Woody

I just received the following from Kimber, Kenna's mom. Kenna passed away this morning. She said "I'm afraid of falling..." and He whispered "I have wings."Posted 2 hours ago Kenna went with Jesus this morning at 9:40am. She left on a ray of sunshine, smiling while we held her. She took Tucker his ball and by now I'm sure that Kenna, Buddy Lee and Tucker and running and playing in the green, green grass. Kenna asked me what I thought Heaven was like, what I thought she'd see...I told her that it was different for everyone, but mostly she'd be happy and it would be filled with all the things that make her happy...Butterflies, Ladybugs and frogs! Thank you for being a part of our lives for so long. We hope that you will continue to be touched by Kenna as we will be forever. Heads Up Hearts Strong ~Kimber, Brett, Kenna, Chi and Cale

This is the latest update from Kimber, Kenna's Mom it was posted about 8 PM MST 2/12/11. Kenna is showing some improvement but she still has such a long way to go. Her home is in Montana and Kimber has been with Kenna in Cincinatti for over a year with only a couple short trips home. The rest of the family comes to visit as they are able but it is a tremendous hardship for them. On behalf of Kimber and Kenna I want to thank you all for your prayers. Woody "I am too positive to be doubtful, too optimistic to be fearful and too determined to be defeated.Posted 56 minutes ago I really want to write updates, I really do…It’s just weird though, how I feel and I can’t really explain it. I’m afraid to do it I suppose. Not really truly afraid, but it seems like every time I write that things are going ok something happens and I just don’t want that to be the case anymore. I’d love to write and let you all know that things are super and we’re going home…but I can’t cuz we’re not. I’m not saying things aren’t ok…they ARE OK – for now. Lord knows that can change in an instant, and we’ve seen it do just that. She is stable and steady right now. We’ve had some issues with a high heart rate today and no one really knows why, but hopefully that will settle down. I think it has something to do with anxiety…She had a lot of family here and now everyone is leaving and she doesn’t want them to go. Cale especially right now. He cries, she cries…I wish there was a way to have him here so they could be together, but there isn’t anything we can do to make it so. Not right now anyways. Every time we have to say goodbye I break a little more inside. Someday we will all be whole again, that I know, that I believe… On the medical side of things – Kenna’s adenovirus is going down; finally, hopefully we can keep it down. The BK is still hanging around though, but we are combating it, too. We have tweaked her acetate in her TPN to help regulate her bi-carb and she seems to be fairly stable there. Her pH isn’t perfect at all, but hopefully the ‘band aid’ we’re using will keep things in check until her healing body can catch up. We’ve been dealing with a rash this week, too. She had a reaction to a blood product on Sunday and it was persistent enough to warrant some Basiliximab, that seemed to calm things down for now. Again I say “HOPEFULLY” enough that we won’t be dealing with it again. It’s tough to gauge that, though, because she gets some sort of blood product usually 5 times a week right now so she’s constantly exposed to more and more and more. The more exposure – the more likely the reaction. Bleh. She has resumed most of her pre-PICU activity: she gets up to get weighed, participates in PT, OT, and TR. She really likes it when people (nurses and staff) come visit her now, too. That is an improvement from the past couple weeks, actually longer than that…she hasn’t want to see anyone for quite some time. She is slowly emerging from her protective shell and it’s very nice to see her smile again. As I write this she is sleeping soundly. Her heart rate is still elevated, but it’s better than it was earlier today. I hope and pray that she settles down and relaxes enough to have a really good rest tonight. We are hoping for a calm, uneventful weekend. If you are wondering what we need prayers for here ya go: continued strength to keep fighting, a balanced pH and co2, viruses to stay calm and continue to go down and we need her heart rate to stay in the safe zone! One last thing – I’ve been asked quite often lately what I’d like for my birthday that is coming up (February 14th!!) and although you all know that my first wish is to have Kenna healed, healthy and happy we are working on that every day. If you’d like to do something you can visit http://www.kidshopechest.com/angel-dear-blankies.aspx and purchase an angel lovey for someone you care about. If you don’t have someone in mind you can always purchase one and give it to the hospital of your choice for those new precious babies or someone who needs it! All the proceeds from the sale of these go to the Matthew and Andrew Akin Foundation! You can visit the website at www.matthewandandrew.org. Thanks for checking in on us and keeping us close to your hearts. We are truly blessed by the people in our lives – I hope you all know how much it means to us to have all of you in our corner! Go hug you kids…hurry up, they’re waiting!!! Heads Up Hearts Strong ~Kimber"

