LawnJockey

Energy price fluctuations have historically been a big factor and that is why they came up with the Core CPI which strips out food and energy prices. Even with the Core CPI (which I always thought was a BS measurement like unemployment numbers that remove those who have given up looking for work) we have just over 2% 12 month trailing inflation. http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUUR0000SA0L1E?output_view=pct_12mths We are experiencing a very unique time where deflation is a real possibility. More and more we are hearing about negative interest rates as a real possibility. The problem with deflation is that when people start to think they might be able to buy something cheaper if they wait they hold off purchases and the economy comes to a stop. The monetary tools available work much better controlling inflation than deflation. We have all seen the massive pumping of the system by the Fed and the Federal goverment through stimulus spending which one would think would cause more inflation. But so far it hasn't happened which implies massive deflationary pressure. One aspect about deflation that will keep you awake at night is our massive borrowing by the federal government. There has always been the argument that we will be paying it back with cheaper dollars but if deflation kicks in those will be more expensive dollars. I know this is getting out in the weeds so back to the topic, maybe stagnant wages are a whole lot better than decreasing wages. We have seen some of that with businesses importing temporary workers to replace more expensive American workers.

Scroll down to page iii for the last 12 months: http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpid1604.pdf According to the government inflation was 1.1% over the past 12 months. Personally I find the number hard to believe like many things put out by government but the number is what it is.

Nice. I have 4 36" 6"x 6"x 3/8" square tube drops from a project a while back that would be perfect for legs. I agree about the wheels. Yours is a beauty.

That isn't always correct. For example, the US CPI is rising way under 6% if you believe what the government says. I think it is about 1% for the past 12 months and thus you are gaining a net of 3% on purchasing power with a 4% raise. Maybe a better way to look at it would be what pricing power the employer has. Have they been raising the price on what they have been selling? Have their cost of goods sold gone up due to energy costs, regulations, etc. If they are publicly traded has the dividend gone up, management salaries and bonuses too. And the most important factor, can you do better going down the street.

I have a Norton #6 coming in and I have to build a bench for it in the next few days. I would greatly appreciate seeing what others have done so post some photos. Thanks

Lots of steel bicycles out there that are powder coated. They get lots of nicks but I have never seen one with the powder coating popping off.

As a misguided youth I went into the trades as a way of working for myself and having the flexibility to pursue my passion, racing sailboats. I was motivated and I worked 7 days a week. I reinvested all my disposable income into equipment. I completed my first apartment renovation, a burned out multi unit building, before I was 21 and I had my contractors license when I was 21. Later I went back to school, graduated law school and passed the bar on the first try. I never stopped buying and fixing up properties on the side. The reason I am putting this put there is because I believe if you want a good paying job sometimes you have to create your own. If you don't have the skills learn them. If you don't have the equipment work with what you have and invest in yourself. Back then it was a little easier than today. Young guys just starting out were not competing with the crowd hanging out in front of Home Depot. There weren't as many regulations and it was a little easier to bend the rules some when you were starting out. But even so, it is still doable. If you are hanging out watching football on the weekends or getting home before dark you have no one to blame but yourself. I know a lot of contractors that are looking for motivated people who are not meth heads, alcoholics, thieves or wooers comp fakers.

I rarely sell tools and when I do I usually regret it.

The three most popular styles of owner built power hammers are the Appalacian (Rusty, etc and variations), The Clay Spencer tire hammer (Dupont linkage like a Little Giant) and the Kinyon (2 styles, look closely at the new style, both are air hammers). Plans for all three are available from some dedicated people who are probably just covering their costs selling them. Please don't try to buy a bootleg copy as that really hurts the blacksmith community as a whole. Paul Branch sells the Kinyon plans, Clay Spencer sells the tire hammer plans. The Appalacian plans are easily found on line from two sources, a blacksmithing group back in Appalacia and a nice guy from the Sacsamento/ Foothill area of California. Sorry his name escapes me right now. I think he is actually selling his through Amazon as well as directly. If I recall correctly he gets to keep a larger share of the proceeds if you buy them directly from him. I am in the process of building a Kinyon II. I started gathering materials for a tire hammer but after a discussion with a guy who has built many tire and air hammers I altered my plans since I already had a large shop compressor. If your welding skills are limited (me) you can always seek out a welding student from a local community college to do the final welding after you tack it together. If your fabricating skills are limited this can be a learning experience. Don't be bashful about cutting out something that isn't right and doing it over until it is. I don't know what your situation is equipment wise but it could get expensive if you are having to buy tools along the way. I have 40 years of accumulated equipment including grinders, saws, torches, welders, plasma cutter and on and on and I still estimate I will have $1,000 invested in the hammer before it is done. If I were you I would think carefully about what you want to do with it and then compare the three main designs to see which one fits your needs and abilities. Be realistic and calculate the costs. It seems like once a week someone is asking about building their own hammer here but we only see posts about a finished hammer every four months or so. That should tell you something. For my hammer I actually found a 1,500lbs base and anvil with guides and tup from a guy who put a lot of effort into building one and then lost interest in the project. Don't take the grouches too personally. Some of them have a great deal of experience but are tired of the same questions being asked or mad at life generally. If you really want to build one you can but go into it with your eyes open as to costs and commitment.

