George N. M.

What does your big wife call your neighbor? Glad you found a solution to your needs. "By hammer and hand all arts d stand."

True enough. You could use a cardboard box or a paper bag to hold vermiculite for annealing as long as you kept the hot metal away from the container. However, sometimes making a field expedient is wasteful of time and energy even if it is cheaper monetarily. If time is money it may be cheaper to buy a manufactured container than to spend the time and resources fabricating something with whatever is at hand. It depends on available monetary resources and how available a person's time may be and how they value their time. There is no inherent value in making do, just how the cost/benefit analysis comes out for fabricating something versus buying something. Also, one of the major values of this forum is to get input on something which you may not have thought of. There are no dumb questions but I know that I have asked questions with answers so obvious that I have slapped my hand to my forehead and exclaimed, "Why didn't I think of that?!" With the cumulative experience and knowledge here adding up to centuries someone is bound to have dealt with any particular issue, simple or complex, before. Sometimes it may be "don't do it the way I did" but that is information too. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Try a place that specializes in farm and ranch supplies such at Tractor Supply, Murdochs, Big R, etc.. Also try feed and grain places. These will be new products but you will never wear them out unless you use them as a water filled slack tub and let it freeze solid (don't ask me how I know). "by hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear J, Others may have a different experience but I'd strongly think about a treadle hammer instead of a press. My experience has been that a treadle hammer is more versatile than a press. Others may have had a different experience. Which you choose may also be dependent on the type of smithing you are doing. Blade making uses different tools and techniques than decorative iron work which is different than general black smithing which is different than jewelry making, etc.. Also, you may want to compare how much pressure a fly press of a given weight will exert versus a particular size of hydraulic press. There is also the question of how fast a press can repeat a function. With a fly press you have to swing the weight, advance the screw, and exert the pressure and then the weight has to retract the screw and swing the weights back to the starting position before you can exert a second impulse of pressure. So, you can press hard briefly but it takes a second or two, depending on the size of the press, before you can press again. I suggest that you spend some time with the local blacksmithing group and see what they are using in their shops and get their opinions before you commit to particular tooling. Also, you may want to become a more experienced smith before you decide which way your craft is taking you before you decide what tools you need/want. Finally, if your dad will pay you may want to invest in some lessons and attend some demonstrations with the the available resources. Good luck and don't jump into anything too soon. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

A large part of the problem may be that these folk are not very good at or experienced in functioning as a member of a team. There is a whole set of group dynamics for working on a team and not everyone has ever learned them. Everyone needs to be aware of their role in a team and what to communicate to other team members so that the other members have the information necessary to do their job. Too often everyone gives everyone else a stream of consciousness. Too much noise, not enough information. This is similar to the dynamics of a staff. Not everyone knows how to be a good staff member and not everyone knows how to properly work with a staff that is supposed to be advising them. It sounds like you are dealing with the reality of what a guy I used to work with recommended for making people think that you are crazy so that you are treated with caution, bang your forehead with the heel of your hand vigorously and say loudly, "All of you, just shut up!" "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Hondo: Look up draw filing on google. There are lots of discussions and illustrations. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear Rockstar, My only thought is that you get up on your back legs and say that you need ONE and only one contact person for each team with which you are dealing. Tell them what you have told us, that you are being swamped with emails from all the team members to the point where you cannot get any work done yourself. Let the team leader distribute your messages within his or her team. You cannot have a bunch of group discussions. You are not a member of their team. You are a person for their team to communicate with, as a team, with one team voice. I also suggest that you discuss this with your own higher ups and tell them that this is a serious problem and here is how you going to deal with it. I'm sorry that I can't suggest anything more substantive. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

I assume that you are going to Oleo Acres in Littleton. I have never been to their store there but I have been to their store near Berthoud. That is where I buy my coke. Nice folks and decent prices. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

I suggest that you look into joining Rocky Mountain Smiths. Various demos and meetings are currently on hold because of Covid-19 but once that is over there is a lot to be learned from the people in the organization. they also have a very good lending library of videos and books. "by hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Re 20# propane tanks freezing up when used too quickly: Back in my geologist days I was sent to sit on an oil well drilling operation outside of Beach, ND for the month of January. It never cracked zero for the whole month I was there. It was typically about -20 to -30 degrees F. at night and would get up to about -10 to -5 degrees F. during the day. We had problems with heating the trailer we were in because the vapor temperature of propane is -44 degrees F. and the furnace was drawing enough to cool the tank below that at night. We ended up wrapping the propane tanks with plumbing heat tape and then with fiberglass insulation. It worked very well and we didn't have the tanks freezing up again. On our cars we had to have both a crankcase heater to keep the oil warm and a battery heater so that there would be enough juice to crank the starter. The freezing problem seems to be a feature of 20# propane tanks. My 40# tank does not have that problem. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

OK, here are the pics resized down. I consulted with my IT Department (my wife, Madelynn) and I think I have the process down. We will just see what size is best for IFI to accept. Sorry for the confusion. G. OK, here is the right side. You can see the pattern is interrupted because this is the bottom of the V cut I made in the bar to expose the high carbon rods. The next time I try this I will put some twists in and possibly weld several billets together. This was just a proof of concept. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand.

