Frosty

I lifted mine on 4x12s through bolted with all thread. I made a treadle extension to get it back down to comfortable working height. Unfortunately I couldn't find pics of it with the extension. I keep it from walking in use by anchoring it into a gozinta, she rocks but stays put. Frosty The Lucky.

That'd be up to Deb. Pocket is winding down, making new friends isn't really on her bucket list. Heck she isn't into rides in the car she has a heating pad in her chair or a nice fluffy blanket she seems to like almost as much as dinner. Jer

Striking pattern, very nice. Frosty The Lucky.

Curly: Epoxy anchors is how I' mount the railings. My favorite comes in glass tubes almost the same size as the anchor bolt use. You drill, drop in a glass glue tube, drop in the bolt and spin it with an air ratchet till it sets, about 30-45 seconds and there it is for good. The glass tubes have the epoxy is separate sections with a sharp gravel fill. The anchor bolt breaks the tube and spinning mmixes it thoroughly as it cleans the hole, te gravel jams the anchor bolt and the epoxy bonds it all permanently. For your application almost any industrial anchor medium will do just fine, be it expanding anchor cement mechanical anchors or chemical glues or epoxies. all do the job. The only thing you need to do correctly is pick the one suited for the diameter and length anchor bolts you're using. It's simple arithmetic. Frosty The Lucky.

You've lost me, Nozzle . . . Burner SHAFT? Are these terms Ron's started using or something you've come up with? Burner folk commercial or us home builders call the last part of the burner tube where the flame exits the "nozzle" and I'm not familiar with anyone using the term "shaft" in relation to burners. I'm not playing semantic games with you but to have meaningful communications we have to speak a common language. Yeah, I know "jargon" is evil but only as an exclusionist slang. What jargon means here is a common set of terms, names and such so we don't waste a bunch of time and text explaining what we just said. Don't sweat it, we all had to and are still learning the craft's language. Something new is always coming up from somewhere. Frosty The Lucky.

TreeWax is my personal favorite of the more "traditional" finishes, it's carnuba wax, the same wax they use to armor bowling alleys. Apply warm enough it liquifies wipe excess lightly and let it cool. It's not only really tough stuff it's non-toxic. Still it's not going to survive infinite trips through a dish washer, scouring pads and such. Oil is easy to renew after every wash and is my preference for kitchen utensils. Olive oil polymerizes so is tougher than some oils and heck bacon grease is a time honored finish, my camp toasting fork sport it in good health. Rust is going to happen though unless the end user is diligent in prevention. Frosty The Lucky.

I don't know what too cold is, I have a cut off temp for non-must have projects in the +20's f. A young man just picking up the skills and I will be out in the shop tomorrow and it was -15f during today's coldest part of the day. Sunrise +/- 1 hour. This morning it dropped from -7f to -15 in about 40 minutes just before sunrise. Tomorrow I'll go out an hour or so before I expect my new student to show and build a fire in the barrel stove. the stove might take a little of the edge out of the cold but it isn't going to "heat" the shop. I'll lay a couple pieces of steel on it so I can take a little chill out of the anvils when we start. There are tricks for working on cold anvils though like holding the stock just off the face and letting the hammer drive it down into contact at impact. It helps but the stock still loses heat at record speed. Standing in front of the forge isn't a sweaty miserable thing though, even with all the dragon's breath we tend to stand a little closer. Heck, get in each other's way in fact. Frosty The Lucky.

I LIKE it! It's not just a wine rack it's a center piece for any fine table. I'm looking at a very marketable item. Well done all round. Frosty The Lucky.

I have a Soderfors, cast Swedish anvil, a close relative quality wise. It has the date or manufacture stamped in the side opposite the name Soderfors and model name. While interesting it's birth year has very little bearing in an anvil's quality. Old doesn't mean more valuable or better. As she sits she's as good an anvil as you're likely ever to strike, put her to good use. Frosty The Lucky.

Welcome aboard, glad to have you. I have some of my Father's tools and both my Grandfather's pocket watches they mean a lot to me. Being able to use your Great Grandfather's anvil would be a treat indeed. It looks to be in outstanding condition, the little bit of chipping on the edges isn't severe enough to dress out. A little time with a disk grinder to radius the chipped edges would take care of it without effecting it's usefulness at all. You're golden on this beauty. Get yourself hooked up with the CBA, every hour you spend with an experienced blacksmith will equal days or weeks learning on your own. The CBA is an active group and by all accounts great guys all round. Frosty The Lucky.

Very nice John. I've always liked wrapped leaf finials and those are especially eye catching. Well done all round. Frosty The Lucky.

Welcome aboard James, glad to have you. We love pics, I look forward to seeing your work. Eat plenty, sleep well. Frosty The Lucky.

