What did you do in the shop today?

[Paul TIKI]

Hopefully I will be back at the forge very soon.  The weather finally broke and it'll be warm and dry enough this week.  I have some plans to make my grill forge into a one with 2 places for the air to come in, hopefully giving me better heat over a much better area.

  They announced the end of production of the venerable Learjet line where I work, So 250 layoffs are coming.  My particular group is not in immediate danger since we do the servicing of jets other than the Learjet.  Still.  It's sad to see a company that was an early pioneer in the aircraft business stop running.

And One of our old timer cats passed this week, which kind of capped off a rough week.

All the talk of slingshots gave me an idea to dig out one I found when we cleaned out Dad's garage.  A fairly new wrist rocket type.  I was never allowed to have one as a kid, so it was a surprise to find.  I need to build a BB trap for the backyard.  Been meaning to so the wife can practice pistol shooting with an old BB pistol I have.  9mm is too expensive and scarce to go to the range right now.  I can use it for the slingshot too!

If anyone is interested, if you search for Kramer Ammons on Youtube You can find a lot of stuff about amature bow building.  When I first took up Blacksmithing I was at a point to choose between hobbies.  smithing or being a bowyer.  Ironically, I was able to start smithing with less investment, though a bowyer can make a start nearly as cheaply if he has a good source of wood.

[ThomasPowers]

HF tools  tend to be "light duty"  home owner doing a job or two type things.  I prefer buying industrial grade tools used on the cheap.  I have a Milwaukee grinder that's probably 40+ years old that I use for cutting rail road rail and oxygen welding tanks into pieces with.   Time to put in new brushes and a new switch on it and expect it to be the ONLY angle grinder I buy this life.

[Deimos]

34 minutes ago, Frosty said:

Just the thought of bears arming themselves should frighten us all! 

All it takes is someone misreading "the right to bear arms" as "the right to arm bears" Although reading it as "the right to bear-arms" would also be pretty funny.

[JHCC]

There’s a trick to to getting maximum value out of a HF purchase: spend the extra couple of bucks for the one-year extended warranty. When (not if!) the tool breaks within a year, you can exchange it for free, and if you get the extended warranty on that one, you can repeat as often as necessary. I did that a couple of times while saving up to buy professional grade.

3 minutes ago, Deimos said:

Although reading it as "the right to bear-arms" would also be pretty funny.

Then there is the right to bare arms, which is another matter entirely.

[Deimos]

3 minutes ago, JHCC said:

Then there is the right to bare arms, which is another matter entirely.

Suns out, guns out. am i right?

[JHCC]

Not in Ohio at this time of year!

[Deimos]

ehh, I used to walk around in the snow in a t-shirt, but then again, as soon as the temperature goes above 20C I start melting.

[Scott NC]

56 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

 Time to put in new brushes

  Too much bother these days.  Throw it out and buy yet another one.  I've gotten a lot of good scrap metal art materials from others "castaways"...

41 minutes ago, JHCC said:

There’s a trick to to getting maximum value out of a HF purchase: spend the extra couple of bucks for the one-year extended warranty. When (not if!) the tool breaks within a year, you can exchange it for free, and if you get the extended warranty on that one, you can repeat as often as necessary. I did that a couple of times while saving up to buy professional grade.

  I like the way you think!    learn something new every day!

[ThomasPowers]

Well it's only 50 miles to the closest HF store, each way, and having to stop a project in the middle and go exchange a dead tool is a bit of a hassle. 

Maintenance is a hassle too; but this is the first time I've had to get new brushes; they install in about a minute apiece.

Should we look into barring Bare armed Bears bearing arms?

Sunday I did the head and the neck of the next coat hook; 2 hours with the forge hot. I tried using a bush hammer on the neck to texture it.  I think that will be used for the rest of them as well.  My chisel work skills seem to be coming back to me as well.  I'll have to make one or two extra and pick the best for the coat rack and use the other two at work, (nobody sees them at work as they are on the back of the door.)

Also time for a new 100# tank fill.  I'm pretty sure I missed logging some time on it but with what I have recorded its about US$2.25 per hour right now.   I'm going to hook the log book to the tank next go around and try to get an accurate count.

[Scott NC]

  To clarify, too much bother for todays consumer!  I replace brushes when I can to be sure.

[JHCC]

14 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

having to stop a project in the middle and go exchange a dead tool is a bit of a hassle. 

Very true, and definitely not something I would recommend long-term. However, it's one way to get one in your shop right away, which in turn motivates you to save the money for pro grade.

