pnut

Listen to Steve Sells 

Yeah frosty our elders are something to be cherished. 

They've been there and done it. I used to spend a lot of time at the old folks home by my house growing up visiting with the patients listening to their stories and keeping them company. 

My friends didn't understand it but the relationships I made there were some of the most influential in my life. 

Unfortunately my granny suffered from dementia at the end. It was heart wrenching watching a dignified educated woman disappear before your eyes..

Such is life, but most of her days were bright and filled with the Joy of living and that's the way I choose to remember her.

  Pnut (Mike)

Remember, love people while you can.

4dam, I live in an apartment and have been able to forge without any problems as far as location. Before I got started I was worried about it.

Charcoal is nearly smokeless and there's always propane. Your HOA allows bbq grills right. 

If noise is the concern there's ways to mitigate that also. 

Let the community know what challenges and concerns you have and you may be surprised at the solutions that folks come up with.

Welcome and good luck

Pnut (Mike)

JHCC, I forgot you're the op of the read this first post.  

Well here's a belated thank you. It was a big help when I joined. I didn't have to spend the time figuring all that out on my own.

  Pnut (Mike)

You probably shouldn't assume anything. He could be in the service in Germany or an ex pat. Who knows unless he or she tells us. 

Steve made a useful suggestion.

IF&C posts that to every new member

it read to me that Thomas was posting somewhat tongue in cheek to make a point that everyone only knows for sure what is in the op's profile or Post.

To my eyes it didn't look like a dogpile.

Hinds, I found where to buy steel by using Bing and searching steel suppliers near (insert your location). I got lucky and there is a supply ccompany about 15 miles from me that deals with the public..  good luck Hinds and welcome to ifi.

Pnut (Mike) 

HammerMonkey, how about an update. How's the tire hammer working? 

I forgot about Mr Stoner until a repeat of KY life was shown on PBS yesterday. 

By the way I think those draft horses look forward to a day in the blacksmith shop compared to a day in the field. 

Thanks,

            Pnut (Mike)

Ditto on the burl. The colors are gorgeous. 

I'm not clear on the term procedural guard and pommel either.  Does it refer to a multi step procedure. I'm just curious. I like picking up new terms whenever possible. It's almost like collecting stamps just more practical. 

If you can find time could you elaborate a little.

Thanks, and your knives are works of art. I hope to one day elevate my skills to this level.

 Pnut (Mike)

The big hammer is great. The grinding contraption he's wearing is a perfect example of ingenuity in commercial production. We had weird one off tools like that at the rubber refinery. Tools improvised for doing one specific process.

Great video, I love old industrial shorts too.

Yeah, I miss her. She was an interesting lady. She'd say something like that or tell a bawdy joke while wearing white gloves and a hat. She was a throwback ti   another time. She was born in 1921. 

Not directly related to blacksmithing but lends itself to it very easily. At about the age of 8 or so  while lying on the ground crying after jumping off the garage roof my Grandma said to me, "If you're gonna be that dumb, you better get a lot tougher.", then she turned  and went back into the house without another word.

The last of my dogs died maybe 18 years ago and I still can't bring myself to get another. It's a cruel trick of nature that an animal you bond with as strong as any family member has such a short life :-( 

Costco has pretty good deals on cases of fever, depression, gluttony,and obesity too. The coupons are in their circular. 

None of it matters since the Earth is flat!!!   JK

Jokes aside people just beginning to learn the craft of which I count myself as a complete novice don't need spurious info muddying the waters. The learning curve is steep enough without someone propagating myths and old wives tales.

Thanks to everyone for quickly putting this fairytale to rest. There's much to be said for peer reviewed sites such as this

   Pnut (Mike)

It's definitely an estimate or someone had a very busy schedule counting all the micrometeorites that fell on Earth that day. Talk about a terrible Monday. I think I would have called in sick. ;-)

I am just guessing but I suppose it's only counting material falling on land. I didn't have time to dig much further. I'm at work right now. I'm not sure  if they are estimating strikes over water also. I have to read the rest of the study later.

10 hours ago, Frosty said:

 I don't recall how many hundred tons of space dust hits Earth daily but it's a LOT. 

I couldn't find a definitive answer on the daily amount. Too many conflicting results.  According to a Cornell University study it's78,000 tons yearly so approximately 213 tons daily.

When I was a kid I thought collecting meteorites off the roof was the coolest thing ever. I had a mason jar about a third of the way full that I used for a science presentation in the fourth grade;-) IIRC it didn't take long at all to collect either but I had a magnet at about fifteen downspouts at family and friends places.

 Thanks for reminding me of that frosty it made me smile.

