Marcus Hopfinger

Voted for ya. Hope you win!

This has lots of useful information in it! I have PDFs of scans of the original Ordinance documents but they are very had to read David has put the information into easily read tables that will be far more useful. I really like the paint color information that he has included. He has the paint formula used by the National Park Service to paint cannon carriages so a reenactor can take the information to the paint vendor and get an authentic match not just a "that kind of looks like the right color" match. Much good information on forges correct to the Civil War. He covers everything from permanent forges to field expedient forges used by General Shermans army complete with documentation (very important when doing an authentic impression). If you do historical blacksmithing demonstrations, especially of the mid-1800s, this book will be a huge help in getting things done correctly. Thanks for writing this David.

My condolences and prayers.

My copy just showed up today. Just paging through it looks fantastic! I can't wait to dig through it at my leisure this weekend.

Prayers from South Dakota

Prayers from South Dakota

Prayers from South Dakota

It would be great to see photos of each step as you make a pair. Thanks for sharing the photos of the finished product.

Yes, have a blessed and Merry Christmas everyone.

Great to hear he is home safe and sound...now your Christmas will be all the merrier.

You may also want to check out this thread My link

Prayers from South Dakota.

My father-in-law was telling me about an old metal worker he knew that would put long pieces he was twisting in a pipe that was just a touch bigger than the stock he was twisting to keep the piece straight.

I think the only confirmation was the invoice then it took a week to 10 days after I paid the invoice for the package to show up. I think it was USPS. I know he references how many bricks will fit in a flat rate box so it makes sense that he would be using the Postal System.

I have ordered from him. I think it is kind of a side business for him so it isn't quite like ordering from a "normal" online store. I emailed him with what I wanted to purchase and a day or two later got a reply with the amount with shipping figured in. I was expecting an email with a PayPal link like I have had with eBay but a couple days later when that didn't show up I logged into PayPal and used the send payment option to send the payment to the PayPal info he has on his website....a week or so later my package showed up. I think if you are expecting the automated responses you get when shopping at most online stores you will be frustrated but if you keep in mind that it is a one may operation and a sideline to his normal business and have a bit of patience you will be satisfied with the products you purchase.

I like the bottle openers....I am curious what the items made from the old/antique forks are? Are they bottle openers as well....maybe for twist-offs? Or are they just decorative?

My wife had her hotmail hijacked a few months back. Friends got emails saying that she was in London and had been mugged and could they please send money...funny because she was 9 months pregnant at the time and not traveling anywhere. We were able to dig up a phone number to call and talk to the hotmail folks and they tried to get her access again so she could print off old emails and retrieve any addresses she needed but it didn't work so she just had them close it out and started a new account. Sometimes it is easier to just start fresh, with an extra strong password, then go through the headaches of trying to get the old account back.

Sorry, I guess I didn't look at the prices. Just knew he sold grinder kits so I posted the link quickly.

Here is another option as well. The gentleman that sells these is an IFI member.

Essayons! One more former combat engineer saying good luck and I will be praying for your mother and grandmother.

I can't wait to see the hammer you will probably be forging to drive that big nail. :D

I was thinking about doing something similar as well.

My link...found this on the Florida Artist Blacksmith Association web site...hope it helps.

We have had the opposite problem in South Dakota. During a typical summer we may get a couple hundredths of an inch during a rain fall, or even an inch if it is particularly heavy, but this year it seems that every time it rained it was 2 to 6 inches at a shot....quite a few roads washed out and houses with flood damage....the good thing is the water tables are full again as are the ponds, lakes and rivers....just hope we don't get a ton of snow or we will be flooded again come spring.

That sure is a beautifully hawky hawk hawk. :)