Fowllife

So I figured I would update this with what I ended up with for my first rose, well actually my first 2. It turned out to be quite a bit easier then I was anticipating. So this is what I made I’m fairly happy with them. I still need to add some thorns and the leaves. I have the pieces cut out and am going to make a couple more with more of an open layout. Justbtobhelp amyone else our that may be looking, I essentially used ausfire’s dimensions which are below.

Thanks for the picture Daswulf, that helps a lot. Maybe I shouldn’t have called this Roses 101. I understand the basic concept, just trying to think of the extra little things to add. I like to have ideas and plans in my head before I ever start the forge, that way is something doesn’t work out I can just roll into plan B. I like the serrated edges on the leaves, I hadn’t thought of that and it adds nice detail. Thanks for the detail description ausfire.

Thanks Guys. I have all the basic tools (scroll tongs, MIG welder, OA torch, ect.) I was assuming the leaves just got welded on and then the welds cleaned up. I wasn't sure if the thorns were the same, apparently so. I don't have any type of detail grinder, how hard will it be to clean up the welds with a 4 1/2"? Or is that all file work?

With Valentine's Day right around the corner I would like to make my wife some long lasting roses. I've seen some beautiful roses made by Daswulf, 58er, and some others. What are some thing you do to make your roses stand out? I like the detail of the peaned peddles and textured stem. My current skill level isn't very high, but I'm always looking to try different things. I have never tried to make a flower or rose this this could be an epic fail, or should I say some really fancy scrap iron.

Yes, corn (or any other agricultural commodity) has never been as cheap as it is right now when adjusted for inflation. In the past it would have been much more expensive then the more common fuel sources. I'm sure it might have been used small scale by people that just had it laying around. JHCC's cost break down and TP's further adjustment probably still pushes the cost effectiveness even further out. Just to throw another set of number out, I sold my corn last fall for around $3.25/bu or around $115/ton. That was after hauling it 10 miles to the closest elevator. For the OP and myself, this makes corn a little more of an attractive option. I would gladly sell corn right now for $200/ton off the farm in bulk 1,000 pound plus quantities. This thread now has me wanting to make a solid fuel forge to go along with my gas just to try it out with corn.

Corn is around 390,000 btu per bushel. A bushel is 56 pound which is around 7,000 btu per pound. It wouldn’t be too hard to figure out the cost per btu for different fuels. On the commodity market corn is around $3.50/bushel right now. Rule of thumb on moisture is usually 14% or less, the dryer the better though. Guy who runs corn burners for heat usually use that 14% moisture. If it’s much over that they will start to mix in pellets to make it burn right and reduce the clinkers. Years ago I ended up with a wagon load of damaged ear corn that I ended up burning in my indoor wood/coal burner. It burned fairly similar to coal in that situation, but almost a quicker heat that didnt last quite as long. Mind you though this was ear corn and not shelled corn. Just like coal you had to get a decent fire going before switching to corn, if not it would just smolder.

Also keep in mind a lot of older drills presses are just as good or better then new import stuff, and also may be cheaper.

Actually, a PTO pump might make it worse. You will need to run the tractor at full PTO speed to get the maximum out of the pump. I don't know the whole specs on your exact tractor, but you may get more flow & pressure at a lower RPM out of your remotes. An exception would be if you have both 540 and 1000 PTO speeds. This would allow you top get a 540 pump and an adapter to run on the 1000 shaft and just throttle back until you 1000 PTO is running at 540 instead. My main point being it's not overly efficient to run a 120 hp tractor to power your press. Between fuel, maintenance, and depreciation it probably cost $25-35US/hour to run that size tractor. If that's all you have then give it a whirl. You don't need 3 phase power for a press though. If you base your press on the same 9 gallon/minute that your tractor has maybe someone smarter then me can give you a motor size required......phase converters and VFD's are fairly cost effective over here, would that be an option for you as well?

Also keep in mind that the rated pressure is probably only at rates RPM which is probably 2000-2300 rpm’s. If you run it at idle your pressure will be lower. A tractor that size will probably burn 5-6 gallon of deseil per hour as well. For occasional use you would be ok, but you could pay for an electric over hydraulic setup fairly quick with heavy use when you account for fuel and depreciation.

Well, you can’t see the 32’ aluminum extension ladder on the other side. If it wasn’t for the garden tractor with a front end loader in the bucket of the skid loader I probably would have had a pair of trailers stacked on there somehow. It was pretty close to 16k pounds, but balanced good and the truck handled it with ease.

I just recently started smithing and am currently lacking tooling, so the coils spring will turn into punch’s and drift farely soon. The #30 tank might be a future forge. All of these were free so the price was right.

A friend of mine asked me to help drag a dead tractor home for him over the weekend which turned out to be a fun adventure. I managed to pick up a couple coil springs, an old 30 pound propane tank, and a couple of mild steel ASO’s. I also managed to snag a post vice from another buddy as well. A couple pictures of the spoils. We felt like Sanford and son pulling out with our load.

I would go with single bubble. If you have any local lumber yards that specialize in pole barns give them a call and check the price. Locally there is a place where I can get single bubble with one foil face and one white scrim face for about half the price of anywhere else. If I remember right it was around $75 for a 4'x125' roll. Throw some purlins on your rafters, roll your bubble from ridge to eave, then throw your steel on. If you can't find bubble locally then 1/4" foam fan fold works also, it's just not as easy and the birds tear it apart easier.

Are you talking true insulation of just a vapor barrier? At the very minimum you will need either 1/4" fan fold or some single bubble insulation to control condensation and dripping. I made the mistake of not using some on one of my additions and it rains from condensation every day in the summer or when it's humid. If you are talking true insulation then it's hard to beat fiberglass batts for the cost. Obviously if your rafters are more then 24" o.c. batts are harder. Whats your roof construction going to be, and what are you thinking in terms of insulation thickness?