MC Hammer Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 Don't a lot of blacksmiths who make swords test the quench with the cold blade prior to attempting a hot quench to see if any of the quench spills over? It seems I recall seeing that done or reading about it but we have some guys here who know better than I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 Right now it looks like speculation on the part of the news agencies and bad jokes and speculation on our part as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammerMonkey Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 “Gomes, 51, was charged with felony reckless endangerment and misdemeanor arson.” well, apparently somebody (that knows more about what actually happened than we do) thinks he’s a reckless idiot. I’m just sayin... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 At the risk of getting dinked for politics, that's not always how it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 The link to "The Daily Gazette" posted a quote from Mr. Gomes saying he built the fire in a barrel close to the building hoping the wind would make the fire hotter. Nothing about a quench getting away from him. Good thing he didn't get that far, regular fire was too far above his pay grade. Okay guys about fire. Two fires within about 40 miles of me, at least one fatality in a mobile home fire they're still investigating. The other was a structure fire no injuries. This is the season. Up here heating systems are kicking into high gear so places are burning regularly typically due to maintenance issues. Co poisoning is not uncommon and the homeless will squat in vacant homes and a little alcohol makes lighting a heating fire on the living room floor seem like a good idea. That happens frighteningly often, there have even been cases where a homeless sneaks under someone's porch or deck to sleep and lights a heating fire. The holidays bring a LOT of dangerous behavior, turkey fryers being at or near the top of the list recently. Folks have dropped a frozen turkey in hot oil in the KITCHEN! Makes: Decks, garages, breezeways, next to the house, etc. seem almost sensible. Let's all be careful out there and try spreading some sense to our neighbors, acquaintances and oh heck the guy you see doing something unwize as you're driving to the convenience store. Same for kids. Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobS Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 So I'm sitting here watching FIF reruns. I noticed there is a warning before the episode. (Forging is Dangerous - Do not attempt it without extensive training and safety measures in place.) I don't remember seeing it before. But after this indecent burning the city down, maybe I noticed because now I'm watching for it. Has it always been there? Or did they add it after this fire? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 Welders start fires all the time, at least according to the news. A homeless person died this weekend from a warming fire in a crawl space in an abandoned building. I work hard at keeping new students safe from themselves in the shop, until they know better. Some are harder to reach and train than others, and there is a lot of backsliding on the part of the inherently slack. And sometimes, there exists the perfect storm of ignorance, arrogance, stupidity/brain damage/chemical enhancement and the Y chromosome. Which all adds up to an area effect weapon, which can not be legislated out of existence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Stephens Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 John summed it all up "And sometimes, there exists the perfect storm of ignorance, arrogance, stupidity/brain damage/chemical enhancement and the Y chromosome. Which all adds up to an area effect weapon, which can not be legislated out of existence. " Well done John, Al . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Hammer Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 As someone with only a year of forging I can say that there's always the allure of cutting corners to get started. It's a temptation I'd like to see all new to this craft resist. Not taking the time to get the proper tools and a suitable anvil all in hopes of getting at it quicker to make "swords and knives". Sure, you don't need a fully stocked shop with everything to start, but if you can't safely hold hot metal and don't have a sturdy anvil on a stand or platform you are asking for trouble. It took me over a year to find a decent anvil and collect enough tongs to be able to get going safely. I agree with John, but I also think people watch FIF and want to fast forward through the learning curve and make knives and swords without putting the time learning proper skills and techniques. I'm always amazed that the first question people ask me when I tell them I'm a blacksmith is "Do you make knives like that show on the History channel?" I have to reply that I don't, but someday when I learn all the necessary skills I will work up to edged things from knives to axes to froes and such but I'm having too much fun right now learning to make S hooks and hardware of all sorts. I'm in no hurry, but guys that cut corners on equipment and time at the anvil just so they can make "cool" stuff out of hot metal are robbing themselves and as we've just seen, possibly putting others in harms way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 3 hours ago, John McPherson said: And sometimes, there exists the perfect storm of ignorance, arrogance, stupidity/brain damage/chemical enhancement and the Y chromosome. Throw in dry conditions and high winds.