Cool Hand

UnicornForge, I nominate your response for permanence. This needs to go somewhere permanent as an FAQ, Sticky, or under the heading "just common sense". I appreciate all of you. Steve

I like the possibilities! I will be at the conference and would be very interested in hearing more about satellite org's. Meanwhile, like Donnie, if anyone else has interest in the N Ga. area please pipe up so we can started somewhere. Thanks!

My challenge is that I just can't make the drive to join either Appalachian, Alex Bealer, or Ocmulgee. Any interest in kicking off a guild in the North Georgia area? My second question involves just how to go about it!:confused:

My wife and I will be attending for the first time and I am wondering who all will be there and what I can do in advance to be better prepared to make the most of it. I would love to hear from those who have made it before! Steve

Are you sure the adjuster didn't start the fire? He was conveniently there.

Unsure as to whether this goes here or in blacksmithing so please correct me if it is in the wrong hooch! Here goes... I got my hands on a wonderful set of heavy duty tongs that appear to have been slightly abused. One of the handles has a side to side crack in it located almost dead center of the tong arm. I can't do pics at the moment so I will do my best to 'splain it. The arm is about as thick as my pinky (half inch or so) where the crack is located. The crack only goes about halfway through the arm. I applied every ounce of pressure I can physically generate to see if I could get it to break and I couldn't just using bare hands. Should I fix it? (Yes) How? Forge weld? Cany you forge weld a crack? Any other techniques? Thanks from down Georgia way... Steve:)

In todays tightened economy it is critical to align procurements to the goals and strategies of stated business objectives. If your initiative does not align with key metrics no amount of effort will provide funding. Establish an understanding of key goals, the supporting strategies, and the underpinning tactics that are critical to support business objectives. Once established, it become very easy to identify key operational initiatives and prioritize based on the most impactive engagements. I some cases, quantification is required, which will entail an effort in determining timebound and measurable components for the stated initiative. In that case, clearly establish the specific stated measurement and indicate a finite response for timeline. With these items in place it becomes almost simple to identify critical weakpoints, prioritize responses, and quickly align and show response to critical services that align to business objectives, whatever they may be. Hope this helps, Steve

Dern tootin'....I got two little kids and a hectic income generator....I don't get to whale on metal as much as I would like but when I do I always come out smilin'! If you are lucky, it will never leave your bloodstream. Better'n drinkin' I guess... Or worse! Enjoy.

Unfortunately, all of those guys are about 4 hours south of me. Anybody familiar with a North Georgia Guild/Group/ or is there another BS out there in the N Ga. area? Other than Chattanooga? Thanks!

Howdy, Looking to spread out and meet some of the pack. Curious if you guys could direct me to the more "active" guilds/hammer-ins/BS activities in the North Georgia area. I will be attending the Madison event, but that is still quite some time away. Any ideas would be appreciated. Cool Hand (Steve)

That looks like the wheel off of Unclespikes first car...

Don't forget to add some good eye protection and some solid leather gloves. Don't forge in nylon or flammable clothing. Always keep a 5 gallon bucket of water for quenching metal and errant flames. Also good for cooling off hot metal chunks that fall into your gloves or the back of your neck. Have fun. You will find yourself grinning from ear to ear when you heat you first rod...

That Sir....Is a picture of the blower I have sitting in my smithy. The only writing it has on it is the "C 998" but none of the rest. Is there anything else I need to do to the blower itself to get it ready for ops? Thanks, Steve

Here in GA I got the leg vise for $25 but they average 70-120, blowers average $120, don't know squat about a post drill.

My uncle gave me a forge blower that had been sitting in his barn for 20 years. I have no idea the make and model but I would really like to know. I tore the thing down, scraped off all the years and used hypoid gear oil for the internals and am soaking the rest in oil and will clean again shortly. It has a "C" on each of the 2 oil plugs. It also has a raised "998" on one side and a "997" on the other. There are a few more words but I won't know what they are till I get to scraping on it this weekend. Any clues to identify this thing would be greatly appreciated. Sorry I have so little detail. Steve

FINISH NAIL HAMMER....HAHAHA, I was rolling on the floor with that one! I like the idea of a short handle on it if only for a conversation piece. I may have to investigate the treadle hammer, but for now I will just stick with the basics. Never heard of a 22# pound stright pein hammer, interesting. I see your 35# is bigger than my 25#, wanna trade? lol.....Thanks for the input guys!

