Blacksmith Jim

A number of smiths from Eugene will be up there. I'm not able to make the trip this time though..

Whats a good source for flat pieces of brass or copper? My step son wants to make something like a Chinese coin. A round piece with a square hole in the center. I'm assuming all the work should be done cold on it?

I'm sure your friends will like them Larry :)

It turns a spit over a fire.

Guess it depends on local laws, but aren't you allowed to build what you want on your property as long as YOU build it? I thought you didn't need to take it to county or city unless you hired someone to build it for you... I've been day dreaming about framing some walls and adding a roof on the lot we own behind our house..

Offer to replace it with a different anvil. Get one of those Harbor Freight china made ASOs.

I got to play around with a set of Ti tongs a while back. Man those suckers are light!

There are a few blueprints on these in the blueprints section.. At least there used to be..

I make them if I need a size or shape I don't have. If I find some at a flea market or antique store or garage sale or what not, and they are priced OK, then I buy them. I did pick up a pair of Off Center tongs and a conference a while back, and they were worth every penny. I'm probably about 50/50 on made versus purchased.

Software Engineer... I started eating / sleeping / dreaming 1's and 0's back when I was knee high to a floppy disk.. Been doing it ever since. I am really starting to enjoy getting back to using my hands and working outside though. I've even done a little wrenching on the truck I picked up a few months ago.. Mainly though, outside of work I'm a full time dad and husband. Unfortunately that doesn't leave a lot of time for hobbies... With our new house I'm going to get a nice introduction to wood working as well...

Wish I could find good metallurgical coke out here in Oregon. I think our only option in these parts is to order it by the ton from someone that ships from the mid-west...

Somewhere on this site Hofi posted some pictures of his forges and chimneys at one of the schools he runs. I remember it standing out as a nice simple design. He had a chimney for each station, but the stations were near the wall, and the chimney went out the wall before it went up. Maybe you can find the pics in the gallery..

I had the pleasure of watching the Brazeal Brothers demo at an NWBA conference a few years back. They were great, and super nice guys. I really like the anvil they set up here, looks very very functional.

I've been in your shoes, and I can most definitely relate to not getting enough time to complete stuff. Right now I'm working on getting some jigs together for banging out a lot of hooks and plant hangers. I want to build up stock over the winter to sell at a flea market and a fair over the next summer. However, my wife and I just moved, and my shop isn't set back up yet... I get to forge once a week, some local smiths have an open shop for friends. I'm guessing most of my time is going to be spent working on our house though, its over a hundred years old and has tons of work that needs to be done on it. So much I'm not even sure where to start! I've also caught myself day dreaming of building my own shop building next summer, but I doubt that will happen..

I think the our kids at home were interested in forging with me until they asked about burns. They asked if I get burned and I told they yes, but it usually isn't so bad, because it is hot enough to cauterize it right away. It just stings for a few seconds then goes away (at least the ones that aren't that bad..). After sharing that with them, they haven't followed me out to the forge since.. Scale usually cauterizes, so I don't mind it that much at all, usually just a mild nuisance maybe. One time I did try to pick up a black hot piece of rebar though. Now that one hurt, and I had the lines from a piece of rebar across my palm for a good two weeks...

David Best has done some truly amazing work. I haven't met him, but have thoroughly enjoyed the Temples I've seen him put together. I thought I had heard that he was taking a year off though. Who knows. Things change a lot when the playa is involved. I bet he was a fun guy to have a shop next to!

Yeah, that playa will get all over, in, under, around your vehicle.. You'll be cleaning that for a while I bet Moya, my friend and I have had a lot of discussions about bringing down a portable smithy. It still might happen, but it won't be this year. I had a lot of things come up right at the last minute, and wasn't sure I'd be able to go. As it is I'm having to scale my trip back. Bringing less (my car instead of my 14' box sitting on an old diesel f350 custom...) and staying for a shorter amount of time. Last year I didn't get to go, since it was too close to the birth of my first son. I think a coal forge would be given a bit of a stink eye by people, but you could run it at night with out issue I bet. More power to ya if ya have a source of metallurgical coke, wish I did.. A propane forge would probably be the best bet. Solvarr, the honey and bees would probably be frowned upon out there. While lots would enjoy eating the honey, most would probably think it would be too easy for it to drip all over the playa, making a huge mess someone would have to clean up You could blacksmith naked, but it might get a little HOT I bet you could get some GREAT trades worked out too for some smithy work..

Anyone from here going to Burning Man this year? If so I'd love to meet up and talk shop :D

if you are concerned, run up a lightning rod..

Save it for the next sale or show, or the till some time in the future when you decide it is the perfect thing to reuse for another project and you haven't sold it yet anyway..

I think it looks like it was used for casting as well.. Canon Ball mold?

I ended up tack welding the ends and forge welding in a swage. It worked great. Next week I'm making myself a swage for it :)

Man, Wheel of Time is kinda like a train wreck. After investing the time to read the series (twice really, I was bored one summer), I'd really like to see how it ends. But some of the books drag on and on.. I think he should have only written about 5 or 6 books max in the series. The first 3 were great, but then it slowed down. If only he wouldn't have spent so much time writing Conan the Barbarian novels.....

A smith in my neighborhood has one and loves it. I haven't worked with it though. He does a lot of ornamental stamping with dies. Though he did pick up a fly press a while back, so I don't know if that is seeing more use then the hammer..

I think the Porsche being worth the money is a matter of opinion. They are a pain in the neck to drive if you are 6 foot tall or more. If you want value for your dollar, buy a Toyota.