MC Hammer Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 We all have metal that we can draw on to come up with designs, but like me probably most of you have to turn away from the anvil to look at or compare what you are forging to the sketch on the metal table or scrap metal. This to me seemed inefficient and it got to be annoying so I came up with something better. I saw these old antique chalk boards for sale that had real slate for the writing surface which is handy for when you get something hot and too close to it. I could have made some hooks and hung it from the ceiling, but I wanted it out of the way when it wasn't in use and I wanted to be able to use both sides so I put mine on an arm. It swings out of the way when not in use and it swings out right in front of my anvil but at a safe distance. Problem solved!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anvil Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 nice idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 Had one on the shop wall for a decade+ now; I like to make students draw me a picture of the knife they are going to forge and then make them match it... I like the support for yours and it being closer to the anvil! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Hammer Posted July 17, 2019 Author Share Posted July 17, 2019 I really love that I can move it against the wall and use the other side of it too. Many times with my gas forge I have two projects going on at the same time so I can have two different sketches. I'm glad you used to do that with your students Thomas because it's an acquired skill to plan out something and make it to those specs. Often blacksmithing can morph into a fluid activity where you start making one thing and end up with something nothing like it. I've been there, but I find planning out tools and measurements with the chalk board makes me work more efficiently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 3 hours ago, MC Hammer said: and end up with something nothing like it. I often end up with nothing something like it. I was given a chalk board a while back but it's huge and I haven't figured out where I want it. Portable isn't so practical as the thing is 4' x 6' IIRC. Making it swing out from a wall really takes up floor space too. What I really like is it's marked off in a 1" grid so I can transfer drawings from graph paper maintaining scale. The back side is a bulletin board which is of questionable utility. One of these days. Ohh OHH it just occurred to me, I can pin my round toit to the BB side and keep it against the wall! Even more and better reason to finally get that thing hung! Good score MC, it's a good size and being slate is perfect in a hit shop. Good job mounting it, it even looks good. Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 I use an artist easel to support a chalk board. It is portable and can, also, be shifted, (dragged) for convenience, to anywhere in the shop. Just sayyin', SLAG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Budd Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 I use the backs of doors and then some cupboard doors for full length blackboards. They are all dead space otherwise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teenylittlemetalguy Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 Fancy! Real slate! I have to settle for a white board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 Any time I make anything, I just rough sketch it out on a piece of paper. Most of the furniture I designed was with rough sketches with rough measurements. Of course, when it came time to actually make it, I was using a dial caliper and a drawing with real figgers! Didn't have anything as traditional as a chalk board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Williams Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 4 hours ago, Frosty said: Ohh OHH it just occurred to me, I can pin my round toit to the BB side and keep it against the wall! I keep mine hung up in the far corner of the garage. I wouldn't want to break it now that I finally got a round tuit... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 I just use the walls. I like the chalk boards though pretty cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 I hunted all over for my wooden round tuit and couldn't find it. Oh well, I'll stumble across it some day when I get around to it!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Hammer Posted July 18, 2019 Author Share Posted July 18, 2019 I toyed with a lot of ideas including just mounting a piece of old rusty sheet metal on the wall. I eliminated white boards because hot metal and plastic don't mix. When I was going to build a new shop I thought about chalk board paint on a piece of the wall. An easel is a good idea, but I don't like things I could bump into and knock over due to having a small shop space. I think the main motivator was just to do something functional and unique. I didn't make the hinge because I had just one of them hanging around so I thought I'd just use it up. Works for me really well and I think that's really the important factor. I love to see members on here personalizing their shops for what works great for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 Frosty; mount it vertically with hinges---less swing area. I try to get students to PLAN what they are going to do with their projects after they get some of the basics out of the way on projects I give them instructions and stock for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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