Frosty

That explains it alright. No flowers here for a couple months yet though the temp's in the 20's. The fire in the stove's gone out maybe 3 times in the last 4 months and will be going for another at least. The sun's shining in the window as I type and it's nice enough to start getting out for fun now. The arm still has me laid up, Deb yells at me if I try to do anything so I'm pretty bored. All in all things are fine, I'm healing nicely from the last surgery and I'm regaining flexibility in the elbow much faster than after the first surgery. If the sum of my complaints is a little boredom and the wife yelling at me for doing something, anything. . . Hmmmmm. No complaints at all at all. Frosty

Also, grind any chrome plating back from the weld effect area as the fumes from burning chrome are quite toxic. Frosty

Now THAT is a ding a ling answer if I ever heard one. Frosty

Not bad at all Bryce. My suggestion for now is find a decent backdrop to take photos against and work on your lighting so we can get a good look at your work. From what I could see it's pretty well done; it has feeling and the stem has nice flow. A good organic feel all round. A little practice at the forge and anvil and you'll be turning out some very nice stuff. Frosty

When I said put two pieces of 5" stove pipe together to make a 10" piece, I didn't mean USE two 5" pieces. I meant snap the two pieces together along their locking seams to form a 10" diameter piece of pipe. You can make odd sizes as well, a piece each of 8" and 6" will make a 14" diameter piece and so on. Sorry for the confusion Mr. Hofi, I should've checked what I wrote before replying. Frosty

Oooh, good idea Stretch and it slips so nicely into my little mental tool kit. :cool: I have a bunch of "silver streak" pencils for steel and a small bunch of "red streak" pencils for aluminum I picked up for a couple bucks at a 2nd. hand store a number of years ago. While they're handy they're no replacement for a good scribe and now my brass marker. Nothing makes me happier than scoring a good idea. Thanks for sharing that one. Frosty

I cleaned my comp with canned air about two months ago. A few things about using compressed air to clean the shop: First, it does just move dirt around which may or may not be what you need. Secondly and IMHO more importantly, 100psi air can propel debris at speeds up to 120mph. and can cause serious injury. Thirdly, carburating flamables like wood dust and other things we may not normally think of flamables can turn a fire hazard into an explosion hazard. Grain elevator explosions like the recent one being points in case. On the other hand blacksmithing is inherently dangerous and can be practiced safely with proper precautions so using the air gun to clean up falls into the same catagory. Frosty

Be careful of this guy Dan, I'm pretty sure Mark's the one who set me up in that last election. Frosty

That would effectively turn it into a pocket setup and a good way to go. This allows you to make just about any size fore you need. It's the way I use a duck's nest. My fire grate lays in a depression in my forge table and I make the "fire pot" whatever size I need with fire brick. It's not perfect but it's versatile. Frosty

Jerry: I live about an hour north of Anchorage (assuming you mean Anchorage AK) and we are organizing a blacksmith's association. If your son would like to get in touch with blacksmiths in the area please put us in touch. Oh yeah, scribes. Spring, old drill bit, allen wrench, etc. no forging necessary unless you want to, grind the point, heat treat and it's good to go. Scribes make excellent beginner's tool steel projects. I have them draw a long flat taper on one end, fold it over and shape it for a pocket clip. A forged point and maybe twist for grip, heat treat (spring temper on the pocket clip) and grind sharp. Nice project. Frosty

I'm for building my own but I've done it several times. You don't need heavy pipe for the shell, it only has to hold fire and a few lbs of steel. SS stove pipe makes an excellent pipe forge shell. Frosty

Correct. It's also the mark for inches and the software is confused. Frosty

Welcome aboard Hibernicus. You bring interesting questions, thank you. Matt87. Pictures please. Frosty

About the safest method I've seen was making the chuck key the drill presses starter key. The key was hung on a chain and there was a clear plastic cover over the ON button with a hole just large enough for the key handle. It took a deliberate act to turn the press on with the key in the chuck which was grounds for immediate dismissal. The off button was uncovered and easy to hit for obvious safety reasons. Frosty

