SHC

At that price I sure wouldn’t have passed on it either!

Almost followed me home, didn’t take pics. It was a Hay Budden for $400. Seller said it actually tipped the scales at 108#. Good shape too. Some limited chipping on the edges in a couple of spots, but none of it was too bad or irreparable. It was mild enough that I would have just radiused the edges to smooth them out. Only passed because, well, I don’t need it. But now I’m thinking of going back for it… I did pick up a Ruger .22lr wrangler on the way home though. Pretty sweet little plinker.

I wasn’t even thinking of smithing back when I got iLasik. The doctor had me come in on a Friday to do it and told me to take the following week off. Until I told him I handle chlorine gas, then he said oh heck no! So I made arrangements to not handle the chlorine gas and only took the week off. So having the experience of getting the lasik done and now doing some hobby smithing, I’d tell you to count on no less than two weeks. Just a guess, but I bet your doctor is probably going to tell you a month. Assuming you wear safety glasses or goggles, because of course you do! You still need to worry about sweat, heat, any sort of gases, and any impact that renders your PPE absolutely worth the investment, all of these could have a detrimental effect to the surgery. Definitely listen to the doctor, I’m sure that’s what you’re planning to do anyway. If you mess up your doctor’s hard work you can have serious issues. If all goes well, it’s WORTH IT! I was only slightly nearsighted in my late teens and early twenties, which made sniper school very interesting, but it degraded to almost legally blind by the time I was in my mid to late twenties. My eyesight is better than 20/10 in both eyes now. For the first two days it felt like I had sand in my eyes and on the rare occasion when I could open them all I could see was a white fog. But on day three, everything still felt gritty and uncomfortable, but it was like a whole new world. I was sitting in the bathroom reading the back of a shampoo bottle in the shower on the other side of the room.

On the Mr. Volcano forges mentioned, I have a single burner too and don’t really have any complaints. It seems to go through gas a bit quickly but I don’t have anything to compare it to. Obviously it’s not great for large or awkward pieces, but it is marketed as a knife maker’s forge so it’s specifically not built for larger or awkward pieces! Have a Facebook friend who has a two burner and added forced air to her single burner and loves them both. She has burned steel in the single burner with forced air after covering one end with a firebrick. I can touch the outside of mine for a second without burning any skin off, with one inch of the provided wool and satanite. After a whole lot of online shopping I’d say it’s probably about the cheapest way to get into forging with gas. I really need to build or buy a solid fuel forge. The limbs for this bird feeder tree have got me stalled out at the moment.

JHCC, I’ve been wanting to make a hot cut hardy and I think you may have helped me out quite a bit there! I’m working on a bird feeder tree for my wife. I’m FORCING myself to MAKE some time in the forge. It ain’t easy with 60 hour work weeks but dang it, it’s therapeutic and I like doing it. I’ll take some pics when I’m done.

I don’t know what’s happened with the quality of Maglights… I wouldn’t take one these days if it was given to me. I’ve got a pretty awesome light my wife gave me for Christmas back when we were dating. For some reason in the past year or so it’s gotten to where the batteries won’t hold a charge. Put fresh batteries in, check it, a couple days later they’re dead. I suppose that means there’s a grounding issue in there somewhere. Come to find out it’s one of the same models sold by 5.11 Tactical for close to $100. But this one doesn’t have “5.11” on it and cost a fraction of the price. It’s pushing close to ten years old now and it’s been retired. I want to say it’s a V-Life. My current EDC light is a Coast, I think G20. It’s just a small LED inspection light from Walmart that cost less than $20. Takes two AA or AAA batteries, slips in my back pocket, perfect for my needs. I use it for checking things out at work in dark nooks and crannies, keeping an eye on the dogs when I take them out at night. It’s actually bright enough I can see my wife’s little mini Yorkie in tall grass on the other side of the yard. I don’t get wild with flashlights. My EDC has to be easy to carry and pretty bright. I have other lanterns and lights for emergency use around the home that take assorted types of fuels and packs of assorted lights in each vehicle. These cost around $20 or so at Walmart and the individual lights are pretty crummy, but there’s several of each type in a package and they come with batteries included. Great bang for the buck in a disposable situation, I think the batteries are worth more than the lights themselves. I think they’re Ozark Trail.

My grandson’s name is Max too, he’s 3 now. With 90 hour weeks at work I haven’t had a chance to do anything in the shop. I did finally just bite the bullet and got my roses in the ground.

