Lysdexik

Hello Bruce. I dont know whether they have a website but the museum in Chepstow, Monmouthshire was talking to a guy who had a pumping engine that had been used for forced air ventilation during the digging of the Severn tunnel. I believe that it was one of the GWR/Isambard Kingdom Brunell gizmos. I will call the guy who runs the county museum system for Monmouthshire and see if I can get a measured drawing. I dont know if it's still there but IKB put a beam engine halfway through the tunnel, they hit a spring in the excavation. The forced air system had over stroke pistons, made of a stack of enormous washers, four metal and three leather stacked alternately, the stroke/cycle was prety slow by all acounts. There was also a heavy oil engine with a slide shutter, that exposed a flame from a spirit wick to start combustion. The log book with it, said that they had run the engine on all kinds of stuff, coal dust, coal oil (which I assume is parafin), and a list of stuff that sounded like "if it will flow and burn". The HO engine was used to pump water out of the river Wye to the top of the cliffs above town, gravity gave the pressure in town. We think we have advanced, I'm not so sure! Paul. Don't confuse activity with accomplishment! P.S. Have you seen the picture of IKB stood in front of the chains for the SS Great Britain, they were made at Brown Lennox in Pontypridd, They also made the chain for the Clifton suspension bridge, I worked at BL for a while, one of our engineers talked about retiring to the Shetlands, he's a six foot eight, milk fed boy from Banff, he'd make a bloody good striker. Keep warm!!

If the property managers have their clients interests at heart they will get you to make signs for the whole park! I love it. I come from the Welsh borders of the UK, the oldest ironworks in the land is in my home county. I grew up around "traditional iron". Good design is never just "in fashion", and consequently never goes out of fashion, right is right. Great work! Paul. It's not over...Untill we Win!!!

Wow! 32x60. I am primarily a woodworker and over the years I have worked out that a shop that is 24x36 is where I am most efficient. I have a seperate finishing space and stock storage, and I dont see me getting BIG in the hot shop. I have an odd colection of tools left over from equipment fabrication days, shears for rod, and angle, a punch, benders, "Fab Shop" stuff. The guy who was our fab manager has a big "Ironworker" and a press break, lathe, etc, and he knows HOW to use this stuff, so if I need precision stuff done he is just a few minutes away, and when he wants forged blanks etc, he comes to me. I realy do the forge thing as a hobby with benefits! I would like to say this though. I am so pleased to have finaly found a "sounding board" for things, at home in England we just go to the pub (it's not a bar) and there is a group of people who can bounce stuff around. It is healthy to be able to meet people with oppinions - we don't have to agree - Henry Ford said "you are OLD when you stop learning. Whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young" I appreciate all of your input. Thanks to everyone. Paul. It's not over... Untill we Win!!!

Looking through the "Chrismas Presents" post, Divermike listed a new sign for his shop, that got me thinking (a big job these days) about my new shop. I don't have the imagination for an "Original Masterpiece" and you guys are realy artistic about this kind of stuff. Post some shop signs for me to plagiarize (now you know why Lysdexic). Have a great Chrismas. And a really spark layden new year! Paul. It's not over... Until we Win!!!

John B, I bought my first post vise from a man in Dawlish Warren, and then married his daughter, he lives in Kings Teignton now. She lives in Lye, about 2 miles from Vaughans, but thats another story!! Knock back a pint of scrumpy for me, they've never heard of it in the US, if ever I get home I will come and dip my feet in the Exe just for old times sake, then off to Chudleigh for a "crawl". I miss home at Christmas, I am from Monmouth originaly, but I came here via Africa, Australia, Venezuela, and Hong Kong, so I can't really be considered English anymore, more kind of MUT! Paul. Don't confuse activity with accomplishment! and as always. It's not over... Untill we Win!!!

Theres not much you CAN'T do with a simple old "gas axe" but I would advize a course of instruction, I sold equipment as Pacific rim sales manager for Brown Lennox, and my dealer in Taiwan might be able to help you find instruction. I will call him to ask. He is at his office in Kuala Lumpur till Jan, his name is B.T. Lim, if he calls don't get shocked, he is a realy good guy. Keep on learning, anyway you can, no such thing as bad knowledge!! Paul. It's not over... Untill we Win!!!

