Shainarue

Mine also squeezed but I had already read that feedback somewhere (possibly you) and replaced the standard pads with gel pads which also have an indent for the arms of my glasses to run through. Still gets uncomfortable after about an hour but much better than the 10-15 minutes I was getting before! Yes! Rings go into my pocket whenever I grab the grinder or welder - but after reading some of the other above stories, I think I'll start leaving the rings on the nightstand when I change to go out and do ANY kind of work!

I've been at another 2 day event with the local club Friday and Saturday. I'm wiped, lol The event was put on by a Flywheelers club so we decided it was high time we got the power hammer running on a hit and miss engine! It was pretty cool to see but unfortunately it only ran about 30 minutes before the engine blew a piston and sort of exploded. So we ended up having to run on an extension cord like usual. Friday was mostly a rotation of school groups. Saturday was general public, with quite a few kids returning with their families. We were told later that the parents were practically dragged there but the kids, lol. Love it. Yesterday and this morning I made stuff for the club to sell. This afternoon, our tables were crowded with items so I decided to make stuff for me instead. I got to use a power hammer for the first time. That was a treat! I drew out one bar by hand and did the second one on the power hammer in less than half the time. Then cleaned up the one I did by hand, lol Lots of nails, an S hook, some heart keychains, a pigtail BBQ flipper, a little fire spirit dude (pictured), and some vegetable signage (another member had donated plates with vegetable names cut in with plasma cutter - I punched a hole in each then gave a curly decoration to the top of a stake and punched a hole then riveted them on). Thanks for the photo tip, John. I tried multiple other ways of saving, copying from Messenger, from phone, from computer - and finally just created a private post on FB, used copy/paste and boom. Indeed, very weird.

Yup, I definitely stay on top of that! We used to keep a small shallow jar of cornstarch specifically for stopping bleeding if we clipped the quick of our dog's nails. My brain didn't cross-apply the info to my finger, lol. And all the other kitchen powders as use for slowing bleeding are interesting. I generally don't use most of the old kitchen remedies - as most of them have been shown to either be worse for the injury or not as effective as a cheap OTC med/ointment. There are a few outliers, of course, but I'm generally just skeptical of most of them. Sounds like it might be a good idea for me to get some alum sticks on hand, lol I never wear gloves with wire wheels or drills for that same reason. If the finger gets too close, it's getting sucked into the wheel/bit rather than the burn or gouge I'd get otherwise. I don't go as far as you though. If/when I get nicked by an abrasive wheel, the glove gets burned/scuffed rather than my finger. I'm pretty good about keeping my fingers away and always have a guard when it fits around the disc. Some discs are too thick for a guard. The gloves I wear are tight fitting and even have that velcro band around the wrist so none of that fluted elastic material around the wrist. I have a welding glove I keep handy for the occasional forging use. I hardly ever use wire wheels anymore since finding these polycarbonate wheels though. They just clean SO much faster and cleaner - plus no wires getting stuck in my skin and clothing! And these hooks should have gotten dropped into the homemade evaporust solution (which they did AFTER injury). I should have been able to look at those hooks and realized I wouldn't have been able to get the insides cleaned up anyway so why even start with the wheel? Anyway... Definitely. I don't have plans to make any more this year, but next time I do I will definitely be making a jig!

That stuff sounds a treat to work with and that grill is beautiful!

The receptionist at urgent care said, "the doctor can see you now" so I assumed he was a doctor. I do have a primary care physician at the regular clinic. I am required to get a physical twice a year for meds I'm on so my primary doc tends to see leftovers of my injuries and asks about them or sometimes I just volunteer the info because I'm curious if I did it right, lol The last time I was in the office was soon after I had punctured my thumb pad with a 1/4" drill bit. Didn't go all the way through the hand but did go into muscle. I didn't go in for that but he wanted to look at it anyway. He got the special qtips out and started digging around. He was pretty impressed at how clean I got it. That's when he told me to always go in if I get a puncture - even if I think I've cleaned it good enough - because if I'm wrong then the resulting infection would be even worse than the recovery of a clean wound. Okay, doc. I just hate having to fork over the copay for something I can do myself at home.

