Andrew Martin

Joel, My understanding is that "bespoke" is a British English word for "custom-made" or perhaps "made to order". Prior to first reading the word bespoke, I was always frustrated by having to write or say "custom-made" to describe the product of a craftsman. "Bespoke" is such a lovely, simple, and short word; it rolls off the tongue easily and gets straight to the point! Anyway, I think your first definition is closest to the intended meaning of the word.

I heard a pair of Great Horneds just last night around 10:00. Lovely birds, and very relaxing to go to sleep to, if they aren't too close! It's actually the first time I've heard them here; we used to hear one or two at our old place and I really missed getting woken up by them, even if it was usually 2 AM.

Very impressive! I wouldn't mind having a few of them on them the mantle! Why on earth would one need 65 herb choppers? Maybe she means to give them away as gifts? I almost wonder if she isn't planning on reselling them at a higher price (similar unfortunate situations have happened to smiths I know). Or maybe she's just hosting a large wedding.... I know, I can't believe summer is almost over! I've got a really busy college schedule lined up this semester, so I feel your pain. At least there's fall break to look forward to.

Thanks, Michael, I really look forward to seeing the end product!

Ooooooo, please post pictures when you're finished! I think it looks wonderful already; I can only imagine how masterful the finished piece will be. Would you mind if I showed the pictures of it to my mother and older sister? They're very much into dragons and while we've seen dragon head finials, I can't recall ever seeing the whole dragon being forged.

I'm sure they would, given your average climate. Magnifying glasses must be thought of as tools of terror down there. Thankfully, my area usually has a rainstorm or two right before the fourth.

That's really strange. Maybe they meant illegal only when it's not around the 4th? We're only allowed to shoot them off for a week here, but I think it's legal to own them at any time. OTOH, almost any kind of firework is legal out here as long as you don't live in town...

I have no clue, Biggun. I don't do much mechanical tinkering with sewing machines, especially not antique ones. Have you tried asking someone local in the repair business. Most repair guys I've met are helpful folk, and not too interested in making a buck off you.

Don't worry about it, Slag, everybody gets confused about the names of parts sometimes. Shoot, I've had debates with the guys at the sewing machine repair shop about the names of certain parts. I just happen to be somewhat familiar with the nasty buggers; sewing machines are always jamming and going wrong at the most inopportune times. Now, if we had been talking about power hammers or automobiles, you would be schooling me on the names of parts!

Actually, Slag, they refer to two completely separate parts of the machine- "feed dogs" refer to the reciprocating teeth underneath the needle the pulls the fabric through the machine, while "presser foot" refers to the clamp-like mechanism that surrounds the needle and presses the fabric against the feed dogs. Without the presser foot, the feed dogs would be useless. A common myth about using sewing machines is that you have to push the fabric through the machine, when in reality doing that only causes broken needles (as one of my pupils found out!).

I would also refer to the tradesman in question as a fabricator, since the OP doesn't refer to the him as forging any of the specified products; although, I would probably call him an "ornamental iron fabricator" or "architectural fabricator" to differentiate from fabricators who specialize in other work.

Sorry, I've been really busy this week. I still try to check IFI every other day, but usually I don't bother logging in, especially if I'm using a computer at work on break. Ah yes, I noticed the wire too a couple days after posting this. I have since replaced both the cord and the plug. I don't know what the previous owner was thinking! The welder works great now, just needed a little tlc. It seems it's only 100% duty cycle below 80 amps on the low setting and 120 on the high amp setting. Everything above that supposedly is 20% duty cycle, though I wonder how duty cycle jumps from 20% to 100% like that? The only issued I've had so far with the welder is the amp adjustment keeps slipping down to 70 amps when I strike an arc... the handles doesn't move ordinarily unless you squeeze them together, and I couldn't really find anything to tighten when I took the cover off, so I don't know what's up with that.

Last weekend I bought this welder- the price was so low, it was too good to pass up! I don't know much about it except that the guy I bought it from bought it new in the early '80s from MW. It seems to be in good condition except for a few minor things. I peeked through the vents and it's really dusty and cobwebby inside- is there anything I should know before I take off the cover and blow out the dirt? The plug also needs to get changed; the previous owner removed the original plug and replaced it with a 125v plug, twisted one of the prongs, and plugged the machine into his (presumably) 220v a/c outlet . I'm not sure if the cord is original or not. All the switches, etc seem to work fine. It seems it has two places to plug in the electrode holder, a "low" and a "high" (for 6013, it says). Can someone please explain the purpose of the special "high" outlet? I know I've read about machines with this feature before, but I can't really remember why they were made that way.

Aha, that's a very good idea, I'll remember that when I next look through the drop bin at the steelyard. I never thought about things getting stuck! Thanks for mentioning that, could have led to a sticky situation....

I've been wanting to make something similar to this for a while, and I have a few questions if you wouldn't mind. 1) How thick were the tie plates? I've never sen any thicker than 1/2" here. 2) Is the hole in the top plate smaller than the chamber beneath formed by the vertical plates? 3) That is a gap at the bottom between the two plates laying flat for cleaning out punched slugs, etc? Thanks!