Donal Harris

They were perfect photos. All but the first. The blade seemed blurry. As for manly backgrounds, I had something more along the lines of the Brazilian female national volleyball team. Not the Village People.

Is there a Russian equivalent to “Go big or go home!”?

They should make cutting boards with more manly backgrounds.

Just occurred to me, I don’t need a portable hole. Heavy forging to fit a new Hardy to the Hardy hole in my anvil could break off the heel. Necessitating the purchase of a new larger anvil. Even SWMB couldn’t disagree with that could she? Just kidding, I would never try to break a perfectly fine Mouse Hole just because I wanted something new. Besides, I am not sure I could bust off the heel no matter how much I abused it.

So basically fish plates are good for filling the holes your dog digs under the fence and little else.

Is fish plate useful for anything?

And it is easy and works fairly well. Go with pay pal.

I also have these I could use. I could take the pipe my finger is on and cut it so it is shorter. Weld a piece of 1/2” plate to the top and bottom. The plate would have a hole the size of one of the smaller lengths of pipe. I would fill the outer pipe with sand before welding the top plate on. On top of that I would bolt the small plate with a hole in it to the upper plate. Bolt rather than weld so I can change hole sizes without needing to make a new portable hole.

I am thinking I might use a couple of fish plates, bits of 4x4, and a 1/2” piece of scrap with a whole in it to make a portable hole. I am not all that great at drawing, but will try to post something later which shows what I am thinking. Basically, secure two fish plates back to back lengthwise. Drill holes in the corners of one end and tap them to accept bolts. The bolts will hold the plate with the hole in it. Around the entire thing, I will strap 4x4’s so it will stand upright. What about the rail anchors? I have seen the top one and the one below that, but the third one I have never seen. How would one hammer it out into a bar? Straighten it and then cut along the red line I drew? That would give two separate flat bars. I did not steel these from the railroad. I got them for free from a small scrap yard. How do you weld two fishplates together? Pre-heat them and weld them as you would a carbon steel?

Did they help you to remember why loved the one you’re with?

Why not melt and pour?

Improvised anvil.

What about boots which help with plantar fasciitis? I have some $200 or so sneakers I wear during the week at work, but when I come home I put on work boots. After a few hours my right heel will be hurting pretty good. On weekends, by Sunday night I have to limp around.

Working alone would certainly be less stressful. When you need to make a business decision you only have yourself to convince that your way is the best way. Profits have only a one way split, once the government gets their piece. No one to fight with over the music.

Clean up? That’s what teens are for. My first real after school and Summer job was working in my Dad and my father in law’s shop. In addition to cutting flat bar and punching holes in it with an Iron Worker, my job was to sweep up every building. On my first day of work, I got a little lazy and swept some dust under a fatigue mat. I thought nothing off it, but a few minutes later, my Dad came up to me and told me to go sit in the truck. He left me out there in the truck all day. At 16:30 he came out and we had a very quiet ride home. When we pulled in the driveway he killed the truck, but made no move to get out, so I remained in the truck as well. I knew he was peeved about something, but had no idea why. After a minute or so of silence, he finally said, “If you think you can avoid sweeping dirt under the mats, you can come back to work in the morning.” I think every 13 year old should learn the same lesson. Always do the job you are paid to do. No shortcuts, even if you think no one is watching. The same applies to all areas of life. Don’t do something in the dark you would not do in the light. It will be found out. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but it will be discovered someday. When will you post pics of them?

What about the railing? Is it solid or pipe? And have you ever posted photos of your shop and equipment?

Evidently so. https://www.millerwelds.com/resources/article-library/the-hydrogen-problem

Heck no. I plan to try it myself. As you learn new tricks, post them too. Even old tricks will be new to me.

Alexandr, What materials did you use for the bathhouse fence?

Someone on TouTube did a slow motion of an axe being used. I was shocked at how much the shaft flexes. Evidently it is really important to those using axes a lot. I thought I was finicky about shaft length, flex, and grip size and texture on my golf clubs, but my pickiness and tweaking is nothing compared to those using an axe all day.

Nice looking hammer. I have yet to make a hammer, but I index the faces by making one side of the handle flat and the other just slightly convex. I also carve the top of the handle flat and the bottom somewhat round (Top and bottom being in relation to the face I expect to use most.) If cut in half it would look something like a D. Someone here said they did that quite a while ago and I tried it and liked it. I don’t have to look at the hammer to orient the face. I can focus on what I am working on. Thanks, Nathan. It isn’t finished. I had thought I would rivet it to a copper or brass cross and then wood beneath that. But now I think I will try to forge a little larger Celtic cross from WI instead of brass or copper. I am still thinking I will go with bois d’arc under that. But who knows.

Ditto to what Leather Bill said. And maybe post pictures of your experiments?

If I were to print my family tree it would show me as having been the fruit of rotten limbs as far back as the records go. At every division of Good Seed - Bad Seed, fate rolled Bad Seed for my line every time. I thought I had managed to break the pattern, but my daughters seem determined to pick it back up.

Never heard that one, Thomas. “Eric And Dave’s Guitars Beat Everyone” was another I was given, but the Eddie one was easier for me to remember. I believe Eddie was better anyway.