Yes, I am very familiar with butterfly closures and have used them on previous self-guided wound care. I honestly figured the doc knew what he was talking about and figured I'd follow his instructions - which includes applying the antibiotic ointment for 5 days just in case it wasn't cleaned out well enough. However, if the pad is bled through again tonight then I will definitely grab some butterflies to help it along. I'm also familiar with the expected seepage and its various color stages - which is why I specified the color I noticed. A light red-to-pink would have been standard healing seepage. A dark red would have been concerning as it's too much bleeding. But a 'regular' red indicates less bleeding but still some active bleeding. Once it's mostly closed up, I will be switching over to the hydrocolloid bandage. Once I switch to those, the wound gets zero added ointments. I use those often and they really do speed up healing and leave less of a scar behind. Great idea on keeping PPE on top of the things. Drill press has goggles hanging from the knob. Chop saw has ear muffs & goggles laying next to the blade. Gloves draped over the blade of portaband saw. But since the angle grinders just kind of lay about in a general area, and I don't have a separate set of PPE for each of the 6 grinders (lol), the ear muffs, goggles & gloves are just hanging in that same general area. I so very rarely pick up a grinder and carry it somewhere else so it's always worked. Sunday was just a weird thing that I can't explain. It will be more effort to get the grinder out & put away but keeping them in a drawer would definitely increase the odds of remembering the PPE - and probably help the shop look a bit less chaotic, lol

I knew from previous injuries not to glue if I couldn't ensure it was clean. It was obviously not clean so definitely didn't want to glue. I am not on blood thinners. When you mentioned not being able to keep it closed long enough, it hit me that's probably what this is. Since it's on the knuckle, every time my thumb bends, it's probably reopening the wound.

I had that same thought about the reverse finial scrolls today while looking at them all in a row like that! Sunday evening, I grabbed the angle grinder with polycarbonate abrasive disc (basically a super heavy duty plastic scrubby thing) to clean up the stocking hangers. I should have been wearing gloves. And always have before. I didn't that night. I even have myself all set up to not forget. I keep gloves, face shield, and ear muffs next to the tools that require them. But Sunday night, I grabbed the tool on impulse as I walked by it and carried it to a different location so all that careful set up went out the window, lol Anyway, hook got closer to the wheel than I realized at which point the wheel caught the hook and threw it into the top knuckle of my thumb, which immediately started gushing blood. I ran it under cold water, and when the water was still running red a good 5 minutes later, I stopped and applied pressure. My hands were SUPER dirty but I couldn't get the wound area clean because it just kept gushing blood. 30 minutes later it hadn't stopped bleeding heavily so I went to urgent care. I thought I'd need stitches but apparently not? Dr had told me before (on other injuries that I chose *not* to go but apparently should have, lol) that if it is still bleeding heavily after 10 minutes of pressure that I likely need stitches and should go to urgent care/er/whatever. He also told me that ANY kind of puncture wound should be treated by a medical professional and not at home. He knows me well, lol Anyway, urgent care doc had me soak the thumb in an antibacterial water solution and said they'd return in about 5 minutes but if I wanted to try to clean it out more, I could use the gauze. Every once in awhile, I'd use some gauze soaked in that solution to dig at the area and try to get it more clean. Over an hour later (from original impact) and it was still bleeding a lot so doc wrapped it to apply pressure and had me wait about 10 minutes. Then unwrapped, rinsed, and quickly wrapped again with antibiotic ointment and gauze. My thumb dressing leaving urgent care was comically large. Monday morning, I washed it with soap & water and added new bandaging. The original bundle of gauze and first layer of bandage wrap was all soaked through. But the wound wasn't actively bleeding so I left the big thick gauze pad off when I rewrapped. Monday night, I noticed some red seepage (not light red but not dark red either) so I went to change the bandaging again. It had bled through the nonstick pad and 3 layers of the bandage wrap stuff. I still have a hard time believing this didn't need stitches, lol. Doc said I could resume normal activity - even hammering - if I wanted to. Basically, if it didn't bother me to do it, then go for it. I've decided though that I'd rather wait until it's no longer bleeding through the bandaging before I go back to forging. Tonight I'll just be cutting some metal to length for the gate project.

I finished the stocking hangers tonight. There's an injury story that comes with these but I'm tired. I do wish I had focused more on making them uniform but I also know that some people like them to look a bit different so I'll go ahead and bring them to my friend's shop to try and sell.

Day 2 of the Tractor Show demo is in the books. Tomorrow is mostly just packing up and there's just two stations so I won't be driving out to help. I took better care of myself today. Drank more than double the water I had yesterday, in addition to a vitamin enhanced water. Today's heat was worse than yesterday which forced me to take more breaks. Lots of previous members came by to chat and a few more potential members. I used one of my breaks to walk over and buy some homemade ice cream made in a churning bucket operated by a hit and miss. Delicious, of course. After everything was loaded and locked up for the night, I swung by to visit with a blacksmith artist local to that area. Overall it was a good day.

Day 1 of the Tractor Show in Ottawa KS is in the books! It was in the 90s but humidity below 50% and mostly shaded so it wasn't too bad. Had a few bundles of kids that were very interested and said multiple times how much they really liked everything we were doing and how cool it was. One of the kids came with a very supportive father and they took a pamphlet home after asking when and where we have meetings. So overall it was a pretty good day. As usual, I worked too long and didn't drink enough water so I feel kinda crappy now. I did remember sunscreen though so at least I'm not burnt! Tomorrow we have a club meeting over the lunch hour which will force me to take a long break so tomorrow should be better. Enjoy this rare photo of me that another member took, lol

Ah, that makes sense as well!

This past Friday & Saturday, I was out at at one of the Garden Show stops with the Free State Blacksmiths Club. I forged for about 7 hours each day. We had a light rain most of the day on Friday but lots of traffic regardless! I didn't take any pictures but the big thing I made was a 6ft shepherds hook with 2-prong stake that I made using the fold-over loop forge welded at the top, then split the loop to make the two prongs. It was quite difficult maneuvering that long bar! I grabbed a nearby chair and set that up behind me just to have something for the bar to rest on when I wasn't needing to hold it vertical! I don't recall what else I made that day but I remember working, lol. The club got commissioned to make a woodworker's holdfast soon after we had emptied our forges to cool down so I said I'd work on it in the morning and he said he'd stop back by the next day. We had a beautiful sunny Saturday but oddly enough, not much traffic. I got the holdfast done first thing, tested and approved by a fellow member who also does woodworking. The guy never showed though, lol. Since I had already cut into the 1/2" round bar for the holdfast, I decided to do some button flowers & leaves to make a little sculpture that I could taper the end of for another garden stake to add to the table. It was a long day in the sun, and by the time I was ready for the welding, I think I was just done. The first few welds didn't take. A fellow member came over to help and it failed that time as well. I filed the pieces so they were down to bare metal and we tried one last time. When it still failed, I chucked them into the slack tub and said I'd try again at home - using electric weld if that's what it took, lol, and bring it to next weekend's event. It was a bit frustrating because I had done this exact style sculpture twice before without issue. But not in full sun and with someone else's setup. But oh well. It happens! When I got home, I discovered that I had a pretty brutal sunburn on my right side. My neck was purple, ears and arms a dark red. I soaked in the tub for a few hours, drank a bunch of water, and went to be early. Sunday, I started a new batch of charcoal so I was outside all day again, splitting logs in the sun for a few hours and in the shade a few more hours (I usually split for future batches while the current batch is cooking - so it's supervised but I'm still productive.) The handle broke at the head of my large maul so I did the remainder with the axe. A few more swings but a lighter tool so it probably evened out. Last night, I came home from work and headed out to make some "simple stocking hangers". I was having a horrible mental health day and really should have just skipped forging all together but I was hopeful that forging would fix my brain. It didn't. Ugh. So I basically wasted coal because none of the hangers worked. I had watched some videos of other designs and the gist seemed to be that the top part that rests on the mantel needs to be such that the back bend of the hook is in line with the back end of the top. I guess I need to go watch those again because I obviously missed something as all 3 of the ones I tried, in various designs and various angled bends and loops, failed. I at least knew better than to attempt the forge welding, lol. I did get the angle grinder and cleaned them all up real good. Today hasn't been much better in the brain department so I think tonight I'll just strip paint from my portable forge parts in preparation for painting.

John, that test piece with the flat swirl is fascinating. I'm guessing each end of the bar is held in place (but not tightly) so that as you twirl the center, the ends can move in? David, I've never seen a tripod like that and I love it. Also that's a really nice set of serving ware. And all one-piece items it looks like? As attractive as riveted handles can sometimes be, I just don't like 2-piece serving ware. Gewoon, I REALLY like that table! Alexandr, I'm really enjoying seeing your in-progress pics

CGL, the first one took me 80 minutes last night. Tonight, I worked on two at the same time and finished in 2 hours. So I saved about 40 minutes by doing two in one session. Or maybe I just got a little faster. What I really need to do (should have done) is keep track of measurements. How long to draw out the stem that wraps, how far in to set down for the mounting plate, where to start the bend. A lot of my time tonight was the back and forth of adjusting the bend to look right.

Thanks for the advice, Frosty. If it's not raining tomorrow then I'll give it a try. I assume 1/2" would work just as well? And the inside of the hairpin is what slips over the exposed threads with flat against the nut? Ridgeway, That's a nice start to your Level 1 items. The piece with the tenon and punched hole had me scratching my head for a second till I remembered. I'm slowly working on Level 2 so that I can be listed as a certified instructor for Level 1. TommyVee, that looks nice. A few years back, I watched one of JLP Services videos on YouTube forging the colonial style utensils. Yours looks similar. I should really give that video another watch and try it. Tonight, I used the last of the 3/8" square stock and made two more plant hangers for the club table at this weekend's garden show.

Tonight I started to work on dismantling the post vise so I could repair the jaw plate that broke off earlier this summer. I soon realized that the bolt which holds the moving jaw has likely not moved since the vise was assembled a good 100 years ago or more, lol. Gonna take a few weeks of daily soaking with acetone/atf mix and patience to get that moving. I could easily put the parts back that I had already removed but I think for now, I'll just work on projects that don't require a vise. So I fired up the forge instead and made another item for the club table to sell at the Garden Show this weekend. I like this plant hanger enough that I think I'll go ahead and make two more out of the remainder of the 3/8" square bar I have. Last year, I had made a few dozen leaves and attached to cord and to keyrings. They sold out. I haven't made any leaves yet this year and I haven't seen any other members bring leaves. I'll be at the event all day Friday & Saturday though so I figure I can work on leaves then.

Genius! I'm definitely tucking this idea away to implement when I make my new anvil stand!

CGL, we all have those nights! Helps us appreciate the successful sessions, lol Tonight was a (mostly) successful session for me. I did more on the forge sprite. Apparently the slot punch I was using needs addressed because rather than shear the slug out, it pushed everything to the point of cracking at the eyes. I'm going to hit it with the flux core welder tomorrow and clean it up. Then I started (and finished) two decorative heart garden stakes. The stake portion is forge welded.

I thought for sure I'd soak the wood (male & female) in water before trying this.

No lessons, I like my way thank you very much. It makes me laugh or at the least, smile. Both female/male wood dies is what I was envisioning you meant. I have never attempted to move that thick of material in wood before though. We'll see how it works out. I'll try to remember to update in this thread as I go forward with this project and any others that manipulate the rasps!

The funnest part of a basic pun is emphasizing the basic pun! It's the ultimate "get it? (eyebrow wiggle)" Frosty, regarding the method you described - would that be wood on both sides? The wood bowl cavity and the wood punch driving into that hole? Or a pick-one scenario?

The trade item for the October club meeting is "something made from a large file". I have 3 rasps. I didn't wanna do the same thing I see everywhere - snakes, axes, knives - so I was trying to think of other things that had a similar texture that I could use the rasp for instead. I came up with: raspberries, dragon eggs, fish, wings of an insect, or just cut into strips and twist - use as handle for something? keychain? I REALLY love the idea of raspberries just because of the play on words: RASPberries - I'm still sorting out in my head if I can make that work though. When I said I had come up with a different idea that would work without spreading, the raspberries is what I was thinking of but it later occurred to me that the rasp is SO thick that it might be tough to form the shape without thinning it some. I might just cut a square chunk off and play though. Maybe I can make it work...

I've since come up with a different idea that won't require any spreading. But I am still curious about this in the event I ever revisit this concept CGL, do you mean to basically recreate the scales? LOL, that's what I'm trying to avoid.

I had an idea to use a rasp as the material to form a fish with scales. I'm curious if anyone has had any experience with spreading a rasp while minimizing the loss of scale texture. Watching some videos of people making cobras from a rasp, it looks like my best option is going to be spreading as much as possible from the edges and just accepting the loss of texture in those areas. I know I can shape in a wooden stump but that won't spread it. I'm looking to spread, if possible, while keeping as much texture as possible. Any ideas?