woodreaux

I have seen the wee todd lad at work m'self. He is a promising smith to be sure. A hard worker and he absorbs readily. His Mum deserves a BIG round of applause for doing this for Alec.

beautiful metal and wood. I just "picked" up about 3000/4000 pounds of pecan stumps and butts...WOW!!! But I have never stabilized any wood, what goes on there in that process?

Hey guys and gals, I am working on my first cable knife, I have made a couple of RR spike knifes and they turned out OK. The cable is IMPORTANT. I am learning this slowly. I have tried forge welding mystery cables with NO luck. Lyle Wynn has helped me and has managed to not lose his temper in the process, many thanks to him. He coached me in forge welding my first piece. It is still a work in progress, maybe I can figure out how to post pics soon.

Bee sure to read what the toilet seating rings are...they USED to be bees wax, most now are a polymer fake.

Rod handles that are welded on require the tool be normalized back through the weld or it will most likely pop off. I like metal rods for handles m'self, so does lightning!

If its so old you "think" it has buffalo.........whatever you put in it as far as lube won't hurt it. No synthetic parts, know what I mean?

I have just begun to make leaves in the last couple of months, I think the sharp point on some of my leaf shapes are a good defensive weapon, in lieu of just the keys!!

Anyone ever seen a hairpin shaped "railroad" spike? It is bent and forge welded near the bend and the point(s) are cut/clipped. Could these have been civil war era spikes?

Woody,
The thing is that they are Federal Property! No scrap yards in my area will buy ANY railroad steel, period. I do however aligin my feelings with yours...get some good steel...much better in all ways.
Woodreaux

You can hammer one flat to shut the pipe, fill with sand and hammer the other end flat to keep the sand inside. You can then bend the tubing on the beak of anvil or mandrel or any round shape and not crimp the tubing. Open and pour out the sand.