brian.pierson

Dave, look in the bladesmithing forum. I believe that is the knife making classes one.

ML, Are you worried about the gilder's paste and bee's wax if that is going to sit in front of a fire? Brian Pierson

ndnchf, Not necessarily. If you add another collar to take that space up then you are decreasing the distance between the jaw that the vise can open. The gap that was showing in your first picture was the reason, why I believe, people were saying you were missing a part. The front leg should be tight against the ball and collar. The spring is not keeping the leg against the collar. I would look at the spring and see if it can be replaced or reshaped. It will also deform the spring more as you. Do a search on here and you will find advise on replacing the spring. all, This thought makes me wonder if everyone tightens down their vise while not in use. I have broken springs in my flint lock by leaving them compressed. I usually leave mine open when not in use. Just curious. Brian P.

COSIRA has a book on line that is for wheelwrights. It is on the Herefordshire College of Technology Site with the other metal working books. Take a look here for 3 PDF that you can download. http://www.hct.ac.uk/Downloads/cp_wheel.html Brian P

The Haybudden was produced in Brooklyn US so the weight is in lbs not in the english cwt system. Does it weigh 112 or is that just the calculated value?

Frank, I have done some silver castings in the past. I used 20 mule for the flux. You can use a carbon rod or a simple branch for skimming dross. Make sure it is dried out. The silver had a bright shiney look to it. Almost like mercury but with a red tint to it after the dross was skimmed. I have never poured into tufa so I can't offer much advice. I have poured into soapstone and I preheated the mold to make sure there was no moisture. I don't know what a Navajo silversmith would have used for a crucible. Good luck with your project. Brian Pierson

I found the reference for the wood twisted in the cold set. This is out of the blacksmith's craft. It is one of the Cosira books and I found it on the same website that had the Lilico book. I think the picture below is like the one I pointed out in my earlier posting. I do think cable would be a great substitute for either the hazel or iron handle twist. I wonder how stiff the Hazel would be in use. Would cable the size of the iron rod be stiff enough? I would assume that would be based on the weight of the top tool. Sorry for the ramble on but this made me curious but wanted to share. Brian Pierson

Don, If you read the description of figure 5 on page 26 and look on that plate and you see the two grooves. The other figures are thin metal rod (like 1/4 inch) although I have seen it written about using willow saplings wrapped around the heads also. I am trying to find that reference. I would think that cable could be used in place of the willow sapling. Brian Pierson

Quick comment. You should either say where in Wis in your post or in your member info. You might find someone close to you that could answer your question. Right now, I can guess that you are within 100 miles of Wausau but no way to tell. I would be surprised if the power plant would sell you coal even if you could find the right person to ask. Good luck

Frank, The man at matchlessantiques had something like this tuyere for sale about a week ago. It is close to what you have but marked to a company in Indiana. it is missing the pan that this one has. Here is the url for the sale item. http://www.ebay.com/itm/UNIQUE-COAL-FORGE-TUYERE-IRON-Blacksmith-Anvil-/121034896197?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c2e3df345&nma=true&si=VSzPlAnSvqjSFBkgbaujqX8SK5U%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 Might be worth a second to look at. Brian Pierson

All, Matchlessantiques has a very unusual tuyere for sale on ebay. I have been looking at it trying to figure out how it would work. The forge with the slots in its tuyere may be related in purpose. What does the bottom look like where the blower attaches? Also does the forge have an opening at the end? I could see the lid down and stock is fed in from the end. That would force the gases out the top. It looks like there is a hole for a chimney. Well enough useless speculation from me. here is the url for ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/UNIQUE-COAL-FORGE-TUYERE-IRON-Blacksmith-Anvil-/121034896197?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c2e3df345 Brian Pierson

I suspect that you will just need to dig a trench the size you want the building to be and pour concrete for the foundation. You will need to be deep enough to avoid the freeze heave. The concrete people can probably answer how deep that is quickly or search for that on-line. You then can put a row of block on top of the footer. This anchors the building to the earth and keeps it from sinking into to ground during the wet seasons or blowing away in a storm. Some towns require a slab to keep the property values up. I suspect you don't need a slab but I would double check. Then you use gravel for the floor or crush rock powder fill for the floor. Brian Pierson

Thomas, There was an exhibit that started in England at the British Museum. The following dates are from the BM site where an Axe head found in the Thames was part of this exhibit. 1980 19 Feb-20 July, London, BM, The Vikings 1980 4 Oct-1981 4 Jan, USA, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Vikings 1981 USA, Minneapolis, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The Vikings It is also pictured in the book by Graham-Campbell, J. A. and Kidd, D. (1980): 'The Vikings', London, pl. 63. The cover looks like this. They were selling this book by Bertil Almgren also at the exhibit. This is the book I think we are talking about. I was mistaken in thinking it was written for the exhibit. but I haven't had a copy in longer than 25 years. Adam, If you can search the internet for ideas then museum websites can be a good place to find ideas. Brian Pierson

Thomas, Is the "prune people" book, the one that was released to go with the Viking museum show tour in or around 1981? That is an excellent reference book for the tour. I no longer have my copy from the Minneapolis museum stop. Could you tell me the author? Brian Pierson

Glenn Is there a software limitation on the web software and that is why there has to be 4 or more letters to a word for the search to work? One other search word that won't work, would be axe. Sorry for the hijack Brian Pierson

Trip, I was at Stan's (trying-it) summer hammer-in and the treadle was impressive to see. He designed it himself and it is really balanced. He is a great guy to talk to also. If you have the time and can get up to his place, he can show you a lot and would be worth you time and effort. Brian Pierson

For step instructions from the 19th century for the rose, look here.

I found those at a big box store up here. These are the half thick ones. I use it as a base for my coal forge table.

All, Take a look at this thread Entry #34 shows Brian's setup using his shear. I believe that Centaur Forge sells these still, I saw them about 5 years ago when i was there. Brian P

99pppo If you want to look at corkscrew info try this post Brian

GregDP, Here is something that Brian Brazeal posted a while back. I hope this helps. http://www.iforgeiro...772#entry150772 Brian Pierson

Stan, I was hoping to make it out there this year. Would you email me the details, like your address? Brian Pierson

there is a digital copy in several formats that can be found here: http://archive.org/details/sonsofvulcan035306mbp I just thought I would throw it out for those who want to read it before ordering. Brian

Brian, Thanks for the reply. I have seen the results on a regular anvil, and the results on your anvil for that matter. I was curious about the hard facing on and off since I saw your first one. Brian Pierson

The spear points remind of Greek bronze points I saw in a museum catalog. I want to say it was an Italian museum but don't remember this early. If they were bronze then they probably were cast originally and hammered to harden. You might want to do a search on here for spear or spear points. There have been a lot of articles on them and construction. Brian Pierson