That’s what I’ve got. Thought about going to the bigger one, but the 550 can hold three racks of ribs and two brisket. I really don’t need more than that. I originally opted for the smaller one because I thought the lid would be easier for my wife to lift. She still can’t lift it, and I’ve discovered the size is just right so it’s no matter. Don’t know how long you’ve had yours, but please please please scrape the grease out of the bottom. Even though it’s designed to flow to the drip tray, it can build up and catch fire. I learned this the hard way when the portal to Satan’s lair suddenly appeared on my back patio. Fire extinguisher, pressure washer, good as new.

Late to the party but I’ll go ahead and throw in my two cents, it’s about all it’s worth… I’ve used Makita and Dewalt cordless angle grinders, they both performed perfectly adequately for my needs at the time. My needs are usually what I’d call light duty. Some real good advice here that I appreciate reading for my own future reference, regarding battery commonality and checking the rental places for what they use. Cutting up metal in the field is what I’d probably consider pretty heavy use, especially depending on the parameters of the metal being cut, and I have no experience with that. There are saws used in my industry for cutting large ductile iron pipe, I’m sure those could probably handle anything you can throw at em. Many are corded and powered by a trailered generator, but I’ve seen just as many cordless. I personally don’t use them cause I’m the guy that gets to stand around and inspect the work before, during and after, and it’s never occurred to me to collect reviews on the specific tools being used but I’d be happy to ask around. I don’t know if it makes a difference, but some folks like to buy American when they can. I’m one of them, but I don’t shy away from foreign products when they suit my needs better. I’ll happily buy a cheap Chinese tool over a pricier American one if I’m going to use it mostly as a dust collector. But here’s an article that breaks it down a bit, just in case it matters to ya. https://www.protoolreviews.com/what-tools-are-made-in-the-usa/

Yeah, knives never get loaned out. Never ever.

Glenn, what you described was theft and destruction of property. That’s a court date, full replacement, or a broken jaw where I come from, perpetrator’s choice. My tools don’t leave my supervision if I can help it. I’ll help nearly anyone do a job, my labor is free to friends and I’ll bring the tools needed if I’ve got them, but they never get loaned out. As for borrowing, I don’t really do that but on the rare occasion that it’s necessary I’ll bring it back in better condition. I’d rather buy my own tools or do without. I’ve been cutting up 4” pine limbs for the outdoor fire pit with a hand saw even though my closest buddy has four chain saws sitting in his shop. I’ve filled three truck loads in the past two weeks. At least it’s a small truck, Chevy Colorado. There are places that rent all sorts of tools. Napa rents automotive tools, autozone has a similar program. My local equipment rental places that rent out forklifts and skid steers also rent wood chippers, log splitters and chainsaws.

Get more tanks! I’ve got 4. Nice to have spares on hand.

I’ve got a folding sharpener from DMT, it’s great. Folds up and opens like a balisong, with the diamond sharpening “stone” concealed within the handles. It seems they’ve started making them with pointy rods now! Not sure when that happened but it wasn’t available when I got mine. I usually keep mine in my work truck for touching up tools on the job. Frosty, I’ve got a couple of old Buck knives from the mid 70’s. One is a 124 I believe, the bigger bowie style they made back then. My dad gave it to me. My uncle (younger than my dad) cut grass and saved up the money and bought it for him as a graduation gift when he graduated high school. He passed it on to me when I graduated. I carried it in Iraq and it saved my butt when I had to poke a feller with it. The other is a Buck 110 I picked up CHEAP, practically for a steal, in a sportsman’s consignment shop. Their policy was that after 45 days an item gets discounted. Each additional 30 days results in another discount percentage. This one had been sitting in a case overlooked for quite some time. I paid six dollars for it. Original leather sheath and factory edge. My opinion on them, mid century was the best era for Buck. I like their new stuff, but they just don’t seem as tough as the old ones.

Are you using these on torches, like the bernzomatics are sold for? You may consider looking for an adaptor and hose that will let you attach a torch handle to a regular propane cylinder. You wouldn’t have to worry about safe disposal, just exchange them like normal. I’ve no idea if that’s even a thing, I haven’t needed it so I haven’t looked for it.

I haven’t explained it well enough and quite frankly I don’t have the brainpower at the moment to do so. Today’s been one of them bad days my head ain’t been right.