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I Forge Iron

Phil H

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Everything posted by Phil H

  1. Ratel, I agree that the bottom pivot would best be placed at the bottom of the gate, but my two bob's worth on the surfer is that it gives the design a whimsical element and changes the design from a nice set of curves to a wave. Hokusai placed a boat in his design to show a relationship between man and the sea. The surfer also shows a relationship, but in this case one where man harnesses the sea, rather than being threatened by it. Wow, that's deep! Maybe for my next post I'll analyse the psychological implications of an "S" hook.
  2. I had an old racing motorcycle that had a sodium filled exhaust valve. I had a couple of spares, but they were as rare as hen's teeth and I certainly wouldn't have cut them up to make punches, etc. The theory was that at high temperature the sodium became liquified and circulated within the stem, thus transferring some of the heat at the head of the valve into the valve guide and into whatever medium the other end of the stem was in. In my case this was air, but more usually it was cooled by oil in the cam or rocker box.
  3. "Forgerons sans frontiers" just like "medicins sans frontiers"? Sounds good in French, but the concept of a co-operative world community doesn't seem like a very French idea given that country's record in the Pacific ( see Mururoa Atoll and Rainbow Warrior). As for the mirror, well it's another classic Ebay example of needing to examine the description VERY closely, both in regard to what has been said and to what has NOT been said.
  4. Finally met Dale and Moony (at Ironfest). Needless to say, BEER was involved.
  5. Sold for $325. There were 13 bids.
  6. I have a 2ft diameter forge that I made a hood for by joining two 5gal. oil drums end-to-end and taking a large scallop out of the bottom one. When fitted it sits on the rim at the back of the forge. It has a 6" stainless steel flue 6ft long, and once it starts drawing it does an excellent job of taking the fumes back and away (no more headaches). Having it set back gives more room over the fire. The bottom drum has now rusted away, and I have the materials (tumble dryer drums) to make a new hood out of shiny stainless steel. Bling meets blacksmithing!
  7. Here's something unusual, a watercooled bellows nozzle made of cast iron. It's currently for sale on Ebay (Queensland Australia), item number 130377251493. The only other one that I've seen or heard of is in my backyard. I found it at the dump and grabbed it because of its conical shape (at the time I had cone anvils on the brain). I was driving home thinking about it when the lightbulb came on and I realised what it actually was. I stopped right there and went to the back of the car to look at it. Mine is useable, but not as good as the one for sale on Ebay, which looks pretty much unused.
  8. Had it happen myself years ago Gerald, set fire to a plastic wind-up cord holder connected to a heater in the hallway of my parent's home. The sad thing is that I'm an electrician and I knew all about the danger BEFORE I did it. However, there's nothing like an actual bad experience to set things in your memory!
  9. Well mate, the saying is "You can't keep a good man down", and since you qualify for that you should bounce back in no time. All the best mate.
  10. Nice score Tyler. I particularly like the mirror sticking out the front. Makes it look like the fabled Unicorn.
  11. It's time for me to remind our Australian readers that the Australian Ironfest is on again next weekend. It's well located, only a couple of hours from either Sydney or Dubbo (if you hustle). http://www.ironfest.com.au .
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