TNBen

Good grief! I hate to hear about the heart attack, glad to hear you are doing well. I grew up in that area. Next time I find myself there I will look you up and we can play with fire and bang on metal.

Ben

If you are located near middle Tennessee I have some kiln dried hickory. Most of it is 4/4 and some 5/4. I fear the 4/4 may be too thin but you are welcome to look. I might need to make a run of 5/4 and 6/4 hickory just for handles.

Really hate to hear about this. Never had direct contact with him but still learned so much from him by reading his posts. I always looked to see what he had to say about any topic of interest and knew he would have reliable information.

Hope his family finds peace.

I will ring the anvil here this evening.

Cathy and I thoroughly enjoyed our time at Brian and Karens. The three days seemed to race by. Learning from Brian and Lyle is a bit like trying to drink from a firehose. So we will sit back and collect our thoughts and see how we will use the information in our little smithy. We have a project or two that we want to complete using the blacksmithing techniques we are learning. We are trying to learn fast as the projects are looming closer in time.

Karen, Brian and Lyle are some of the most friendly and gracious folks you could ever want to meet. And Karen really is a good cook, we could go back just to eat.

Alec S. for such a short fella you sure cast a long shadow in Mississippi. Hopefully we will get to meet you some day.


Ben & Cathy

Ha! Don't know much about rock stars. But I would like to see some of the big machines being used by someone who knows how. Next time I find myself at PDK or Cobb County I'll try to sneak over for a bit.

I'll hold the metal still; too dumb to be scared.

Michael,

Cant wait to see the sculpture in place. Hope you get the opportunity to post lotso work in progress pics.

I like the look and the scale of your work. I would like to see your shop sometime if I wouldn't be in the way.

Ben

You know I have a large diameter white pine that has been sitting on the log deck because I didn't really have an idea what to do with it. I believe you have solved that problem for me. Thanks!

Hi Scott,

I have had to give up on coal and have gone the charcoaling route. Since I live in the woods I have a ready supply of hardwood and it gives me something to do with all of the downed branches.

As far as the local clubs go you are in a good area. Here is a link to a bunch of them:

http://www.appalachianblacksmiths.org/local-forge-groups/

I have found the Warren county group close to you to be a very friendly crowd and the contact there is Jason Bivens. His number is on the website. If you are willing to go further afield then going to meet Jack Wheeler at the Choo Choo Forge will really be a treat for you. His contact info is on the website as well. There are also some really good classes at the Appalachian Center ofr Craft in Smithville. Their website is:

http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/home/

Hope this helps.


Ben

Hi Brian,

I've been following your threads on tongs and hammers. The geometry of the hammer you are using in the one heat tong video struck a note with me so I thought I would give it a go. I went through my resource pile and found a drop of 4150 to use as the parent stock. I have been assembling a version of your traveling kit for hammer making in the evenings. I made a slitting punch and eye drift from an axle of unknown heritage. I have yet to make the top and bottom fullers and the rounding swage. I will have to tinker with bolsters while making the hammer to see just how high they need to be for my setup.


I have it in mind to try the first steps this weekend if I can someone to strike for me. I made myself a set of "cliff notes" from the various threads to refer to in the shop. I glean a good bit from reading but I really have to go bang on something before it gels for me.

I really appreciate the time and effort you put in.

Ben

Congrats on the new shop. On a whim I asked my wife if she would be interested in taking a blacksmithing class with me. She surprised me and said yes so we are going to the Appalachian Center for Crafts for the next two weekends.

Golly, I may have to find another couple of hammers, just for her you understand, and maybe another anvil, she might even appreciate a propane forge.

I spent quite a few days at YPG playing with helicopters in the sand and heat. If you can stand over a forge outside in Yuma during the summer I am truly impressed.

Ben

I learned a little on how to use a gas axe from my dad when I was still in high school. We were cutting out the old city pool filters which would spit metal all over me. That was when my dad said "Boy you need to learn how to swear so I can tell if you are really hurt or not."

Much much later in life as the owner of a sawmill I had a young man working for me that did all of our welding and did a beautiful job. Then one day he didn't show up, something was broken and I ended up upside down in the mud with the arc welder. Ugly ugly welds. In building up some green chains and cant decks I would spend several days in a row doing nothing but welding so I got better. Now I only do little bit every now and again and the lack of practice shows but the welds still seem servicable.

I enjoy learning about blacksmithing and I hope to learn how to forge me couple of cant hooks and a couple of peaveys just to be able to say that I made them.

Globble Coal & Trucking
504 Holtsford St
Lawwerenceburg, TN
931-762-5123

$180 / ton
$100 / half ton
$8 5 gal bucket

Call first to be sure the tractor with small bucket is on the yard.

It does sound like fun. I am curious how big the pipe was that your were using for the gas escape.

What part of Tennessee are you boys from?

Ben