Frank Turley

If you're interested in old Euro-French tools, there are two fantastic but hard-to-find picture books on the subject. > "l'outil" by Paul Feller and Fernand Tourret. Albert DeVisscher, Editor. 1978. 225 pages. A large book, this is an overview of tools with excellent photos. > "LE LIVRE DE L'OUTIL" by Andre Velter and Marie-José Lamothe. Editions Phébus, Paris, 2003. 479 pages. A coffee table sized, wonderful photo book which is divided into the tools used for the various trades. Are these books expensive? Perhaps. It depends on your interest. Buying a good book is akin to buying a good tool. http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

What Mainely said.

The nut on the back of the screw should not turn. If it spins around the jaws won't tighten. It should have a spline or some sort of welded piece that fits in the keyway in the fixed jaw, screw opening. It looks like you have the mount parts except for the wedge. The mount strap (the U-shackle) goes at the top of the fixed leg, sliding it up until it about butts on the punched, outer, circular swelling of the screw opening. The mounting plate will go on top of a timber or the bench. You can see photos on this forum, where the spring is placed. The flat spring has a small right angle bend at the top. It is clamped by the U-shackle, jib-keyed and wedged on the plate (other) side. The curve of the spring at the bottom, near the pivot beam, is the only thing that opens the movable jaw. It is at the bottom, because there is less movement (throw) than if it were at the top. The measurements that would help are the THICKNESS of the fixed leg. We assume it's the same just under the opening swell and at the bottom near the pivot beam. The width of the spring needs to match the thickness of the leg, and in addition, the spring width nees to fit inside the two bends of the U-shackle. The other measurement is the length from the bottom of the swell to the top of the pivot beam. The bottom of the spring is fishtailed and the two ears of the fishtail are bent at right angles to keep the spring from sliding sideways. If you pm me with proper measurements, I can probably make you one for a reasonable price. I see the jib key in the slot for the mount, but the wedge looks to be missing. This is something you might be able to make cold by grinding and filing. It will have a slight taper and tighten everything together when mounting. I don't understand the little washer[?] in between the jaws; it should probably come out. On the handle side, there should be a nice, thick thrust washer. Yours looks like a torched piece of junk. I can make a decent washer if I know the DIAMETER of the screw. There is nothing wrong with it turning; it should be greased, oiled or graphited. http://turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

This story may be aprocryphal, but it makes a point. Babe Zaharias was the first woman golf celeb, reaching her peak in the 1940's and early 1950's. She was asked in those days by a radio interviewer, "Why don't you swing like a girl?" Her reply, "A swing is a swing is a swing." http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

What Jeremy said. There has got to be some attention and focus. I tell my students, a little tong in cheek, that 90% of your work is done while you're taking a heat, because you're trying to figure out what the hell you're going to do when the piece comes out." http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

In the 70's, we had an ol' boy, sheet metal worker in town who would call me occasionally to clean and dress his soldering coppers/irons. I would physically remove the 'tin' at room temp, and then reforge the pyramidal points at a low cherry red. The whole thing could have been done at ambient temp, but we gained a little length by drawing the points hot. I would then sand them lightly and deliver them. This man had a small gas furnace for his sheet metal soldering, and I offer the following about its use. There is little written information of heating the soldering irons for use. Ludwig's "Metalwork Technology and Practice," 1947 edition, says this. For the gas furnace, the gas and air mixture must give a blue flame, because the blue flame is hotter than the yellow flame. "Gasoline, oil, or charcoal furnaces are used for outdoor work." This is a direct quotation, although I don't believe gasoline is used much anymore, if at all. http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

What does it do? How used"

The "Gunsmith of Williamsburg"* video shows Wallace Gusler's method. He is trying to emulate the ways of the late 1700's. After quenching in oil, he heats a flat bar of iron and leaves it lying flat across the forge fire. The springs are cleaned and abraded to bare metal, then placed on the hot bar thick side down. The heat conduction draws the temper to a pale blue surface oxide color (628ºF). When hardening, it is advisable to handle the cherry red springs with cherry red tong jaws, so that you don't chill a portion of the spring. As with the "blazing off" method mentioned earlier, the temper will be a matter of experimentation. Sometimes, you may go beyond a pale blue into a gray/green (ocean green). Gusler says that after installation, if the spring seems too crisp, to file it down. He says, "It files with reluctance, but you can file it down." If the spring is too mushy, you normalize, harden, and temper all over again. W1 is a good steel, but it comes in varying carbon contents. Drill rod is about 0.95% carbon which would work, and it's in 3 foot lengths. I get mine on-line from Travers Tool. I have made small springs out of forge-flattened garage door springs, which we often assume is 5160, but junkyard steel rules apply. With W1, the "W" stands for "water hardening." However, the metallurgical specs say to "quench thin cross-sections in oil." My specs never define what thin means, but to my way of thinking, small flat springs are thin, so I use oil. *The Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, VA http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

Schwarzkopf's old book has something similar which I believe, is squeezed in the vise. He calls the result a flame ornament. http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

I've made many a branding iron, but I don't know why. I never seemed to make much money at it (if they were made properly). If they're a wall hanger or fire poker, that is another story, because they are easier. http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

My wife is a native of Taos Pueblo, New Mexico, and I've made a few cooking trivets for either outdoor fires or for cooking in their small fireplaces. The legs average 8" tall. They expect no finish, so I give them an as-forged finish. Traditionally, they all use a wooden stick for a fire poker. The above information will not get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks. If I'm doing steel fireplace tools, I give them a hot Johnson's floor wax finish. http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

