the_sandy_creek_forge

I tried the tube type grate in my first forge. I got tired of the holes and slots filling up with clinker. I'd have to pretty well tear the fire apart to get the holes unplugged. For a clinker breaker, I used a piece of 2" round, chucked it in the lathe and drilled a hole through it lengthwise. I then used the 7" angle grinder to grind the round cross section into a somewhat lobed triangular cross section. when the triangle sits pointed side up, I get a fairly concentrated fire, when it sits flat side up, the fire spreads out more. I used a forge once that had the more flat type of clinker breaker mentioned here, and personally noticed no real difference, and since the flat seems a little simpler to fabricate, I'll probably go with that design next time. Never using the pipe/tubing grate style again though. -Aaron @ the SCF

Sam, I also might have to borrow that idea, seeing as how the base of mine is a circular drop of 1" plate. Other than drilling the holes (probably would have to rent a mag-base drill) it would be fairly easy for me to do. Consider that and idea thats done gone and been stolen! -Aaron @ the SCF

Hey Sam, Looks good. Simple, but good. I'd agree with what Steve said above though. My stand probably weights upwards of 150-200 pounds, and I weigh 220 pounds (according to my driver's license anyways;) ). It works great for twisting 1/2" hot. However, when my brother and I tried removing a rusted trailer ball from a hitch mount with a 36" pipe wrench I had a bit of a scary moment when the side of the vise stand I was standing on came up off the ground with me in tow. Apparently the force exerted by my 220 lb brother, on a 3 ft. lever (that maybe had a short cheater bar attached...) was greater than the force of me standing on the base:) Ideally I think the perfect vise stand would be a chunk of steel about 8 inches by about 12 inches and as tall as the mount of the vise. Of course, you'd need an overhead crane to move it around efficiently..... -Aaron @ the SCF

Across the top of your worktable, in bright orange paint, write "THIS IS NOT A SHELF." Clean off worktable two years later and marvel at the fact that said worktable is, in fact, a worktable and not a shelf... -Aaron @ the SCF

I've got to agree with Finnr on this one. I worked in a local family-type restaurant all through highschool and split time in college between the restaurant and the college cafeteria. You learn REAL QUICK why shorts are BAD regardless of the air temp in the kitchen, and you also learn real quick why elbow length baking mittens are GOOD. Heck, I've owned welding gloves that weren't as well made as some of those heavy baking mitts -Aaron @ the SCF

A good old Lincoln Tombstone. Those suckers are nearly indestructible, and if they do happen to crash on you, they are so simple that a little bit of electrical knowledge is all that's needed for a repair. But, as testament to the Lincoln tombstone, mine is an early or mid 1960 model and is still going strong. And the only difference between mine and a brand spanking new one (as far as I can tell) is the paint is shinier on a new one I also have a little Blue-Point (Snap-on's generic little brother) mig welder. It only really sees use doing sheetmetal work, so I generally take the spool out when I'm done with it, cause chances are the spool is gonna rust before I end up needing it again. It's handy now and then, But If I could only have one welder, it would have to be the Lincoln. -Aaron @ the SCF

Mostly 6011 or 6013. I don't really worry about welding upside down or inside out much. Most things I just flip the workpiece, turn the workpiece, or otherwise manhandle the workpiece into a comfortable position. Anything to big to manhandle, I say "Hey dad! Ya wanna weld this up quick?" (it pays having the shop out at the farm and having a dad that's passed his weldor's certs!) -Aaron @ the SCF

My welding table/workbench is about 2.5' x 6 or 7' with a 3/8" top (been a while since i had to measure it) The top sits somewhere around waist high. My layout/welding table is 4' x 7' with a 1/4" top on a HEAVY dimensional lumber frame. I'm not sure why it is only 7' and not the full 8', but hey, it only cost me $20 at an auction. It sits about knee high. This one, because of the wooden frame, is no good for welding ON/TO but works great for welding OVER. The knee high is nice and easy to hop up on. Eventually when the whole shop is concrete floored (yeah, I'm still working on that...) I'll put some heavy casters under the layout table, as a chunk of worktable that big can get in the way at times. -Aaron @ the SCF

for an example, take a pair of linesman pliers, GENTLY squeeze you finger in the jaw, now GENTLY squeeze you finger behind the pivot using the same amount of force on the handles. Feel the difference? Just don't ask me the formula for the physics behind it -Aaron @ the SCF

