Frosty

Yeah, better nutrition allows folks to grow taller. And yeah again, it wasn't till fairly recently, less than 100 years, wverybody drank beer, water wasn't safe. Human civilization was built on beer, the oldest city thus far discovered has breweries and beer halls, they predate kitchens and eateries. Agreed, farriers are well trained craftsfolk with more formal schooling than many trades. I love the sculpture John, just winning it is enough to push a student to exceed the normal pace. When I was about 12-13 there were miniature tools in the toy and hobby shops. Three were more hand tools than I knew existed and the power tool toys had moving parts for the main functions that is, lathes had turning headstocks, presses pressed, etc. It was years later I realized the blacksmithing tools extended beyond the anvils, forges, hammers, tongs and such, there were power hammers of several types, pneumatics and mechanicals. Had I known something I would've bought some in spite of Dad's discouragement regarding blacksmithing. He was a depression age kid and couldn't see any point in learning a non paying trade. I haven't seen one of the mini tools in decades and am now kind of bummed. Frosty The Lucky.

I'm going to check out some of these programs and see if one isn't easier to use than what I do now. I'm running XP and just right click and do a "Save As", it lets you pick the file size, I give it a new name and put it in a different folder for convenience. It's simple enough but takes a couple steps. Frosty The Lucky.

Very nicely done! Can you do popcorn? Frosty The Lucky.

Good score all round! Frosty The Lucky.

I can't think of a more fitting use, getting the young into real tools is a service to the whole human race. When you getting him his own hammer? David: "caltrop" is the word you're looking for. Jacks and caltrops are the same shape, both lay with one point facing up no matter how they land. Officially caltrops are an anti cavalry device, think midevil land mine. Frosty The Lucky.

Hey gang; I missed the point of the tread as well. I have no new thoughts on a raffle or drawing tool box so I'll stay mum. A pack my tools around box on the other hand I have thoughts about. Somewhere in the drawing files on this machine I have concept and some development drawings of the toolbox I want to make. There are details I haven't bothered with such as length, they'll become evident once I start on it. The basic is a rectangular box 18" wide and 12" deep closed, it'll have a pair of good sized wheels on one end so I can lift and pull it like a hand truck. Once on site the halves open with a latch at 90*. Each half is 18" wide x 6" high and opened to 90* and latched forms a square top 24"x24". Part of one half is a hinge section that lifts up to close the gap for a decent table. Inside each half is a simple rod or strap to hang tongs and a flip or one to hold hammers. Above the tong and hammer racks are pull out drawers for small tools and parts, punches, chisels, rivets, clips, flux, brazing compounds, etc. In the bottom of each half is the larger storage area with simple retainers to keep stuff from falling out. Once set up near the forge it'll keep the less used tools handy and organized but out of the way. I have hammer and tong racks on my anvil stand and forge for the most used tools. The "table" top will make a good display area, smallish tool spot, drawing table and last but certainly not least stool/chair. The main quandry I have now is how long to make the thing. Being a hand truck it can be pretty heavy full but that leaves lifting it into the truck. If I make it long enough to lean on the tail gate and slide in it's awful long for my short leges to find comfortable as a seat. If it's seat length it'll be harder to load unless I do something creative. Wish I had pics but I haven't even started on the thing. One of these days. <grin> Frosty The Lucky.

Tom, family and friends are in our prayers here. Frosty The Lucky.

Very nice blade, good contrast and uniform pattern. Very beautiful. What steels did you use? Frosty The Lucky.

Cast Mark? I have a 206lb Trenton and it's forged. You got yourself a fine looking anvil, it'll serve you well and your kids too, she's a beaut. Frosty The Lucky.

If your mig is properly set and running a good mix gas it shouldn't spatter much if any. This means you need to practice till you learn to weld without spattering too much, a little will happen. A little olive oil on a rag will let you wipe anti spatter on without getting over much in the joint. If you're using flux core wire get used to the spatter. Use a sharp chisel and simply scrape the spatter off like you're using a spatula on cookies, a little impact may be necessary but I usually get it with sliding the chisel along the stock smartly. Clean up is part of doing a proper job and while there are faster/better ways to do it there aren't really any shortcuts. Preventing it is always better than curing it of course, still you have to do clean work for the good rep and good prices. Frosty The Lucky.

Welcome aboard, glad to have you. I have relatives who do or did live in or near Brothell (local nickname back when). Hook up with the NWBA, they're a large active group. It's been a loooong time since I spent any time in the Pac NW. so I can't be any help finding materials except to say there's plenty around. Heck, you'll find plenty of wrought iron in the Columbia and under the old piers in Puget Sound. At one time there were literally hundreds of steam ferries plying the sound and most only lasted a couple years before burning, exploding or just sinking. Low tide is good iron combing time but watch out for the mud on the incoming tide. Frosty The Lucky.

Welcome aboard Oregonian guy, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in your header we won't be straining our old fart memories remembering who's in the area when we're traveling and want a snack, beer or place to nap. Hook up with the NWBA, it's a large active organization and you'll not only discover lots of folk within visiting distance you'll find out how much easier it is to find tools and equipment with a large network of folk on your side. Frosty The Lucky.

