Fe-Wood

You will be missed Jerry! I have enjoyed our conversations and your ideas. I hope your pain subsides and you can come back Hammer swinging... and not at your computer :')

I once worked on a house where the owner had created an open air Lanai type space. It had pillars, more like sections of wall on 2 sides with walkways between each pillar. It was about 1500 Sq Ft. All during the construction, we the builders knew he was going to ultimately inclose the space with sliding doors and provide HVAC. After he was signed off for framing and insulation, this included plumbing electrical and HVAC here in Ca. We went back in and retrofitted everything to accommodate the sliding doors and HVAC vents and covered it all with sheet-rock. This was before sheet-rock fastening was a sing off item. The owner had the permits in his name and carried workers comp. ins. for the job. What he was trying to avoid was the Tax basis between enclosed space and covered space and the added permit costs. After the final, we went back in and opened everything up and trimmed it all out. That is probably the most aggressive case of rework based on compliance I have seen. I don't know if he ever got caught. If he did, I'm sure he could afford the fines. He owned a town in china the made outdoor furniture for import to the US.

Very nice indeed!

Ya that would be my advice to- get involved in your local smithing group... The learning curve will be way more fun and not seem as daunting.

Thanks ptree!

Care to share what you found out?

Thank you Frank and John for the info! I just picked up a "Tiger" model. It runs smooth but not like a Canady-Otto. I was also wondering about it being a knock off.

Wow, Thats interesting! I went to reduce the picture size and ended up with double posts, Sorry- Great Forges here all! I'm amazed at the diversity, complexity and simplicity of all your forges. It furthers my belief that there are as many ways to do something as there are people trying to do them. My first forge started as a 55gl drum and an old porcelain wet bar sink with a perforated plate as the grate. I used a Champion Blower (same one I'm using now on the forge in the picture). I wish I had a picture... It was pretty funky but it worked well. The first picture is one I copied from Brian Brazeal. I wanted an easy portable forge for demo's and clinics. This works great! Thanks Brian!!!! The next one is one I found on a road trip. I'm going to rebuild it.

That baby needs to come and sit with mine.....Ha ha ha. If you need pictures of setup and or linkage, give a call! Looks like a bit of work but worth it!

I would soak it and try working things loose. Diesel works too. There is a hold down screw on the inside of the cover, up front by the blower housing. So un screw the 2 screws a the back end and slide the cover forward. If it had lots of oil and grease in the bearings and gears, it should be revivable. Are you located up in Truckee?

Welcome to the group Tourg! Your getting a great start! Definitely join CBA and contact the vista group, also look at Adam's Forge in the LA area. Between the 2 of them you will get all the instruction and encouragement you need... and then some... Great bunch of people-

For the money, I would go with hydraulic. I have what has been described to me as a #4. It has a 2" 4 start shaft and weighs about 300 pounds. I imagine it will slit that big of material but I'd rather use hydraulics because of the better power. I'd use the fly press to drift open. I'm in the process of making tooling for my fly press that will be used on thinner material. Here is a picture of 2 drifts and stripper I just finished today. I still need to make the bolster plates.

Welcome aboard! May I suggest you join the California Blacksmiths Association? If you do, you will find no end of inspiration and technical support!

My friends Dennis and Linda Murphy are putting together a touch-mark registry. here is a link. Also there is anvil fires Link removed at the request of Anvilfire. As far as I know there is not a comprehensive registry. I think Dennis and Linda will have the most touchmarks to look at. There is no information on touchmarks on the URL provided. I have put a link to the main site instead.

Those are words to live by!!!!!

I would go with epoxy too and have the re enforcment located by other.

I have the black ones from HF. I agree, Good Gloves... About the only thnig HF has to offer....

Nicely done! Very clean!

I think it really boils down to what kind of time you want to spend laying the floor, what flexibility you want with regard to machinery movement and relocation and how clean you want to be able to keep it. If money were not an issue- For your Dads side I would consider framing it and using 1 1/8" plywood decking. Your side is a bit more complicated. You want a floor that is hard enough to roll heavy equipment on yet soft enough to be comfortable on your feet. I have seen many shops that have the smithy on compacted gravel and/or dirt with the fab area on concrete. May of these shops have perfectly level steel rails imbedded in the concrete to use as grounding for welding. If I were looking at gravel, I would use what we call on the west coast Decomposed Granite. It is 1/4" minus gravel with the fines. There is a binder available that makes it hard. I used it on 1 garden path years ago and it breaks down over time. It might last longer in an indoor environment. Also look at rammed earth technology. There may be a good formula using locally available materials. My shop- Is all concrete with rubber mats and good shoes...

Thats what I'm talking about...

Thanks Colleen- Yes, they are Kayaks. I've had several requests for rides in the "flying Kayaks" sadly, I didn't design the trapeze for the added weight! The chandeliers are for "mood" lighting.... C'mom now- we have to see yours! Upgrades or not...

I do a nick fold - forge weld for the spoon with whatever stock is laying around. I generally go 1 or 1 1/2 x the width for the tab. I make these as a warmup sometimes...

Here is my messy shop- I'm putting my new fly press on a table. Tight fit with the Backhoe....

Fine looking blades John! I really like the one with the circles! Fits the wood for the handle well.

I'm lucky! My dog likes to shred sticks into kindling right outside my roll up door. If I run out of that, I use the a Gray Pine cone to start my fire. At one point I had a bunch of pine cone parts from squerrels getting the seeds. That was the best fire starter I have found. I should also mention I don't bank my fire before I quit for the day or anything. I just stop. I get both coal and coke in bulk and keep 2 five Gallon buckets (1 of each) under the forge.