BillyBones

One note about soil usage. Burn some before making a whole forge from it. I needed to patch a small spot next to my tuyere, so out in the yard i went. When i fired the forge it stank to high heaven. The only thing worse was when a cat left me a tootsie roll in my coal pile i did not catch till it was burning. Trust me that is a smell that no one should experience. 

Some one say pie?

Yes it is Maque Choux. Thanks for that. I also miss the boudin. 

That homemade hook thing looks like it is for a flatbed tow truck to tie down the car with. 

Folks tend to think of crawfish as a southern thing. The first time i ever ate them was here in Ohio. Fresh out the river in a pot on a camp fire. However when i lived in Baton Rouge i found out that even though we may eat them in the north, we do not know how to cook them.  They are a lot of work but i think it is more of a camaraderie, sittin with your buddies having a coupe beers thing that makes them better.  One of my favorite dishes and i can not remember the name of it, is crawfish tails with creamed corn and rotella tomatoes. 

They may taste alright, but i just cant get past the idea of sticking a grass hopper in my pie hole. 

Do not feel like an idiot. You had a legitimate question and like my drill sergeant always said " The only stupid question is the one you do not ask." Some may think it is basic knowledge but the fact is you do not know. 

Matt, he needs squeezy cheese on his nose.

Why in the name of... would any one want to eat a grasshopper. I use them for fishing my self.

Lola looks like just a great big pretty to me. All tuckered out ready for night night. 

Glad i am not the only one using anti-seize. I let it sit and drain some oil off it so it is a little dry. 

You can use cat litter but i prefer to use oil dry. Basically the same clay but i have found really hard pieces in cat litter that just wont, dissolve for lack of the proper term. 

That anthracite will require a lot of air also. 

I would suggest that you read the stuff on JABODS and fuels. There are many discussion on claying the forge and what to use and how. Also the fuel sections will let you know what to expect with your chosen fuel and how to use them.  

You still get some nice blow back and flames in the cockpit of a funny car. I remember my dad telling me that you have never lived till doin 160mph, the engine blows and you get sprayed with hot oil covering your face shield, blind going down the track. Good times. 

Fun fact, the super charger or blower was originally designed from the blower used to circulate air in mine shafts. 

Fun fact #2, When "Big Daddy" Don Garlits broke 200mph the engine was a factory big block hemi with a blower strapped on. If memory serves it was dual 4's and a blower but no other mods. Well of course the manifold but the rotating assembly was all stock. 

Ok last one, Fun Fact #3, the super charger on the "Sanp-on" top fueler takes more horse power to turn than most cars on the road today put out.

How about gears? Attach a gear onto the motor rather than a pulley. Another gear to be driven with a pulley on the face. 

I do not know about Quad-state, this year will be my first. 24 days 23 hrs 24 mins and 9 sec. I have only been to SOFA once. However i have some mental issues from the Army and i do not do well in unfamiliar places so i was not there long. I am however excited about going to Quad state this year, been looking forward to it. If i can get it, going to load down the old GMC till the front wheels come off the ground. (put a half ton of fire wood in a little Ford Ranger once, that was an adventure driving back to the house.)

Well, i just looked them up. Think i may have to take a trip next weekend up to this Yoder's place yall speak of. About a 2 hour drive it looks like. 

Got 2 of these today. I know it is anthracite and not ideal, but that is what i mostly use becuase that is what is available locally. Mostly though the price was right. $6 for 2, 40# bags. Cant beat that with a stick.

Need to come up with a new way of saying Great work Alexandr. 

Glad yall are safe up in the great white north. All i hear about on the news here is Brazil. 

Das, you could tell me its a fender, les paul, ibanez, or what ever i i would go "its a guitar." Couldnt tell one from another. 

Been gone the past couple days (well we left early yesterday and just go home this evening). My uncle passed this weekend and had to go down home for the funeral. It was actually the cousin i was making the poker and stuff for, his dad.  Nice to see some a family i aint seen in quite a day, could have been better circumstances though. 

Nice drive down 23, "The Country Music Highway", found out Chris Stapleton is from Paintsville also. He donated a bunch of money to the high school for the music department. Also comes and plays for the school every once in a while. Very involved with the school there. 

Figures, my speakers died about a week ago. 

Frosty, hope you and yours are staying out of danger. 

Anyway today was a balmy 69, man what a relief. 2" of rain maybe, nice and cool. Aint cut the grass in over a month now so hot and dry. 

So nice and cool got some good shop time

My cousin and his wife just bought a new house and she is all excited about having a fire place. I decided to make them a set. My first basket twist, welded on to a poker. I failed miserably. Should have seen that comin. 

The twist was alright, it was the welding of the rest on that went bad. My scarf would not weld and it ended up thin as you can see. Guess i will cut it off and try again. 

