BillyBones

Made this here spatula. Ever have that time in the shop where you have nothing that you "have" to work on? No honey do list, no orders, just me and time to do what i want. So i had never done a 1 piece spatula, usually i do the plate and rivet the handle on. A piece of 1" x 1/4" flat bar. Folded over and welded about 3" or so to get more mass. Then flattened him out. A bit narrow but i am happy with the results for a first effort. Also took a broom and discovered that i do indeed still have a floor in the shop. Maybe today i will see if there is still a top on my bench, been a while since i have seen it.

As someone who has been using tools my whole life, when buying screwdrivers, especially larger ones, look for either square shank or the ones that have a hex under the handle. Many times a worn screw can be removed by holding down the top of the handle and turning the screwdriver with a wrench while just turning by the handle will cuase the screwdriver to slip out of the slot/slots. For really worn, rusted, or damaged screws an impact driver is your best freind. Jim, very cool. White fox, that is not chatter, those are spots to let the wheel grip the belt better.

Blue you hit something there. You are right except that they do not even want programmers. Just some one who can hit the start button and make it work. Maybe at most change an offset or a tool but no real "machining" at all. The shop i work has a CNC department, it consists of 10 or 12 operators and 3 programmers. We call the operators button pushers becuase that is exactly what they do. They also do not want to learn machining. I was explaining to one of the guys in our CNC dept. about how i do my job and he was just nope to complicated for me. I run a Davenport 5 spindle. The machines i run were built in the 70's and 80's in our shop. The oldest i have ever ran was built in 1932. They were developed around the turn of the century, so no computers. The only electronics is the motor and the button to turn it on. On the bright side though, i make more money than the button pushers.

Jim, check your local building supply. They are used for nailing something up temporary. Like a brace holding a wall in place or something. Well, that is what they were made for. They also make good nails to hang pictures and i saw some one once use them to do i think it was stucco, could have been plaster, but put them in the wall to give the stucco something to grip and hold to. Like anything, what ever i can imagine to use it for i will use it. I know a lot of people here* if i was to show one to would not have ever seen one either. They are not the most common thing to come across in the garage. *Edit: Here, i meant around where i live not on the site.

When i make candle holders i will make a cup out of sheet or use a duplex nail for a spike. The sheet can be worked cold into shape. The nail i grind the top head off of to make the spike, then cut the shank to length i need. I made a header that goes in my vice to pein the spike down and lock it in place. The cup is an old one i did not use. I bent it back open to get an idea of how i cut the sheet. I then use a socket to bend it to shape. The candle holder is an example of how i set the spike.

My grandpa smoked Prince Albert. He rolled his in cigarettes though.

Frosty, have you never read "Treasure Island"? Pew gave the black spot to Billy Bones who when receiving it had a stroke and died. That was when the pirates attacked the inn but Billy had already given the map to Jim Hawkins. You may not be able to tell but one of my favorite books.

Our economy is not that bad... yet. But our business outlook is not good for the next couple months. We are down about 20% sales. The stuff i make is made on what our customers expect their sales to be 3,4,6 months even sometimes over a year out. Dont sound that bad except our customers are those multi billion dollar companies. We make parts for everything from pick up truck to tractors to MRI machines to meat slicers to F-16's, we even make a part for a company that makes telegraph machines. If you have ever seen a solenoid, that little steel post that has the copper wire wrapped around it, i make that little steel post. So when the parts i make are not needed that generally means that it is going to be a rough time for a bit. What i do we are the first to feel a down turn, however we are also the first to reap the rewards when an upturn comes. Now why is it that way. Well i prefer not to say becuase that would get political and we all know "You never bring up politics nor religion in polite conversation." one of the reasons my boss also wants to keep people is becuase it is almost impossible to find new people. We have hired at least 6 people in the past 2 years to do what i do. 2 have stayed so far and one of them is because he came from another shop running the same machines. People do not want to do what i do any more. I run a screw machine. It is high speed high volume machining. It is dirty and you have to be able to do math. Mostly though, if the machine is running good parts you sit on your but and do nothing. It is not strenuous, it is not hard, and i get paid good money and have good benefits. But for some reason people now do not want to do it. I am 53 years old and i am one of the young guys in my shop. One of the reasons i love seeing young smiths here is becuase it lets me know there is still a spark in kids now that wants to work and make those little things that make the world go round.

