George N. M.

Pun on the title of the thread. A little weak but worth posting.

Laramie has been similar to Frosty's SEARING temperatures. Upper 70s and low 80s. That's summer at 7500 feet elevation. Can still see snow fields in the Medicine Bow mountains from the shop. "Oh, the huge manatee!""

Dear Jennifer, I suspect that our favorite hammers are the ones we use most often and for which we have developed a muscle memory of its size and balance. I use a 2.5 lb farrier's hammer and it is just right for the size work I usually do. If I use a 2.5 lb cross pein it just doesn't feel the same because of the slightly different balance. If I'm working on something larger or smaller than average a heavier or lighter hammer feels right for the work. I think that there is a feedback loop that we use a particular hammer most because it is our favorite and it is our favorite because we use it the most. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear Frosty, Late 18th and early 19th century England did not have bubonic plague outbreaks. They did have other fun things like cholera and diphtheria though. The big Black Death outbreaks were in the 14th century, about 450 years before William Blake. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

"I'm so old I remember when the Periodic Table had only 4 entries, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water."

My only comment is that in my personal experience I prefer a hammer that isn't quite polished to a mirror finish. I don't care for the slick feel it gives on the hot metal. I suggest that you try some surfaces from just smooth up to mirror finish and see what feels good for you. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Played fine for me. That's a lot of conservation of energy going on there. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Nice. Even though it is only 50 years old instead of 215 I suspect that it has some value since it is obviously a high quality edition. I have always like Blake but he can be kind of strange and macabre. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear Jim, Yes, that is much more attractive. Do you have the finished item in your head before you start or do you start with, say, a candle holder and then think about what would look good/interesting to support it? GNM

Dear Jim, I really like the pieces but there is one thing that clangs a bit for me. On the candle holder where the candle arm crosses the arm with the curl and the leaf/feather arm it seems to me that the twist should be more symmetrical. That is, in the last photo the curl/leaf arm should be on the left side of the candle arm. That said, I probably have a touch of symmetry OCD and asymmetry is a bit disturbing for me. I find symmetry more aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Others, obviously, will respond differently. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear Chris, Martha and I had 6 years to get used to the idea that we weren't going to finish the trip together. I did most of my grieving when she was diagnosed. Also, she gave me strict instructions not to mope around and be sad but to get out and do things and meet people. So, when it felt OK I signed up for eHarmony and met a lady named Madelynn. We really hit it off and married 3 years ago. I feel very blessed and fortunate to have hit the relationship home run twice. I love Madelynn with all my heart and will also miss Martha every day of my life. How Madelynn, Martha, I, and Madelynn's late husband Tom will sort it all out on the other side is unknown but I'm sure that we will do it. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Yep, there is no accounting for when we have to leave. My grandfather passed at 54 and my late wife at 59. Way too soon for us for them to go out of our lives. But I figure this is a temporary state of affairs. I figure that Martha has just gone on ahead to pick out a good campsite and the rest us us will be along in awhile.

Dear All, I am not sure whether to post this under Shop Design or under forges. I am moving my shop to our new home in Laramie and for once I have the space and resources to really plan and execute my work space. I have 2 coal forges, one small 22" diameter farm forge which I have used since I started hitting hot iron in 1978 and a larger "bullet" (round on one end, square on the other) forge which I plan to set up for larger projects. I have a hood for the large forge with about a 10"-12" chimney opening and I have always used about a 6" stove pipe for the smaller forge. I also have a propane forge which I don't plan to vent to the outside. I am wondering if there is recommended formula or absolute size for the diameter of coal forge chimneys depending on the size of the forge. It seems to me that you would want a large enough diameter to create enough draft to carry away the smoke and fumes but not so large that the hot gases would cool too soon and not get out the top of the chimney. The latter could be a concern in Laramie since at 7500' winter can be a reality. Also, am I correct that the top of the chimney should be higher than the highest point of the roof so that turbulence from wind coming across the roof will not create a down draft in the chimney? Thanks. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

OK, thx. It shows how little I know about professional music. I never thought that being on key or in tune was much of a concern in rock 'n roll. (I'm assuming that White Stripes is a rock band. Am I correct or not? I've heard the name but it is not my genre of music.)