That's a very nice grate. It'll be more durable if you use rectangular bar on edge for the grate, this is more structurally strong and having more out of the fire allows the draft to help cool the bars for longer life and less distortion. A little higher off the floor is helpful for cleaning ashes. Well done. Frosty The Lucky.

More proof it isn't impossible to weld in a propane forge! Looks good Gerald, so what's your flux formula? Frosty The Lucky.

High kudos both of you! Very nice looking hearts and demoing for kids is rewarding all round. You guys rock! Frosty The Lucky.

Welcome aboard Whirly glad to have ya. You blokes down under make up a sizable group here on IFI. Don't sweat getting it "right" right off, heating and beating steel/iron will teach your muscles and eyes the feel and motions needed to make it do what you want, THEN you can figure out or learn how to do the fiddly things. Of course there are a bunch of us here more than happy to answer questions, make suggestions or just make stuff up if we don't know. Frosty The Lucky.

Thank you for the SMILE of the day! Congratulations to you and most importantly the lady who did all the work. Darned if I'm not at a complete loss for a snappy rejoinder, just too good a day. Eh? Frosty The Lucky.

Use it, that'll knock the crud off it fast enough and better still you'll be using it. If the face is too rough to do clean work you may want to clean it up but making a hardy tool with clean sharp and radiused edges with a nice smooth face will take you a LOT less time. Cleaning the non working surfaces is fine if you want it pretty but pretty won't effect it's utility. I warmed mine up and wiped it with a mix of wax, soot and turpentine maybe 24 years ago and it's still black. Frosty The Lucky.

Looking good, too clean but that'll come, you're just getting it going. <grin> It'll make a good workspace, do you know what size work you'll be doing? Frosty The Lucky.

I've been really surprised at how little ceramic shops know about clay. Kaolin clay is porcelain once fired, it has a large component of al si and is more resistant to fluxes than high silicate refractories. Adding sodium silicate not only increases the fluidity but sets up more quickly than simply drying. however the more silicates and sodium silicate (water glass) you add the higher the silicate % and the more vulnerable to flux it is. Personally I like a high phosphate or phosphate bonded refractory for flux resistance though ITC-100 is darned resistant. ITC-100 is kaolin clay and zirconium flour. Zirconium is slightly less tough and more heat resistant than diamond, happily it's lots less expensive. <grin> Zirconium oxide ceramic has a working temperature in the 3,800-5,000C range, heck it doesn't fire till it hits mid 3,000C. I don't know why they don't make shuttle tiles from the stuff. Oh well, too late now. <sigh> There are a lot of strategies for refractories and it's a popular topic here. I'm sure there's a thread here somewhere but I don't know where. Frosty The Lucky.

That's a wonderful project. As said you need to work on your photography. If you reflect your flash off a piece of white paper or shoot it through a single ply of tissue it'll diffuse the light and bring out more detail in the subject. Frosty The Lucky.

AND there you go, a professional speaks. Jerry W. is not only a fire fighter he's trains fire fighters so his word is worth FAR more than mine. It's only a matter of timing my reply is here at all. Thanks Jerry. Frosty The Lucky.

First, you're buying a CO (Carbon Monoxide) alarm, CO2 isn't near so dangerous, I don't think CO2 alarms are common if available at all. When hot the exhaust gasses will head for the roof so a well designed, built and placed chimney should carry the bulk out if your shop is ventilated enough to provide makeup air. It'll even hang near the ceiling till it cools so a CO monitor may not register much till later after you've stopped forging. Then it'll cool and settle to low spots as it's more dense than clear air. When everything is an equal temp it's low in the shop and a direct hazard. However as long as it's in the shop it's a hazard so keep the batteries up in the detector and keep the ventilation good. There should be placement instructions with the detector but visiting a fire station WHEN THEY'RE NOT BUSY!!! is a good call. Fire fighters are always happy to help folk stay safe, after all they're the guys who're going to have to come rescue you if things go bad. Oh yeah, park well clear of the station doors and driveways so they can roll in a hurry if they need to. As a rule of thumb (to be superseded by professional advice!) I place CO detectors a few feet off the floor and away from large CO producers like the forge. On the floor it may alert when you don't really need it. However if you have kids or pets in the shop place the detectors lower to cover their breathing zone. Here's another safety equipment placement tip. Do NOT put your fire extinguishers BEHIND the forge, kitchen range, wood stove, etc. place it close but on the escape route. You do NOT want to have to reach over a fire to get to the extinguisher, nor do you want to encourage someone to trap themselves trying to fight a fire. Placing extinguishers on the escape routes lets folk clear the path to get out if the fire gets out of hand. Again, read the instructions and ask the pros. The firefighters may tell you to call back another time but they won't blow you off, fire safety is their trade in life. Frosty The Lucky.

You're on the list here. Keep in mind the Lord doesn't put challenges to us we can't bear. Without challenges life doesn't mean as much. Hang in there Alan, we're pulling with and for you. Frosty The Lucky.

Very cool, very Heavy Metal! I like it a lot. These will be a good seller, especially if it's wearable art. Well done. Frosty The Lucky.