Looks like a good useful blade Dave, about as much length as I ever need. Your brother did a fine job of the sheath as well and if I weren't about as full as a boy should be I'd be wanting a slice of your sister's pie. You belong to a talented family. As for Thanksgiving I'd like to offer a belated wish for everybody to enjoy an excellent one. I sincerly hope you all have as much to be thankful for as I do. Eat plenty, sleep well. Frosty The Lucky.

The patience of Job. Frosty The Lucky.

Yeah, Manley is way off the beaten track, we were drilling a bridge site to replace the old steel span but that was I don't remember how long ago, late 70's or early 80's I think. It's been about the same time since I've been to Chena but I've been there a couple few times. I like being able to pick my soak temperature by where I sit in the pool. I've gotten Deb interested and she's thinking about a place we can leave the old dog, Pocket is getting pretty frail. WE have plenty of volunteers for Falki and Baxter so who knows. Jer

Untwisting a basket twist is always the trickiest part, I always end up with a screw driver prying till all the bars are even or as close as I can get them. It's a nice looking ornament however you hang it. A little tweaking and it'll be a beaut. About being satisfied, we'll NEVER be completely satisfied. Our eye will always be draw to any little detail not quite perfect. It's a sign of a perfectionist in a very plastic and tactile craft. It's a GOOD thing. Frosty The Lucky.

I like JM's final solution, "get em saved," I have to remember that one. Still, like Mike says, we're representing an ancient craft that is just making a rebound so we need to make good impressions, even with the nimrods. I've silently offered my hammer to spectators who tell me how a REAL blacksmith does things. Other times I've asked if they have any of granddad's tools or if they're done with them do they want to sell them where they'll get used. Still, there are folk who just aren't going to be happy unless they can show how smart, or whatever, they are by trying to make YOU look a fool. Engaging these folk is a no winner so just let the troll starve. If you don't feed them they will go somewhere they can feed off the angst/etc. they sow. We can't win by engaging them, even if we land a good shot, we lose. They're never the only person in the audience or they'd move on to richer fields, so when we engage them two things happen, they're satisfied by gaining attention and the audience loses some respect for US. Lose lose. Don't feed the trolls Let them starve. Frosty The Lucky.

If you followed Ron's instructions it'll work. Building naturally aspirated burners is an exercise in precision work. Ron spent a lot of time perfecting his designs and they're good. You're going to have to go over what you have step by step and find out where you missed by a tad, correct it and test again. Don't sweat it though, this is common till you've made a few then they go pretty fast and trouble free. Frosty The Lucky.

WE went from below zero to mid-high 20s and rain. Oh what joy. Even with a reasonably new 4x4 pickup and studs we just hung at home and let folk with important errands fill ditches and bend fenders. Where are the nearest hot springs Chena? It's been many a year since I was in the interior but the hot springs stick in one's memory. Manley has a hotel/motel doesn't it? As I recall the entire town was heated by spring water, kind of smelly showers but very nice place. Critter sitters is still out biggest issue to traveling. <sigh> Jer

Another beautiful piece Nick. We're going to have to vote you a title of some kind if you keep doing such high end work. Frosty The Lucky.

I love the roo Andrew and look forward to pics of more of your work. It's one thing to know kangaroos are dangerous on an intellectual level and another entirely to know it on a first hand experience (gut) level. I'm thinking if I lived in kangaroo country I'd be packing a pistol at least. Is it legal to carry a weapon in Au or Oz? How about putting your general location in the header so we won't have to ask? I know for sure I wouldn't let one of our dogs go down without a fight. Family is family. Frosty The Lucky.

Glad to see you're online Bryan, did you lose power? Healing and therapy can be a job in itself but it's worth it. We'll get together for sure, I still need to give Deb the tour of the interior, all we have to do is find folk to tend the animals. Madknight: If the weather holds this warm and we don't get too much freezing rain you can make a run to my place. We can build a fire and abuse steel almost any time. Almost, Deb's night vision means I'm driving her to and from work, dog classes, etc. so we have to coordinate. Frosty The Lucky.

Your flame looks pretty good if a little soft. A flare reduces pressure in the burner tube making induction stronger. This makes the burner less susceptible to breezes and back pressure. I use the thread protectors instead of flares and they do all I need them to. I don't use forge burners outside a forge, I have air/oxy propane torches for that and those work SOOOOO much better. Thanks for posting links to the concept drawings and narrative of my burner, I never can find the darned things. I probably should compose a more together set of drawings with parts list and a better description of construction and tuning. Now, where'd I put those round tuits? I'll be more than happy to answer any questions. Frosty The Lucky.

I don't know what to say that is so outstanding I can't think of a suitable adjective. Frosty The Lucky.

Those'll work just fine. don't sweat using rebar unless you're doing something where consistency counts. Tongs are perfect rebar projects as are log dogs, tent stakes garden lamp stands, plant hangers and such. Don't worry about how it takes a quench from heat treating temperature, don't let your tongs get to red heat and it isn't a factor. cool em every now and then, I keep my quench bucket close for the tongs not the work. Frosty The Lucky.