Wind Chapman

Wood also here. I have several reasons that I use it before other materials. The biggest is that I am able to keep hickory splits in the shop to fit any hammer I have so I save some money and I avoid a trip to Ace Hardware. It is also quite pleasing to the eye, especially as sweat and time enhance it.

Here the problem is scorpions. I hang almost everything on the walls even indoors because of them. Now to trivia... Can anyone tell me why it is bad luck to get rid of spider webs in a blacksmith shop?

I have had a man come around a few times and look at my work at various places lately. Today, he requested that I make andirons to match a fireplace set that he had bought from a blacksmith in Colorado years ago. He brought a poker for me to look at and this was it. The set was made by Francis Whitaker who worked under Samuel Yellin.

I just hope that I can meet his expectations. Not bragging here. I just wanted to share.

Two questions. 1. At what type of heat did you apply this new flux before heating and welding?
2. When heating, are you using a gas or coal forge?

I remember a tale from the hills of an old smith with a "magic quenching fluid" that he had paid another smith famed for his blades for his recipe and would get it made up at a local pharmacy at some expense (where the pharmacist was in on the scam...) It was "an aqueous solution of sodium chloride"...

OTOH if like Dumbo's magic feather if makes you *feel* like you can do it it may be just what some folks need!

Judging from what I have read, it is going to change a LOT of things that I am able to do around the shop. It is going to allow me to weld a lot of difficult joints that I was not able to do before. Just that little bit of difference will do a lot here at Flute's.

I have not scavenged any but there is an old stamp mill on the Yahoola creek here in Dahlonega. The iron has a pretty wood grain pattern and is in 20 foot rods about an inch and a half. There must be at least a ton and a half of it. For my actual scavenging, I dig through the recycle bin at the machine shops to get odd shaped scraps.

I came across a product today that promises that you can forge weld now at a red heat and make complex joints simply by heating the work, brushing the scale and ash off, applying the flux and then striking to weld without putting it back into the fire. The ingredients on the bottle state: Didsodium Borate and Iron. Well, as far as I know, that is plain old borax with iron filings in it. I would be very skeptical of these claims except for the person making them is one of the most respected blacksmiths alive today.

Input of thoughts and ideas would be apperciated.

I doubt it is the noise and smoke since I traditionally can sell more when I don't demonstrate. As a rule, almost everything I sell is premade and the demo stuff is smallish and quick. I only demonstrated once last year because of health reasons, so they know I can sell without smoke.

I did talk with one smith and he is going to write a letter of concern. I have not been able to contact the other yet. I have never seen one blacksmith not back up another one and I really hope that I won't be disappointed.

I recently have run into something very disturbing. While applying to craft fairs that I have been to and not been to, I have gotten turned down because the fair already had a blacksmith. At the largest fair, I protested to the person in charge pointing out the multiples of potters, jewelers, painters, and so on. That seemed to have done the trick.

However, I applied at Bear on the Square here in my own town. It is a show I was in last year. I had met Dave Custer (Firery Furnace) there the year before. I taught him how to forge weld that day. There is also Paul from the folk school in NC. They both come as a "package deal" and the jury committee wants to keep them.

That is all well and good, but when I am not let in because three blacksmiths would upset the balance, especially when my work is exactly what they fair wants and they all agreed that my work was excellent. I become less than happy. I let the committee know that I expected to see no more than two potters, painters.... when fair time comes around.

What can be done about this? I am not going to take it, yet I don't want to sue them for discriminating against blacksmiths.

I am looking at the die springs on the LG 50's and they all have 6 coils on the spring. As you can see, the spring I have has 6 coils and it is overloaded.

Oh, that's Sid's site!

I was told that but it never crossed my mind to ask LG! How did you like the hammer?

Okay, I finally got my wife through her cancer and me through shoulder surgery. I have an old Fairbanks hammer that is in great condition. However, the die spring that came with it is not the correct one. When the hammer is resting, the coils are so close together that just a couple of playing cards can fit between each. The old book for this hammer calls for a 5.5 inch long, 3.5 inch outer diameter, with .625 inch wire. That is the exact spring I have now. I think I am right in guessing that I have a spring made up just like the old one but with only 5 coils instead of 6? Oh, the spring should not need to compress more than 4.5 inches as that is the point at which the side arms get close to the gullet.

Here is a link to the photo: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1246691292699.2032532.1391914580&type=1&l=4f431db84a

Seems like a good deal to me. After buying a new fontanini 460#, i am a believer in large anvils, such a pleasure to work on.

I'll stick with my 515# Fisher I bought in *mint* condition for $350.

Sounds like a good deal if you need a big anvil.

There is an older gentleman down here with a 500 lb Peter Wright for sale. H said he welded up the face a bit but I can't find any seams, dings, dents, or any thing else wrong. He has it up for sale for $1,500. Is anyone else tempted by this?

blood,sweat& tears work here....and occasional foul language

I was recently married. Everything was going well until I realized the day before the wedding that we had not discussed rings. Some quick cuts on 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch pipe, little heat, filing, and polishing left us with to beautiful "brush finish" wedding rings. I am sure she will think them to be white gold until she gets near a magnet or goes through an airport.

I need color suggestions for the stucco. I am thinking terracotta over the gray and blue over the red brick? Perhaps some mosaic work over the hearth? The innards are 4" block and the table is poured aggregate, with poured aggregate/fireclay/fire brick around the fire pot. It is a round heavy duty one that is set 1/2 inch below the edges of the table.

Done? Never say that! I just stuccoed the out side of mine, with a scratch coat and am pondering what color to put on the final coat. I may go with teracota or a buff. I am also thinking about making a mosaic over the hearth or just an abstract pattern. I did find a really nice 10X10 inc tile today with a Scandinavian winter scene on it. If I can find one for each season, I may even use those.

This web sit has a LOT of ideas, or it did at one time. It still has some useful links.
http://www.seiyaku.com/customs/crosses/passion.html