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I had a discussion today with a business owner who does Timberframing.  He's very successful and it was interesting talking to him about business.. 

We were talking about estimating/ client meetings/quotes and the long term. 

Something that I have seen over the years is simply this..   As a professional smith, farrier, welder/fabricator, I have a very good grasp of what something will cost based on all factors combined.. (materials, labor, etc..)

This customer has an idea in their mind as to what it should cost..       Where do they get this number from???   In their own minds..  It can be based on research, feedback from friends, etc, etc.. 

But, the customer is never right as to quoted costs..   They are usually low.. substantially. 

My point is,  while market share can be driven by the customer (wanting larger pins)...  It's up to the professional to guide that customer.  Smiths today work with abundances and just follow suit oftentimes.. 

I don't see a product that is better for having that larger pin..  What I see is an imbalance in material strength and therefore could be seen as an inferior product..  

Again, just sharing my experience.   a larger pin means having to have larger barrels, both in size and metal thickness tp balance out torque on the barrel.  A larger pin has more surface area and can twist thinner sheet metal used in butterfly or H/HL hinges.  But hey..  It doesn't really matter..   

Making sense of the non sensical is fun and it looks funky.

Wow, that is amazing..  Great work.   I find brass is less forgiving vs copper..  

What did you buy for brass?  

I made a new larger size hinge swage and then tested it out by forging an H hinge. 

Next week is ABANA conference in PA..  Getting ready for the "Hinges" demo/lecture I'll be doing.  

I try to address what is happening in the real world shops vs my own corner of the world.  Today people favor larger size pins.. Easier to weld and fit..  

Totally bummed on the swage though.  Turns out to be some alloy steel of some sort.  Was about 62hrc after forging and air cooling.   It cracked in a strange pattern so just tig welded it back together. 

Was looking for 1.5" sq and this was just sitting there in the scrap. 

Yes, looks factory..  Very nice. 

tomorrow I'll spend some time tying all the mesh/rebar.. 

Yes, me too.. but...  

Well, after your input and after looking for information on the google..  I have decided not to tie into the existing structure. 

If heated yes, but without heating the floor it can go ugly quickly with winter. 

Constraining the bowls in a form like that really speeds things up.  Great for production. 

any extra blow on the anvil not hitting hot metal is a waste of time, money and energy.   Use every blow to do real work. 

Question for you guys that "Know".. 

Do I run tie in rebar to the building and uprights with epoxy?   It won't be heated for a few years? 

I was told it should be tied together but then everything I have read said " it depends"  

We are in the cold belt and like mentioned it won't be heated. 

Also some people said there should be a slip joint put there on purpose..  Thick felt or even plywood. 

the PVC can be used, but not recommended for it to be directly connected to the forge tuyere.  Ideally using it to supply air up to about 5ft and then switch over to metal. 

Been a busy week..  Was able to get all the concrete form boards in.  

I'm meeting with the concrete guy tomorrow to verify I can put in the rebar, heavy wire mesh and vapor barrier. 

Crushed gravel is what I had put in there originally..  Wow, it's a tough one to work via hand. 

 

outside edges are between 9-10" thick..  Very center about 5.5 to 6" thick.  5/8" rebar for all the outside tie ins.. 

The rebar will be epoxied into the front footing blocks and the front of the building in 4 spots. 

The heavy wire mesh is a 1/4" size. 

there is a 1" drop from building to outside edge. 

Alex you rock..  Nice. 

   

Everyone is so complex..    
Good for this, not so good for that..  ETC, ETC.. 

To each their own.. 

I'm far more particular about the forge and fuel..   Anvil eh, vise as long as it holds things.  Tongs.. Well duh can be heated and fitted. 

But a good forge with great stack.   That's all I need. 

 

18 minutes ago, Frosty said:

I can't agree with that Jennifer my go to anvil is cast Swedish steel and hard enough to skate a file. When Brian did a demonstration here he had to use one of our anvils. He talked about all the advantages of a mild steel anvil and while I liked his ideas of an anvil he tried the steel block anvil one of the guys brought and settled on mine. A 125lb skate a file hard London pattern anvil, there were even volunteers to help grind the steel block to his specs.

I couldn't make all 3 days and I heard he asked where my anvil was.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

Frosty I would expect nothing less than you "not agreeing"..  LOL..   and saying as such. 

Thanks for keeping the updates coming.. 

I'm going to make a few of these based on Brian Brazeals design.. I'm going to be at ABANA in June and I'll get to chat with some of his disciples of whom make their own. 

While I have anvils with fully hardened faces..  There are more advantages to having it soft vs having it hard. 