OK, I'll try. I took the original photo files which were too large and reduced them onto a Open Office file and then attached them. I'll try to figure out how to reduce them in a format that IFI will accept. I have in the past directly from my photo file but it seems that was then and this is now.

This may be one of the more unique scrap metal stories in awhile. In 1921 Morgan County, Colorado built a new jail with cells manufactured by the Pauly Jail Cell Company. The bars of the cells were advertised as being “tool proof” and proof against files and hacksaws. The 1” diameter bars were made of what seems to be low-medium carbon steel but forged into the bars were 9 about 3/16” high carbon, hard rods (see picture below). Fast forward to 2004. The old jail was replaced by a new facility in the early '80s and was being used for storage and office space. It was decided to remodel it to provide offices for the County Commissioners. Each Commissioner's office would be two old cells. (No jokes about putting politicians behind bars.) It was a very cool adaptive use which preserved the charactr of a historic building but made it usable to a modern use. The bars to be removed had to be cut with either abrasive wheels or a plasma lance. I was Morgan County Attorney at the time and closely involved with the project. When I found out about the unique nature of the bars I salvaged several short pieces and one 8' piece. I thought that they were a sort of pattern welded steel and that I might be able to do something interesting with them. I have, as a proof of concept, recently made the knife pictured below. I knew I couldn't just forge out the bars because the high carbon rods would just be buried in the middle of the blade. So, I split the bar on alternate sides every few inches about 80% of the way through and opened up the cuts into sort of repeating W shape to expose both types of steel. I forged that out into a billet and then into a small blade. Because the majority of the material was low carbon steel I heated and quenched it in super quench and did not do any tempering. We will see how well the edge holds up. It seems fairly hard. I etched it for 20 minutes in hardware store muriatic acid (HCl). This is sort of a 10 layer pattern welded steel, 9 high carbon rods plus the lower carbon steel body. The next time I do something with this material I will try some twisting and possibly forge welding 2 or more billets together to get a more interesting pattern. I have no idea how the original bars were manufactured with high carbon rods within a larger bar of lower carbon steel. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." jail_bar_photo_1.odt jail_bar_knife_photo_2.odt Jail_bar_knife_photo_3.odt

Dear Nobody, Sufficiency of Process is one of those things that may or may not be an effective argument depending on the judge. With Judge A who is very strict and wants the Rules of Civil Procedure exactly followed it may get the case dismissed. With Judge B who is more laid back he or she may ask whether you were prejudiced in any way or put at a disadvantage by the other party not crossing every T and not dotting every I. If not, he or she will probably let things slide. This is particularly true if both parties are pro se (no lawyer). Attorneys are held to a higher standard and are more likely to get spanked if they do not follow the rules. Even though citizens are supposed to follow the same rules judges are more likely to cut them some or a lot of slack. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

You may be looking at actual rocks that got included in the fuel. Often, fuel material, coal, coke, lump charcoal is heaped up in a pile and then is scooped up with a front end loader to be loaded into the bagging machine. If the operator isn't careful and if the bottom of the pile is being scooped up some dirt and rocks may be included with the fuel material. I once had some coke that was about 5-10% limestone. I picked it out as best I could when loading the forge. I should have saved it and taken it back to the dealer and demanded an equivalent weight of coke since that is what I had paid for. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