Technology, a bigger hammer, precise heat treating, water or plasma cutting, or Mr. White's auto tuner must always be be means to creativity rather than the end itself. Just because you can do something with a bigger or newer piece of equipment does not make it more creative or beautiful than what you could do previously, just larger or faster. I have seen a LOT of blacksmith "art" which could be characterized as "an explosion in a spagetti factory" school of art. It seems that the artist was so taken with the ability to bend a hard medium like steel with the application of heat that the technique took over any considerations of composition or beauty. I assume that Mr. White auto tuner is something to tune a guitar which, IIRC, has 5-6 strings. He might appreciate the ability to tune faster if he played the lute which has 15-24 strings. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

JHCC: Fancy drop spindles, roller looms, orifice hooks, and a few other things. I used to ask my late wife if I bought her 200 pounds of steel wool whether she'd knit me an anvil. She never got around to it though. By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Explanation: The roller looms are for card weaving.

Dear JHCC, I post this based on the experiences of a good friend who recently closed her yarn shop. The two key things contributing to success of a craft store like that is how much competition is in the area and how many knitters are there. My friend saw her business decline over the years and attributed most of it to competition from the internet. I suggest that if Lisa wants to go in that direction she needs more than yarn, raw fiber and spinning wheels for spinners, looms, etc. for weavers, yarn for knitters and crocheters, lessons for everyone. Also, my friend had good success at fiber events such as alpaca/llama/sheep/stock shows. There is also an event called the Wool Market in Estes Park, CO every June at which she had good business. My late wife was a fiber person and I have made a quite a number of fiber tools over the years. If Lisa goes in that direction message me and I may be able to provide her with some unique tools. It may be a case of craft being attracted to craft but I have noticed that an uncommon number of blacksmith spouses are fiber folks. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear MMM, It could depend on the source of the coal before it washed up on the beach. I don't think that there are any submarine outcrops of coal in the CT area. IIRC most of coastal CT is made up of glacial deposits. I would suspect that the origin might be a 19th or early 20th century ship wreck which has dumped its coal bunkers into the environment. And who knows what the origin of that might be. Fast NY-Boston packet ships would have burned high quality anthracite from PA while some scummy old tramp steamer could have been burning anything they could get cheap. I suggest you gather a bucket or so, let it dry out well, and see how it works. If you are concerned about the salt content wash it with fresh water before drying. The price is certainly right. I believe that "sea coal" is a British term for coal that was shipped to London by ship from Newcastle. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Tie them to the legs of your booth at the craft fair so that your booth will be the last to blow away when the thunderstorm rolls through. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

I don't know if this has been posted previously: "Blacksmiths go to hell for two reasons: Hitting cold iron and not charging enough." "Anything worth designing is worth over designing." "When in doubt, empty the magazine." (A military truism but applicable to all aspects of life.) "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." (Chorus of the song of the London Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths)

Skoitch: I assume that you are using a brine of salt mixed with water. What concentration do you use? A saturated salt solution of water only raises the boiling point to about 227 degrees at sea level. That does not strike me as making a significant difference in quenching steel. Or am I missing something entirely and you are doing something exotic like using molten salt as a quenchant? "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Steve, Just the idea of opening up a centipede nest gives me serious willies. While in RVN I got stung on the side of the hand by either a centipede or scorpion and my arm was numb for about 24 hours. It was like a super bee or wasp sting. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

That's what you get when you live in a tropical climate, lots of other life forms around to share your space and compete for food and microfiber towels. Do you have large cockroaches in American Samoa (2-3" long)? We did in Viet Nam and although it has been almost half a century the thought of them still gives me the willies. And don't get me started on giant centipedes. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

This discussion reminds me of doing research back in my geology days when ore values were, particularly in 19th century reports, were given in obscure units such as poods per arpent. Notownkid, it is obscure as to why the world should follow the US which has 4.2% of the world's population and 28% of the world domestic product. As the world as a whole continues to grow and develop it is likely that those percentages will continue to decline. The real reason that the US has not completely converted to the metric system is "'cause we're 'Murica and we don't want no furriners telling us how to do anything." Even though it would have made much economic sense to convert to the metric system back in the '80s there was not the political will to carry it through. It would have made sense on a macro economic scale but for most people it would have just been an inconvenience. Personally, because of my scientific and military background I have no difficulty jumping back and forth from Imperial to metric for weight and length but my brain ties itself in knots trying to convert from Fahrenheit to Celsius and back again. If someone says that it is X degrees C out I don't know whether to wear a parka or shorts. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Picker 77, I have seen a number of anvils with lots of chisel marks on the sides. My guess is that previous owners backed up chisel work on the sides of the anvil rather than risk marring the face. It seems to me easier to use a saddle plate or something similar on the top of the anvil so that you could strike down but if someone learned to do it sideways that worked best for them. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."