AND to add a point of safety to his point of safety;) : The same goes for rags soaked with ANY type of oil or grease. Not sure if peanut oil will do it. But guess what? If you treat the peanut oil soaked rag the same as a rag soaked in 10W30, you'll get in the good habit of properly containing ALL oily rags (kinda like the "treat all steel as if it were hot steel" mentality). -Aaron @ the SCF

I know I'm gonna catch all manner of stuffin for this but.... My general labor charge is $20 per hour. That is $20 worth of me working on a weekend, doing something that I ENJOY doing. If it needed to be done two weeks ago, and the person is calling me today (rush job) the price just went up to at least $45 per hour. Why? because I am gonna have to cut my overtime at my day job AND pay for a babysitter so I can work weeknights to get the project done ASAP. The base $20 plus what I make working overtime, plus the babysitter all adds up to at least $45. I know that $20 seems kinda cheap, but again, it is something I ENJOY doing. If it ever got to the point that I was doing this full time, I'd have to charge more, but right now it's a full-time hobby that helps pay for itself every once in a while. With the railing project I am gearing up on right now (the materials just arrived today in fact) the client originally needed it done as a rush job. I was very up front about the situation of a rush job, and,when I explained my shop practice to said client, they quickly saw that, while it would be nice to have the railing in so they could finish remodeling the living room, they could probably live with the old railing for a month or two and work on the kitchen while I worked on the railing during the weekends. I get the job, make money, come out ahead, and the client gets their railing at a very reasonable price. Everybody's happy. I also have various "set prices" for various things. Example: I know what a headache it can be to make something with all joints being riveted/tenoned and riveted, especially when it's an object that's hard to support while riveting. Therefore I charge a set price PER riveted joint. As far as running it as a business: If you bid on a project with a deadline, make sure you hit that deadline. I've passed on things because there was a deadline that I knew might be difficult for me to make. I'd rather pass on a project than end up with the bad publicity for not hitting a deadline. Multiples/ production work: While I wish that I could make every single piece as an individual piece, somethings really are more practical to make as a production run. Example: Steel roses. I've found that for me to mark out, cut out, drill out, texture, join, shape, and finish a single rose takes me somewhere in the realm of 1.25-1.5 hours. If I get enough materials to do a half dozen at a time, and do everything as a production run, I can cut it down to about 50 minutes per. AND I can get the same price whether the rose was a one off or part of a production run. Sorry if that got to rambling too much. -Aaron @ the SCF

Paul T- It might take a bunch of wailing with a sizable hammer, but here's and UNTESTED IDEA for a way to support the spike for flattening. Get a chunk of 3" or so round (or square for that matter) . Drill a hole down the center line of the round. Heat it up and, using a COLD spike as a punch/drift/sizer, place over the hardy hole and beat the living snot out of it until the bolster takes on the form of the underside of the spike head. Should give you plenty of support. It'd probably work easier if you could mill/broach/shape the hole roughly square first, but I think it could be done from a round holed start. This IS just an Idea though as I haven't tried it myself. -Aaron @ the SCF

Very nice Jr. I have used a 5 Gallon bucket (plastic and steel). An old tar bucket works okay, seems the tar keeps the bucket from rusting up as fast (but it does make a mess if you touch the tar with hot steel!). Right now I'm using half of a 50 gallon plastic drum. It's nice and big, too big actually as I'm getting tired of dancing around the thing. Next is gonna be an empty aluminum beverage can of the more robust persuasion. I stopped by my the frat at my alma matter this past fall to pick some stuff up and ended up with two of them (can't have them on campus when school is in session and no one could remember who made the deposit or which store they came from). Just outta curiosity, those who've used an aluminum keg, What's the easiest way to get the top out and still leave the handles/top ring? I am thinking sawzall? -Aaron @ the SCF

