May 19, 20242 yr Thats great.. I haven't seen updates on the shop front since you changed out anvils. Any photos of your travel shop? Will I see you in PA?
May 20, 20242 yr Frosty, The grate in question is 3/8" steel plate with holes drilled in it for air flow. I installed it last year. And have not had this problem until the last couple of fires. I gave it a slight dome shape in hopes that the molten slag/clinker would run away from the air holes. It had been doing that with no worries. And big donuts could be pulled out without disturbing the fire too much. Mabe I just got a bad batch of coal, with lots of clinker in it. Got a couple of hours forge time in today. Finished up the welding of the 'hot dog" blade, and started drawing, and shaping. Keeping the bar fluxed has helped considerably with scale production, (and added to the clinker) Thanx for the advise to whoever it was that told me about that. (I think it was Frosty) Fluxed.
May 20, 20242 yr Sounds like dirty coal alright blue, better luck next load. Yeah, I confess I've been tipping people to fluxing their work to help limit scale loss for years. I don't remember if I read about it or discovered it by fluxing the wrong piece or maybe the clinker fairy whispered in my ear. Glad it's helping. Frosty The Lucky.
May 20, 20242 yr Jennifer, Thankfully I do not need a travel setup; The Catoctin Furnace Historical Society built a fully functional blacksmith shop last year; it is an amazing shop to work out of. The picture hardly does it justice, but I'll try and dig up some other photos. Sadly I won't be at the Abana conference in Johnstown; I'm kicking myself - I was in North Adams MA a couple of months ago and I should have stopped by to see your teaching facilities! -Patrick
May 20, 20242 yr 10 hours ago, Ridgeway Forge Studio said: Sadly I won't be at the Abana conference in Johnstown; I'm kicking myself - I was in North Adams MA a couple of months ago and I should have stopped by to see your teaching facilities! -Patrick The forge area looks great.. I'm guessing you did most your work at home shop with demos as the place later. Bummer.. Would have loved to give you the tour and do a meet and greet. N. Adams is still a drive. but a good one.. RT2 is a bunch of fun.. If you are in the area again, just let me know. Bluerooster. that is a great anvil setup..
May 21, 20242 yr On 5/15/2024 at 3:49 PM, Frosty said: The pattern came out very nice Billy, I'll be looking forward to finished pics and pics of the whole NWBA sign. Frosty The Lucky. Had another good, albeit long, weekend at the NWBA spring conference. Didn't have my phone charger, so I only got a few pictures of most of the letters. They haven't been mounted yet, but I think the sign is going to be pretty cool. I'm happy to have been able to contribute. Here's how the 'W' turned out: And the rest of what was there when I took the pics: finishing up with a "Krak"-N! Have a great week all.
May 21, 20242 yr Good job Billy O, yours looks as good as the rest - super cool stuff it is all fantastic. Thanks for sharing.
May 21, 20242 yr Oh MY Billy, it came out beautifully, I'd hate to pick the best in the pics you posted, some are as nice as yours though not many. I gotta make a NWBA or Any conference some day. <sigh> Frosty The Lucky.
May 21, 20242 yr Very impressive display of different approaches and styles and craftsmanship. I'm particularly impressed with the gothic S. Years ago, at RMS conference, I saw a small box/casket (not the kind for deceased folk) using the same technique. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."
May 22, 20242 yr I love the creativity that went into those letters for the sign! I got the big drift done (I think) this evening: Next step it to do a test piece with it to see if I got it right or if I have to do some reshaping with the belt grinder. Keep it fun, David
May 22, 20242 yr Lovely work, Billy As for me, I installed the finished railing: and started another project for an old friend:
May 22, 20242 yr The railing looks great John! Not enough coffee perhaps, but my guesser is failing me as to what the new project will become... --Larry
May 22, 20242 yr On 5/20/2024 at 8:30 AM, jlpservicesinc said: Bluerooster. that is a great anvil setup.. Thanx Jennifer. It has served me well over the years. I'd like to figure out how to hard face it. But mabe it's best that I don't.
May 23, 20242 yr I'm going to make a few of these based on Brian Brazeals design.. I'm going to be at ABANA in June and I'll get to chat with some of his disciples of whom make their own. While I have anvils with fully hardened faces.. There are more advantages to having it soft vs having it hard. The ease of fixing mistaken hits or changing a surface via welding is such a great ability.
May 23, 20242 yr I'll call it finished. I will sand it down once more when the fibers rise from the paint and coat it again.
May 23, 20242 yr Too nice a table to use in the shop. Jennifer, Yes, as it stands now, I can hit it with a flapper disc, to dress out the nicks, and dings.
May 24, 20242 yr I can't agree with that Jennifer my go to anvil is cast Swedish steel and hard enough to skate a file. When Brian did a demonstration here he had to use one of our anvils. He talked about all the advantages of a mild steel anvil and while I liked his ideas of an anvil he tried the steel block anvil one of the guys brought and settled on mine. A 125lb skate a file hard London pattern anvil, there were even volunteers to help grind the steel block to his specs. I couldn't make all 3 days and I heard he asked where my anvil was. Frosty The Lucky.
May 24, 20242 yr 18 minutes ago, Frosty said: I can't agree with that Jennifer my go to anvil is cast Swedish steel and hard enough to skate a file. When Brian did a demonstration here he had to use one of our anvils. He talked about all the advantages of a mild steel anvil and while I liked his ideas of an anvil he tried the steel block anvil one of the guys brought and settled on mine. A 125lb skate a file hard London pattern anvil, there were even volunteers to help grind the steel block to his specs. I couldn't make all 3 days and I heard he asked where my anvil was. Frosty The Lucky. Frosty I would expect nothing less than you "not agreeing".. LOL.. and saying as such.
May 24, 20242 yr Oh come ON I agree with you most of the time and I learned a GIANT bunch from Brian and Wayne. Nor am I surprised he maintains the same opinion regarding mild steel anvils. But given a choice . . . Frosty The Lucky.
May 24, 20242 yr Everyone is so complex.. Good for this, not so good for that.. ETC, ETC.. To each their own.. I'm far more particular about the forge and fuel.. Anvil eh, vise as long as it holds things. Tongs.. Well duh can be heated and fitted. But a good forge with great stack. That's all I need.
May 25, 20242 yr This is my first time making a chandelier of this shape. Not very big, but almost a hundred parts.
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