BillyBones

Davor, your hands a looking a bit furry in that last pic. I have never heard of Aladdin lamps, except of course in the story about the genie, so i looked them up. WOW those are expensive but very nice lamps.

Over the holidays my wife got me watching kids baking competition on TV. I actually kind of enjoyed watching that and even learned a few tips from those kids.

I run a Davenport 5 spindle screw machine for a living. It is basically a lathe with a revolving head that cuts in 5 tool positions. No computer controls, the only electronics are the buttons to start the motor. Everything is controlled by cams, gears, and dead stops. Timing, speeds and feeds, etc. are still figured the old fashioned way. Tools have to have grind angles figured out, where to center the tool using depth mics, scales, and squares, manual adjustments, etc. Then run 10,000 parts a shift holding a +/- .0005 " tolerance. Some parts we make have to be tapped, i tap right handed holes with a tap that only turns to the left. Anyway i like doing it and figuring all that out. Much better than just pushing a few buttons and a computer doing it. I also get paid much better than a CNC operator. When FIF first came on i was a huge fan. Yes it was a "reality" show but they have had some very talented bladesmiths on there as well. The hosts always seemed to try and make the show fun also. And depending on how you look at it, pro or con, it got a lot more people into making knifes and blacksmithing in general. You can watch them on demand or stream just about all the episodes. I would suggest the early seasons. It seemed that right before covid is when started loosing interest, however, during covid they did some episode of the hosts taking on a challenge and making blades. I thought those were pretty cool kind of putting their money where their mouth is so to say.

Welcome aboard. I am by no means an anvil expert but a bit that i picked up on Peter Wright anvils. In 1910 England passed a law that says durable goods shipped from England must be stamped "England". It is my understanding, again i am far from an expert, that is when Peter Wright started putting the word "England" under the word "patented".

That must be were i made my mistake, i used the dried gizzards as flux.

Das, i feel ya on the moving tool box thing. Snap-on used to do it for you if you owned a Snap-on box but i think they quit doing that a long time ago.

Wait, i thought the true north thing only worked when for breakfast you had the egg of a condor that was collected on a night of the full moon during a thunder storm by a red haired 9 year old boy fried in the fat of a bore hog that was slain by the eldest granddaughter during a solar eclipse. I also noticed that the quality of the contestants has kind of dropped. Although most of them do pull off the canister thing which is something that i can not do. It has seemed that the show has become more about the end product than the process in making the end product.

Wait, i am confused about something. Why are we searching for a place in Hawaii if the refectory is wanted from a supplier in Maine?

This past weekend i took that book, clamped it down with a straight edge, took a utility knife and cut the spine off. Was going to punch hole but while getting a 3 ring binder i found... (dramatic pause)... document protectors. So i just put the individual pages into the protectors. Now, just to actually use it.

He may have just used the bathroom scale i have seen a few people do that and they are not the most accurate. From what i have seen of anvils in this area you got a pretty good deal on it. What? Well, figured its run was about over. It got boring. Everything seemed to be canister Damascus. I started watching the show when it came on and one of the things i liked was "here is a 1972 Ford, make a knife out of it" and they would find a spring or axle or something and forge it into a knife. As a machinist it drove me nuts watching them drill holes though.

IDF&C, i did not think that the 3rd number could go over 28. My anvil is 153# marked 1-1-13. If it were another 15# (making the 13 into a 28) wouldnt the number be 1-2-0? For example.

My slot punches started out as chisels from garage sales. Most of my punches are Snap-on. I got a good deal on a punch and chisel set a few years back. They seem to hold up quite well when used on hot metal.

Frosty. no you are not. It depends on how the hook will look and the function to me. These i think look better with 1 hole so that it would look more like maybe a knot in the branch. That is what i was going for with the upset beveled end. Same reason i am not real concerned if it is a bit off center as well and bulges just a bit more to one side. I use a ball punch to dimple the bar the a straight punch to make the hole. I will the usually hit it one more time with the ball punch just to kind of clean up the edges of the hole. I will always do 2 holes in a coat hook that also has a hat hook above. They seem to go over quite well, i actually think i hit a home run with them. They take me about half hour to make and the longest part of that is the chisel marks. I am thinking of getting a veining tool to make them quicker and do them in the gasser so i can keep 6 or 8 bars hot at a time. Should be able to do about 4 maybe 5 an hour that way.

Frosty, the last 2 sets of tongs i made were made with 3/8" round bar. I was working on some small fiddly things and did not have tongs small enough. Those i did punch and drift the hole but that was just becuase i figured that small i wanted to keep as much mass as possible.

Thanks guys. I need to do a bit more "surfing" here. There is a lot i have not explored.

Chad, i like that, gives me ideas. That would also give me a reason to visit the local winery. Blue, i would say it would depend on what you are doing. Like Frosty said i would weld starting at the toe the flip when i got a bit past the middle. Then work middle to toe, the toe being what started out as the heel. If drawing out i would work heel to toe. Did a bit of work for a new "boutique" in town. Started of with just a couple "J" hooks an a couple other things to test the waters. Here is one of the hooks, i kind of like the way they turned out.