Jim, how are the candles held in place. I do not see a cup so i am assuming it is a spike. Are the drip pans welded in place and the spike made from a tenon? Nice idea, i like it. I love making candle holders. There are so many variations you can do, From wall mount, table top, or even floor stand. My wife will not let me make her any anymore. Nice cool Nov. day, technically we were still in Oct. but we got our first snowfall today.

Wait, so Scott, you did not take that job on the Queen Ann's Revenge? What about that leg i heard you lost climbing the top sail? At least Pew did not give you the black spot.

We were doing 4 10's, about 2 months ago we cut back to 36 hour weeks. Hopefully now that the UAW has settled we can go back to 40, but with the overall economy it does not look like it though. Fortunately we are not laying off, some shops around here went that route. We will go to a 32 hour week before that happens. My boss does not like laying people off so she, yes we have a female owner of a machine shop*, will do what ever she can to not do it. We all also agreed to the cuts as well. It is cliché to hear at a place "we are a family here" but it is actually true where i work. *just to clarify, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a woman owning a machine shop, it is just not very common.

5160 is a pain in the ... to weld. What i like to do is use a small peice of filler between the pieces. I get high carbon band material from where i work and use that. We get it about 1 1/4" wide, a couple small pieces and about 90% of the time i get a good weld. That same strap makes nice fillet knives as well. Just cut it to shape, heat treat, put a handle on and sharpen. easy peasy. Just do not have it in the vise, turn real quick and hit the tip with your arm. Take it from my experience they are flexible and will run along the bone in your arm rather than just stopping. The last one i made ended up about 3" under the skin next to the bone. The wife called me names and laughed at me. The clock springs that some trucks, Dodge specifically, come with for the hood springs, make great bits for axes. They get way harder than a peice of coil or leaf spring i have found so not really sure of the material. It also seems to me that using old springs if there are cracks from fatigue i find them long, long before i heat treat anything. I should add that i do not make and sell knives so i am not worried about hurting a customer. Most of what i use it for is tooling that i use.

Nice little guy there. I work nights as well except i love it. No way i would go back on days. Night shift, we do not have the suits walking around and can pretty much do what we want. My shop we work 4 dyas a week, 10 hour shifts. That gives me every friday off so a 3 day weekend every weekend. You can pick up a cheap little stick welder for about $60 now a days. No you wont be welding together battleships or sky scrapers but they work good enough to say tack your bars together for a forge weld or stacking a billet, welding the shanks onto hardy tools, etc.

Blue, i have the same problem with my barrel hood rusting out. Almost one whole side is gone. Figure i will fix it tomorrow. So in the shop made a trivet, not my best but it is for mu own use so functional over pretty. Also started a door handle. Still need to do the thumb latch, and the inner parts. There will also be a basic lock.

Paul, My deepest sympathies.

George, i know most of that. I was just saying that here, even in the rural areas code is kind of strict. More of a comment on how things are different state to state or even county to county. There is no such thing as a wind dead zone here. It comes from all directions and many times all at once. When settlers moved to this area the native Americans who lived here then call this place the spot of big wind or something like that. So what did we do, built our county seat there. In my life time it has been devastated twice by tornados and a couple years back we had 18 touch down in one night in this area. Gets a bit breezy round here at times.

I would start with instead of the scroll welded to the horse shoes rivet them together. Seeing as how it seems that it has been determined that is is a hat hanger, leave the horse shoe at the top. Add a coat hanger cause a cowboy also needs a place for his coat. Does the part that attaches to the wall have to be a a horse shoe? Or could it be the shape of say Texas? ( hope you caught that , funnin' ya) The crosses, if they do not have to be duplicates i would do something like rivet them together but the rivets look like nails.

