tbrforge

I'm with Glenn, name doesn't matter can you put it to good use in your shop. How hard is it? Might convert it to a hot cutter or slitter? or as Glenn suggested as a texture hammer. Humans gotta name everything. I come from a "whatcha-ma-callit" "thinga-ma-jeebbe" backround, whatever works

WP as we called it in the artillery, against Geneva convention to use on troops, as it will eat through your body in a flash (no pun intended) LEAVE THE PHOSPHORUS BE or you will regret it

TBR forge: Terry (me) Brandi (alpha female) Rocko(beta male) and forge. Brandi goes with me on installations and guards the truck and equipment (literally). Rocko was (all dogs go to heaven) my forge dog, he would get in front of the forge out of the way of my turns to the anvil and wouldn't move, even when forge fleas were bitting. The new Rocko is too young to stay in one place very long but loves the shop.

I'm with jayco. Lazy cat (overfed) maybe cutting back on her food will solve that but I haven't the heart. She was a mouser extraordinar for years so it goes. I've never been bothered with them enough to be concerned.

Gifts to friends get my name noticed (works also) business line for phone, gotta have a phone eh slightly higher than private line, not much though, that also gets you a free listing in the yellow pages. I also donate items to silent auctions for fund raisers. This is good for tax time also. The fund raisers get exposure to the people who can and will buy. A table at a flea market? (costs 5 bucks in Athens) course you don't want to try and sell high dollar stuff there, maybe just a piece or two. Stick with small inexpensive projects. Antique shops have been very nice in putting stuff out on commission. I've also sold fireplace sets to a local fireplace specialty shop. craigs list? I've advertised works and labor there with some returns The list isn't as short as you would think.

I'm making Shabos candelabra for my Rabi. Also planning a blue print for the project. Sketches and full scale drawing completed today. Forging begins later this afternoon.

look for steel warehouses/service centers in your area. I'm sure there is a large supplier within a 50 mile radius of you that could meet your needs

Hey BT neat site, I'm going to make the lathe milling attachment. Must modify it for a 13" southbend but all the material is waiting for a use. Thanks

I brush the pieces with SS wire brush (attached to grinder) then coat with permalac, which is a high heat lacquer. Sometimes I put a couple of coats of wax (paste) over that. If someone wants to pay, I'd recommend clear powder coat, from gloss to satin finish.

just finished a Buhl chopper for a customer, when he saw my test twist (saw it here first) he asked if I could make foot pegs and if I could twist the fender braces also. Gotta please the customer..eh?

50% labor all material on placing the order. remainder upon completion in my shop. Installation is never quoted per job but hourly, due upon completion.

severely rusted from outdoor use. still works though. This building was erected by my brother in law (one great guy) just for my smithy. Improvements to follow.

I am a blacksmith, with a smithy build specifically for the forge, however, in this day and age I need more tools to meet a wide base of customer demands. 13" South Bend lathe, Vertical Mill, TIG, MIG, bandsaw, abrasive cut off saw, hand made break, arbor press hydraulic press, autocad station. It takes all of these and wishfully more to make ends meet. I have done frame work on trucks, custom headers for motorcycles aluminum racing heads, gates, railings, statues, hardware, cast iron repairs. A I see it, a blacksmith of old didn't have the option to turn work away. I don't either.

it may not be galvanized but it is rust preventative coated. not sure why you would need a heat shield. You don't need to be on top of the fire, just your work piece needs the heat. I have not noticed a lot of heat coming from the tuyere. Can you post a picture of your set up? A lot of computer metal is galvanealed which is done so paint will stick but it is still coated with stuff that is toxic when heated.

In my uses of coke v.s. coal I have made these observations. can't walk away from a coke fire, needs a lot of air can't form a dome with coke and pops like crazy when wet l-forge brand clinkered up nicely coal forms a dome well I can bank up a fire and walk away for half an hour come back crack some air and I'm back to work quickly. coal is very quality dependent coal seems to have a higher usage rate pound for pound, coke already having the impurities cooked off. that makes sense to me in conclusion I like to have both in my smithy

My anvil maynot be as level as my lathe or knee mill however the area I work the anvil (where I stand) is the same level as the anvil. I have never looked at a piece of work and noticed a problem or even an attribute that could be identified by an anvils level.

If any word of my previous post implied that I was in the business for money alone then all I can say is I have probably made a bad choice. I have learned cnc programming and autocad, mills and lathes, drills and welders, hand tools and principles of metalworking because I love working with metal. I have a family to feed. They support my efforts to be an independent business man, but could care less with how I go about it, just as my customers feel. No matter what age of blacksmithing is involved no matter what period of history we revisit or imitate, results are what matters. Our sense of satisfaction is what drags our asses out of bed to continue each day. I do not disparage anyone who chooses period work and eschews new techniques. But I doubt that they survive solely on that premise. I do not apologize for my mixed bag of tricks. In the end I hope for two things, a happy customer and a small margin of profit. And now I must fire up my forge, my welder, my machines, all in an attempt to please myself, feed my family and hopefully make someone smile when they look at my work. By whatever means I do that, so be it.

worked a few years in a steel wharehouse, cutting scrap from the oxy-fuel burney multi head cutters and plasma torches. Cut scrap up to six inch thick "cobble" (contents unknown but I'm sure thats where all those lost files went. Used oxy-natural gas. Got paid by the ton so learned to be as fast as could be with natural gas cutting. Ended up modifying tips larger. Normal Oxy pressure. As is usally the case all data must be considered. Price, availability, permission, safety, etc. in the end things balance out. The smaller the container the more cost though eh?

I have had only one customer specify anything about a weld joint (for commissioned art work) and that was "Make it pretty" All structural work has a basic level of quality demands that I meet internally, or it doesn't go out the door. I regularly spend more time than I should, to satisfy me, I am the most critical of my work. In conclusion, just as there is more than one way to skin a cat, whatever works in the shop that makes the customer happy, so be it. When I TIG weld a railing, I am still using my hands and fire, no flux. My godfather was part of the blacksmith evolution/industrial explosion in the pre and post war period. How often I remember him saying "oh pashaw, I wish I could have done that years ago"

I fire up a propane space heater for 1/2 an hour on really cold days. But I've worked in unheated shops from Illinois to Germany, so I've never really been bothered by the temp. I always like to have a way to get my hands warm though, that seems more important since reaching 53, the hands are stiff in the morning.

I have no CO detectors, I have left all the soffits open always have a window open, Georgia winters are mild. Always fresh air moving in the shop as often have both coal and gas forge fired up.

I don't know of anything American made that has all American components. If the quality is the same the next consideration is customer care. Price is important and usually wins out. Its a world wide market place.

I use a rosebud to color stainless. Just like a really good TIG weld all the same shades are on the palate.