Kenna is the granddaughter of one of my high school classmates. Kenna was born without an immune system and a year ago she underwent a bone marrow transplant to get her immune system going. There were many complications and she has been fighting for her life ever since. She has some very serious problems right now and desperately needs all the prayers she can get. Below is the latest care page post from her mom, Kimber. Woody Beyond every millisecond of existence is an infinite miracle of chance. Posted 1 hour ago Again, sorry about the lack of an update, things have been stressful and busy and honestly I wasn’t really in the mood to write anything. Thanks for understanding. Kenna is tough, we all know that. She has fought so hard for so long and she just keeps on fighting. Once again she is in the fight of her life and so are we. We headed to PICU for monitoring and to set up a regimen that would allow her to be followed now that we are back on the BMT unit. It sounds strange to say it that way but certain things have to be done in a particular order. To start some medications patients have to be very closely monitored to make sure things go the way they are supposed to. So that’s what we did…we got some medicines started. While we were in there we got to hear the viewpoints of various doctors and listen to them tell us what they thought...There are some amazing doctors over there, truly, but the way they present the situation is less than optimistic. Brett and I were stunned at the lack of optimism there actually, and it came across so different than the plan that BMT had laid out for us. Beyond all that, Kenna is still in need of some serious prayers. An overall view of Kenna: BMT – done, successful GVH – had it, beat it Adeno – got it, working on it BK – got it, working on it (new med involved) Kidneys – taking a hit from the cidofovir, still functioning but wasting bi-carb Lungs – functioning, need exercise and healing, these are the biggest issue, we need her lungs to work. pH/co2 – a plan in place, but need kidneys and lungs to heal and then this can recover some. It’s been one year tomorrow that Kenna received her cells. I didn’t picture that I’d be writing our one year anniversary update from Children’s though. I thought we’d be home having a party of our own and really having a good time! We’ll still be having a party…that’s for sure. We have support coming, Kenna needs it, Brett and I need it, too. She really needs a pick-me-up for sure. As she is now, with some lung damage where it is she can still have a very long, full life. People live with lungs in far worse shape than hers are right now, but this, coupled with the viruses that she is fighting off and her kidneys wasting bi-carb she is having to compensate with breathing and she is unable to do that as well as she needs to. This is where ‘the plan’ comes into place…acetate has been added to her tpn and she will get bi-carb boluses as needed, she’s only required two so far this week I think. Best case scenario: Kenna recovers and is free to live a long, full, enjoyable life. She may not be a marathon runner or an Olympic swimmer, but she’ll be able to enjoy life to the fullest and be happy. This is entirely possible. It is also entirely possible that her condition will get worse and she won’t make it. We need everything to go right for her with no more bumps in the road or setbacks either. We ask that if you can’t decide what to pray for or you just don’t know, you can ask that Kenna’s pH and co2 regulate, pray that her kidneys hold up and her lungs heal. We are blessed to have so many people who care so much about us; it is truly a wonderful thing. We hope and pray that someday we can share only good news with you all; won’t that be a special day? Please keep Kenna in your prayers; she needs them so very much. Please take the time today (and everyday) to give your kids a good hug, hold then a few seconds more and tell them how much you love them. God Bless Heads Up Hearts Strong ~Kimber

There is a considerable amount of mis-information on this thread. DOT placards are required for more than 1000 lbs of Hazardous Material not 100 lbs. Except for Explosives, Poison Gases and Radlioactive 3 materials which require placards for any amount. What we call Propane is not pure Propane, it is LPG, Liquified Petroleum Gas, which is a mixture of Butane, Propane and other light ends. The mixture varies from location to location with more Butane in the mixture in the Southern areas of the country because Butane boils at a much higher temperature than Propane. Therefore, "Propane" tanks in a Southern location would tend to freeze up at a higher temperature than those in a location farther North. Butane boils at 31 degrees F. Propane boils at -44 degrees F. A BLEVE is possible with any propane container with or without a relilef valve. All it takes is for a flame to impinge on the contaner above the liquid level causing the metal to become red hot and unable to contain the pressure in the container. The contaner then ruptures and the liquid which is well above it's boiling point immediately vaporizes and ignites. Propane is held in liquid state by pressure. The warmer the ambient temperature, the more pressure is required to hold it in the liquid state. When things are compressed, they heat up, when pressure is released, things cool off. The reason that Propane tanks freeze up is because as the gas is drawn off, the pressure is released causing the temperature of the liquid to fall. When the temperature of the liquid falls below the boiling point of the propane, no more liquid boils to gas.

