pnut

I ask the lumberyard up the road for any lumber they've culled whenever I can't get what I need for free. You'd be surprised how cheap you can get larger sized timbers for. Pnut.

First image from an internet search. I don't have any photos I've personally taken of them though. Pnut

I think a lot of people forget that you can screw together or rivet most things if you don't have a welder. It's not going to solve every problem but for forge bodies, frames, and stands it works fine. Pnut

Lesson learned. I've done myself a mischief on numerous occasions. I try not to to repeat them though. Pnut

I think Marysville and Cincinnati are close enough that the weather has been about the same in both places. I work in a laundry room and the last few days I've gotten off work, ate something, and went straight to sleep. I don't handle the heat like I did twenty years ago. It beats me up now. Pnut

I eat too many Aleve pills to be anything but harmful. I too have just gotten used to having a headache most of the time. I guess it's just something we have to live with. Pnut

At the end of last summer I had a case of pseudo colitis from taking antibiotics and tried to forge in the heat before I had recovered 100%. I was trying to drink plenty of water over the course of the illness but it only took about thirty minutes of exertion and I woke up staring at the sky. I went to the hospital and due to the pseudo colitis I was so dehydrated my kidneys were shutting down. Please STAY HYDRATED. Especially in the summer heat or if your health is even slightly compromised. Pnut

The heat and humidity here in the greater Cincinnati area has been downright oppressive. It's like breathing soup and your sweat just puddles and drips off of you. I've been hunkering down in the AC as soon as I get out of the laundry room at work. It was 78F with a dew point of 76F last night at three in the morning. No escape from the heat and humidity even at night. Pnut

I get terrible headaches when it's humid and the pollen/mold count is high. It's been a rough few days. A neti pot gives me some temporary relief. It might help you out some. Pnut

I don't think I've ever seen one for riding left side forward. I haven't seen many but I always assumed they were all right leg forward because of the "rules" of riding such as mounting from the left side of the horse. Well, today I learned.... Pnut

Looks perfect for a charcoal fueled jabod forge. With the no. 700 I have to remind myself not to crank it too fast or it blows the fuel out of the firepot. Id love to give a small one like that a try. It seems perfect for the job. Pnut

Can you source high carbon scrap? It's not the ideal option but it can definitely be forged into tools successfully especially if you're making your axe for personal use and not selling it. I've scavenged steel from old vehicles numerous times. Leaf springs, large coil springs, tie rod ends, and many other parts from vehicles are medium to high carbon steel. Not to mention old tools and files that you can modify or reforge into what you want. Pnut

I haven't talked with my dermatologist in a while. The IV infused immunosuppressants were a no go. I had a terrible reaction and had to cease treatment. I haven't tried any oral treatments as of yet. The treatment regimens I've been on in the past have only worked for a year or so. At this point I'm just trying to keep it from getting worse. The only thing that's consistently helped or kept it from getting worse is coal tar ointments. I will see my dermatologist after my yearly physical so I'll make some inquiries about the oral treatments. Who knows? I might get lucky. Pnut

I have psoriasis and from years of using steroid creams my skin has thinned quite a bit in some spots so that it doesn't take much more than a bump to tear it open. When it heals over it turns into a new place for plaques to form (Joy) Pnut

Recovery time is what has made me change the way I ride a skateboard. Slams that I used to jump up from and keep skating now require weeks to heal from if not an actual trip to the ER. Cuts and scrapes still tend to heal quickly but other injuries like sprains seem to linger for quite some time. Pnut

My friend has a pet potbellied pig named Ham Sammich. I've always called him Hammy Sagar though. My juvenile sense of humor finds it pretty funny. Pnut

Have you tried blackening the pieces by a simmer in hydrogen peroxide then cleaning with denatured alcohol and a simmer in distilled water followed by a coat of beeswax? Pnut

I think the tongs I use most are either the slot jaw or v bit bolt tongs. The slot jaw tongs from Ken's are pretty versatile. Holds round, square, and flat bar. Pnut

My condolences. Sounds like he passed gently and with his partner at his side. I hope to be as fortunate. Pnut

I'd go with a die grinder and a small burr or barrel grinder attached personally. The big cut off wheel looks down right sketchy. Pnut

Sounds like it should work fine. My setup is a kettle grill filled with dry kitty litter and a firepot made from clay bricks. The firepot depth in the front and rear is the thickness of a red clay brick on it's thinnest side . It's a measurement that my brain just can't seem to retrieve anymore. It's ~2.25in? I have bricks on one and sometimes both sides to keep the fire deep enough. It's basically the same firepot design as Charles' MARKIII jabod post except when possible I prefer tall walls on both sides of my firepot. Your blower will work fine with a 3/4 or 1in schedule 40 pipe. I have mine rigged up to attach to a one inch pipe with expandable dryer ducting. You'll have to turn the crank fairly slowly or you'll blow all the fuel out of the firepot. They take some tinkering with to get them dialed in but after you figure it out it's easily repeatable. Pnut

I don't have any empirical evidence that overheating it is detrimental to the quality but it seems like that's the case. It could have been another variable that I'm not taking into consideration. As I said I haven't done any testing with a timer and thermometer. The couple times it seemed like I overheated it during pyrolization it seemed like it was more brittle, dustier, didn't have the same tink sound when tapped, and didn't burn as well in the forge. Without actual testing I can't swear that getting it too hot was the problem. If you do any testing I'd be interested in your findings. I'm sure there's an optimal temperature to shoot for. Pnut

Uniformity is the key. The first time I tried to make charcoal it was all different lengths and thicknesses. It didn't turn out well. I've since managed to get the process down pretty well. Three layers of wood in each bucket is about all I have patience for cutting. I'd like to try it with even smaller pieces but it gets labor intensive. As it is it's small enough that it all usually pyrolizes I use scrap pallets more often than anything else. I get them for free from the ATV dealership next door to one of the hotels I work at. Pnut

In my experience back in the not so good ol days a CCW charge was usually just a bargaining chip used to reach a plea bargain. Although I did go to jail for a spring loaded knife when I was 18 but I've also been charged with CCW for a utility knife while still in my work clothes. It was definitely a throwaway charge meant to be used to get a plea. We'll drop XYZ if you'll plead guilty to A and B. Pnut

I make charcoal in a slightly different manner. I just use smaller barrels. I have a few five gallon buckets with holes in the top. I charge them with wood then build a fire around them. When the buckets stop producing white smoke I cover the holes with dirt and stoke the fire and wait for it to burn down. I've noticed you can actually overcook charcoal believe it or not. If I had the time I'd do some actual testing with a thermometer but it seems to me if the fire gets too hot or burns too long it's detrimental to the quality of the charcoal. Welcome aboard, be safe, and remember it's supposed to be fun. Pnut