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eseemann Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 I don't know why someone set this fire but a storehouse full of HDPE pipes later and one I-85 southbound bridge is gone DoD Workforce Certification (DWC) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 why did he set this fire? he didnt actually intend too from what I have read. What are you on about ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 1 hour ago, eseemann said: I don't know why someone set this fire but a storehouse full of HDPE pipes later and one I-85 southbound bridge is gone DoD Workforce Certification (DWC) 8 minutes ago, Steve Sells said: why did he set this fire? he didnt actually intend too from what I have read. What are you on about ? I think eseemann is referring to the I-85 bridge fire in Atlanta, GA. There's no interstate going through Cohoes, although I-87 does pass just to the west. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 And just how was anyone not living near there, <like most members of this forum> supposed to know that? and what does it have to do with the price of tea in China? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 That I could not say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 From reading the articles the guy in Cohoes SAID he started the fire hoping to use it to do some forging. His statement didn't say anything about copying FIF, that was the TV reporter. FIF has had that warning in the beginning credits for a while now, I THINK it show up shortly after the episode where the guy lit his quench tank on fire in his shop. I know I contacted them and mentioned the lack of a basic warning statement, I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one. It was HARD to fine a contact link, email, etc. so I contacted the judges, they're reachable if you have input. No guarantee anybody'll listen but at least you can say something. Something that's almost worse than beginners just not knowing, is when someone gains enough experience they become complacent. "Familiarity breeds contempt," as Father drummed into me. A good example is the student pilot, in the beginning they're meticulous in every detail. They're still pretty meticulous once they're earned their ticket. Give them a while though and they start to become complacent. I was told that by an instructor friend, he wouldn't ride with a pilot between 6 months and 5 years after winning their ticket, they were just too dangerous. If you watch small plane wrecks you'll notice the vast majority are new pilots with less than 5 years in the left hand seat. I just notice years of seat time, logged as hours but they usually mention how long they've been flying The same thing happens to us no matter what we do ad I have to be especially cautious since the TBI I don't automatically check things like I used to. Just don't blink. Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 Funny my 71 year old wife can build, maintain and shut down a fire in the woodstove in a safe manner. (Even when doing a cleanout the ashes are stored in a metal container for a week before scattering. And we check them for "heat" during scattering). Of course she used to cook on a woodstove when she was younger. As I like fire I expected that it was part of my parental duties to teach my kids how to use it and am getting ready for the grandkids; the twins are getting a froe this Christmas to split kindling with for family campouts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eseemann Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 6 hours ago, Steve Sells said: And just how was anyone not living near there, <like most members of this forum> supposed to know that? and what does it have to do with the price of tea in China? Sorry about that I posted in too much of a hurry and left out the link to the Wiki on the fire near Atlanta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 From the BBC: "Cohoes fire: Amateur US blacksmith burns down buildings" interesting to note he has morphed from an amateur bladesmith in the CBS News article to an amateur blacksmith in the BBC one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will W. Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Unfortunately, Thomas, those words are synonymous to a lot of people. And when credible news sources such as the BBC confuse the two terms, it muddies the water that much more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eseemann Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 5 hours ago, Will W. said: And when credible news sources such as the BBC The problem is that credible news sources like the BBC don't take the time to fact check stories because the need to be the first. I have seen spelling errors and auto correct errors on websites like the BBC that shows people are trying to get content out a fast as they can w/o doing the kind of editorial review that made them credible news sources to start with. People just don't or can't take the time required to provide the work to insure their craft produces the best product. Ernest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will W. Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Very true, Ernest. Its a strange world we live in. Giving sudden incorrect information is valued more than accurate, fact checked info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Forged in Fire site says that apparently the man was trying to melt lead window weights not even forging, news service was just trying to be fast to get a story. gotta wonder, but I also read he was burning trash under a no burn order, and used forging as an excuse for the fire, So many stories makes it hard to know for sure. I do know that with him being formally charged, his lawyer whould have gagged him so we will have to wait to hear his side of the story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammerMonkey Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 6 hours ago, Will W. said: Very true, Ernest. Its a strange world we live in. Giving sudden incorrect information is valued more than accurate, fact checked info. It's ok...that sudden information is just... alternate facts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will W. Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 14 minutes ago, Shady McGrady said: alternate facts. Ding! A new term has been coined, i like it lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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