M.J.Lampert

please pray for safety for the  fire fighters and help for those with lung problems as the air is thick with smoke 

secondly prayers for peace and comfort as people are evacuating leaving behind many possessions that are important to them but the didnt have time or space to take in the path of the fire (I'm afraid my mother will say no to my forge and tools)]

as of now i am safe i just hope to remain this way 

finally prayers for Lytton BC as 90% if the town was lost and many people displaced prayers that they can get back on there feet soon and begin to rebuild

M.J.Lampert

 on Friday and Saturday i had some time at the anvil and made some animal heads out of3/8 square stock from left, attempted at a mountain goat but got more of an ibex,  kudu, thin horn mountain sheep next one needs more taper to the horns, last one is a Texas longhorn also made a hoof pick and a ladle but the later needs some cleaning up before its done

yes i know its a cast aso i only keep it around for the horn

M.J.Lampert

i just about forgot i also made a drift from half a U-bolt seen on ground is my explanation of the kudu horns to another person

here's off my family's deck the hill line is 1.5-2 km off and we usually see the mountains beyond them this pick is about 5 min old and it has since got worse. the smoke is coming from a fire 70-80 km from us but we are safe for now as it is a highway and multiple decent rivers away to the soth west

M.J.Lampert

22 hours ago, Gandalfgreen said:

Rain rain rain. Been trying to coat with silica and fire all day hopefully 640 this rain stops.

20 hours ago, bluerooster said:

We've been getting about 1/2" per day here in the southeast.

please send it here  we are constantly smoked in this was last week its worse today 

M.J.Lampert

On 7/6/2021 at 9:26 AM, Chad J. said:

Nicely done,  what did you use for the handle?  

Moose antler for the handle 5160 steel  and 3/16 brass pins

ok i see what yall are talking bout i would have had some 1/4 or 3/8 sheet welded beside it and some 1/4 or 3/8 bar n the sides to keep the movement down sideways for the upper what would you use 1x4flat or should it be larger also on the 

mod would you please move this into the press sub forum as i don't want to be high-jacking this thread thanks

M.J.Lampert

a few more mods and a sheath and we are finished

M.J.Lampert

so i did this last year in November 

but after that a friend decided to make a sheath for Christmas … well Christmas became my birthday and then beyond so this weekend he finally gave it back to me. he stamped my initials and died it black I plan to add a strap on it to hold it a little tighter when going through the brush. I sanded the handle some more and have since pics given the antler a coat of BLC and olive oil for the sheath 1 more coat needed on the latter and 2-3 on the handle so without further delay

and one black and white to really pop the colours

the blade on close inspection has some mistakes and when buffing it i got it a little hot  but other wise im really happy  

the friend traded me some oak wood for a bush knife i will make him. wondering should I go with 1095 or 1075 for the blade i have either to chose from?

M.J.Lampert

looking good

at that time we had 37- 42.5C (100ish- 110ishF )

look forward to seeing more progress

M.J.Lampert

placed "cast-o-lit-30 LI plus" on my forge yesterday as ceramic wool was exposed had a sluff that i patched this morning

had my first ever lessons today with the recent restriction lightening of restrictions made a s hook and then a partner that didnt quit match but for first and second ever for it also made im happy. a leaf keychain to ugly to share and a fire poker in a 2.5 hour period while sharing forge and anvil. had a chance to work with a real anvil and that has cused me to up the usage of the TPAAAT to get myself one oh and i got  a reminder that i should never go for 4 months without spending time behind the hammer as my hands got too soft and im back at point zero blisters oh whel just gotta work the kinks back out of my hands

M.J.Lampert

13 hours ago, JHCC said:

that top bar will end up bending.

i most likly will put collars on the bar but 1in is as large as i can go as the cylender has a 1 in hole to hook on

anyways i got this 2 weeks ago and never had time to post 2 gallons of cast-o-lit-30 (19lb) (11ish aready used), 1/2 pint of "ITC 100" refractery coating,  1 sheet each 800 and 1200 grit paper, 1 each scalloped edge 2X72 in belts 220 and 320 grit,  1X sanding belt cleaner,  1075 1/8X2X24in , 1095 1/8X2X25in, and 1095 3/16X2X24. plus they sent me a lovely little sticker as a thank you

my fathe gave me some highgrade brass bushings and wear-plates to melt if i ever try cast brass handles

also he gave me a box of buncher teeth to mess with they spark HC and work decent from bright red up  now to figure out what to do with them

M.J.Lampert

10 hours ago, Stash said:

both top and bottom dies are each held in place by 2 3/8" bolts tapped into the upper and lower plates.

ok that is what i thought just wanted to make sure

here is my design 

M.J.Lampert

1 hour ago, Gandalfgreen said:

my owner told me about them today

49 minutes ago, Gandalfgreen said:

Owner of the buisness I work at.

