BIGGUNDOCTOR

I am a big proponent of recycling / repurposing of items that are headed for the landfill. I have enough drums to do the back wall, just need to weld them up. I am not planning on a roof, but may if I need to. We only average 4.5" of rain a year, with 3/4 of that during the summer monsoons. When It is 115 outside, I won't be forging, so I don't need shade. It was mainly built to break the winds we get out here. That and I am a tightwad I have some other pics, just need to learn how to resize them. That one is 3.2 meg. a bit big for this site. I plan on putting some shelves in the drums later, just don't have the time at the moment. The only use the treadle hammer has been getting lately is smashing aluminum cans.

Doh!, posted before pic loaded.

Here is an exterior shot of my 55 gallon drum smithy, I am up to 1,980 gallons of capacity in 2 walls, wit a third planned. Drums=free. Other pluses are that they are self standing, will tolerate the dry desert climes, items can be stored in them, and the whole thing is portable if need be.

The tumblers we had at the dental metals foundry had 1" thick urethane cast inside of them, they were dead quiet. You don't say how big of an item that you need to polish up. For smaller items I would use a large tire for the barrel, like a 33-12.5-15, or even an ATV tire would work for some stuff. Bolt some paddles inside to mix things up, and make some plywood end caps with a through bolt holding them together. Tire=free, scrap plywood, and a double pipe roller setup to set the tire on to rotate it. As far as polishing goes we use the vibratory bowl type at work, much faster. We also have a new unit that uses stainless pins. They are spun inside of a plastic tub by strong magnets that rotate under the table top that the tub is set on. Slick.

In the shop I am at now, all of the floor mics are digital with resolution down to .00005" (fifty millionths). We deal with some pretty tight tolerances, and you would be hard pressed to find a .0005" reading indicator let alone a .001" quickly on the shop floor. The digitals give greater speed, and accuracy in the environment we work in. It isn't like the guys on the floor only have to check a couple parts a day. Personally I have standard mics, and dial calipers, for which I have been chided for by the younger guys. Although I do use a digital mic for some jobs. I had one guy ask me how do you read my dial caliper,and I have had to give refresher courses on reading a standard mic at times. I think the best one was when a "machinist" asked to use one of the vertical mills, and couldn't figure out how to change the speed. He had never seen one with step pulleys before. He would probably vapor lock on a vernier caliper. Sorry that your good will wasn't taken as it should have. When it comes to stuff like that, someone really has to prove to me that they take care of what they use. People that I know will appreciate what I give them can be very fortunate to know me, as I can be very generous to people that I think will benefit. Technology is great, but as everything does, it has it's limits at times. Today we tend to rely too heavily on technology. One good SHTF event could change all of that.

It must depend on usage of the copper. A lot of homes have copper water piping, beer is brewed in copper kettles, some distillers use copper stills, and we had a lot of unlined copper vessels at the Jelly Belly Candy Co.

It's OK Frosty, all of my aquariums are currently full of dehydrated water. I don't kill the scorpions, just release them outside normally. I want to get some good pictures of this one before releasing it. This particular scorp is a Hairy Scorpion. The are the largest in N. America, and can get up to 6" long. The largest I have had here so far was close to 4". Even though the are a little aggressive they are one of the more popular ones kept as pets. These are not dangerous unless you are allergic to the venom; like bee stings. I have been stung once by a one round 1" long. Felt like a bee sting, and didn't last more than a couple of minutes. As critters go, scorpions are pretty impressive in terms of what they can endure; heat, cold, radiation, etc. Alaska is quite the 180 from the Mo-Jave. Had your fill of triple digits? I always tap my shoes together upside down before putting them on.

Looking at the pics closer it appears to me that it may have been broken completely in two at one time. It could always be turned into an ASS, Anvil Shaped Swage .

I just caught a small 1"+ scorpion in the house, catch and release. I actually find them very interesting. I have one large one in an aquarium now. I have had a couple of pregnant females come through here. I thought they laid eggs, so I was surprised to find 20 little white scorplings the next day. Sorry about the monster sized picture.

Looks like a good one to do some anvil shooting with.

I would also say to investigate the composting toilets. They are very simple units.

Thomas, you never heard of hillbilly cruise control? Just get the proper sized brick to lean on the accelerator pedal for your trip.

Mustache, goatee, and mid back hair. A lot of folks think I look like Jesus when I don't have my glasses on, so I have been a bling Jesus for the past 3 Halloweens.

