Mark Ling Posted July 6, 2018 Author Share Posted July 6, 2018 Thank you Das! I will try Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted July 6, 2018 Share Posted July 6, 2018 Nice work Mark, What have you noticed is different about your work, or the way you think about smithing now vs say a year or so ago? Techniques, learning, sharing etc, etc.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted July 6, 2018 Share Posted July 6, 2018 Good to see your posts again Mark. As usual your work is outstanding. I too love the knives, very nicely done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 6, 2018 Share Posted July 6, 2018 Still working on the cross guard to my first Bowie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billyO Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 Hello all. Thursday afternoon, my stick shift broke while shifting into reverse (fortunately, I was at a friend's where we found a piece of pipe to get me home). Part of me wants to be ticked off that Dodge used a sheet metal sleeve to slide over a steel piece bolted to the lever into the transmission and looks like this finally wore out and tore (the right handed bend should be straight). The conflicting part recognizes that it it a 25 y/o diesel with 417K miles. So I decided yesterday that now was a time to do a project that's been on my mind for the past 5-6 years. Done out of 1" square. I'm a bit upset that I had to rush it to get it finished so I could drive last night, so it doesn't look as good as I'd like, but I may re-do it someday... Have a good summer. as always peace and love billyO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will W. Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 Billy Thats. So. Cool. What an awesome idea. Never occured to me to make a shifter. Another idea added to the list. I think it came out looking good for being "rushed." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryanL Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 That is an awesome shifter! I'm inspired to do something for my car now... I'll have to mull is over. Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 I think Alec Steele has a video of himself making a hammer-shaped shifter knob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted July 7, 2018 Author Share Posted July 7, 2018 On 7/6/2018 at 4:36 PM, jlpservicesinc said: Nice work Mark, What have you noticed is different about your work, or the way you think about smithing now vs say a year or so ago? Techniques, learning, sharing etc, etc.. Thank you! And that fork that you made was very nice too. My work has gotten a lot cleaner looking, and I am now focusing on the little details, rather than more of just " Is this functional?". I think of smithing more as a business somewhat, I have to make money to pay for stuff, and so I think of it more strategically. I go to my shop with a list and try and cross something off of it at least. The other day I forged 16 horse shoe hearts. I used to not enjoy doing the same thing over and over, but now it doesn't bother me, I kinda enjoy it, you just get to work but you don't have to think about it because you have done it so many times. As for sharing, I want to share what I know. I would love to do more classes, and even just when some one stops by to buy some (blacksmithing) coke, I try to share stuff with them, weather its tips and tricks, or steel and materials, or where to find materials. Learning, I am maybe more selective. I realize that not all sources are credible, and you can't just always take information and go with it, you have to analyze it and ask your self just how smart and credible it sounds. And also, I know what I want to do in the forge, so when I am looking for Ideas, I don't go looking up, for example, how to forge a horse shoe, because I know I don't wanna be a farrier. That was a bad example, but I think you know what I mean. Thank you Irondragon Forge & Clay! Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 2 hours ago, littleblacksmith said: I don't go looking up, for example, how to forge a horse shoe, because I know I don't wanna be a farrier. Might want to rethink that, Mark — I’ve learned a LOT about moving metal efficiently and planning your workflow from watching (for example) Craig Trnka’s videos on forging horseshoes from bar stock. Even though I’ll probably never make a horseshoe (certainly not a useable one!), the principles are applicable elsewhere. Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted July 7, 2018 Author Share Posted July 7, 2018 Like I said, that was maybe a bad example. And the thing is, is I actually enjoy watching the farrier competitions, its quite enjoyable. And yesterday I watched a live stream that Stan Bryant was filming a guy making a shoe and that was neat. I maybe should have just said that I know more of what I wanna do now, and so I focus more time learning stuff for that focus, rather that watching random videos and reading books that don't pertain to where I am wanting to go with my forging. Not to say that I don't occasionally watch a video of some one forging a sword ( I don't make swords, and don't enjoy making knives) or watch someone forging a shoe, yes I can still learn from them, but I could learn more watching someone forging something that I make more often, and learn more useful Information. Littleblacksmith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 Way to go. The repetitive actions while forging just make you a better forger and yes, it becomes "matter of fact". it's the reason I asked.. Usually once someone figures out what they want to make and start using it as income there is a shift in what they want to learn vs just for fun.. One also starts to figure out where wasted motion or actions take place. Keep up the good work.. I was at the ABANA conference and the WCF were there.. Great guys and fun to watch.. not many shoes made, but lots of tongs, and shoe making tools.. i got to see a few different pairs of tongs made and these guys know how to swing hammers.. Craig T. has like a 6ft long swing.. I never knew he was so tall.. They are so dialed in.. was excellent.. Roy Bloom as well.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 There is also that I don't feel qualified to make a horseshoe---damascus knives, yes, but I do not have the specialized knowledge to do a horse shoe correctly for a specific horse's specific hoof. Re shifter: be careful that it's not so heavy as to shift a gear when it hits a hard bump especially with a worn tranny! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 Thomas it will also wear the syncros when in top row gears as well as the shift dogs.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 I'm still trying to figure out how the shifter broke in the first place. Was it rattling a lot and just fatigued? I have an 2001 Cummins with 325,000 and that is a beefy shifter tube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billyO Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 I'm honestly not sure how it ended up fatiguing. Have I really been that rough with it over the last 18 years? I thought I had noticed it getting loose over the past few weeks and so the other day, took off the rubber collar and noticed the tube starting to tear (which was making the shifter loose), so I re-fit the piece and then used a pipe clamp to hold it on, but that only lasted 1/2 day before fatiguing completely and breaking. And yes, paying attention to how heavy this would be on your vehicle is a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 Say what? I read this as: "I've used it for 18 years and don't understand how damage that accrues from use occurred?" Now perhaps there was a manufacturing issue like a stress concentrator to help the failure along; but if you have had to change the tires on you vehicle you should be aware of the effects of use on it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 I think billyO was saying that he (I'm assuming "he") doesn't understand how 18 years of use would accumulate enough damage to cause failure. Sure, you expect your tires to wear out, but you don't expect them to wear out in a day or two. Would 18 years be considered a normal lifetime for a shifter? Excessive longevity? Cut down in the flower of its youth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 417K miles for a sheet metal shifter? I'd say that was pretty good; after all he drove it to the moon and most way back... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 Except that once you achieve escape velocity, you don't need to shift gears at all! Also, with no roads between here and there, tire wear would be minimal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 NO roads and no gravity to actively create mass/velocity=vibrations during over the road engagements.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotoMike Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 recently acquired a chunk of white oak and a plank of Ash. made a tuning hammer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryanL Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 Worked on my new coal forge this weekend, using the New England Blacksmiths casting firepot. Didn't quite get the chimney portion welded up, that will come later. Excited to fire it up. Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotoMike Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 That looks great Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 Finished up another pair of split-rein tongs, sized to fit the stems of my hardy tools. (In retrospect, I probably should have started with another 3”-4” on the blank, to allow for longer reins.) Also made another rebar bottle opener and railroad spike backscratcher and finished the dog-head hammer (wedged handle and polished face). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.