SinDoc

This is probably a really stupid question whos answer is obvious but I am overlooking it, in which case I apologize. I had bought some bar stock from NJSB about 2 months ago and when I went out to start to mess with stuff released I ordered two bars of 1084 that are 2.5" wide and two bars of 15N20 that are 3". I don't own a band saw and would rather not try to use an angle grinder to split them in half width wise, so apart from taking the time to painstakingly forge them down and draw them out to make them less wide, any idea what I could do with them? I thought about trying to possibly hot cut, but doing that for the width sounded silly. Aside from a cleaver or using them for stock removal (but again, no kind of saw available to me), what in the world could I use stock this wide for?

Well another weekend went past and no work was done. Got called away for other things but I did get another ceiling fan replaced and was only zapped once!. Got everything out to forge yesterday since it was a nice cool day, then once everything was out I realized I had zero energy or motivation so put it all back and went and took a nap

I don't know why, but Frosty the Wordsmith just popped into my head and wont leave. It is what I shall know you as moving forward until something else pops in there.

Ah yes, the ol "D" cutters. I need to look up where that name originated for those particular cutters out of pure curiosity. I myself don't understand why people get in a fluff over something like that. It's all about context, for me at least. Very quick search turned up the definition below. Edited out the word just in case (also I giggled more than I should have at the last part). Don't want the mods after me! "D" (another name for general-purpose wire cutters), most likely derives its nickname from a blend of the term “diagonal cutters.” Also known as “side cutters” and “diags,” these handy pliers have been an electrician's best friend and led to an even more provocative idiom: “When in doubt, "D" it out.”

Big, the norm for LED fixtures is becoming color selectable. There are a lot of troffers, high bays, strips, lamps etc. that you can get that are 3000/4100/5000 color tunable. You simply select which color you want when you are installing it and you are done, but you can change it later as well. One of the neatest fixtures I have seen lately is one that can go from 3000k-5000k and is dimmable through that entire range. The coolest thing was how smoothly it transitioned from the colors. It didn't just go from one hard color to another, it would gently "slide" through them and was a very fluid transition. To top it all off, they were cheap and only ran about $60USD for a typical 2x4 flat panel. George, you are 100% correct. While not many people think about it these days, Fluorescent lamps are technically classified as hazardous waste and there are certain procedures you "should" follow in disposing of them. The company I work for used to facilitate the recycling/disposal of them, but with the onset of LED's, the demand diminished to the point that we stopped. Onetree, differently keep us update on the progress! As everyone says, we love pictures!

PEX is an amazing thing that has made my life so much easier. As I have worked to update things, I remove my old cast iron or PVC pipes and replace with PEX. I am hoping to get the whole house switched eventually and can put in a manifold.

The plumbing is what has been causing the lack of motivation. Its not that I can't do it or that it is hard, I just don't want to mess with it. I have to bring in the new plumbing for the new vanity as well as terminate the plumbing for the old vanity and remove it. I don't mind electrical. I am not an electrician, but work in the industry so have a very good understanding of how everything is done as well as how to do it per code. Wife is excited that I am using those Caseta smart switches as she has been wanting to start making the house smart for awhile. Downside of these is those little buggers are 40 to 60 dollars a pop.

That looks awesome Alexandr. You keep teasing me with those really nice lighting pieces, you'll end up shipping one to the states for me

I am by no means an expert, but that is something I would probably try to sand blast if I could. I am sure others have better ideas that don't involve making a gigantic mess with media though.

Well I have been told that progress must be made on the bathroom tonight and this weekend. Looks like I will be demo'ing out more drywall to install a new light and run power up to it from an outlet that is being moved up as well. Going to install a Lutron Caseta switch so I can keep my switch next to the outlet that will be moved up to control the switching for it then install a remote Pico dimmer just outside the bathroom door where the existing switch is. Will save me from having to demo out 2 other walls to extended the existing switch leg to the lights new location. Then I have to get the drain and water lines ready so I can get the new vanity put in. Looks like I wont be forging this weekend.

That is a really nice clean twist.

Yeah that is what I was thinking Thomas. Obviously a Dragon tail twist would not be very kind to the hands!

