Lysdexik

I have read about three pages of this thread, and at the risk of "comeing out" as a computer illiterate, I will ask the question. How do I search for previous threads on a subject? It took me the best part of a month to get comfortable with GOOGLE, so internal search engines are more of a mistery than smithing! I agree with the original post of this thread - with a couple of reservations - most of the time I don't know whether the question I ask is valid or not, thats why I ask. The safety issue is another matter. Anytime I am doing something that is unwittingly unsafe (like checking the temperature of a fire, useing the mercury thermometer you just made from a piece of galvenized pipe) I WANT TO KNOW! But the inability of the current world to accept responsibility for an individuals own actions is rediculous. If I go to my workshop and cut off a thumb on my tablesaw, thats MY fault, not the saw maker. If your head tells you that it's unsafe, believe your head. God put personal OSHA in all of us, listen to your internal watchdog, he's on your side. And as a kind of footnote, QC, Frosty, Glen & nearly everybody who has ever replied to one of my questions has made the information understandable and available, I thank all of you. Hookie......

I realy like the look of this idea, you move air push and pull. Has anyone seen a way of storing air like a double bellows, a kind of "blader" maybee?

Thanks guys. You may be waiting a while for pics - the whole thing is a little beyond my scope - but if you don't stretch, you'll never know. Thanks for the epay post, I wish I had seen that monster. For 225 quid I'd have torn his arm off! It was in Knighton, right in the area I would expect to find one. I am going to see the guys at Colonial Williamsburg soon, so I will pick their brains, they do not have one in the collection, but Jay Gaynor was realy helpfull in finding reference material for me to look at. The roughing knife is the bit that worries me there are two other tools, a hollowing knife, which is just a gouge type blade set at right angles to the "tail", and a blade for cutting a groove for the leather to finish in. Those are easy, but I have never made a blade that long, I temper tools all the time for one and another, but that edge must be about 18 inches, and I usualy draw my edges with a copper billet, it's a long time since I tried with a flame. I was interested to see the coopers tools, my family were coopers for a long time, a belly/block hook was where the big money was earned, casks were made piece work, and the faster you could raise them the more you made, but it was brutal work at the hook - a young mans tool - according to my cousin, who was the last full time cooper. I am a joiner, so I primarily work on straight lines, to take a piece of wood that is curved in all planes and match it to others that are similarly curved, stand them up,and make them watertight, with no pattern at all, is a black art, two shades off witchcraft!!:confused: Hookie......

I use an old block of Locust wood, it is very resistant to charring, and bugs wont touch it, so I leave it out in the open. I started a depression in it with a tow ball heated up then burned into the end grain, then I made a set tool out of another ball, the next size down, with a set of leashes held tight with a nut. Heat the piece, set tool a dimple in the middle then work it outward with a ball pein hammer, I make lead laddles etc. I am a woodworker and I carve all kinds of Swages from locust end grain, in the south it is readily available and has no real comercial value. Makes the best anvil stump, because insects find it repulsive, and once dry it is as hard as good oak. Hookie.....

I am trying to get a plan together to make a clog makers stock knife, I am from Monmouth originaly and stock knives were around, but not common. I live in the USA now & stock knives never made the swim to this coast. Virginia had a large Welsh contingent because of the slate here, but clogs were not the feature of Virginia industrial life that they were in the UK. My family were primarily coopers but they were brokers for the local clog sole makers that made MILLIONS of them for the factory and mill workers in the industrial revolution (OK HISTORY LESSON OVER). I want to make clogs for a couple of guys who do the hysterical re-enactments (now you know why lysdexic), clogs are not prone to problems with sweat/athletes foot/burning/wearing out frequently/and sore feet. Has anyone made a stock knife? They were used in the welsh borders for clog making, in the forest of dean for tent pegs, in the new forest for Willow blanks for cricket bats, etc. For the uninitiated a stock knife is like a draw knife with a hook instead of a handle on the one end, and a long handle/lever on the other. The hook was put through a staple or ring in the "stock" (a big bench looking thing) and pushed down to slice, very accurately I might add, wood from split wooden blanks. If you GOOGLE "clog makers stock knife" you will get a couple of sites with pics. Give me some clues guys, I can't work out how to start. The thing I like about this forum is the "superbrain" concept, I get smarter by asking for your help than I could ever possibly be on my own. To quote that great British philosopher and genius, Wurzel Gummidge "put your thinking head on" and see what you come up with. Paul Hook