Son, you appear to be a couple fries short of a Happy Meal. A whole bunch of very knowledgeable people have tried to very politely tell you that what you plan is VERY DANGEROUS, but you seem unable to grasp the concept. So, I will attempt to convey the message not so politely in the hope that you will finally understand that what you are contemplating can get you a new address with several different Zip Codes, a trip to the Emergency Room, or in worst case scenario, a meeting with your maker. I have a set of Safety Rules posted in my shop the first 3 are: 1. Safety First and Always. 2. This shop is not Idiot Proof or Politically Correct. If you have a problem with that limit you visit to the time that it has taken you to read this far. 3. It is alright to be incredibly stupid as long as you are the only one that knows. What you are attempting is a violation of Rules # 1 & 3. You are about to demonstrate that to the world. Railroad Spikes are Mild Steel. HC, Higher Carbon; not High Carbon, Railroad Spikes are about 30 points carbon. That is 3/10th of 1% carbon. That is not enough Carbon to make suitable gun barrel stock. Most gun barrel stock is 4140 steel. That is a chrome molly alloy with 40 points of carbon. Once the barrel is made, it is heat treated to exacting specifications and proof tested. You say that you don’t have suitable equipment to accomplish what you intend to do. If you can’t produce a Perfect, forge weld Every time what you have no business attempting to forge a gun barrel. You have stated that you have made “guns” out of pipe. The only difference between your “gun” and a bomb is you didn’t tamp the wadding tight enough. Additionally, if your “gun” explodes, you may have a very difficult time explaining to the BAFT and Department of Homeland Security exactly what you were doing in the first place.

I chatted with Junior a while ago, he said Cookie is awake and alert, in ICU and they are taking fluid out of her lungs, she is doing much better than this morning.

I just recieved word that Junior Strasil's wife, Cookie, was taken by ambulance to the hospital at 5:30 This morning. The e-mail said she was/is comatose. Please pray for a miracle for Junior and Cookie

No Tattoo for me, I always figured that sooner or later I would do something illegal and I want to be as hard to identify as possible :)

You might look in the yellow pages under steel suppliers, or do a google search of steel supplies and put in the name of your town.

Do a search of the archives on this site, there is a whole list of various manufacturers of Sucker Rod and the composition of each

Those squiggle clips are called Rail Anchors I believe. If you do a search on this site I think you will find a blueprint with the type of steel in various railroad materials. If you search the forums there is a link about MC stamped RR spikes that has a link to some other railroad information.

A few facts about respirators. In order to use an air purifying respirator properly you must be fit tested for that particular brand of respirator. It must fit your face tightly with no leaks. Then you must know the type contaminant(s) in the air in order to select the proper filter cartridges. If you are not sure of all the contaminants they make some that catch a wide range of contaminants including particulates (dusts). You must also know the concentration of the contaminants in the air because air purifying respirators only protect you from a concentration of contaminants that is 10 times the Permisslble Exposure Limit. This limit is set by OSHA and varies from substance to substance. In a high concentration of contaminants in the air you could still suffer exposure to the contaminants even though you are wearing a respirator. It is impossible to know the concentration of contaminants in the air without some expensive IH monitoring. I realize that not many of us can afford that. If we have a one man shop we are not governed by OSHA Regulations, however if we employ workers we are. Adequate ventilation is a must to keep contaminants in the air to a minimum. If you are guessing at what type of respirator you need, fail on the side of safety, it is better to get more protection than you need than try to save a few bucks and end up with less than you need and thereby expose yourself to toxic contaminants. Make sure that any respirator that you buy is OSHA/MSHA certified. Change the filter canisters frequently, they start absorbing moisture out of the air as soon as their sealed package is opened and they are installed. Keep the respirator in a tightly sealed plastic bag when not in use. This will extend the canister life. Clean the respirator throughly after each use. Note: This post does not condone the use of an air purifying respirator in any atmosphere where the contamaminants and the concentration thereof have not been established by properly conducted IH monitoring.