A coworker related how years ago at the Reno Air Races, they would camp out in what was then open desert. When it got dark someone would ride out on a ATV, and set out a milk jug of gasoline a few hundred yards out from camp, then light a road flare about 10' behind it, and in line with camp. Once they motored back to camp everyone would take turns shooting at the flare which was behind the gas. If someone nailed the gas jug the spray would hit the flare creating a huge fireball. This was a one time thing that night, as soon afterwards the Sheriff would be cruising by to see what was up. "Gee officer, we saw that too, and were wondering who did it." :D

Hey Phil, just wanted to let you know I had not forgotten about you. Been looking around here, but what I have may still be in the workshop at the folks estate in CA.

I wouldn't get it to sharpen a knife, too fast which can burn the temper out of a blade. Motorized sharpeners are generally slow turning to keep the heat down. With proper stones, and technique, it does not take long to sharpen a knife.

If ya got gray hair showing it just means you are not rubbing in enough coal dust to keep it black. Be glad you have someone, a partner has eluded me for most of my life. My parents were 40/43 when I was born, so I was thought to be the grandchild many times. I can't complain. Being brought up by depression era parents who participated in WWII(Dad-Army, Mom-aircraft engine machinist), and beyond, gave me a pretty grounded base to start with.

My blacksmithing instructor talked about hoisting buckets of Thermite up in the air, and setting them off. One ofthe more fun exercises we did at the college welding class was Air-Arcing plates apart. LOTS of sparks, noise, and fun.

3/8" hot roll worked good for the one I made in High School. No reason to quench, just heat, and bend to shape.

Cast iron isn't necessarily a bad thing; Fisher Norris for example. More important is the quality of the material used, shape, and the tool steel plate (if it even has one). Some ways to spot a casting are; parting lines, raised lettering / designs (these could actually be forged in, but not the norm), and for an anvil the sound will be duller than a steel anvil.

I thought it looked familiar. I replaced both floor pans in a 59 El Camino for a customer. Welcome to IFI.

I know some folks in your area-non blacksmiths. Is that a 59-60 Chevy in the back?

Hey Paddy, I believe you have an ORB WEAVER spider. My smithy, such as it is, is open to the elements. Right now I am up to 1,980 gallons worth of 55 gallon drums stacked, and welded into 2 walls. No roof,since we only get an average of 4.5" of rain a year. On my property I have a covey of quail that marches through every morning, and evening. I have also seen in the house, or around the property; roadrunners, banded geckos, desert iguanas, desert recluse, sun spiders, black widows, doves, a couple of feral cats, yodel dogs, ground squirrels, gophers, and scorpions-just caught another big one last night. I never would have thought that there were flippin gophers in the desert. Bentiron, you hate pack rats (hmmm, some people call me that ) I hate gophers. They have killed quite a few of the trees, and shrubs I have put in, and one, or more is trying their best to fill in my basement Trapped a couple, but I need to train the feral cats to go after them. Haven't seen any mice, so maybe they are keeping full on them. This latest scorpion is around 4", fed it a cricket last night. If I find a scorpion in the house I relocate it outside to eat cockroaches. Black widows don't bother me, as they stay in the basement. The desert recluses on the other hand assume room temp as soon as I see one in the house. As for the quail, I hope they will keep coming around as long as I am here. I really enjoy seeing them come through, and listening to them as they scratch around for seeds.

One not even close to exotic engine that I know has sodium cooled exhaust valves are the 1960's GMC V-6's they ranged in size from 305-472 cid. Yep, you read right V-6 not V-8. I know in 1965 GMC didn't offer a V-8. One inline 6, and the rest were V-6's. Radial aircraft engines also used Sodium cooled valves. Dad told me that when he was in the Air Force the SOP for the mechanics was to bury the old valves out back of the maintenance shops. I doubt that you will find many sodium cooled valves today.

Doesn't look like any of the WWI German trench knives I have ever seen. The overall shape is similar to a Carcano bayonet that I have. Look it over really good for marks, even on the spine of the blade. With the phenolic style grip though is similar to some Brit bayonets. The Krauts used a Bakelite type material, along with wood. Most other countries used wood for grips, with a couple of exceptions like the U.S. Very well could be a post war adaptation. That Quillion shape was being phased out by the end of the war, and pretty well gone by the Korean war. Does it appear to be original, or could it have possibly been reworked by some hobbyist?