Pault17

In, as in inlaws

Rich,
thanks for the knowledge. I was at our latest abana chapter meeting, hearing all of the "coal" smiths grumble about not being able to weld in a gasser" and lo-an-behold, the demo guy (chapter president) made a clapper for a fire extinguisher bell.

He pretty much followed your exact explanation too.
thanks, again.

Being a carpenter before becoming a home inspector, I have never had the "need" to learn to weld. But, the desire was always there. I used to watch my dad fix his old rust-bucket of a van brazing with the little oxy-mapp set.

My wife gave me a "learn how to stick weld" class at the local community college, for Christmas.

the learning continues...

Hey Ironpuppet,
thanks for the thread. I keep thinking of makiing a charcoal forge, as soon as I can get a place to work outdoors without fire concerns. This whole conversation has been very enlightening and educational. Not that I expected any less from everybody here.

thanks again

I know it's crude. I posted, some months ago, an attempted knife-shaped-object (KSO) made from a spike. There was no resemblance to a spike in the thing. I whacked this one out as a way of testing my new 5/8" bolt tongs from GS tongs (Punch tongs & Bolt Tongs).
I haven't wanted to put a sharp point on any KSO I have made because of my multiple children that like to play with the things daddy made.

M
Leaf spring is doable, but I have found that a short piece of coil spring is easier to cut and hammer into shape than a chunk of leaf spring.

Merry Christmas All, and God bless you all as well.
Glenn, you and all the IFI'ers have given me one of the best, longest lasting gifts I have had yet, second only to our God, and my wife and children.

thanks to all of you
Paul

Jimmy,
I started with a little cast steel anvil that I found buried on a hillside. I bought one of those russian submarine anvils from HF and still use the heck out of it. I am always on the prowl for a nice 150-200 pounder, but will work with what I can afford for now. AS for steel, It has gotten so bad that even my wife and children (there're eight of them) are always looking for "metal" anywhere and everywhere they go.
Welcome and great luck to you

This was the cutest little thing.

I found it attached to a piece of fencing at a vacant house I was looking at. the jaws are z inches wide and it opens about 2.5 inches. I have twisted inch in it.

I just got two of Glen's tongs from GS Blacksmith Tongs one holds 3/8 squareand one pair is a 5/8 square bolt tong for RR spikes

also, go to Link removed at the request of anvilfire and look at blueprint 132

that was my first tong and I still use it today.

I just found out that if you follow "Sean Conner's ET tongs" also makes a firm gripping set of blade tongs.

I just talked with one of the smiths in our local chapter and he wanted me to bring my little anvil by to see if it is "fixable". This is the first time I really looked at it. I have never tried to identify it because there were no visible markings on it. Until I flipped it over. there are three, what appear to be, capital letter "D"s on the bottom. would any of you more knowlegable gents or lasses have any idea as to make? I am not a collector but am now curious.

thanks

very nice LDW even for an obvious "beginner" like yourself:rolleyes:
neat integration of the cable into the handle

Sam,
thinks for all the pics. I am a visual learner , and your pics are great,
I will be chatting with Glenn for plans.

Just the other day, I was collecting junk metal from the sides of some of the back-roads out my way and I happened on one of the large metal spools for piping or conduit or whatever. I know that this particular spool has been there for well over 6 months with no apparent attention. I looked at it up close to see how useable it might be and found that the center pieces connecting the two big (nine to ten feet in diameter) were actually thick-wall 1.5 inch square tubing held to the sides with pins.

I checked the some of the pins and found that they came out easily after a little encouragement. I started pulling pins and got ahead of myself by not dropping the bars before going onto the next one. I ended up having one of the bars drop on my noggin from about eight feet. I got a little egg and no blood, so that was good. But I also realized that, if the bar were any bigger, I might not have fared so well.

I luckily walked away from there just saying over and over "what a doofus boy. ouch"

very awesome. congratulations. I would get more of that rod/material and work with it

I have been trying to find a cure to that since the first fews days after I got married. when one of you guys finds a real solution to this magnetism problem, it's worth money to me

wife of pault17

you could always make two of the legs a little taller or shorter, kindof like a drafting table:D

All of you. thanks for the help. I have these rims, that were forge welded together. and a bunch of other stuff from an old manure spreader my father-in-law drug out of his woods (same plot of land I got my first anvil and leg vice from). being generous in nature to begin with, I was ready to give half of it to my local abana chapter, and some of them were "eager" for me to do so, when one or two came up quietly and said hold on to it. I later thanked them for the advice and gave one of them a foot long piece.

The rest is just laying next to my house, waiting for me to find a use. I hate it when that happens.

pictures of Mike's/yesteryearforge's knocker


not trying to troll or poach. just seeing if it works

nice knocker Mike. well beyond my skills for now:)
Here's one I just finished. I tried to keep a western theme. The friend it's for is a john wayne knut.
the snake is from a spike. the back is a piece of 1/4 inch plate chisel-cut to look like a cactus. the pivot is supposed to looke like a branch of the cactus, but my wife says it looks like a lasso. lots a fun anywho.


mike, not sure what you are doing, but I go to the gallery, go down to the "linked thumbnail", copy the whole thing and just past it into my post. I don't click on any other buttons, just paste it in.

all.
If a person had six to eight feet of old wrought wagon rim, measuring approx one half in thick by three inches wide, art into one to two foot lengths, what would be a realistic price?

As soon as I get home, I will get a picture of mine. the jaws are about inches, total weight about 2 pounds:D. I found it clamped to a fence post.
it opens almost three inches and holds tight enough to twist up to 3/8 inch easily.

I made my first sale. Totally unintentional too.
My typical MO has been to give stuff away to friends and family. Well, I made this one for a friend that owns horses, after I told her that I "didn't do horseshoes". She asked if could, so I did.

They all started out as scrap pieces of 5/16 roundthree to four inches long.My typical finish is to wire-wheel to silver, color with heat and coat with beeswax. As simple or basic as it is, this could be an easy blueprint for beginners to follow.

They say God has a sense of humor, and he made my first sale doing what I said I wouldn't do.I guess He's laughing now.



the hand is hers and I made enough to pay for three refills of bbq bottle gas refills.:D

today was a gangbuster for me, I picked up about 40 feet of 3/8 round mild, 12 feet of 1/8 round mild and 8 pieces of 1 1/4 square thicker-than-thin wall square tubing. All of it just took me the time to stop and pick it up off the side of the road.

I also get to order a few pairs of tongs from GSTongs, along with a square punch:D

Hey mcraigl,
The tongs off the prints work fine. I made a set for fun and realized that the little nubs between the jaws need to be there with relatively sharp edges to prevent the nuts from slipping out