O dang that is pretty. Not to stick a monetary value on your work, but I could easily see something like that being specified on a job and costing 6-10 thousand dollars. I see fancy lightwork on projects all the time that are bonkers expensive. Should recommend you to our local lighting specifiers and architects What are the dimensions of the assembled one? The picture unfortunately doesn't have anything to provide a scale for.

Doing a "faucet" handle would finally give me a reason to try out the dragon tail twist.

Those light fixtures do NOT look fun to pull wire through.

One day while I was out banging on things making a couple different items at the same time, the neighbors were having a party before their wedding and I had people watching me. After I made a couple items I had a few ask me how much I wanted for the hooks I had hanging in the shop plus the stuff I just made. I had no clue what to technically ask for them, but I had watched Black Bear Forges video on the general idea. Told them "technically" I think they would be around $20 or so accounting for the material and time it took to make them but all I would ask would be around $10 just to cover the metal itself. Since I am just starting out and am very much a hobbyist, my skill set is very limited. I told them upfront if they wanted more, I could not promise whatsoever that they would be identical. They would vary in length along with the twist, curl and hook being slightly different from hook to hook since I don't have a bending jig to keep things consistent. I really want to get into making more decorative items than just hooks. My next project is a curtain hanger, which should be fun. JHCC, I really like the idea of a tap handle. I will have to find a video on how they are made and see if its within my skillset to try and make one. If I could get those down, I could make enough off those around here to help cover the cost of the propane lol.

The "normal" level of light for an office space @ desk level is typically around 40 foot candles if memory serves and that number is a little higher for government office buildings. For detailed work, I have done projects where they requested upwards of 60 foot candles @ 4 foot, which is just nutty.

That is really interesting that you prefer older style lighting over LED's. Being that you said the other light is from the 50's, I would think it would be an HID lamp (High Intensity Discharge) or maybe a Quartz (I don't know if those were a thing then) and neither of which have a very nice CRI rating like the typical 80-90 like LED's. You can get really, really cheap LED lights (I bought a 4' strip not long ago for like $8 USD) but you tend to get what you pay for and I don't expect it to last but maybe a few years at most. My main light source in my "shop" is the clear roof that just lets in natural light, but other than that I have (2) 4' low bays that are 9000 lumens and 90 CRI. They provide a ton of nice clean light when I use them, but they were something like $120 USD each.

Dang Billy, I didn't know you were a millionaire! You must be loaded to be able to afford all that top quality treated lumber

Yeah, that is what I meant even though I said it very poorly. Do a kind of cork screw flared end that I will tap to screw them together.

Yup! I was thinking of more or less fully enclosing the loops on the hooks, then make a neat kind of flared spiral on the end of the rod so it couldn't slide out. Granted that means it everything would essentially be one piece with the wall hooks floating.

Took me awhile, but I did finally manage to get my grinder put back together. Friend had parts to me within days of it breaking and they just sat next to for a month before I bothered with it. Weather is supposed to be fairly nice the next few days so I am hoping I can get out and forge bit. I want to make some leaf hooks and a curtain rod to set in them. I figure a steel rod is less likely to be bent/broken by my 4 yr old doing something she isnt supposed to.

Thomas, that sounds like another cheesy sci-fi movie in the making! Genetically enhanced Komodo Dragon VS Giant Octopus!

I am extremely weary of Hornets and Hornet-like insects such as wasps. I had a very nasty experience with happening too close to a hive of hornets as a young teenager. Was stung enough that I was taken to the hospital to be safe. Believe I was stung 13 some times. Mostly in my arm where they got into my sleeve. That was not a pleasant experience. Forget scorpions. Nope, nope, NOPE. Don't need to deal with spider-wasp nightmares.

I am not all that far from you Billy over here in Marysville and I don't think I have ever come across a brown recluse, granted I probably couldn't identify one anyways. We get more Wolf spiders in the house than anything. Kids are afraid of them, but as long as they aren't somewhere bad, I tend to leave em alone. They take care of the other little nasties in the house. Snake wise, worst I have come across is a tiny little garden snake. Only thing I really have to keep an eye out for is Hornets.