Randy Griffin

JHCC, yeah, I know. 

But I keep running into tools that don’t have any rust. Some craftsman, some proto and of coarse all the cheapos. I guess somebody took good care of there tools.

JHCC, how can you tell if wrenches are unplated if they are in new condition?

I too live in the country and do all my own electrical work. I am adding some things to my shop and need more circuits so am adding a second breaker box. I don’t like to pay anyone to do what I can do myself.

The first thing I would change is the angle of the tuyere. It needs to be level or slightly angled up. That should raise your hot spot.

The hot spot tends to be directly over the end of the tuyere so if it’s against a brick the hot spot will be against the brick. Look at my pictures again. The end of my tuyere is about middle of my duck nest and covered with clay. My hot spot can spread in all directions.

Chicken feet. Now there’s something to fill the freezer.  Actually, I like chicken feet if cooked right. I was raised on offage. We didn’t throw anything away. You develop a taste for things you eat growing up. Chitterlings, maws, pig feet, cow tongue, chicken gizzards, and so on. I’d rather have these than a ribeye.

Back on subject, I still don’t know who is doing all the hoarding. Everybody I talk to are having the same problem finding stuff.

You can get ready. Another price hike is coming. Don’t know how some people make it.

I like mine just above my knees. No, I don’t have long arms. I have to sit while forging. 

Yep, shoulda checked them. I mean they are hard enough to skate a file. Think I’ll make some scribes.

I needed a light duty set of v-bit tongs to hold some really small steel rod and I have some broke hay rake tines. Who knew they would be carbon steel. 

The tile is holding up good, even with hot metal laying on it. It’s porcelain. I had to do a little more mod to it. If you notice the first couple pictures my tuyere is about half way in the duck nest and I built up clay to cover it. The clay was forcing the air flow straight up and my hot spot was only about 2 inches. I tapered the clay back from the end of the tuyere so the air could flow in all directions. She’s cooking now. I think it’s better than ever. Takes less than 5 minutes from dead cold to steel that’s yellow hot. I haven’t tried with the top on yet but prolly in a few days.

With the bells and whistles, it’s still just a box of dirt. 

Once you use yours for a while you’ll figure out things to make it better for you. Like I said, it’s easy to make changes.

Tommy, I just added my latest mod to the original Jabod thread. Take a look. Might give you some ideas.

My latest mod.

my clay has too much sand so doesn’t set up real good. So I tiled the top.

I can add brick for more fire. I can use half bricks on back if I need to heat something longer.

And a top to hold the heat in. I think that will come in handy when heat treating.

prolly build a fire tomorrow. Hope it all works like I’m thinking.

You’re doing good. Put some dirt in it and start a fire. After you’ve forged for a while, you’ll figure out what needs to be changed. Modifying a Jabod is easy. I’ve modified mine several times now.

Looks like I may be forced into it. That will be ok if I can get well enough to get back to the shop.

I wish you a long and heathy retirement.

SHC, you should try the tungsten electrode. I like it better than ceramic.

And I would like to get a set of Arkansas stones one day. I’ve never had a good set so really don’t know. I’ve got a couple of small ones but never spent any time with them.

To the OP, there are some good topics on sharpening in the blade smith section. You should spend some time there.

Pnut, since you brought it up, yes, I do use round rods. I have oval shaped diamond that I keep in the kitchen. I have white and gray ceramic. My brother swears by the gray. I haven’t compared them yet but will use either. My go to is a tungsten electrode used in tig welding. It will polish the edge to razor sharp like nothing I ever used before.

Not sure I’m following y’all. Diamond comes in many grit sizes, use the proper one. Control. You must have control. I been sharpening knives all my life and using diamond over 30 years and it’s my go to for everything. All my blades are hard. 

Just starting out, get one of those 4 sided diamond blocks. I been using mine for several years and it’s still good. They’re in the $30-35 range.

Bet that got some looks on the freeway. 

We didn’t have coyotes when I was younger. First one I saw made front page of our newspaper. Come to think of it, that’s where I saw my first armadillo.

Hang in there and stay warm. We got lucky. Warmed to about 40 degrees and it all turned to water.

We don’t have sleds either. We’d have to put wheels on them if we did. 

Glenn, soup can is a good idea. Lots of ways to heat that.

I could actually build a snowman in that.

Around here we stock up on milk and bread. What do y’all buy for a blizzard.