Carl Greywolf

Many years ago, I saw a fire at a compost packing plant. The plant processed peat and baled it for shipping/sale. It melted the steel structure of the building. I think there'll be plenty of heat in peat for forging.

Welcome from another newbie, I'm sure the others will be long shorty to welcome you.

​I did have a beard, I like cats and whiskey...

Brewer's grounds? Sounds like coffee grounds, so I speculate a little here... as a small scale brewer I can say it'd be the remnants of the "mash", This is the barley, wheat and other grain soaked in hot water to release their sugars. After it has been used the spent mash was often used for animal feed. The moist grain mix will still contain a lot of sugars, just not good ones for brewing. There is a way this could be tested as an idea, coat a piece of metal in a strong sugar water + flour and heat to see if it reduces scale. Until I build me own forge I can't even play with fire

It was a couple of pullovers but now it's a blanket... Oh wait, repurposing Thread... Gotcha... Seriously the much ignored shipping pallet is a great source of timber, even a couple screwed together can make a decent makeshift workbench. Oh... and it was me that crocheted the blanket, got to learn a new skill every year as it keeps the brain healthy.

For PID, SSR and Heat sink check online for Homebrew beer or aquarium suppliers, some great deals are available I've seen the PID for £15 ($22) direct from Hong Kong.on Ebay, these have been used by Microbrewers for a while to control heat/cool temps. worth a try perhaps?

And your Mum told you to get your burner working, by goodness you got it sorted Happy Mother's Day (UK) to all Mothers on this site

The world would be a very different place if Mothers ruled it. We'd all have to wear clean underwear every day... just in case we were hit by a truck

They are from last years crop, this year he's growing vices. I suppose they are Hardy perennials

Naw, I hope the expiration date is many many years away. It was a saying my Mum used to use, she was full of old sayings... I now catch myself using them....often

​If you can't be an inspiration at least be a dire warning to others. I hope you get this burner sorted, sounds like a real pain in the rear.

Just read your post out loud... Gamer girl said "Sounds interesting, definitely sounds interesting. I'd certainly be interested in playing it" You could have a hit on your hands, after all WoW started as a "I wonder if..."

I tried WoW and found it yawn worthy. You have a decent idea on the mechanics of a gamer, "Must acquire!" Too easy and it's boring too hard and it's a a waste of time I'll buy it On the whole gamers want it fast. Not too fast but faster than the other gamers. Instances seem to work well in Lotro and other games, keep the load times low though or see above Adding a degree of realism could be of benefit, after all it isn't a 5 second job to make anything let alone a sword. As for make 45 iron knives then unlock the recipe to make a war ballista this is laughable. (Wow taught me if i make enough clockwork toys I can make a helicopter ) I shall hand over to the experienced Smiths who have gone before me and recommend you read,read and read this forum, Glenn wasn't joking about packed lunch and a drink, there is so much to learn and a few days reading hardly scratches the surface. I am a newcomer to metalworking and I find I'm learning something new from every thread. Sometimes it's a snippet or tip others a dire warning about fumes... Have fun and keep up with the ideas, the vid you shared shows promise, reminded me of Wolfenstein I half expected to see a cutout mob Oh and a final word from my Hard core gamer, "If you have housing, it'd be cool if you could make stuff for that... or even build the house"

As a gamer I wonder what benefit this reality would bring to a game. Crafting systems on games are often the bugbear of gamers. for example it takes 10 ore to make 1 ingot, 5 ingot to make 1 knife. That's a lot of gathering just to make a simple knife. Add the other gamers hunting ore in the same areas and you have a recipe for KSing and QQ (Gamer speak for stealing and crying/complaining to game makers/managers). The fields around the forges would have to be knee deep in ore just to provide enough. A way around it could be to have a NPC vendor for ore, but that introduces a whole new set of problems, IGC (in game cash) is required to buy the ore, this brings in the gold farmers and gold sellers that provide IGC for real money via out of game transactions. These can also be fraudulent transactions and can rebound on the game provider's reputation. I've just had a quick chat with a "hard core" gamer, She said "unless this is a dedicated crafting game it'll s*ck There are gamers that love the crafting aspect but they're rare. Keep it simple and fast with minimal mats for best results" This is her own opinion and she isn't a crafter in games. She also said "Gathering of mats is a grind, it's just too time-sucky" My 2cents, HTH

Horbury, so he's a Wezzy ( Wezzy - West Yorkshire folk - sometimes called comforts, because when they visit the East Coast holiday towns they Come for't weekend/week ) My pleasure to do the research, not heard of the Joe brand and wanted to know for myself too.