OK, I'm going to try responding a 2d time. My comment was eaten the on the first try. As Steve says, we need more information. For example, what proportion of Al and brass were you using? What was the composition of each metal? Brass is usually an alloy of Cu, Sn, Zn, and Pb. Same for the Al. Also, if you were pouring the alloy were your molds cold or preheated? Not all metals alloy together well. Metallurgists have been working with various alloys for a long time and many alloys do not have any beneficial properties. I suggest that if you are just messing about with whatever scrap metal you have on hand that you educate yourself on some basic metallurgy and chemistry. You don't need enough for a degree but some basic knowledge will keep you out of trouble and keep you from wasting your time. Also, what were you trying to accomplish? What end result were you shooting for? If nothing else, you have learned that Al and brass do not make a good, usable alloy. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear Jaegers, You are talking about a different craft, lapidary, which can be as absorbing and complicated as metal work. Basically, you have to create slabs of rock, granite, jade, agate, petrified wood, dinosaur bone, etc. by using a water cooled saw with a diamond blade. There are specialist lapidary saws but you might be able to get by with a diamond bladed tile saw. Then, you have to polish at least one side of the slabs using wet polishing with increasingly finer grits. That is a whole other process. Stone can be drilled but again you need a diamond bit and water cooling. Most stone grips I have seen have been on full tang knives and are cut to the shape of the tang. AFAIK, they are often mounted with epoxy. A local lapidary club may be able to help you. Good luck. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Yes, the courts will enforce an oral contract if all the requirements are there but there is an old legal expression that an oral contract isn't worth the paper it is written on. The difficulty is that it usually comes down to he/she/it said/he/she/it said. Courts are reluctant to make a decision just on witness credibility. So, as Nobody Special says, get it in writing if it is worth enough for that hassle. A $10 bottle opener is not, a $1000 gate is. Also, the sale of goods is usually covered by the Uniform Commercial Code which would apply rather than the Common Law Statute of Frauds. The Model UCC has increased the amount for which a written contract is required from the old $500 to $5000 but only a few states have adopted that revision. When in doubt get it in writing. Even if you never have to go to court having a written agreement strongly discourages sharp operators from trying something shady. The same is true for waivers of liability. They may not be valid or enforceable but they discourage litigation. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

In the Rocky Mountain area there tend to be more llama and alpaca growers than there are spinners willing to process raw fiber. So, there is a large surplus of raw llama wool around. To my knowledge, there is only one commercial outfit that will process raw fiber, the Brown Sheep Company in Scottsbluff, NE. There may be another one in NM. Thomas? "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear BV, The chisel is nicely done and finished as Goods says. However, I have discovered that if making a chisel from round stock to carry the flats above the edge up the side of the shaft of the tool. This makes it much easier to index the edge when you are using it because you have a tactile feel of how the edge is oriented. If it is round and the light in the shop is not bright it is easy to have the line of the chisel off what you intend by a few degrees. I think that this is the reason that commercial chisels are usually made from hexagonal (6 sided) stock. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Relating to things that look fast no matter their actual speed, my mother-in-law referred to a particular color of car as "Hello, Officer Red."

Thomas: You and your sister are in our prayers and thoughts. There is a time for all of us to go home. Very often the person leaving is the most at peace with it and those of us who are left are the ones most upset. That was the way it was when my wife had to leave. I figured that she had just gone on ahead to pick out a good camp site and the rest of us would be along shortly. I am convinced that we will be with those who have left again. George

One thing that I have been told about running steam engines, etc. on compressed air is that the packing, etc. tends to dry out and fail. You may want to figure out a way to introduce some water into the system to keep them moist. Other than that, it is very impressive. I look forward to seeing a video. BTW, what kind of a boiler did you use to run it? Do you own a steam traction engine that you hooked up to it? "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear Hondo, Just a terminology tweek: If you quench something and it gets brittle and breaks you have "hardened" or "quenched" it. If you start with hardened metal and heat it to reduce the brittleness you have "tempered" it. For example, if you weld something to a large mass of metal it acts as a heat sink and the weld may be brittle and break under any stress. You can say that the cool mass of metal quenched or hardened the weld. Similarly, if you have a bath that is too hot and you add cold water to make it more comfortable you can say that you tempered the hot water with cold water. I can be a bit of a grammar geek but it is good to have us all on the same page in the hymnal if we are to offer any useful advice. Also, rebar can be very odd to work with. It can vary in consistency along its length. I think it is due to the fact that it is made from steel scrap and the manufacturing process doesn't really mix things very well. So, you may have to write it off to the material you were using rather than anything you did. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

The point of kevlar, and the reason it is used in garments for aviators and firefighters is that it will NOT melt and stick to the skin. It gets brittle and powdery when it gets too hot. A second choice for fabric to use around heat is cotton or most other natural fibers for the sane reason. The really bad choice is nylon or other synthetics which do melt and stick. If you are going to be in a situation where fire is a possibility you should avoid all nylon including underwear. This is particularly true for women who often have to look long and hard for undergarments that are nylon free. There is a place called Gohn Brothers in Middlebury, Indiana which caters to the Amish community that has all cotton ladies and girls underwear. They also have drop front (no fly, like sailors trousers) work pants which wear like iron. Cool place. I they finally have their catalog on line. They also have unusual things like ladies bonnets, red union suits, treadle sewing machine belts, and a really good fabric selection. They don't any more but all their packages used to be shipped in brown paper tied up with string. My late wife and I speculated that all orders to them went through a time warp to about 1910. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."