To address the original question: "What is the best polish/rust protector/finish" I'd say it all depends on the application. For finish on interior railings, towel bars, knick-nacks, etc. the aforementioned wax finishes seem pretty good and buff up pretty nice. For something more durable, a high quality automotive clearcoat finish is nice (that's my prefered method) and can be found in rattle can quantities for small projects. For rust protection/finish on outdoor pieces, I'd say stainless steel would be ideal, if a little expensive. Below this, a good heavy multi-component paint system is best. The best system (IMHO) is a zinc based epoxy primer, followed by an epoxy color coat followed by a clear top coat. (This system will run you over $150 from Sherwin Williams as they only sell in gallon quantities). Below that, I prefer Valspar's oil based enamels (available at Tractor Supply amongst other places). It is also a multi-part system, although it is somewhat limited in premixed colors. The Valspar is also available in everything from rattle cans up through gallon cans. With any of these it is important to remember to get the steel good and clean either through powered wire brushing, or sandblasting. And also remember that the best way to apply the paint finishes is by air. I have a simple HVLP spray gun that works pretty well for general applications, although I would not want to use it on a custom auto or anything too fancy. While I'm NOT a professional painter, I'm not TOO terrible with a spray gun. I still end up with a few spots that need wet sanded and touched up, but I am getting better. There is definitely a knack to spraying paint My two pennies worth anyways. -Aaron @ the SCF

Simply BE-A-UTIFUL! Good on ya for keeping the old iron in use. Watch out though. First it's a lathe. Then an old horizontal mill. Then maybe a shaper or a big camel back drill press. Then a planer. Next thing you know your collecting antique machine tools and having to contemplate on building a bigger shop just to house them -Aaron @ the SCF

EUREKA!!! BP0453 Drum Dolly. Fill up slack tub and wheel it in. End of day, Wheel it outside and dump it. Kinda heavy on the water usage, but better than a frozen solid to the point of uselessness slack tub. -Aaron @ the SCF

Very nice Tyler! and did I hear correct that ya don't even have an art class under your belt?! I must admit though at first I had to scoot back from the computer to see it. Then when I saw it it was a "DOH! There it is!" on my part. So, Tyler, how much for the object de' arte'? -Aaron @ the SCF P.S. Ya'll wanna see some MASSIVE awe inspiring plate-work, google "st louis zoo metal sculpture" that thing is a beauty. Heck, I spent more time looking at it than I did any of the animals in the zoo, much to the wife's chagrin :)

I just yell, ring the bell outside the door, or call on the cell phone. The shop isn't that isolated and usually if it gets too quiet either my parents or my brother or whoever is up to the house will realize I'm not being noisy enough. (p.s. NO i don't live that close to my parents:) the shop is on the farm because the neighbors in town don't even like bonfires let alone coal smoke....) Once when cutting firewood we left the radio on and cranked up in the truck to listen to the ballgame on AM. Apparently leaving a radio on all afternoon isn't good for the battery, which we soon realized after the deed was done. Dad looks at the dog and says jokingly "Buffy. Go get Ann. Tell her to bring the jumper cables." The little golden mix runs off towards the house without hesitation (much to our disbelief). Ten minutes later, the dog comes back with a dead rabbit and drops it at our feet. At least we wouldn't have starved...... -Aaron @ the SCF

Ebay tools: yeh I did that a couple times. Mostly for Atha stuff (one of my vices... Love them old Atha's!) I've had better luck lately on Machinists tools as opposed to blacksmith tools though (since my blacksmith hobby is somehow becoming an antique machine collection/use hobby). Got a decent deal on the drill press (yeh, THAT one), a real decent price on my new shaper, and a steal on an old williams toolholder for the shaper (the type that holds the bit parallel to the tool holder instead of angled). Also ended up with a few 5/8 square HSS bits, NOS, for about half what the local place wanted for them new. So yeh, if the price is right, I'll ebay it. -Aaron @ the SCF

I don't know, it is kinda skimpy but might prove to make for some interesting designs ( a great conservation of matter experiment!) Although I have an inkling feeling that maybe Sam had a particular design in mind when he quoted the materials..... Alright, I've never liked doing animal shaped work.... but if I get this railing project I'm lining up squared away, I might give it a shot. What's the end date? -Aaron @ the SCF

If, your gonna put something in the bed of your truck, always account for the TRUE weight being 50% more that the ESTIMATED weight the seller gives you. If it looks like a bad idea....it probably is! -Aaron @ the SCF