Hi Sam. The old timers at Brown Lennox, always said that the German warships in the first world war were clad in a plate with a very high chromium content, something to do with anti magnetism/degausing rather than corosion resistance. But they also said that Monmouthshire was in Wales so what did they know! For my four penneth, anything in that part of the North Sea, can stay there, too bloody cold in high summer for anyone in their right mind to go looking for it. Paul Hook

What type of steel for axe/hatchet heads, If I don't have a project for this weekend I could end up - SHOPPING - I get the shivers just saying it. Paul.

A tool very similar looking to this was used for setting the headspace on PAK/HOW guns. But with the advent of chargebags became obsolete. Paul

Wow I just read that last reply and there are no W's, now you know why Lysdexik.

Great Idea! I have two ridgid units and I was ondering ho to utilize them. I don't use them like I used to, and I as going to e-bay one, but I think I will try a rethink. Paul

Thanks for the input, the old tyre benders were worked cold, and I think (there I go thinking again) that if I cut all stock to length first, I should be able to negate some of the springback. I like the look of the roll machine and for 200 bucks I think I would have a job building something, I don't have the "bonepile" contacts in my new location yet. Thanks for the vaughans info Sam, the problem as far as that goes for us is the cost of shipping, the GPO doesn't like stuff that big, and I don't know of anyone still importing to the "Colonies". There is a horror story of anvils being quarantined, because they were marked as "EQUINE PRODUCTS" and some moron in customs held them up because of the scare over BSE/mad cow. I have thought about building a version of my own, but finding a knurled/toothed "power" roller seems to be the problem, any sugestions? Paul

I truly believe in an apprenticeship system! Having said that, in this day and age, most of us don't have that kind of time to devote to what for the majority here is a hobby. All instruction from someone who knows anything more than you do, about any aspect, of all crafts, is worthwhile. I am primarily a woodworker, and in the 36 years that I have been involved in the craft, I have learned that what you absolutely know to be the truth today - will make you a liar by this time next week. None of us will ever know our subject completely, or there would be no chalenge in it to hold our interest. Short of quiting what you are doing, and becoming a full time apprentice, schools are the best, most effective way of learning/re-learning/tweaking or expanding your knowedge of all crafts. I believe we all have a need to school ourselves regularly, what I see at a class won't be what you see at the same class, experience "goggles" mean that we all see differing things, and watching someone elses method of work is always a good thing. So bite the bullet and go to school, at least you will be volunteering to go this time 8-) Paul

Gentlemen. I need some ideas on a consistent, repeatable method for bending 3/8 to 3/4 square stock into circles. When I worked for Brown lennox we had an old tyre (thats tire for those of us that speak American) bender, it was kind of similar to a slip roll machine on steroids. I believe I have seen one in an old Champion or Bufallo catalogue. I have a Champion tyre shrinker, so I know they were in that pre-pneumatic business, but I bet they are hard to come by, and as always some bloody antique millionair will have a real sense of humour about his pricing! Halbol fleight have a machine for embossing "jewelry" that kind of looks like the thing I need, but as usual it's probably made of Tiwanium, and I don't think it would handle the rigours of steady use. Paul PS I need to bend circles for a bunch of flower hanging baskets and stands for the same, the largest diameter will be about 24 inches and the smallest will be about 6 inches.

