everybody: Where is the most important place in your home to have an extinguisher besides the kitchen?? YOUR BEDROOM!!!! You smell fire in the middle of the night. Your kids are in some other room. Do you want to hunt for a fire extinguisher first or do you want to have one next to your bed?? Also- for those whose wives aren't comfortable with guns,a fire extinguisher can spray an intruder in the eyes from clear across the room. Beat him over the head with the extinguisher while he's blinded.... All kidding aside-keep one in your bedroom and save your life someday!!!

There will be discussion on this,but I used good quality acetylene regulators on my propane forge for many years with no trouble.

Great stand... Is that the base of a treadle hammer I see in the background? How 'bout a picture. I love seeing other guy's treadle hammer variations. Thanks, Eric S.

Log on to littlegianthammer.com and email Sid. He knows EVERYTHING about Little Giant hammers if that's what your fiend's is....and is Very helpful. He bought all of their inventory and has every part for sale...

For those of you who have heard of them but never saw one: This is a running iron from a cattle thieves camp I found on my BLM range in NE Nevada.You can see it was pretty old and rusted when I found it.Forge welded.Probably wrought iron. With it you could alter or make just about any brand. My neighbor told me he learned to write with one!!

Just sold my Champion camelback drill press.They are a pretty impressive machine! Motor size: Mine had a 1 horse 1750 RPM. They were made for SLOWER motor than that but those are getting pretty hard to come by so use smallest sheave you can on the motor.

Whew-Who would have thought so much goes in to nail making!!!!! Could you tell me the THICKNESS of the actual working part of Tom Clark's header? Thanks again for all your replies!!!! Eric S.

K. Bryan: THANKS THANKS for the piehtool site!!!! The very first thing he said "hit the nail on the head"(Sorry). He said to NOT make the header the way books showed! My nails were doing exactly what he spoke about.They were mushrooming UNDER the header opening and couldn't come out!! Back to the drawing board. Thanks again. Eric S.

Thanks to all of you for the helpful replies!!! I'll go back to the forge,make another one, and let you know how it turns out. Eric S.

Go to the Little Giant web site: www.littlegianthammer.com . Sid will answer any and all questions you have. Also: There is a blacksmith in Butte, Montana from whom I bought a rebuilt LG 25#,who has a nice LG 100#. He could probably show you stuff hands on.His name is Scott Espelin and his business is Wild West Iron Works...

Glen. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!!! Why is this the very hardest site on the internet to add pictures to??? I "browsed",brought to site,clicked on "add to post" and nothing... I know you'll move this somewhere,but please make this easier. thanks so much, Eric S.

I've never made nails before. I made a header like all the videos show. Made the taper the right way. My nails stick. The ones that don't look like they came out of the wrong end of something. None of the sites talk about how THICK the actual working part of the header should be. I think mine,after making the indentation using a ball peen as fuller,is around 1/8" thick. What am I doing wrong that they stick so bad?
Tried to add pictures. No Go. I'll post over on NWBA site. Easier. Wish it weren't... I REALLY love the sharing spirit on this site.. Eric

Thanks so much Craig. I have some copper sheets my mom used for a project around WWll. She died young and I'd like to make some Roses from that copper for my little girl's seventh birthday so she somehow has something from the grandma she never got to meet. My mom's name was Rose and I named my little girl Maggie Rose so I guess it will be a fitting gift if I can pull it off.... thanks again, Eric

I've had many Little Giant Trip hammers and have never seen a wooden clutch block??Maybe all mine have had it replaced but I don't think so. Go on to the Little Giant web site and it might be of help for your hammer.Sid has lots of good info on there. I do have to keep the clutch oiled a LOT. If they aren't spraying oil across the room they aren't getting enough. My current, a LG 25#, one is one hundred years old. Completely rebuilt and runs like a sewing machine.