BIGGUNDOCTOR

I think if everyone would just take a breather, and let the manufacturers get ramped back up, prices should come down. They are telling some home buyers that to keep the subdivision home they are having built they need to agree to a 30% price increase to cover material jumps. If that was me, I would say, nope, I'll look around some more.

Did some dumpster diving at work this week. The first load was 27ea 32 gallon, 13ea 15? gallon food grade Rubbermaid Brute trash cans, 8 large plastic mixing paddles, and 3 totes. Audit at work by a customer, so sprucing up the place some. The mixing paddles run around $50 ea, and the Brutes $35. Last night I extracted a full sheet of 3/8" clear Polycarbonate , a full 4x10 sheet of stainless -have not measured yet but around 18ga, the pallet the stainless was on, and some other crating to use for chicken shade structures. 109F today, and 7% humidity with a 5mph breeze. It flat amazes me what the company to$$es.

I tell an alligator from a crocodile by the teeth. When the mouth is closed you can still see some teeth on a croc, but not a gator. Good work guys, everything looks great. Thomas, I feel ya. I have worked alone for a long time, and have had to get creative when doing some operations. Pinch bars and blocks get it lifted, and pipe rollers get it moved. That worked back home where I had concrete to work on. Now I have sand and gravel. I bought a rough terrain forklift a few years ago, and it was worth it. Sometimes you just need a set of eye, and cell phone video has helped there. Prop the phone up, crank the engine, review video to see if the coil pack sparked. That is one of the few things I miss, having a close group of guys to call up for help.

It was probably Selfridge since it was a SAC base. He said if the heat went out, they had 24 hours to get it back up, or the base would start evacuating. Looking back today I wonder how much different my life would have possibly been if I had gone further than just talking to the recruiters. My 20 would have been up in 2003/04. I love to travel, but rarely do so. My Dad saw all 50 states (HI and AK before statehood) and Europe during the Berlin Airlift. But today's military service is far different than what his was. He said he was in at a good time, and could get flights in various aircraft just by asking. TBF Avenger, P61 Black Widow, T6.... He said that guys today can wrench on a plane their whole career and never even get to go up in one.

Nice anvil. That tip of the horn has just had a lot of use. I personally would not worry about it. I rarely use the horn on my anvils, and if I need a small pointy item I have some that I can put in the hardy hole or a vise. The offset hardy makes me think French anvil.

My Dad talked about when he was stationed at either Selfridge Maine or Eielson Alaska that all of the plumbing was run in gutters under the sidewalks. Work needs to be done? Drive a forklift out, hook onto the bars cast into the sidewalk pockets and lift the sidewalk up. Do the work, and replace the sidewalk. No cutting, no digging, just easy peasy.

Have you looked at the JABODs on here?

I would just fill it with dirt, and run a side blast. Think JABOD. I have an old cast iron bottom blast, and clinkers can be a drag, With a side blast they are not as much of an issue when using coal.

It was 102F here yesterday. What do you do in the Air Force? My Dad was in from 47 to 67 after 4 in the Army during WWII, and was a machinist/aircraft mechanic/whatever else he was asked to do....

I always think of my friend when I hear Minot. He said they had a saying in the Air Force of Why not Minot? Welcome from the desert near Fabulous Las Vegas NV.

CO, as Das said, you have plenty of steel around to make a drift. You also have the parts to make a bigger JABOD, or even just a hole in the ground forge for bigger items. Axles, sway bars, torsion bars, etc can be found at auto body , and repair shops. If you have any tractor or heavy equipment shops they will also have big pieces. Equipment rental yards have materials you can use. Garage and yard sales can provide pry bars, pick heads, and other tools. The time you spend shaping some stone will be far more than sourcing a chunk of steel and making a drift.

ChadJ, I think I would do some sort of fireproofing behind the sheeting. Maybe a cement / clay wash, or stucco. Anything to help seal the dry wood from any sparks.

I found a like new Norton commercial kitchen sharpener at a garage sale for $20. The stones had no discoloration from being used. The stones are 11.5" long, and make short work of sharpening kitchen knives. I saw it on a shelf in the guy's garage, and asked about it. He said he didn't set it out because he didn't think anyone would know what it was. He then tells me, "These run around $120, how does $20 sound? " Sold!

The Aussie mix I had was super mellow. Samantha (Sammy/Sam dog) would not bark at someone knocking at the door if she knew I was awake. Did not jump on you, but did shadow me. She always needed to know where I was. Her fatal flaw was her wandering spirit, and she had an accident one day that was too much for her. She did live a good long life for a dog, but was still full of life at her age. That was back around 2008, and I have not had any more critters until last year when I was given some chickens. My work schedule is not pet friendly, and I can't take a pup to work like I used to with Samantha. Chickens are pretty easy to care for, and don't need the attention like dogs do.

Depends on the thickness of the item, how close the coupling is, and the power of the unit. A coil would work for a sword type item since it is a uniform size from end to end. A pancake is better for something like the face of an anvil, or similar odd shaped, or large item that you do not need to heat the entire piece. Coils are easily swapped out, and we had several to choose from.

You can also do different sizes on one edge, it doesn't have to be only one.

HojPoj, are you sure it was left by accident? As to the postapoc discussion. I always found it amusing they use gasoline powered cars instead of diesel. Diesel will last while gasoline goes stale, better fuel economy, and longer lasting engines. Plus you can run veggie oils or a blend of the two. As to weapons....there are 300+ million firearms in the USA, not counting what the military has, and plenty of ammo to feed them. Need electricity? Plenty of towable gen sets in rental yards. Sulphur is a byproduct of the refining industry as well. Farmers back home bought it by the tons for dusting the crops to kill mold.

No, it is straight pounds for American anvils like HB Also watch out for buyer's premiums and other fees that raise the price

We used Ameritherm where I used to work, 30KVA, and a lot more than $500. But, they make excellent units, and extremely helpful with information.

Das, various size sparkplugs would make some nice white teeth. Frosty, the fire tool stand could be a peg leg.

What brand of files did you get, and did you get machinist files made for metal? Files made for wood are a lesser grade of steel because wood and hooves are not as hard. This was told to me by the materials guy at Nicholson. Chalking the teeth helps to prevent chip sticking. Do you know how to draw file? And curious why you chose half round?

Here are my thoughts. See if there is anyone in the area with an induction furnace. A pancake type coil could heat just the top, and quickly enough that the body should quench it fast enough. Or just hardface the top.

As for learning how to smith I would also suggest the videos made by our very own JLPServicesinc on the Tube.

We are pushing 100F here in southern Nevada. Right now at 5pm it is 89F and 4% humidity.. The warmer it gets the more I think about the shop in Sweden.....

BillyBones, Vernors Ginger Ale is the best I have had. It used to be aged 5 years in oak barrels, then 1, now it is probably just poured over an oak plank, but still excellent. I also like a good sharp ginger beer. Goods, why 52100 for the cone?