mike-hr Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 I love traditional work, and have carved my niche in the community as that guy. I feel toolmaking, however, is a race to the finish line, and anything goes, as long as it doesn't cause a murder. We had a hammer-in a couple weeks ago and I made a set of heading blocks for the Museum/learning centre. I dropped a chunk of 3/4 x4 flatbar off at the waterjet guy's shop, the next morning I picked up 4 pieces, 4 x 4 inch with 1 inch, 15/16, 7/8 and 13/16 square holes blasted thru the middle. Total cost of plate and holes, forty dollars US. I was easily able to donate the blocks to the museum after welding them up. If I had chisled and and filed my way thru 4 blocks, I would have been resentful. Part of maturity is knowing where to pick your battles. I feel great about using the waterjet guy for dumb flat work, and burning calories on more challenging battlefronts. The first two heading blocks I made, I drilled, milled, and filed. went way over forty bucks in time. I can say I worked thru them, I guess that's worth something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianbrazealblacksmith Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 That's good to know. I've never been around water jets, but I've always been curious about the cost. Thanks for the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianbrazealblacksmith Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 I found my pics of an example of a leaf spring hardy that may help you. This one is all forged, but it could be cut and ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Aspery Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I wanted to move this thread back to the first page as there is another thread - Upset helper - that will be using this information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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