You mean they didn make you sign the contract saying that they are allowed to control your life and that work comes before al else???

your lucky

M.J.Lampert

9 hours ago, Stash said:

It’s a Coal Ironworks 12 ton I found used near me, along with a major heavy duty stand and a handful of dies. 

Can you post a pic of how the top die is attached i am building a  press and that is the one thing i need to figure out before moving on see circled section a bottom up pic would be lovely

M.J.Lampert

Charlycuervo butiful blade the moment i say it i had thought chopper

M.J.Lampert

welcome from British Columbia

happy Canada day may this land stay free

M.J.Lampert

these where new varneshes and they ar bad for anything over a few min my father (a mechanic) has no problem  but he doesnt use them for long periods and when they bounce around in the truck they get the coating rubed off then rubbed in a grease coating

M.J.Lampert

On 6/16/2021 at 4:29 PM, Ted Ewert said:

I've been practicing my blacksmithing skills lately attempting to craft a presentable set of tongs. I'm on about my sixth pair now and have figured out a new way on each to mess it up. With every error the fix requires making the other half the same. This invariably results in the removal of material. What started out as a stout pair of tongs slowly becomes a stout pair of pliers. Is a humiliated blacksmith an oxymoron? 

Anyway, here is what I did in the shop today. Long box jaw tongs for 5/8" square stock. 

 

looks great i have yet to try a pair of tongs so there beter than mine (nothing)

On 6/20/2021 at 3:48 PM, Frosty said:

We're getting into serious mosquito season here, I was running the string trimmer around while Deb has the RV elsewhere and I got bitten up good. 

Frosty The Lucky.

frost keep the bugs  i simpathize on the trimmer part i did 5 or five 8 hour days of that at work some string some star blade

On 6/24/2021 at 1:18 PM, Nathan Kraft said:

I’m not 100% sure but I think six feet, unfortunately for me I’m 6’2, and usually wear my cowboy boots with an inch and a half heel. Next year I’m going to be getting a sheep, and I’ll be feeding early in the morning (getting up at 5:30, in my truck driving at 5:45, at the barn at 6). I foresee many a groggy early morning head knock in my future. 

if your ranching down there there are these black hats with a large brim you can wear they work well to defend your head from wacks as well as the sun i beleive they also come in white

On 6/24/2021 at 6:42 PM, Nathan Kraft said:

Whoops, I forget not everyone is my age when I talk to people. The license that matters most to teenagers: drivers license. For fun, though, we shall say it’s a shepherds license. To be fair, it kinda is, as my mother won’t let me get a sheep until I can drive, cuz she “doesn’t want to drive me to the barn at 5:45 every morning” *joking exaggerated eye roll* 

haha i got about about 8 months and then im in that boat as well (in BC its 16 to get the L and 1 year L to get N 2 years N to freedom)

On 6/25/2021 at 5:30 PM, Nathan Kraft said:

Since we are (er... we were) of trucks, I quite literally just got my first truck, now I just have to wait til October when I can drive it... legally, that is. She’s beautiful and I got a great deal on her. 

go one picked out for myself to mid nintys 1/2 ton hope to grab it late summer/fall after i earned enough through this summer job at a fab shop

On 6/25/2021 at 5:43 PM, Nathan Kraft said:

They ain’t the best pictures, but they’re what I have.

hey you took pics of the wrong pics theres no RAM or DODGE on it so can you please send the real pics and quite kidding us

ok for me there was nothing in the shop other than the fact that the air is on fire (30-45C for the last while)  looking forwards to some cooler weather, have been going through cold drinks like crazy and sitting in the pool for hours 

oh and im designing a hydrolic press for in the shop will give more details when farther along 

M.J.Lampert

On 6/24/2021 at 2:48 AM, jlpservicesinc said:

Looks great..  The Hockey tape doesn't give you problems with over callusing?  I tried it briefly 30 years ago but never could get behind it.. 

i find that any time a handle is taped i get blisters... under the callus same with a varnished handel i like a charred  hickory handle with 3 coats of BLO

M.J.Lampert

i wanna head down once i can drive and have some money so 3-5 years from now?

then i can put a voice to text

M.J.Lampert

could be an id for its previous user sorry cant help any more

M.J.Lampert

sin doc in answer to you question

Isaac Newton: Chickens at rest tend to stay at rest. Chickens in motion tend to cross roads.

more choices HERE

M.J.Lampert

haha yup dont bother tracking a blacksmith in 5 days they change minds many times and you'll loose them

sindoc we just act on a wim besides its in every thing else so who cares??

25 minutes ago, DHarris said:

Strikers like that, how do they get around the laws making “knuckle dusters” illegal?

out of sight out of mind besides its a 'fire-striker' not a knuckle duster