Bumbling through the local flea market has its rewards. This weekend I found a 25# sledge for $10. My question is, just what does one do with a 25# hammer? I couldn't let it go unbought and have it find it's way into the local smelter. Just lookin' for ideas! An anvil? Some kinda automated pounder? Thanks, Steve

I find that a good chunk of ice is harder to dent than my POS HF ASO. I use a plate and an "I" beam more than I do the anvil. If I don't find a good anvil soon, I may get smart and weld the plate to the ASO....

Ah, just paint it and use it as a shield the next time a Ren fest shows up....lol

Though I don't have a picture, I think one of the neatest pieces of artwork I have seen was when someone carved a train engine from a rr spike. I have seen a few of those.

The road to where I am has been a lot of fun. I started this thinking that I would learn some basics and add a few touches to a pull behind grill I am working on. I started off needing to learn how to weld, got the basics of stick welding done. Then wanted to learn how to cut and braze with an Acetylene torch. As things started to come along I realized there was a lot I didn't know about metalurgy (including how to spell it!). I figured out the difference between drawing out, quenching, and tempering long before I knew they were associated to blacksmithing. One day I was asking the local Ace Hardware guy about a certain metal gate latch and he said, "awww boy ain't nobody got nuthin' like at, you gonna hafta forge it!" I have been hooked ever since. I built a lean to on the side of my shed, flattened out the floor, and started adding "stuff". My first thing was a a leg vice I found for $20 at the local flea market. The next was a 24 inch eye beam mounted to a stump that I dug out of a local dumpster. I then proceded to build a forge from scratch. I got my hands on an old heavy duty trailer brake hub, a clutch/flywheel, a few odd pieces of angle iron and some 2 inch pipe pieces. I put it all together and had myself what amounted to a free forge. It does a fantastic job if I am not hoping to heat more than one iron at a time. The only thing that cost me anything on the forge was the hairdryer I am using as a blower ($2). As the I beam has no round spots, so I did what a lot of newbies did and bought a 70 pound HF ASO POS. I should have just kept pounding on the I beam and waited till I found a real anvil. I found that it is tough to get the paint off your steel and there is no such thing as an edge because every time you bang on it chips of metal come flying off (i think I even see concrete?). I did find a lot of great sources for steel though. I take my diesel truck to a local Mack repair shop and noticed that he has a "scrap iron" bin in the back. He lets me get what I can stuff in the back when I bring the truck in. I now look to create realtionships with those needing relief from all that scrap steel. In addition, I setup my own charcoal making bins and they work fine (after a few setbacks) and I have the ability to quench using water, oil, or a bucket of warm coals. I have lots of hammers, lots of pliers, plenty of storage, the ability to put out a fire if it happens, and a willingness to try just about anything blacksmith related. I guess I could say I don't know much about anvils, but I definitely need to find a good one somewhere here in North georgia. Also, I have no idea what a tuyere even looks like (haven't needed one yet), should I figure out how to get one?. There are volumes written on what I don't know, but I guess what I am asking for is help in identifying any weakpoints in what I am doing so that I can more efficiently use the time that I have to bang on hot steel. I have two little boys and a beautiful wife that all need a lot of attention. I appreciate your input. Cool Hand...

Cool Hand....well now. That was my military call sign given to me by Staff Sergeant Larry Hall just moments after coming out of a rather interesting crisis situation. It has stood as my moniker for over 18 years now. Hopefully, I can continue to earn it. Cool Hands Cave is the name of my smithy too...

Got my forge up and running! Need a better anvil, but bangin on what I got. Have an ASO and a very thick I beam so loving life. Love making my own charcoal too!

Of course, you could always run your moonshine copper coil through the slack tub and solve two problems at once.....just kidding Great information here!