I had an old ratchet handle that was trashed. I took out the guts and measured it, turns out that an old wornout track bolt from a D9 Cat was a close size, so I tapped the wrench handle and made the bolt into a nail heading plate. Made lots of them different sizes, a realy usefull interchangeable header. I still have a 30 gallon drum full of track bolts, but I don,t think tey ever made that many differens sized nails. paul. It's Not Over... Untill we Win!!!

Hey. I couldn't find good nails for my projects, that's what got me back in to this whole mess in the first place. Nails that are factory made "cut" nails are hardened, and you can't clench them. I don't know about a buck a nail but if you have any restoration carpenters around, they would love to hear from you. Paul. It's not over... Untill we Win!!!

Hi Guys. I have been draging through the old posts, and have been reading about drifting hammer eye's, can anybody fill me in on how to make an eye for an adze, and a claw/carpenters hammer. Used to be (back last century, when I was a boy) that you could still buy a forged hammer with a wooden handle from Stanley UK - No More - and the guys who bring in the superb Granfors Bruks adze's have a real sense of humour about the price. I am sure they are worth it realy, but I would like to be able to "custom cut" one without trying to reshape a $250/300 Granfors. While we are on the subject, the wood loonies like me don't mind parting with good money for hard to obtain tools - Check out Barrtools.com I believe if guys like you, with real skills, could bust off a chunk of somebody elses change to support your habit, by contacting the local woodworkers groups and offering your services, and custom made tool handles are mighty cheap in trade!! Paul. It's Not Over... Untill we Win!!!

When are you people going to quit giving ZEUS a bad rap!! It's Vulcan, you need to be facing, and the unicorn horn bowl is realy the key!! Paul. Don't confuse activity, with accomplishment.

I have seen a few RFI (request for information) posts about different types of "gleaned" steel, does anybody know what the ram on hydraulic cylinders is made of? I have a bunch of them, all sizes, and the way that stuff takes a polish, I think it must be prety hard, and the stresses they go through, they must be prety tough too. I am going to need to make set tools, and hardie tools, so would this do? Paul. It's not over...Untill we Win!!! I also have a bunch (like 7000#) of tool shanks for asphalt grinders made by Kenametal, and lots of drops/disks from makeing screens, for the same equipment, these are AR Q90, about 2 1/2" around what could I make out of these?

Lysdexic: without splle cheq I'm not yerv doog at htis stuff!

I was concerned about the content of coal ash too, the fly ash I am using is actualy filter ash from a cement clinker kiln. I sold mining equipment for a while, and supplied pugmills to the flyash "inert fill" guys it's nasty stuff. I love the idea of the door/window frame size, I would not have thought of that until it was too late, thanks! I have about 30 T8 flourecent light fixtures left over/reclaimed from a previous shop project. I think that consistancy is the key, having loads of light at Brown Lennox was never a problem, but I have never done any welding on my own, and I was fishing for information. My gut reaction is to light it up like a christmas tree, and then if I don't need it, shut some off. Because we did most of our quarry plant fabrication in house, I have a wierd collection of metalwork tools, one of which is a table for layout, but it has a section at the one end with half fire brick and half copper, for welding and brazeing. Bloody thing ways a ton, but I have guarded it like a gold bar, it was picked up from a brick opperation we demolished, and I dread to think what it would cost to build. Paul Don't confuse activity, with accomplishment.

Hi Guys, At long last I am moving to a new place, and I am going to build myself a new "HOT" shop, I have heard that you should do your hand forgeing in a semi dark shop, to be better able to judge colours. The only shop I ever worked in, was a very large industrial forgeing opperation, and was lit like a sports arena, because of health and safety concerns. So which is right? I am going to build my 16x16 shop, with a floor of stone dust, compacted in 4" lifts, with an admix of portland cement/flyash, it won't be as hard as concrete but is about three times as stable as a "dirt" floor. I am using steel studs, and fire rated sheathing on the inside. Another question is height, the conventional wizdom for a wood shop is at least 10' so that you can flip a sheet of plywood, can anyone give me a clue about a smithy. i would realy appreciate your input, I am not trying for a perfect shop out of the gate, but I would like to limit the foul ups to small ones. I have seen some posts were people asked what the intended use for the shop was, and the honest answer is "whatever I can handle" but large gates etc, are not realy an issue as I would prefer to build them out of wood, which is my primary occupation. Paul. It's not over...untill we win!!!