You do not have to have a permit? Around these parts we have to have a permit to build pretty much anything bigger than a dog house. Wind is not an issue? is that a normal day or does that account for storms with high winds or maybe even a tornado? I have never been to New Hampshire or know anything about the weather there so i am not trying to be critical, just wondering. Thinking about it, with the way we have high winds and tornados may be one of the reasons we need permits to build just about anything here.

TW, also got your card. One of these days i will get off my lazy but and send one. Still have the Christmas card on the table next to me that i sent to myself instead of you last year. I have never made icicles before but i am thinking maybe cut some sheet in a long taper kind of triangle about 5/16" maybe 3/8" at the top and make a nice long twist in that. Or some small flat bar. Something that would need to be that small and light could also be worked cold i would think.

Looking pretty good. That is the same way i am doing my "office" in my barn. I had enough left over 2x10's from the porch i put on my house to frame in a floor. The kid next door to me moved out and left me about 15 2x4's i have been using for studs. The walls are from stock boxes i am getting from where i work, all pine board much like what you are using. One question though, how is it all anchored to the ground? Or is it all just sitting on those bricks? I would have dug down couple feet and poured concrete pillars then anchored it to them.

White fox, very nice hammer. NicZa, those look better than just about every set of tongs i have made. Got this years serving fork done. Get it's first use come All Saints Day. After a bit of work i cleaned out my forge. I found this huge chunk of forge glass in the bottom. Shut down and went to enjoy my home towns annual Halloween festivities.

JHCC, yes i know that. I am not a fan of that online retail site named after the river so i refuse to actually use their name or use their services any longer. Long story but they basically told me that there was nothing they could do to help me get a refund on a product that was never delivered. I do wonder at times though was it named after the river, the forest, or the warrior women?

I went from basically living on the street 15 years ago to owning a home and becoming prosperous, having a family with grandkids and even 2 great grandkids now. I gave up most of my ill habits and completely quit associating with any of my old "friends". My only 2 vices now are a couple beers when i get home from work and the cigarettes i smoke. And if you knew half of the things i used to do... that is pretty danged impressive.

Commercial links not allowed. Do a search on "chimney draft fan". They sell them at that website named after the giant river in S. America. Also chimney supply places usually sell them. The in-line fans go on the outside of the stove pipe with the blades protruding into it from the side. Kind of like a squirrel cage fan. On the outside it will be much less exposed to the heat. If you are really interested in one i would contact a chimney supply company like Rockford (they have a website with a chat function) and ask their opinion and what would work best for you. My thought when i contemplated one was using and old air pump off of a car with air ride suspension. Mount it to the wall then run duct to my chimney coming in at a bit of an upward angle. That way the fan is well away from any heat and the duct would be much easier to take off periodically to clean out any soot or debris that may accumulate. In my opinion i think you will be fine with just the 8" pipe. As long as you practice good fire management and not burning a lot of green coal. You will get the errant bit of smoke but it is negligible. I would try it with out a fan first then if you need one look into buying one.

Gov't Mule, Widespread Panic, and Blackberry Smoke are the only bands now that i will go and see. I used to go to a lot of live shows when i was younger, maybe 3 a month on average, as i have gotten older i no longer want to deal with the crowd, getting clean and sober helped with that really, or the driving there and back, or the standing, or the... you get my point. So i decided if i want to go and see a show it will be a good one and close to me. If it is one of those 3 i always try and make it. On a side note me and my dad went to a local bar last weekend. For pizza and a couple beers*. I made a comment to him and said that coming to a bar makes me realize why i no longer like hanging out in bars. We drank our beers, ate our pizza and had a good time laughing at all the "kids" doing what we used to do in bars. *Alcohol was not my problem. I do not mind talking about my past and my mistakes, i have spoke at NA meetings and have helped some. If you have a loved one or if you yourself want some advice, please ask.