How could you say such a thing Julian?!?! Great work is an arduous and tiring toil worthy of at least $75 per hour. And then of course the skill and practice is worth an additional $25 dollars per hour Now if I could just find clients that would believe that...... But, yes to all that's been said above (especially the wannamakasword kids). I was lucky to start out with a riveters forge, an honest-to-goodness anvil (the London pattern type, not the almost as good block of steel honest-to-goodness type), a few assorted tools, a LARGE "resource center" and Weygers "The Complete Modern Blacksmith." While not the BEST beginners blacksmith book out there, it at least took me from a crawl to a somewhat bumbling stumble. Lacking these basic resources, I probably would have gotten creative and made something work sooner or later. If you can't be creative enough to get yourself started, this whole thing is gonna be more of a chore than a hobby. I've also read every blacksmith book that I could get my grubby hands on, printed out the pdfs for some I couldn't get my hands on (and believe you me, I got my worth outta that "technology fee" while I was in college!), and tried to keep up with all that's happening here and across the street (although with the influx of posts as of late it's getting harder to keep up!). I do understand though that there's some questions that just really need to be put in layman's terms to be understood. Asking for a complete treatise on how to make a sword in five easy steps is NOT such a question. Each of us has our specialties. If someone were to ask me what would be minimum of defining elements (in my opinion) for something to be considered art deco, I would gladly share what knowledge I have (hey, those art history classes are gonna have to come in handy sooner or later). If I can't decipher what all those numbers mean on the MSDS for some kind of surface prep etching chemical, I am gonna try to find an answer, then come here, or there, or somewhere and ask someone who can give me a straightforward answer so I know I'm not gonna blow myself up. However, asking why the ends of your tapers are splitting (while it is a quick and easy answer) has been asked everywhere at least once; multiple times at most places. A little bit of research would save everyone else typing the same thing they've probably typed before. BUT... I shouldn't really speak as I've asked my fair share of dumb questions before (just don't let my wife know I admitted to that!). -Aaron @ the SCF (just wanted to throw in another set of parenthesis, since I didn't quite meet my quota in the above message).... ( )

How they (used to) cut it... as told by the retired railman that now runs the "antique barn sale" outside of small central illinois town: As I was pondering the complexities of using a 20" long cold cut that had a 36" long handle, the gentleman who owns the antique barns explained to me that the cold cut was run into rail all the way around with a few HEAVY strikes. The rail was laid across two supports with the cut in the center, and force was applied with a jack (I am here assuming some kind of jig/vise type device was used). The track would break off "nice and smart right along the scored lines." I guess kinda like the trick of snapping a scored shaft under a BIG power hammer? I would wager the contemporary preferred method is a big chop saw... -Aaron @ the SCF

AH HAH!! So they do get sent to a scrap place (or at least yours do). My uncle works for Iowa Interstate (who it seems contracts ALL of there work out so getting a lead is that much harder). I mentioned getting a piece of axle to him once, and he remembered hearing a Rumor that the bigger RR's rerolled them to make spikes and such (which is logical even though the quality of spikes doesn't really indicate axles as the parent stock). Hm.... I might have to look up that Grossman company. One of those axles would be well worth the drive from central IL down to Missouri if it's of the correct size...thanks sstreckfuss! -Aaron @ the SCF

Design Fees: I charge anywhere from $0 (like for a sketch of some free form fireplace tools) up to around $60 (for the railing project where the client changes his/her mind and opinion no less than ten times before I can even get one decent sketch off the drawing board). I retain ALL copyright of my designs. And then, if you wanna get technical (or if you have a client of somewhat sketchy character) at the very bottom of the design sketches write "COPYRIGHT (your name here) (date)." As far as I understand (and I am NOT a lawyer) as soon as you put the idea/design in a tangible form (a sketch) it is protected as a copyrighted work of art. To be doubly sure, I would take the original up to city hall and have it notarized by the city clerk (who in my small town is always happy to have an excuse to notarize something, anything, really!). Now it's your design. You have a witness that it is your design. And if anyone wants to argue, hopefully they'll realize that a notarized original is much more legally binding than the xeroxed copy they have pinned to the wall A custom watermark on your drafting paper would probably be cool also, but that's just pipe-dreams for me I haven't had to take anything to that extreme yet, and hope I never do. But all the same, it's good to cover my backside, just in case. Whilst on the subject. I just picked up a railing job. Prefabbed components, free-form design, all artsy fartsy and stuff. Just the way I like it. And the prefabbed components will save me a lot of time I don't have, and I can still keep up a reputation for delivering as promised. Now as long as the client agrees with my labor rates.... -Aaron @ the SCF