jlpservicesinc

Thanks George, If I can pull it off I'm hoping late spring.. Of course between here and there is some time.. Nearly lopped my hand off the last big snow storm.. So that put me out of commission for a while. The siding is next, then smoke stacks.. Then finish the wiring for the blacksmith side of the school.. I'll have to take a weekend to organize the equipment on the blacksmithing side to arrange the workstations.. I have a pretty good idea of where things are going, but it's always better to finalize layout.. Once the holes go thru the roof, it's a huge problem if there is a problem. Not going thru side wall for stacks because of the snow loads.

Big day today.. All the light switches work the way they are supposed to.. Wow, is all I can say.. It's been a long road getting here.. I can now move on to the inside siding to finish the electrical installation. 20240125_193615[1].mp4

Carl is a great smith.. He's even more pedagogical than I am, if that's possible..

Frosty, The school is between 60-65F everyday in the winter.. Just warm enough to be jacketless when working but not so cold you want to go into the warm.. Especially when it's below 30F.. It feels extravagant. For working in the trailer, which is still my main forging shop, I use a diesel fired indirect heater.. So no smoke, just heat.. This warms the little trailer up in about 15mins to be in a Tshirt.

Frosty the folding up one is the item.. It was supposed to be for a bon fire type of deal. Large pot.. Anyhow.. Make what ever you want.. Be great to see what you come up with.

Frosty please do design something. The caveat to the folding trivet I made was the person was complaining they could not forge weld so most options with traditional designs were off the table. The design I came up with is sectional and adjustable and comes apart completely. It can also be made larger with more sections though I don't see a need. This model adjusts from about 3" to 12". The only change of design would be some feet on the bottom for use on frozen ground.

Have you been by the old Edwards factory site?

Larry, great finds.. Great info as well.. I wonder what were the differences between the Alligator 5 and 5A or if as you mentioned it was simply for "Alligator".. The model 10 I have is a B and I know I've seen model 10E. I'll see if I can find the "model chart" I stashed it away in a book to keep it flat and safe.. I moved nearly all the blacksmithing books and literature out to the school so now can't put my finger or brain onto where I stashed it.

Larry the 5 and 10 alligator type are the oldest from what I can see of the Edwards lines.. They really were aimed it seems at the wagon tire market as their capacity was mention as such. 1/2X4, 3/4X6" etc, etc.. The Parrot jaw evolved as time moved forward and away from the conventional, older wagons and such. No need for the longer cut.. (after WWI technology spelled the end of the blacksmith) Cars vs wagons etc, etc. The cut width was brought down to 3.5" on the shear and moved toward bar stock and cable cutting.. The parrot type was available with different jaw types.. Flat, and V from what I can tell.. there is also a flip down bar that moved the cutting action further away from the jaw base for smaller stock. The alligator type of scissor action is not great at cutting cable unless the blades are very sharp or new (there is a new set of blades on top of the 10B just sitting there). Also there is not way to increase the side clearance between the cutting jaws on the 5 or 10B.. This was addressed in newer parrot models with a side pressure screw. The Newer Parrot jaw type shear is made from Semi-steel and about 2/3rds the weight for a great capacity. The 10B is 370lbs with a 1" sq capacity and the 20 with 1 3/8Sq at 265lbs.

Here are a bunch of photos of the 10B, the 5 alligator, the 5 Parrot and the 20.. I lined them up for size comparison. ON the 10 your can see the 3 shoes for the lever. The lever is bent at an angle so it sits level in the 5's and the 10B. The 10B is out of sync handle wise from the last time I took it apart to clean it.

Maybe you will get lucky.. The 5's come up for sale often.. The 5 can be a great shear.. I own and used one a lot before I got the 10B.. had it about 5 years before the 10B, Having it well mounted (bolted down) is a must.. The 10B is 3 times the size so could handle some sizes of stock without being bolted down. The 5 is a single throw shear.. Meaning the lever starts above the jaw and gets pulled 180 over the top or until the cut is made. The 10B has 3 shoes and the handle is rotated over the top and re-incerted until the cut is made. The 20 uses a ratchet system which is just up and down vs over the top 180.. Little more friendly.. The Factory sold a 5 hydraulic and a 7 hydraulic.. The manual 5 would cut 3/4" and the hydraulic could cut 1" They also made a #5 parrot jaw vs alligator Jaw but have never found any info on it. The guy I bought it from said it came from a rebar company.