    Pnut (Mike) 

I know we all have taken up blacksmithing for different reasons, some as an occupation others as a hobby and some a combination of the two. I was wondering what others get out of smithing. I find when I am at the forge which I admit hasn't been very often yet, I don't have anything else running through my head but the task at hand. It's like getting away from the world for a while.  It's been better therapy than I could have ever expected. 

I'm just wondering what others have to say. I know that this sounds a little warm and fuzzy but for me  the benefits of taking up the craft have up to this point been more Immaterial but invaluable nonetheless. 

Thanks everyone I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say on the subject.

  Pnut (Mike) 

I did type 2x6 at the top of the post.  I got it right at the bottom though. Sorry about that. Wait a second you referred to them as 2x6's in concern no. 2 . It's not a big deal we both seem to know they're 2x10's. LoL..  Anyhoo I was wondering how it's performed and I think I may go ahead and pull the trigger on it. I'll probably drill through holes for lag bolts to pass through a flat bar on the back side and use washers to hold the flange on the front side like you have.

  Thanks for the help and good luck with your search for a new anvil.  

      Pnut (Mike)

Thurisgar, sorry for the off topic question but I was wondering how your 2x6's are held together. The only bolts I see in the pictures are holding the rail to the stand. Are there any lag bolts going through the whole stack or is it held together with adhesive? I have a rail that I want to mount in a similar fashion and I have some 2x10's on hand. 

How's it working? Is it stable enough? 

Thanks in advance.

   Pnut (Mike)

On 3/29/2019 at 1:35 AM, Mudman said:

haha truthfully, I didn't know what they were called until you mentioned it. They remind me too much of ticks- therefor falls into the "things I hate" category.

Brown marmorated stinkbug. I think they are universally despised.

Invasive aliens. They must be conquered and sent back to the pit from whence they came!!!

Haha, his invisible hand has been picking my pocket for years.

Thomas, The price was pretty consistent across the four or five suppliers I checked. I did find one place selling bituminous for about fifty cents per pound. All the others I checked were about a dollar twenty per pound but included Free shipping. After shipping costs the fifty cents per pound jumped to the same price as the others. If you can't or don't want to buy it in person I guess you gotta pay.

I just checked on USPS flat rate shipping boxes .  it was about 19.90 and takes two for fifty pounds so the cost for coal and coke across all the places I checked was about 20-22 dollars per 50 pounds. 

The suppliers are well known blacksmith supply companies I've seen mentioned on this forum many times.

Your guess is as good as mine as to why their coal is priced the way it is.

I only want to try something other than charcoal to broaden my experience in case can't use my preferred fuel for some Reason so I will probably pay the convenience tax since I don't want to drive to get it and can't afford or have anywhere to store a ton which seems to be the minimum you have to buy to get the wholsale price of 400-600 dollars.

And I still don't understand how coke is the same price as coal  ;-) 

I don't think the coal is that expensive it seems like the coke is cheap. LoL 

  Thanks 

     Pnut (Mike)

Thomas, I believe the high price they are asking for both coal and coke is due somewhat to the shipping cost and the small quantity. A face to face transaction I would expect to be cheaper.

I was of of the understanding that you'd beforging with coke in the end if you start withbituminous anyway. I would expect coke to be harder to light  due to lack of volatiles that combust at lower temps . Like lighting anthracite. 

I thought coke would be more expensive because of the extra step in processing. I guess if there's not as much demand it would drive the price down.

I still want to try a variety of fuels just in case I have to use something different one day than what I'm used to. Don't wanna be a one trickpony.

  Biggundoc, The sites didn't specify. I thought it was coked bituminous. I didn't see an analysis for the coke, I have to admit I didn't really look farther than the analysis for the bituminous coal.

Anvil , I was thinking more along the lines of a pound of charcoal versus a pound of wood. The coke being the charcoal and the coal being the wood.  Refined vs. unrefined. .                                             I have a jabod at the moment so I can adjust the firepot as needed with minimal hassle.

I found a place that sells 16 lb.samples of each so I may have to get both. I want to at least try different fuels just in case I don't have access to charcoal I'd at least have used other types of common fuels I might run across

   Thanks everyone for your insight and information.

  Pnut (Mike) 

On 3/24/2019 at 5:03 PM, Irondragon Forge & Clay said:

That's how so many old anvils have the heel broken off at the hardy hole.

That was my first thought. 

Kinda like proofing a flintlock barrel  with a triple powder charge!   

Hi all,  I've been wanting to give bituminous or coke a try and was looking to order some to see how I like it.

One thing that puzzles me a bit is how a supplier can sell coke for the same price as coal for the same weight. What's the catch?  Coke is more energy dense per pound and also isn't there some refining involved in producing coke compare to coal. I don't understand how it's the same price. 

Does anyone have any answers to this?

Thanks for the help. I can't get my head around this unless I'm missing something obvious.

  Pnut (Mike)