I would suggest you learn to make tongs. "need a tool, make a tool". To start doing that i would suggest getting tong blanks, that will get you headed in the direction of forming the jaws, setting the rivet, and aligning the reigns to your liking. Then progress to making the boss and drawing out or (my preferred method) welding on the reigns. If you choose to use the forge that will also give you more experience in forge welding. A couple years ago i made a post on my method of making V-bit gooseneck tongs. I was asked to do a series of photos on how to do something at work and i used this forum to practice getting it right. But those can easily be modified into off-set tongs. In the post i used 1" x 1/2" flat bar but i was making some heavy tongs for hold bigger material. That can also be modified to your need. I also do not do the 45* offset in the boss but align the jaws and reigns after riveting. I do that cuase it seems not matter how much i try i always make right handed tongs instead of left when i do the 45* upset. Just easier for me. Now how to find that post i have no clue other than to just scroll through them till i get to it. Then posting a link to it is another hurdle i have not overcome either. I am not a very computer savvy person so another here that is may be able to help. Anyway welcome aboard have fun and stay safe.

MJ, we used to have a house that had an enclosed porch. The bottom was wood slats with screen then at about 3' it was windows. I came home from the grocery store and there was a hummingbird in one of the far windows trying to get out. I cupped it in my hand gently and carried out and let i go. I have actually held a humming bird in my hand. Ok, embarrassing. I wnet to work once on one of those nice winter days that get up in the 40's or so one day with my window down. Got out of the car and went in to work. I worked 2nd shift at the time. That night the weather turned bad and the temp dropped, freezing rain, snow, the whole nine yards. My car was a 70' Nova and had a foam front seat, i left the window down. when i left work that night my seat was a solid block of ice. Again same job, we went through a period of pranks. I went out one night just before quitting time and one of the guys i worked with i turned his stereo up full blast, his A/C on full blast ( again it was winter, which comes into play shortly) windsheild wipers on high, everything turned up full blast for when he started his car. So a couple days later and he knows who did it. Kind of chilly that night so i go out to start my car and warm it up. I think that now he is going to come out and turn all my stuff on full up. So, of course lock the doors that will foil his attempts. I had to get a ride home that night to get my spare key so that i could come back and unlock my running car.

When i was a kid my parents and i took a vacation where we stayed in a pretty fancy hotel. Complete with bellhops. We get to the room, the guy is setting our luggage down an i see the balcony. First time i had been near one. I was excited to see it and and in my glee went "Oh look a balcony" and rushed out to stand on it. As you may have guessed i rushed right into the closed glass door. I think the bellhop may have forgone his tip over that.

Frosty, you are actually the one who told me how popular that park is and kind of spurred me to go there and really look around. There have been some pretty rare fossils found at that old quarry as well i read about. To me though it was the old quarry my dad drove a dump truck at for a couple years that i now use to walk my dog. Kind of weird how something in your own backyard is no big deal but something far off is exciting to see. We are also just outside of Dayton, home of the Wright bros. and we drive by their bicycle shop, or Huffman prairie where they tested their plane with out a second thought. Or the Wright Pat Air Force museum, people come from all over the world to see it. Just another building here that my granddad helped build. The past few years i have been looking into what is around me. We actually have some really cool stuff. From like i said the Wright bros. and aviation, to Indian mounds. You can find arrow heads and spear points in almost any field. I could go on about many of the historical sites we have but my point is it is weird how people will be like oh cool i get to see the ruins of Athens but miss the Indian mound right in their own back yard. While the people in Athens are yeah, yeah, just the temple of Athena, tell me more about that Indian mound. My granddaughter has not learned the lesson of dont try and take more than you can carry yet. She is only 10 though and her idea of rock collecting is anything that has a pretty shape or color. I have not found anything like leaf imprints or anything in my coal. Best i get is a vein of pyrite. I gave my mom a lump of coal i thought was pretty cool. Had about a 1/2" vein of really bright gold pyrite contrasted with the really dark black coal. I also have one i keep on the shelf in my shop that is the shape of the state of Ohio.

One of the hardest things i have had to train "kids" at work is to stop, go get a pop or other cold drink, have a smoke, just walk away for 5 mins and come back. That is at work and there is no option to come back to it tomorrow, but it is amazing what just 5 mins can do to get your head back right.

Scott, i found one of those ammonite things in a load of gravel got for my driveway a few years back. Up the road from my house, about 5 mins if you get caught by the light, is Oaks Quarry park. People come from all over the country to hunt fossils there. The park is maybe 25 square acres i am guessing and they have had to send in "search and rescue" to find people lost. If you walk in any direction for 15 mins you come to a road. My granddaughter started collecting rocks so i have taken here there a few times. At work in the gravel parking lot i found a rock that a quartz deposit, a pyrite deposit and what i assume is a hemotite deposit all on it about maybe 1 1/2" square. So of course it is now in her collection. Also, i make parts for Sgt. Greenleaf locks. They are definitely not your run of the mill Master lock. A combination lock from them is in the $400 range. They make mostly door and vault locks. Many are sold to the military. If the part is brass is is for the public, aluminum goes to the gov't. The brass one is the "big" one. From the end to the shoulder i have a +/- .00035" tolerance. Running on a screw machine. If you know anything about screw machines that is pretty impressive to hold that. It is a rivet for their locks.

I have been a Santana fan since i was a kid. I have a "for radio release only" LP of Carlos Santana and Buddy Miles live. About 4 years agos i got to meet the man. One of the nicest guys you could ever imagine. Speaking of Willie, last night i watched a movie with him. Would have loved to have seen the cast in concert. It was Willie, Travis Tritt, Kris Kristofferson, with a guest appearance by Waylon Jennings.

Alexandr, as always superb work. So, my door latch, made the keeper i forgot and scrolled up the bottom i forgot. I also forgot to put holes in the backing plate to mount it with, so much for finished. I also remade to side pieces for the hinge in the thumb latch so it will sit lower in the slot and give more throw.

Georeg, my aunt speculates that she was some one that grandpa... uh... "knew" when he was stationed there. Him and my grandmother were married after the war.