The number 20 is no longer produced.. They haven't been since the 80's is what I remember. The number 20 shears can fetch a little higher price vs the older 10B/E.. They are way outdated in 90% of the modern shops.. With the low cost of bandsaws and such.. They shine with ease of use and quickness of cut and back in the day were a huge labor saver.. Have you run across one for sale or have one you are looking to sell? I paid very little money for this one in very good condition.

Larry that's too funny.. Went in the shop this morning to check out the lights.. Is there such a thing as to bright.. Ha, ha.. Still in newness mode.

So I was able to get out there and figure out some of the wiring.. I also was able to get all the lights working.. I need to work a little bit more on the left side but as a test they are all switched at the moment. I find it hard to believe I have enjoyed the 3 lights on the left for so long.. Thinking they were very bright with ample light.. After being able to switch from right to left separately I now understand the 10 lights rock.. The round UFO lights are controlled left to right, as are the 4, 4ft lights.. They are also dimmable separately so each light bank can be controlled and adjusted.

Ok, that is crazy David.. Wow.. It's like a stage for a play or movie rehearsal.

Welp, today was the first day back on the wiring. I pulled the 2 extra white wires and installed 2 black in their stead. I called it quits after wiring the switches.. Tomorrow I'll put the wires to the breaker panel.. Might have 8 of the 10 lights going tomorrow..

Thanks Neil, Happy New Year.. My manlift uses all white wires with stamps and tags numbered.,. Makes it easy to follow for sure. While the wiring in the school is super simple, I have to remember how my brain works.. This is key.. Understanding how one thinks of things.. everyone learns differently and understands differently.. I'm not at the point in my learning cycle wiring wise that I can skip ahead to a place of knowing.. Like Steve wrote.., Using colored wires is super helpful, but it also becomes who you are working with.. I had mentioned using different colored wires and he was "NO". Just run the 2 blacks, 2 whites and 1 green.. From a circuit or straight run kind of deal I understand it.. Electrical is a lot like blacksmithing or Farrier work.. There are 1000's of ways of doing it (In someones mind there is only 1 way or 2 ways based on experience) and it still come out. It's ok.. It will all work out.. I did pull red wires for the second series of lights on the left side. Once it's all connected because I won't be using very many breakers in the service panels the wiring will be very simple. I also have 2 sub panels.. One for 3ph at the end of the building on the left side and 1 for 1ph on the other side of the shop on the right side. Yes, on the hood and guillotine.. it has a built in stop/hold open.. I moved it from it's bottom mount position to open the hood more.. It was locked but once the motor was running the vibration while I adjusted the carb is what got me. Was lucky I had my coveralls on.. It stopped the wrist from being completely sheared off.. Had impact line of skin where the 1/8" thick metal was trying to go thru. Went for xrays today.. I love seeing xrays of my bones and such.. It's amazing to me how dense my bones are and all the damage that has been done from all the rough and tumble years.. I spent over 30 years learning how to punch/strike and would practice on trees and other solid objects.. Was super cool seeing the extra bone mass behind my wrist.. That and all the damage to the joints..

