Paul TIKI

Nicely done!

I wonder at the treasure trove we left behind when dad passed. All because of flat ignorance and dad was an electrical engineer. I kept a few things because I thought they were neat as a kid, but I have no idea what they are. I remember as a teenager using the CB radio a few hours before dawn, in front of a friends house, we could pick up California truckers with atmospheric skip. friends house was stucco, therefor it had a chikenwire shell. that made a difference.

My house was built in 1920, so I do understand completely. things are almost, but not quite square. Choices were made that make you think "What the heck were they doing". We recently decided to insulate the attic. Prior insulation was about a half inch of dust. On the other hand. I'd rather pay for improvement projects than pay a bank on a loan.

I need to go get some duplex nails. those are some fatastic little things for slightly larger kids into DnD!

I love old houses, the history is so cool. Projects can get wonky though.

he was a great dog

Billy Bones, I have found that 12 inch landscaping nails from the hardware store are a cheap source of consistent mild steel. I've been using them for tent stakes and leaves lately. Hammer square, twist. they already have the taper at the end that's just about right for an easy small leaf. While I deal with this illness it'll be a while before I can lift a hammer, but that's what I thought about when ya'll start talking about icicles

So I didn't really want to ask for myself, because we lost Glenn and Thomas recently, but I'm having a pretty rough time of it. In June we had a suspiscion. In August I was diagnosed with Throat cancer. Now, even though it is the sort that should be taken seriously, the survivability is pretty good (Squamous cell carcinoma in the throat) I have been trying to tough it through the radiation treatments and now Chemo on top of it They were hoping to get it with radiation, but they think chemo would actually help more long term. I could use some good vibes, prayers, and a few anvil rings Thanks guys

It's with great saddness that we had to say goodbye to our very good boy Thud today. over the Rainbow Bridge

We hope we don't come across too many others. we already have 10 of them. The weird one has been Gabby (named from the frontier gibberish guy in Blazing Saddles He is easily twice the size of most of our cats, and yet he has been the most gentle and polite cat we've had in a long time. Artie is not quite acclimated to the rest of the cats. It's a work in progress. we let him have most of upstairs at night and he roams the whole house while we are awake to listen for fussing and fighting.

We have a new addition amongst much turmoil and busy-ness Meet Artie and Gabby. Gabby isn't so much new, he came with the house. shortly afer we got moved in a nd the fence started, Gabby turned up and started to be very nice and talkative. And He would very thoughtfull leave me leftovers from things he would kill. Last fall we brought him inside, because he seemed to be slowing down a bit, and wasn't coming out on top every time with other cats. Artie is a little guy, and still somewhat skittish. Not entirely sure how old he his. Vet says a couple of years, but he still looks like a kitten We had to use a live trap to catch him because he got a nasty wound from something.

Rest well Thomas and Godspeed. You will be sorely missed Condolences to Thomas' friends and family.

long long ago, I worked at a factory that made air conditioners. I was a line brazer doing a lot of the high pressure joints in the copper tubing. we used Propane/oxygen torches with a y tip to heat both sides of the tubing at the same time. You would be amazed at the speed difference a little bump in the oxy supply makes. You can melt a hole really fast in heavy copper tubing with one of those. Knowing that, I share the 'look' master Thomas gave you I rang the Anvil today, and will do it again tomorrow. Many positive vibes in your direction sir.

prayers, well wishes, and I'll ring the anvil

Nice find Kdash!

I am using mystery offcuts that my boys brought home from a steel plant they used to work at. If I recall correctly they are some sort of high abrasion resistant steel, possibly A400, but I'm not 100% sure. The chunks are roughly 1/2 inch by 5/8 inch by about 12 inches long. I haven't used any of it until I got the propane forge because with the charcoal forge I never could get them to heat up enough to move under the inexpertly swung hammer. Now I can actually get them to move readily enough.

MMMMMM........Cornbread........ I may be spending more time in the kitchen than the shop today. I spent some time relocating the shop in the backyard, again. Well, it was more shuffling some things around to make movement easier and more logical, but I'm still not really happy with it. I had to re-tie down the tarp roof. I really need to just suck it up and build a more permanent structure. I also worked slowly on making a new set of tongs. I'm trying some flat jaw tongs. The ugly ones I made a couple of years ago work for larger pieces, but I don't have anything to hold smaller things reliably. I watched several videos, but what I figured I'd do is try to build them from what I remember from the videos rather than watch/repeat. I tend to internalize things learned from trial and error a little better. I'm trying to re-build stamina and I'm not up to marathon sessions yet. I can manage a 2 to 3 hours before soreness starts creeping in. The gas forge also heats the metal faster so It's more rounds of heating and hitting metal per hour.

Some Cake Ar Round Does that mean that sometimes Cake=Pie? Or, is the cake just a lie?

I dropped off a bunch of junk, but they were closing and I didn't get a chance to look around much. My area is more likely to have some farm equipment though. Might be a while before I can scrounge out there, they are only open during my normal work hours.

I'm noticing that my improvised anvil is taking a beating. I suspect it's mild steel and if not it certainly hasn't been hardened. If I'm lucky I'll get to the scrap yard today to drop some steel off, maybe I'll be lucky enough to pick up a good hardened chunk of something else to try as an anvil. If not, it'll be a case of saving some cash to buy a real anvil.

That harbor freight coupon looks like a great way to get one of their new anvils. I understand it doesn't stink. It's comparable to one of those Accio anvils from china. Actually cast steel, rather than cast iron

Good to know the healing is going apace. That part of the process, where you get searing reminders that it's not done yet always suck.

This is a couple of things I found today. I was going through a box of stuff that I ended up with after dad passed away a few years ago. Some stuff from his box of pins and sundry from when he was in the Army. He retired from the Army in 1979 when I was just a kid. Thought it would be neat to share with any other vets out there. The tank pin is from when he was in Korea in around 1960 something I think. long before I was born. I also found one of his Military intelligence badges. I always loved those becasue I remember dad laughing when we were watching Battlestar Galactica on TV. Apparently, the characters all wore the Military Intelligence badges on their uniforms, but upside down.

I had a busy day experimenting. A local auto shop gave me a car spring, so I cut some off and tried to make some fire strikers. I'm learning bit by bit, and the muscle memory and arm strength is coming back. I also used an altoids tin and some cotton facial scrubbing pads to make char cloth. I need to find some flint and these might make neat stocking stuffers for campers

You talk about Aircraft stuff being special, you ain't kidding. Of course those have to have the particulars blessed by the grand poohbahs of propriety at the FAA, and that seems to triple the cost. We have to buy the special parts where I work. I am always amazed that the same screws that come in your IKEA furniture with some extras can become so expensive when they go on an airplane. Fantastic find on the press, I'm jealous