The ease of fixing mistaken hits or changing a surface via welding is such a great ability. 

10 hours ago, Ridgeway Forge Studio said:

Sadly I won't be at the Abana conference in Johnstown; I'm kicking myself - I was in North Adams MA a couple of months ago and I should have stopped by to see your teaching facilities! 

-Patrick

The forge area looks great.. I'm guessing you did most your work at home shop with demos as the place later. 

Bummer..  Would have loved to give you the tour and do a meet and greet.  N. Adams is still a drive. but a good one.. RT2 is a bunch of fun.. 

If you are in the area again, just let me know. 

Bluerooster.  that is a great anvil setup..  

This past weekend HikerJohnson and Billy came down and helped me move all the items under the front shed roof in prep for getting the floor poured. 

It rained hard all day..  using the mini dozer made reasonable work on moving all the compacted crushed gravel.. 

I want about 7 to 10" of concrete floor thickness..  

The main building has been drilled for rebar and have epoxy to put in the holes.  

I also have heavy mesh and vapor membrane to go under the concrete. 

Had a little time after the work to give a demo on forging a wood carving socketed chisel. 

Thats great..  I haven't seen updates on the shop front since you changed out anvils. 

Any photos of your travel shop? 

Will I see you in PA? 

did you have good sales?  Items look great. 

George..   Thanks..  Once the school is up and running I'm not sure where the video channel will go.. 

I started the channel just coming out of retirement trying to show old school work..  I wasn't really in forging shape and just finding my wings, hard to believe it's taken 6+ years to get back on the horse. 

So, I might visit some subjects in the school.. To soon to tell.. 

The mandrel is hot the whole time.   The chisel has a Mild steel body.  Tool steel cutting edge.   

If ever welding a slice of tool steel onto a flat there is a seam that forms..   There is a way to do it so the seam never happens..   

There were a lot of insider tricks shown.  I'll keep your request in mind.. 

 

Eric and Billy came down to help work on school..   

They had questions on forging socketed chisels so after work was done I gave them a quick demo.. 1.25" wide 

Not cleaned up but as forged..  The only socket mandrel I had was 3/4" so made it work.. Ideally this really could have used a 1". 

Could use a little clean up forging wise.. But not bad from a cold forge with no prep..  1hr 20 min. 

Thanks IFCW

Billy,

I have seen many other teach and feel like I have a slightly different approach.  The demonstration is group-oriented but after q/a about what was shown/ done it then becomes very individualized. 

Every individual question/performance/ output is kept track of and addressed.. 

Lots of extra work teaching this way, but it opens topics/subjects and makes it like having a private instructor. Safe, inclusive.. 

Number 1 rule..   Teach to the person. 

When you are able to connect it becomes magical.  And it really frees people up to engage easier. 


 

Past weekend taught a beginner blacksmith forge welding class.. 

Had 2 with experience and 6 students completely new at the forge and anvil. 

Had them forge welding day 1 with a treble herb hook ( long tapers, using the hardie for cutting and notching,  Long taper sq, oct, round, bend and weld).  A very tough first project but gives me a real sense of whats possible.   The long tapers and SOR were awesome. 

Day 2 was finish up herb hooks and chain welding.   

Day 3 I gave them 4 options..  blacksmith twist poker, spoon, Heart trivet or round trivet.   

5 people chose  poker and 3 chose spoon.. 

Huge success with plenty of time forge welding..  

It's crazy what you can teach to people open to learning in such a short time..  

20hours total time for these people during the class at the forge and anvil. 

4 coal forges and 2 gas forges..   The students also switched from coal to gas or the other way around several times depending on what was being done. 

My TA Eric J did an amazing job.  

I have gone to several ABANA conferences..   

The last few I have been a demonstrator/teacher. 

The conferences at the Gas light park are close together..  each person/demonstrator is in pretty tight areas..  This is great because you don't have to walk 5 miles between demos. 

The conference has a list of demos so if you want to catch a particular demo it's possible several times usually depending on the demo. 

I'll be doing "Hinges"..  Strap, H and butterfly and in-depth look.   This will have all the steps needed to make amazing hinge barrels with fit and finish. 

Over the years I have a much higher value and appreciation for education involving smithing. 

Just taught a 4 day class on forge welding which they made blacksmith basket twist handled pokers, chain and  treble herb hook.. 

Best to reach out to abana.. 
 

Rojo Pedro, if your struggling with forge welding at all, it's well worth it..  Can be a game changer for sure. 

Gazz,  oh my gosh..  What a beautiful place.. The stairs are a killer when you've got issues but the food is crazy good and people are top notch. 

I'd go back if asked..