Hello and thank you Julian, it's been a struggle and huge learning curve at the same time.. I'm so looking forwards to a point that I "don't" have to be out there working to finish it.. The last week has been net zero in terms of work. Got a snow storm that dropped 12-14" (31cm-36cm) and this takes days to clean up.. The night of the storm I scrambled to get all the equipment ready of which the plow truck pump fried just after hooking up, then the mini dozer would not start so cleaned and carburetor and while adjusting it, the hood fell down nearly taking my right hand off.. So, have had to take off the last 3 days.. I'll take 2 more days since my wrist is pretty much toast.. I can't use a hoof knife. I can swing a hammer though... it's the funniest thing.. gewoon ik, thanks.. Slow and steady.. I pulled both run of wires for the left side lights but I have to chase down the logic behind the wiring. I was told by my electrician friend that I should pull 2 blacks and 2 whites and 1 green on each conduit. Problem is I'm working by myself and my brain does not see the logic or routes of wires pulled that way.. The Neutral goes from the services panels to the lights only.. NOT to the switches.. The black wires run from the lights to the switches as does the ground.. So the problem is I need to figure out which series of wires are which.. So I'll have to spend the time to label the wires.. I should have ran 1 set of wires for each light set and then pulled the other wires.. Yes it's a pain, but would have been easier for me as it's less confusing.

Following along too.. I make all my own bandsaw blades for the same reason..

Frosty did you take over your Dads shop and then fill the roll? This past spring NEB meet I got to sit down with a bunch of the Big time smiths that all have been full time smiths since the 70's. Each one had a slightly different story but with each story it was interesting how they were allowed to " have a chance".. Most had worked for someone successful in some facet of metal work while they were learning the trade. When I say learning the trade.. I mean refining their skills while working for the successful metal worker. The other interesting thing is they traveled and most found work in an area they were not from.. Eventually moving back to where they wanted to be.. Each person also bought property when it was reasonable to buy.. And lastly and most importantly is this " They all have a way of talking that is not direct, but you still understand what they are pointing to.." .. Its like you form your own thought, but its' really theirs.. This is very important when dealing with customers and being able to juggle that's persons personality and desires, even when that person has asked for 5 changes during a period of production and then asks for changes when finished. There is a very good percentage of destiny.. Anvil, i really appreciate you sharing your story.. I read it again and your replies.. Your not wrong.. You have your feelings about what you did and believe in.. It's wonderful.

Larry, Thanks.. It was a moment worth sharing for sure.. I still forget that all I have to do is hit the light switch when I go in. I wear a headlight when I'm out working nights now and walked into the school and around for 10 min before remembering to hit the switch. Anvil, Thanks.. It is interesting how those fears manifest.. Not seeing as well and slower response times certainly play in.. As does the "willingness" to want to play in those realms.. With this I have been busy as can be in the school with more wiring.. Yup have moved into running wire.. I have all the light circuits nearly wired in.. Should be functional in the next few days.. Dimmers and remote controls and all.. Looking forwards to how much light there will be.. ?????? I still have 3ph wiring to run and the sub panel on the office side/ work station side.. But that can wait till the blacksmithing work stations are actually in.. I then have smoke stacks to install.. And that won't happen till the shop on that side is organized so I know where to put things. A view from 50ft up over the building.. Last night as I turned the orientation of the manlift around. it's to long to change from one end of the shop to the other with all the stuff in it.. Easier to drive it outside..

Center bay insulation, membrane, infrared heater vent installed. Also managaged to pull some wires.. Today was another break thru.. First time a light is controlled by a real switch.. Only the 3 on the right so far.. 7 more lights to go. Drop mic, walk off stage.. LOL.. 20231222_185557.mp4

Some of the imported jams and jellies come in these tall narrow jars. We don't use cane sugar so buy products that use juices to sweeten and we ended up some of the French varieties. A tablespoon will not fit. One of the jars a teaspoon was tight had to move to the butter knives with the swelled ends. Have you seen some of the designs on new butter knives. The blades are so thin that they won't scoop.

STunning work David.. Sorry to hear about the finger and stitches.. Comes it waves it seems..

today I tackled the back access hatch.. It's where the in-floor fume extraction pipe exits the building to the vacuum unit. Like everything else this came up on the roster and so it was time to at least get a start on it.. I got the top and bottom frame sections in and then remembered all 4 pieces have to be slid in together.. argh.. Of course I silicone the bottom section in and cement screwed it down.. I ended up getting rained out so moved inside to finish off the main center section tape and membrane. I got it positioned and decided to call it.. finished up again at 8pm.. The last week has been 745-830pm nights..