A quick mooch trying out my google-fu and I found the "Joe" brand was registered in 1922, the company was dissolved in 1976. They made all manner of agricultural and industrial hand tools including tools for the military during WW2. As to why they folded. I haven't found any records but can I speculate based on known data: During the early 1970's English (and the rest of the UK) manufacturing was severely hampered by the Coal Miner's strikes, 3 day (working) weeks were introduced. Coal was the lifeblood of the UK without it there was no electricity, all available coal was used in power generation. No coal, no hot iron. (Coal miners were striking over pay and conditions, both of which were very poor at the time.) Then came the drought in the UK, no water, heavy industry was curtailed due to fire risk, no water for the fire brigade to fight a blaze. Add to that a Banking crisis at the start of the decade and you can see how a manufacturer can become stressed and stretched to eventually become insolvent.

Nice build. I love "bare bones" as I can see how it works and since I've never seen a treadle hammer before I can now understand one. Thanks. As for names: Little Nell. I just saw her and that's what popped into my head. Little Nell, Little Nell. Pounds hot iron and rings like a bell. First project: Practice, I know, boring but this little lady needs courting before you can get to know her better

​http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/174-reference-materials/ HTH

Besides being a PITA it is pretty, good enough for a Mid-Winter festival card. We are lucky here and get a couple of inches on a BAD year, instead we have to deal with damp and rot. Untreated wood goes green with algae then rots. A consideration for your problem could be sacrificial strips at the base of the doors, these are designed to break off to allow access. In Spring just reattach them/new ones.

This looks so beautiful, this looks so right, almost organic. It makes me understand why the swords of legend were named. I tip my hat to you, you are a craftsman and an artist. The fittings bring out the blade wonderfully, true synergy between you both.

​http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraxinus_excelsior Common Ash - used for its specific properties, it doesn't splinter easily under shock, common uses were pike shafts, spear handles, hammer and sledge handles

The Pope Sixtus sword, Christus Vincit:Christus Reinat is the one that calls to me. Simple lines, probably a mare to create though, perfect inscription and the inlay crosses on the pommel just finish this beautifully.

​We could rebrand boxes of napkins "Envy cloths" and sell them to anyone who enters this thread.

Fascinating reading, I just had a quick check as to how much an apprentice would be earning here in England this year... So a 12 hour day would yield £32.76 ($50.48). What floats my boat with Blacksmithing? I want to be able to make something. I work in a "soft" profession, I care for folk that are elderly. I suppose my end product is a corpse but hopefully due to my care it takes a long long time to make one. To be able to take a hard substance and mould it like playdough through heat and hammer into a beautiful/useful object is my goal. At the moment I'm still sourcing parts for my forge. Then I have the learning to do, then maybe I can make something that I can be proud of.

Not even remotely related to Blacksmithing: Ten years ago I was working at a fast food place as a janitor. Part of my job was putting the cardboard waste into the crusher and bailing it for collection. It was a heck of a beast, hydraulic pistons, safety guards and an instruction manual almost as thick as the New Testament. I had an accident with the machine, one so laughable you probably wont believe it... A piece of the card waste was caught by a strong wind and blew out of the crusher, the corner of the card sliced a neat horseshoe gouge out of my cornea. I was very lucky in that I had a First Aid trained Co-worker and that I worked close to a very good eye hospital and they took great care of my injured eye. I still have my eyesight but on a bright day I can see the horseshoe scratch floating in my vision. Following the safety protocols is a must, but remember to keep an eye open for unexpected problems... and please, please, please make sure that someone is close by to call the emergency services should the brown stuff hit the air moving device