Just a bit about human behavior. We only do something for one of two reasons. Either to get some thing good, positive reinforcement; or to avoid something bad, negative reinforcement. If we don't get lots of positive reinforcement for what we do, even a fun job will eventually become drudgery. We must have positive reinforcement from our supervisors, our peers and or the general public or we will not have the desire to continue what we are doing. When you are making a creation of your own that is artistic and beautiful, it is easy to get to get positive reinforcement from those around you as well as from the act of creating in itself. When you are stamping out or pounding out hundreds of the same thing just to fill an order if you don't get a pat on the back every now and then by the end of the day you will want to scream and wonder why you ever took the job in the first place. At the end of the day if someone just looks at the pile you have produces that day and comments "wow you sure made a bunch of them today and they are all so nice and uniform, good job". It makes you think that what you have done is worthwhile. If you have a tedious job to do, find some way to get that positive reinforcement. Enlist your family or friends to support you. Set some goals and celebrate when they are reached. For example tell your wife when this job is done we are going out for a nice dinner. Then have her keep track of production so she can encourage you.

Once Lead is in the body it does not remain there forever. If the source of exposure is removed the lead will eventually be excreted from the body however, the damage it does while it is there may be permanent. If the lead concentration in the body is very high it the excretion process can be speeded up by the use of chelation therapy. Basic treatment for lead poisoning is removal of the source and balanced nutrititon. Casting lead, bullet and sinker making etc, can expose you to lead fumes. So can shooting on an indoor shooting range which does not have proper ventilation. Lead Poisoning-Topic Overview

Here is another thought. Do a demo someplace where there are lots of kids. Ask the kids "what can I make for you" their requests should stir your creativity. Plus the positive reinforcement you get from them will be very refreshing to you and you will carry that back to your shop with you.

Go fishing and DON'T bait the hook :)

I did what I had to for 30 years to make enough money to retire and do what I want. I love making knives and also ornimental things but if I had to make them to support myself it would cease to be fun and I would probably stave to death by the end of the month. The fact that in my working life I was able to do a job that I enjoyed was a big plus but I kept reminding myself that if it was all that much fun they wouldn't call it work and pay me to do it. Sometimes the only difference between work and a job we enjoy is the amount of positive reinforcement we get in the workplace. If no one ever tells you "good job" and or "nice work" no matter what you do or how much you enjoy it in the beginning it eventually becomes teadious and boring.

Viking Sword you are a luck man, you owe that lady of yours at least a dozen roses and a steak dinner at the best place in town. A bit of info about CO and the body: Red blood cells have an afinity for CO. They will absorb CO 10 times more readily than Oxygen. Once the CO molecule has been absorbed by the red blood cell, it blocks that blood cell from being able to absorb and use Oxygen. Also once the red blood cell has absorbed the CO it hangs on to it and does not like to release it. After an acute over exposure it can take quite a while to get all the CO out of your system so even though you are removed from the area where the CO is present, the effects of the exposure can get more severe.

There used to be some stuff called Makote that was a high temp refactory cement that had a high content of Zirconium in it I used it as a substitute for ITC 100 and it worked great. I haven't been able to get it for here for quite some time but you might ask around your local brick dealer and see if they can come up with it. Last I bought was about $8 for a pound of powder.

Every couple months the "Rebar" question comes up and ass blacksmiths we have a resposibility to pass on factual information not just repeat whatever we hear at the hammer in. If one were to search the archives here on IFI you would find an excellent essay on the subject by Thomas Powers. Yes rebar is usually made from scrap steel it foolish to think that steel used in concrete reinforcement for construction would only have to meet a strength requirement with no control on the composition. All one has to do is a simple google search to find information or Rebar. This link will take you to a typical mill test report of a production run of rebar. http://www.crsi.org/pdf/mill_test.pdf

all I ever use is 20 mule team borax right out of the box. works just fine for me

did you temper it after you hardened it. Bake it in the oven at around 375 degrees F for a couple hours.

Save your money until you can afford to buy quality tools and equipment. Remember that the cheapest thing you can buy is often the most expensive thing you can own. It is not cost effective to put a 4 story addition on a pup tent. If you want to buy a HF anvil, do so and use it until you can afford a better one but don't put a bunch of money into it. My first anvil was a 75 lb cast iron one that just said Mexico on the side. It worked ok until I was able to find a good anvil. I think I paid $65 for it. It is now on loan to a young guy just starting out. I am sure it will serve him well while he learns and until he finds a good anvil. Then, who knows, maybe someone has a large boat and needs an anchor.

very nice setup, love the forge.

If you want to make a sword go for it. Make sure you have a way to heat treat and temper a piece of steel that big. Look at it as a learning experience and be prepared for failure. Don't be discouraged when it happens, view it as tuition paid. I broke the first two swords I tried to make. Keep accurate records of what you do so when failure happens you don't make the same mistake on the next blade. Remember old I. Can't that dumb son of a gun died in the poor house.