Take it from me, you can be president even if you don't particularly want to be. All I had to do was not say NO loudly nor quickly enough and the guys made me the club's coordinator. Coordinator is about as close to a president as AK smiths were willing to have. Heck, last meeting I excused myself to hit the can and I think I got reelected! Be careful what you wish for you might get it. Frosty

A hibachi works as will a cast iron fry pan or shallow pot. A large cast iron plumbing cap though you're unlikely to find one large enough to make a satisfying fire pot. Maybe they make caps for cast iron sewer pipe that'd work. There are steel weld caps that'd work. That's about all I can think of off the top right now but anything that'll take the heat (depending on how long you need it for of course) should do it. Frosty

I know a lot of guys who can do the work but not that many with a good patter. Doing a good interview isn't as easy as it may look. You can't buy publicity like that. It won't be long and I'll be telling my envious friends I knew Dan back when. . . Super job Dan. Frosty

Two things come to mind. First is to drill and broach rather than drift. A broach is a cutter that is driven through the hole. While broaching is usually found under machineshop operations it's a fine old blacksmith's technique and can even be done hot if you really want to. Milling: Operations - Broaching The other is to dig a ground forge and attempt to heat and drift. I'd bring lunch though. Frosty

Anywhere but in the chuck where it can get flung in your face when the drill is turned on. Preferably in the same place every time so it's easier to find. Generally I hang mine in one of the unused holes or slots in the drill table or on the head of the lathe right next to the drill press. I also have a magnet stuck to the wall of the Connex behind the drill press but it's inconvenient. My pocket works too. Once the new shop is in operation I'll hang the lazy susan with the key holder. Frosty

Depends on what I'm doing. If it's layout, general fab, machine shop stuff, etc. the more light the better up to direct sunlight levels. If I'm smithing I like it dimmer but not dark. Over the years I've gotten pretty good at judging heats in whatever light I had. As I get older I need more light to see so I'm forging in bright and brighter light. If judging temps is critical I either turn the lights down or use a shadow box. My shop'll have a combination of flourescents for general lighting and halogen worklights. Something else you can't have too many of in a shop are outlets, 110v and 220v or whatever your nation uses. Frosty

Good morning Frederico: If your dimensions are really in mm then you won't need more than a butane soldering torch for general forging and a MAPP gas torch will get it to welding heat. Bernzomatic is the American brand name I'd recommend. They can be used with MAPP gas as well. Bernzomatic Torch If however you meant cm instead then a 3/4" sidearm burner is about twice as much burner as you'll need to reach welding heat. This is a good safe number if not as efficient as it could be, being a lot of overkill. However, I find using an oversized burner a serious time saver, especially heating thick or numerous pieces. I don't know if there are plans for a 1/2" sideam burner which is closer to the right size for a forge (assuming cm measurements) as you describe. Modifying the design isn't too difficult though it'll take some experimentation to get it tuned properly. Frosty

Reminds me of the engineers I used to work with. They'd ask me to build something and when I started taking measurements and making drawings would ask if I, "couldn't just get some steel and weld it together." Bridge engineers at that! Negative space indeed. They were best represented by the gaping hole they left in reality any time they stepped away from their desks. Frosty

I'd add something but I like my mother in law. So, I guess much to my dismay I'll actually contribute to the thread in an on topic manner. The following URL is to a friend's site, specifically his Palm Desert sculpture. Heath is getting better and better all the time. check out some of his Denver Zoo sculptures, not negative space but cool. Heath Satow Sculpture Frosty

The rule of thumb for how much to have sticking out to make the head is 1 1/2 the diameter. For instance a 1/4" rivet needs 3/8" sticking out for the head. Frosty

I believe it's because your mid-nineteenth century blacksmith could sound it out and spell it reasonably well. Frosty