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!

Ask your local veterinarian- one that does a lot of horses/large animals. They will generally know who is reputable in your area, and may even have a farrier on speed dial. Shoot, our local vet is our farrier's nephew! Phone books can also be helpful, word of mouth at horse shows would also be a great option

Shhhh, don't let my farrier hear you!

Hawgdirt, how much do you like horses? It may be a silly question, but farrier work is all about the horses, and not about blacksmithing. While some do forge every shoe, most farriers don't really do much forging, and quite a few don't shoe at all (AKA barefoot trimming). how much do you already know about horses? It takes time before you know your way around the crazy animals the beloved beasts. Most farriers also go to a farrier school for specialized training. Also be aware that farriery is generally not a hobby, it is usually a career with long work days, no sick pay, and no worker's comp. I don't mean to discourage you, I just want to make sure you have an idea of what being a farrier is like. The best advice I can give is to talk to a few working farriers. Being a talkative bunch, they will tell you all you wanted to know and much, much more.

Yeah, there's clay everywhere here, if you dig deep enough (or not at all as the case may be). My area (central KS) is flat, but we have the Flint Hills to the east which are large enough I wouldn't want to go hiking there. I THINK we have lots of stony areas a bit west of me, but I haven't been out that way much, so I don't really know. So it really depends on where in KS the smith was located. HAHAHA, you just described Kansas perfectly. It's not as windy as some other places, but it's close. Anything light better be weighted down or anchored firmly in the ground...we had an 8x12 garden shed blow away once in a gust (no kidding). If it was in use in 1960, it would probably still be standing. We have older abandoned structures around here than that (mostly brick). There might be a coal bin from that time period, there's not many trees around here to make charcoal out of. Oh, and smiths never have one scrap barrel, half a dozen is much more probable. Most of us just dispense with barrels entirely, and throw it in a heap out back! Hope that helps some Beckydoc, good luck on the book.

Yay! I'm very glad I was able to help! I found the pic of that test knife I did last year, not the best picture either but you get the idea:

STOP DITHERING AND POUND STEEL! -Thomas Powers

You might try the coffee from the brewer at room temp. I've no experience with instant (we can't stand the taste), but I believe I've heard some brands of instant perform better than others. In addition to the above, try sanding it to 1000 grit or higher (I'm assuming you wouldn't mind a mirror polish since this will be etched?), as you saw on the rough ground portions of the handle, higher grit polishes tend to etch better. I've etched at 600 grit before with minimal issues, but it can't hurt to try. Other than that, I'm afraid I'm out of suggestions; maybe the next one will behave! Just remembered a project I did last year: I rubbed a cotton wad soaked in lemon juice (bottled not fresh) on a blade that was edge-quenched, and it did work reasonably well as far as contrast was concerned, I'll try to find pics.

I've played around quite a bit etching things in coffee and vinegar, and I'm wondering about a few things. What dilution are the etching solutions (both the vinegar and the coffee), and what temperatures are you using them at? I usually dilute my vinegar and often dilute my coffee etchants quite a bit, and only use them at room temp, NO hot coffee for me! "A slow etch is a good etch". Usually when I don't get good contrast on a quench line, it has more to do with the HT than the etchant, e.g., piece cooled too much before quench. Also, I'd lose the steel wool and 2000 grit after the etch, they usually just erase any etching IME; but they might help after etching in aggressive solutions like ferric chloride (which I have no experience with). Just had a thought- have you tried HT'ing a scrap piece of the same steel exactly like the knife and see if that poses the same problem? Some steels just don't etch like we want them too.... I've noticed that same "splotchy" effect on rough ground pieces, but I haven't experimented enough with those to know much about that. I would speculate that the greater surface area of rough ground sections (vs. highly polished sections) causes them to etch faster, which promotes the unevenness. Take that with a very large grain of salt though. Edit: What grit are you polishing the blade to before etching?

My suggestion is to contact your local ABANA(Artist Blacksmith Association of North America) affiliate and attend one of the meetings, you will learn more in 15 minutes there than an hour here. That said, Most blacksmiths don't do this as a living anymore, although there are a few who do. 3 related modern occupations are farrier, welder, and maybe machinist. I'm sure those more knowledgeable than me shall chime in soon Is it too late to change topics to something easy, like welder?

Haven't got access to a grinder (yet), or I would have done that first. That's next on the list though! Thanks for the help.