I just built a pair of bellows "on the cheap" plywood leaves, and 4oz leather (I normaly use 6oz) and it cost me more than that. Sounds like a winner to me!! Paul

Thanks for the post G, these things are elusive these days, Kwa Heri. Paul.

Thanks for the information. I have seen plenty of bends with "shuts" in them, it's good to see that there is a way for the bend to be clean. I need to work on my forgeing techniques, and every now and then it's good for me to see "a proper job". Gerald. Mark has told me that I should venture to Afton, and get to meet you . I used to sell mineing equipment, and spent an unhappy month in Stuarts Draft, welding a new bottom in to a sand tower, in February, freezing my stubbs off. The guy who owned the sandpit at the time was called John Earhardt, he had a nice (huge) garage forge setup at his home, great guy, do you know him? I am makeing some flax retting frames, for a colonial re enactor and will be comeing to Staunton, to the museum when the weather warms up a bit, maybee I could come to the shop then. Paul......

Hi Gentlemen. I have a question about right angled bends in 3/4" square stock. I have to make some log dogs for a hewing job, so I need to make a kind of long "staple" - 18" to 2' - with a 4" end at right angles (OK it doesn't absolutely HAVE to be right angled, but I would like to try it anyway). I have made them before by starting a rough slow bend and then "upsetting" a right angle by pounding the bar on the anvil face, and then refining with a hammer. I know upsetting isn't right but I can't think of a more appropriate description. How would you accomplish this "trick of the trade" Paul

Hi Bart Great setup, how high are your walls? I am laying the foundation of my hotshop soon, and I have asked about head height before, how high are the trusses from the floor, and what if anything would you change? I am from England originaly, so I have been used to working with rear draught forges, but other than that you basicaly built the same shop that I am building, but I am useing steel studs instead of wood. Paul......

CoSIRA, was a realy usefull agency, it stood for Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas, and it helped guys like us with our day to day problems with doing usefull things in ways that helped farmers etc, and earned the craftsman a living. It was a success, so they did away with it, and started a new "improved" (read messed up) agency. The focus of the new guys is to turn rural craftsmen into a kind of theme park. I will see if my contacts at the Hereford Technical College, have the books downloadable and get them up for all of you who would realy benefit, that's just about everyone who has ever logged on to this extravaganza!

Nett Thanks for the link - I admire anyone with a sense of humour, and at those prices - I believe I'm going in the gardening tool business!! $29. 29 bucks for a dibber. Lee valley offer great quality tools, I just like a chalenge that I can use after. Wow I'm still in shock, Ames in Ohio used to forge some good tools, but I believe they shut that plant in favour of the afforementioned Tiwanium (I am determined to put that word in the dictionary). Any hints on metalurgy for a project like this? Paul

Hi Guys Spear and Jackson used to "set" the tines like a cart spring. But I am not sure what they made them out of, I'm around 15stone 3, and hauling on a handle in this red clay (yeah Virginia's a lot like Devon) I dont know if it will take the strain. Paul

Hey Brad I went back to the images and expanded them (yeah I know, I'm not the brightest bulb on the porch, my wife swears that in my case PhD, stands for plain highschool diploma) the groove/channel in the face is more along the lines of the ones I have seen, just never that shape. Paul

I have been living in America for over 15 years and I can't find a supply of garden digging tools. Have any of the Brit smiths ever forged a fork or a spade? The tines on the fork, and the socket for the handles, are realy the bits that are the question. I have seen some tools in the Lee Valley catalogue, but I built myself a rake, and a Dutch hoe last year 'cos all the purchased ones were made of TIWANIUM (that unique lightweight alloy that comes exclusively from Tiwan's recycled pop cans) and bent like a Scotsmans safety pin. Paul.

OK now you've got my interest, how did they use these and for what. When I saw sawyers anvil in the post I thought you were talking about a tool to set the kerf, but I know what they look like - and thats not it - any info? Paul.