For the grumpy ones, rather than constantly complaining about it just don't respond if you are tired of answering the same questions. There is really no excuse for being ill mannered about it, particularly to a kid.

Since you have or will be purchasing the connector fittings, regulator, etc for your burner attach it to the tank that is going to be cut up and open it up and see if anything comes out. Be aware that in many places the government requires the new fool resistant valves on the tank which shut down if it detects a leak. It used to be you could just hook up the connector and open the valve. The new valves will drastically slow the flow, maybe even stop it, if it senses a leak. Thus you need to have a valve before the burner and then open the tank valve slowly, once open, open the second valve. This all should a lot more complicated than it is, you just want to make sure it is really empty. Once the tank is confirmed empty just unscrew the valve and flush out the tank. I have never had a tank with goo in it. Maybe that is a regional thing only found in places like San Francisco or Indiana.

I almost always use it with 220.

Check out the Everlast inverter welder. After seeing how well the Miller inverter welders worked (using it on 1/2" plate) I started looking at them because I had a job that required hauling a welder around on a steep hill side. After reading the reviews I thought I would give the Everlast a try at 1/4 the price. This machine rocks. $270.00 and it weighs about the same as a case of beer.

Guns and Bacon, it doesn't get much better than that. Mesa College has blacksmithing classes. They are always shown as full but if you join the Arizona Artistic Blacksmith Association you can usually get squeazed in.

I admire anyone who has the guts to go out on their own and make a go of it. Problems always arise and your job is to find creative solutions. People will always tell you why you can't do something. Successful people figure out how to get from point A to point B and then take the steps to do it. When it all seems overwhelming ask yourself what needs to be done first and do that, then repeat the process. It is easy to spin a set of problems into the end of the world when in fact they are just a set of problems to be overcome. Many of the problems you noted may have simple solutions. You could install some plywood sheathing inside the structure. From the looks of it this would probably require some horizontal stringers. That is about a day's worth of work. Perhaps you should consider switching to gas as your primary forge fuel to appease the neighbors. The noise could be mitigatred some by using a flypress for some tasks. If you have a willingness to work long hours and most likely seven days a week for years you have a good chance of making it in any field. You just have to figure out how to keep enough dollars (pounds) coming in the door to keep the lights on. There are many issues such as insurance and business structure that should be thought about. First off if you don't have empoyees the legal obligations are much smaller. Second, do you have other assets outside of the business that need to be protected? If you don't you could go without insurance as you start up knowing that you are taking a chance. The worst case then would be filing bankruptcy if something really bad happened. There are business structures that can provide some liability protections but they all involve certain formalities that vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

Although they look like marlinspikes I doubt that is what they were used for. I base this on the number of them and the wrenches with the spike ends. To me this screams out iron worker as such spikes are used to align bolt or rivet holes during assembly. No matter how perfectly you plan things never quite fit perfectly without some persuasion. Furthermore the long skinny section on the larher spike is unlike any marlinspike I have ever seen.

Slicks are used like planes. In fact they are nothing more than a plane without a body and shaped like a big chisel. They are used in timber framing and wood boat/ship building. They are usually used to take off a lot of material quickly but there is nothing equal to them when you have to do fine work up to an edge as in a place where the body of a plane would prevent you from getting. Please post photos as you progress, particularly the shaping of the socket.

Check out this guys forge: He also has many other videos featuring tools and tooling he made himself.

That is the place I was thinking of.

Frank, is that from that little adobe stand on the side of the road toward Camel Rock?

That looks really nice. You will wonder how you ever got by without one.

I am a bum, plain and simple. I have way too much education for my own good. I have way to many vices to list. That goes for spawn too.

I like political incorrectness, aka honesty. I strongly believe if everyone is saying or thinking in a certain way it is probably wrong. It is laughable when people assign a letter for a word that can't be said. Just today I was at an office supply and the clerk was so stupid she couldn't figure out how to complete a simple transaction. I asked for a manager. When I explained to the limp wristed assistant manager that the gal was retarded I was told I was being "inappropriate" whatever that means. I guess I will be struck by lightning for using the "R" word. Anyway I went on and told the little fella what I really thought including that it was inappropriate to put rejects from the fast food industry in clerk and assistant manager positions. I think Rachel Jeantel had a higher IQ than the two of them combined.

We have no one to blame but ourselves. If we didn't buy it they would not sell it. Think about it next time you pull into Walmart.