Also made him and the wife a cross

And a "that guy on you tube that we can not pronounce nor spell his name" Torbjor Ahman inspired hasp.

If i see that correctly that would be the part the steps are attached to? That is a "stringer" in English. 

Again nice work there. 

I have never built a "coffee can forge" but i have however seen one. This is just my opinion but unless your plan is to make blades that are maybe 3-6" from stock removal, and you are using the forge to heat treat only, they seem kind of useless to me. But again that is my opinion, some here may say the greatest thing since sliced bread. But i think they are just to small to be practical. So it basically comes down to a question of what are your plans? What kind of things do you want to make? Then go from there as to what you will need. 

This started out as a hobby for me also. I thoght i wanted to be a blade smith, turns out there is not enough anvil time and way to much grinder time for me. I want to work hot metal. My hobby went from a simple side blast charcoal forge to a single burner propane and now what i call a hybrid JABOD-brake drum forge burning coal. My backyard hobby turned into a fully functioning shop. Takes up my entire garage (12 X 18) but will be moved to the barn once i get some electricity out to it. 

Best advice i can give is read these forums. There is a whole lot of info here. Do not be afraid to ask a question. My drill Sgt had a saying for that "the only stupid question is one not asked." While yeah some may find it a stupid question the fact is is that you do not know the answer, do not stay in the dark. The curmudgeons here may seem a little gruff at first but they are a great bunch of guys that give their knowledge freely. One more thing though before asking a question see if it may have already been asked and answered. Do not use the search on the site, use google and put in what you want to know followed by "i forge iron". For example "JABOD iforgeiron", then hit search. Oh and we love pictures, no picture did not happen. In my short time doing this, less than a year at the anvil, i have found that the blacksmith community is kind of tight knit and very supportive. 

From one noob to another, welcome aboard. Remember to keep it fun but most importantly keep it safe.  

Well this was actually at work today but i think some of yall will find it pretty cool. 

Old 3 speed standard. Take off the tail housing and as you can see the whole tranny is about the size of a football. (That would be our master builder tearing it down, that old is a little beyond my know how)

Which came out this: 

1948 Plymouth Special Deluxe. For being a 70 year old car it is really good shape. Had to get someone to show me the shifter pattern. Old 3 on the tree.

Anyway just dont see these to often and it is kind of cool working on it. A total of 14 bolts to get it out, took about 20 mins. 

I used to stop a the drive through on my way home after work for a beer or 6. I got the strangest looks sometimes. I worked 3rd shift and got off at 7 AM. 

Ask your local mechanic. We have a couple cars on the lot that my boss has bought becuase after pulling the trans the owner did not want to pay for the repair. He offered them a couple hundred and bought the car. When we have the time i will rebuild the trans get it running right and park it out front for sale. Some of been just straight up abandoned, he will file for title and we will resell them.  

Aren't all kids mentally ill? 

Really though i have 3 daughters. 2 of them were problems with drugs and mental issues. It is hard but things do get better. Not that they are any saner, they are young adults and there is only so much you can do for that condition. 

Pnut, if you are looking for a car do not get a Nissan with a CVT transmission, i am pulling them out at around 60 - 70 K millage. I had 4 in the shop last week, 3 this week, and 3 more sitting on the lot for next week. Very high failure rate and a very expensive repair. 

Also stay away from Fords with a dual clutch trans, like the fiesta. They have recalled every single one in the country, and in Taiwan they had to buy back every single one. If ford wont fix it there again it is a very expensive repair. 

18 hours ago, JHCC said:

Now of my threescore years and ten,
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more."

That took me a minute to have to think about. 

I think i may be able to find a use for that power hammer.

I have always been kind of the same with money, not the most important thing. I grew up in the sticks with nothing. Most of the food we raised, no plumbing an outhouse out back, the backwoods hillbilly from Kentucky ( that is hillwilliam now that i am sophisticated.) But i remember dinner with the family, sitting on the front porch in the evening with the family. Some one would break out the guitar or a banjo and play a little, some would sing along, a fresh water melon cooled in the creek, dogs under the apple tree, and all that stuff you can imagine down home. In my opinion i was richer than Mr. Bezos. Money aint everything, what truly matters is family and that bond of love shared by all. It made the hard times worth it. 

Any way $10 K for a violin bow!?! $50 K!?! That is crazy. I always figured they were just something that came with a violin or what not. 

On 2/20/2019 at 6:51 PM, eutrophicated1 said:

after 10 years of rebuilding tranis, I've never seen the fluid actually combust

Ahhh...another tranny guy. 

We had a suburban in the shop once we were trying to get the job on through a warranty company. My boss said to drop the pan, put it back on, fire up the truck and let it run in reverse till it burnt up. After a bit of running fluid shot out of the dipstick tube hit the wall and burst into flame. 

Seen many a drum chucked in the scrap pile from being welded up.