To laugh much and often. To win the respect of inteligent people, and the affection of children. To earn the appreciation of honest critics, and endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty. to find the best in others. To leavr the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition. To know that even ONE life has breathed easier because you have lived. THIS IS TO HAVE SUCCEEDED. A true success, congratulations, and I for one wish you and your wife MANY more. Paul. It's always too soon to Quit.... It's not over... Untill we Win!!!

I forgot to tell you, he said your ears would pop, if you ran that thing full bore, like altitude decompresion! Paul

I called a guy who was in charge of looking after "the trough" it ran only coke, had 7 plenums one side and 9 the other, "rear tuyere" British style. running into the "nest" through refractory brick nozzles. It was finaly being run with a sulair vane comressor, he doesn't know the size. But it had 100mm (4"ish) feed lines down both sides, but he said that was overkill. according to him you could turn a 300mm shank into a sparkler, if you weren't watching. Believe I'da like to have seen that once, the worlds most expensive firework!! Paul It's not over...etc!

Mike and Frosty This type of device was used at Brown Lennox Chain and Anchor, to heat long stuff like anchor shanks. They called them plenums, and its basicaly a way of creating a velocity induced vacuum to pull a lot of ambient air through a tube and into the forge duck nest, although in this case the thing was close to 7' long, more like an aligator than a duck! Paul. don't confuse activity with accomplishment. It's not over... Untill we Win!!!

Hi Harry I also have a list for the African santa, A potjie, a lifetimes supply of Mrs Balls, and a similar supply of Tusker premium. I got the moniker 'cos I still can't spell dislexyc, dixliscic, that bloody word that means you can't psell!! Tusker and Castlemain are both beers, Mrs balls chutney is the finest condiment on the face of the planet, and the rest you'll have to google. Is inspiration sold by the pound or by the yard? Paul Its not over... Untill we Win!!!

My list includes a 5cwt Brooks, a No4 fly press, and a lifetime supply of coke from the ovens in Ebw Vale. And while we're at it, I want to be able to nail jello to the ceiling, all these things have an equal chance! And for the South Pole Santa (from Australia), I'd like:- Kevin Wilson to write a Blacksmiths anthem, a chance for England to win the Ahes, and a lifetimes supply of Castlemain 4x. These stand about as much chance too. Paul. It's not over... Untill we Win!!!

One of the guys that work at colonial williamsburg, got the BIGGEST post vice I have ever seen as a freebie, it had been concreted into the guys driveway and was holding his mailbox. My buddy was driving past and the guy was removing the mailbox (a big copper hifalootin thing) and almost begged him to remove "the piece of scrap", he was moving, and didn't want to be sued if his mover ran into it. If he fell of of Macys he'd land in a suit. Paul. It's not over... Untill we Win!!!

I watched two kids in Thika in east Africa, using a fire pot made out of a mud filled calabash gourd, they had a kind'a bellows made out of a long hollow shrub and some ostrich feathers, attached to the stem of the gourd. They were also vulcanizing patches on to holed inner tubes by filling the inside of a flat toped piston from an old Leyland bus with gassoline, torching the thing then throwing sand into the piston to put it out. It never ceases to amaze me how constructive the human race is when pushed. Paul It's not over... Until we Win!!!

The first "duck nest" I made was in an old C/I sink, the porcalain/vitreous enamel veneer on the thing would pop off every now and then, which was a little disconcerting. But I ran the "rear tuyere" (I'm English) through the overflow and put a clinker cutter in the bottom, works fine. Donated it to the local venture scouts when we moved, and they still used it last time I visited. Paul. Don't confuse activity with accomplishment. And as always. It's not over... Untill we Win!!!!