A little history; the story behind the story. Jim Fleming complied and organized the book. He was an early Turley Forge grad. Jim called it the cookbook, because he said that I, Frank Turley, said, "The smithy's the kitchen; the smith is the cook." That's true insofar as it goes. The statement was attempting to correct the common American language error that the smithy was the smith. Let's give credit where credit is due. Tom Bredlow, the Arizona blacksmith, gave me the "kitchen/cook" saying, and I think it is his original one. I repeated it to Fleming without giving Bredlow credit. No matter what we say or do however, the idea that the man was a smithy will prevail, at least in the U.S. In England, they know better. Even worse, the smith is often called a "smitty." And it is not Longfellow's fault. I quote: Under the spreading chestnut tree, The village SMITHY stands. The SMITH a mighty man is he with large and sinewy hands." I holler and rant to my students about this, although it probably does no good in the long run. I say, "A smith wouldn't stand under a chestnut tree. If he did, he'd never get any work done." I have an old copy of the book signed to me by Whitaker. Nanny nanny boo boo. http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

And Alex held his mouth and tongue right, too. In my long ago horseshoeing days, I stopped at a new customer's house. A young lad answered the door and I said, "You're dad called me to get your horse shod." The kid began to cry and ran into a back room. He thought I said "shot." When my youngest son was about 7, he said, "I know something ya' can't make dad." I replied, "Yeah? What's that?" "A piece of wood!" http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

The eBay farriers' collection. Many a leather worker/saddle maker would give a lot just for the so-called lazy susan. It is a cast iron holder for various sized nails used in the leather shop. http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

If y'all can afford it, you might try some steels that hold up well to hot work: S1; S7; H13; H21. http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

The Sheffield suggests that it was made in England. Guessing at the "solid box" information, the vise dates from about 1840 to 1900. Before about 1840, the boxes were composites of rings, tubes, and internal threads which were brazed together. They were not solid; ie., of one piece. http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

Just a little tip, whether you use a guillotine or not. When making a tenon, as a hardie shank for example, it saves work to taper the piece first. Work on the shoulders second. You'll have less material to neck down. http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

In the 1700's, two books come to mind: "Mechanick Exercises" by Joseph Moxon, and "Encyclopedie" by Denis Diderot. It should be remembered that during those times, tradesmen were against the publication of their methodologies, as it would perhaps affect their apprenticeship systems. Furthermore, there were trade secrets, especially in the fields of locksmithing and gunsmithing. Also, literacy among the masses was not all that widespread. Viewing history broadly, the printing press had not been in existance all that long. Thomas Powers has studied extensively these books as well as other information from the Medieval period. He is currently president of the Southwest Artist Blacksmiths Association and you may be able to contact him via http://www.swaba-abana-chapter.org. http;//www.turleyforge.com Granddadday of Blacksmith Schools

Way back in the 1970's, a German trained smith named Joe Volz, would come to our ABANA conferences and share his knowledge. One time in New York, he hollered at us all, "A blacksmith without a helper is incomplete!"

Not attempting to get involved with eco-political-social issues. David Gano of Montana made a beautiful box jointed pair of "pickle tongs" which are not riveted. It is purely a friction joint. They are about a foot long and designed for getting a pickle out of the jar. The tongs have a smooth scale finish and when I give them to a person and tell them about the joint, they immediately want to open them and try to pull the joint apart to check for a rivet. One guy slopped up the joint by pulling them apart, and luckily, I was able to cold hammer-tap them together again. From thence forward, I warn people about wrecking the joint. Seven P's. "Prior proper preparation prevents pixx poor performance." The Pakistani films did not show all the preparation that went into the work before hammering the pieces together. Cold work was to follow the hammered assembly, as well. The part that was inserted was necked on both sides leaving a flat, specifically angled "wasp waist." The hot opening showed drifting over the big nut, but not too clearly that it had already been slit chiseled. http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

If you do it section by section with localized quenching, it is time consuming, but in a small shop, it might be the route to go. That is heavy stock and you'll need helper-stands plus a good vise for that type of work. The piece will be in the vise horizontally. Even with a bright heat and a large twisting wrench, you're going to use muscles you didn't know you had. Two men on the equilateral handled wrench really helps. Try to straighten any bends as you go using a wooden stump or a plank on the anvil and a large wooden or rawhide mallet. For those who think this is going to be easy, I would like to see you evenly twist a 10 foot length of 1.5" square. I laugh. http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

I don't have any motivation problems at my three week class. Everyone hustles. Each class is unique and the emphasis may vary, but we attempt to do quite a bit. It is a technique class. My opinion is...if students wants to continue to learn, they should join their regional smithing group, and attend workshops. Purchase books and CD's. Youtube.com has some good material and some questionable material. http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

I found some information at http://www.sturtevantfan.com/History.html The article says that the centrifugal fan dates back to the 16th century, but it was unclear why it wasn't more used over the years. Most of my forge blowers with the hand crank carry patent dates around the turn of the 20th century. http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

A nice hammer which reminds me of my ole horseshoeing days. I like the broadened cheek for more gripping surface to the wood. Does anyone know why a farrier might want such a hammer for turning and finishing horseshoes? I do. I started out with an old Heller Brothers rounding hammer. Of course, a rounding hammer can also be used by the blacksmith for various operations. http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools