Hickory Wind Forge

Anyone else from here going? Short notice but this is the first time in years that I've managed to remember to register before it's over. Went a bunch of times as a kid, only lived 15 minutes away. Sounds like an excellent demonstrator this year. Matt.

Oh he'll be back. His eyes were bugging out looking at the other aluminum farrier stuff I've built. Plus his little trailer needs all several repairs. Matt. Chad, those horseshoe hearts are slick. Nicely done. Those are the kind of things that will always sell easy. Matt.

Thanks Frosty, not yet, gotta make a sheath in the next few days.

Some time ago my brother mentioned that he'd like to have a small, fixed-blade for handy daily use - opening bags and boxes in the flour-mill, cutting twine.... Lots of Scottish on our father's side and my brother loves heritage themes, so I decided to give him something along the lines of a Sgian Dhu - the little sleeve or stocking knife. Got it done yesterday just in time for his 25th b-day. Steel was originally a discbine hay mower blade. Throws good sparks when ground. Coupons were made and an oil-quench/draw to straw program were settled on. The handle is cherry that we milled right here. 4 inch blade. It can't compete with the gorgeous blades I see on IFI but I'm happy with it. Matt.

Sent a trio of my horse-shoe racks out of the shop for a local farrier's trailer. First he ordered 1, then went for 2, then within 10 minutes decided he wanted 3.

That's true indeed! Although I will say, one really nice thing about 0-degree nights is when you're standing outside after dark with a clear sky and you realize that you're seeing the stars far better than any other time of year. They look so much bigger, closer, brighter, and tinged with colors that you never recognized before. Matt.

Exactly. Usually I would open 1 or both doors in the shop for a decent crossbreeze, but I really like having the fumes captured right at the workpiece. Plus this week temps are struggling to get above 15 degrees - not ideal for leaving doors open! - Matt.

Sucks the smoke in thru the tube and draws it over a series of filters. Uses a 1hp motor; technically more properly know as a "fume extractor." I had it running today while welding and was really pleased with how it worked.

Thanks ebin. I've spent a lot of time listening to my dad try to weld 1/4" and such with a 140-amp 110v MIG machine in his little Jeep shop next-door to my fab shop. It involves a lot of snapping and erratic buzzing, also lots of grousing and cussing. Then the grinder comes out, which really sets my teeth on edge. Finally I get annoyed enough to kick open the door and yell "Would you just bring that in here and let me do it??!!" "No no, I've almost got it...go away". More awful noises... more grinding.... Then 3 days later I find said part in my shop, thoroughly gobbed and bubble-gummed. I shake my head and fix it. Just hoping to help someone avoid bubblegum welding and grinding. - Matt.

Picked up a smoke-eater for the shop yesterday. Long over-due for this improvement. Matt

Woody, bear in mind that the other highly important number in selecting a welder is the Duty Cycle. Basically this is the percentage out of 10 minutes that the welder can be run continously at a given setting without overheating and tripping the shutdown thermostat. Running a 120 amp machine at max to weld 3/16th" will give you a very low duty cycle. If you're envisioning a lot of 3/16th, you'd be much better served with a 140 amp machine. Also, if at all possible, buy at an actual welding supply store vs Home Cheapo or similar. You will be able to ask questions and get experienced knowledgeable answers, along with an actual warranty. Matt.

As Frosty and others said: do yourself a huge favor and take a welding course at a local BOCES or similar. You will be miles ahead of trying to spoon-feed yourself. Two of the hardest things for beginners to learn are welding hot enough, and running a bead slow enough. There are many comments about "a grinder and paint make me the weldor I ain't" but the whole point of a good bead is one that doesn't need grinding and has sufficient penetration. An 8-week course will put you literal years ahead on learning how to lay that bead. As far as welding machines go, always buy more welder than you think you need. The old rule of thumb is that it takes 1 amp to weld one-thousandth of an inch of thickness. Therefore, welding 1/8th" (0.125") sheet would require 125 amps. 1/4" requires closer to 200 amps for adequate penetration. Do not imagine that a 125-amp machine will be able to burn a 1" solid hardy-stub on adequately or safely. A welder that runs off 220v will burn circles around a similar amperage welder that runs on 110v. Cheap welders are cheap for a reason. The amount of copper windings and electrical solder in an off-brand cannot compare to a name-brand like Miller, Lincoln or even Hobart. Wire-feed systems (whether flux-core or gas-bottle) are easiest to learn to run, stick machines are possibly more available, cheaper, and adequate for much of the welding you will come across. TIG is at the top of the food chain, for beautiful artistic welds, especially on thin material or aluminum. The skill of welding absolutely has a place in forge-work, and if you master it you will never regret the time or money it took. - Matt. Also, as Frosty and Swede commented, learning how to run an oxy-acetylene torch will give you a great start towards TIG, as well as expanding your cutting abilities immensely. The old O-A set-up is still amazingly versatile.

I need to see if I can get any hard info on it but my smithing friend and I both guessed right around 1900 also - although it is only a guess. Here's the last piece: this is called a bird's mouth. It sits on the very front of the pole to help hold-back on a downhill. The chain and ring are something I came up with a couple of years ago for his other poles. They function somewhat like a tavern-puzzle: when the chestbar pushes on the chain, the ring locks in place completely; but at a standstill you can flip it off with one hand. Really glad I had the chance to get my hands on this old sleigh. - Matt.

Just as soon as I find 8 willing reindeer.

Here you can see the original forge-weld on the brace-piece and pivot. The craftsmanship in the steam-bent oak also amazes me. There was more splitting on the cross-tree ends. Made up tapered collars so that the torque doesn't center on the split wood.