It goes back to the Adam Savage tool-buying principle: if you don't know whether or not you will really use the tool, buy the cheapest one that gets that functionality into your shop. Then when you know for sure that it's worth it, buy the best quality one that you can afford.

[ThomasPowers]

The problem being that a cheap one may not function like an industrial one and so you won't find out that that's what you need.  I've had several students try to use an HF angle grinder to do what my bemouth does and not get it to last for a single project.

[Deimos]

My neighbors found that out the hard way, when they started renovating their house I volunteered to help (why sit in the noise for 3 days if you can just stand in the noise helping people out) They got some maybe 4 or 5 cheap hammer drills, and my single Dewalt was keeping up with them and then some. 

[Leather Bill]

Bare arms or bear arms????   Walking around in wife beaters  (a tank top, tank shirt, muscle shirt) with bare arms usually depends on weather but I for one believe it should be one's right to do it when and if he chose's to.  Should bears have arms?   By all means,otherwise what's to become of bear hugs?  Now if we are talking about arms as in clubs and battle axes,that require's forethought,common sense and mutual aggreement,not to overlook the situation in each individual place and time.   As it stand's some neighborhoods have agreed to have open carry so bearing arms is ok,but not ok in beer joints and of course no arms in jail,concealed or open.  Then there's situations where it's perfectly ok to wear a 44mag Blackhawk in plain sight but eyebrows will surely be raised if you chose to carry your Morningstar on daily strolls.  Getting into the fine points,bearing a body is without question an inalienable right.  Where and to whom bodys are bared can land one in jail or earn appluse and tips.  Is it any wonder there's so much disaggreement and confusion?   In that latter contexed,some defer to what was once said "But now, he that has a purse,let him take it,and likewise his scrip:and he that has no sword,let him sell his garment,and buy one". One of if not the first proponent tied two strings to a blue suede tennis shoe tongue,dropped a slick river rock in it,twiriled it above his head,let fly and "ZAP"made all man equal before Sam Colt was said to have.  

[BillyBones]

Sometimes buying the cheapest can also turn you off of a very useful tool also. An example is i bought a set of cheap wire strippers. After about the 3rd time trying to use them i got frustrated and pitched them in the scrap barrel. Had a friend not let me use his high end set i would have never invested in another. So i would not go with cheapest but inexpensive, not always the same thing. 

Brand name is also something you should not go with. I have noticed that over the years the quality of Snap-on tools decline while the price has gone up, and Snap-on has always been known to be expensive. While Mac on the other hand has seemed to become better quality while the price has of course changed with the times but has pretty much stayed the same. 

Wish i could find some Cornwell dealers local. Yeah, made in Ohio and cant find a dealer in Ohio. 

 

[Frosty]

The boar bear's bearing arms bare armed reminds me of a book one of the guys on the drill crew was reading. In it the protagonists were attacked by "forty armed bandits." We had a pretty good time coming up with all the things and situations forty arms would mean for bandits. I think the nail clipper dependency might lead to becoming a bandit. Just think what a  manicure would cost. In time and money!

I've never used a HF angle grinder so have no opinion. General rule of thumb oh yes but no experience using one to death. All my 30+yro, Milwaukees are working just fine. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Deimos]

1 hour ago, BillyBones said:

An example is i bought a set of cheap wire strippers. Had a friend not let me use his high end set i would have never invested in another.

Same deal here, used many types of wire stripper in my life. But when I got to the electrical wiring of my house I decided I would not make it all pain and suffering with cheap ones but got Weidmüller Stripax. Such a joy to work with.

 

The most frightful thing, bear cavalry. 

[Frosty]

Seeing those charging out of a snowfall would give one paws.

I bought my Mother a T shirt many years ago with a picture of a 1950s house wife type mother riding a snarling bear holding a wooden spoon. The caption was, "Attila the Mom. Bearer of the dreaded wooden spoon." 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Scott NC]

  As long as the wooden spoon is used for cooking.  Don't make mom mad in the kitchen!

[BillyBones]

Cant figure out how to get it, but if you go to the Cornwell web site there is an old photo of the founder Eugene Cornwell standing at an anvil. He was a blacksmith before creating his company, well he was always a blacksmith, he started out making punches, chisels and screwdrivers. Some pretty neat photos there. 

I liked the polar bears in "The Golden Compass". Forged their own armor if i remember right. 

[ThomasPowers]

Bear Cavalry Bearing Arms Bearing Down on You; More effective than castor oil! 

[natkova]

Today I was at my blacsmith and learned how to heat treat, quenching and tempering at same time.

And I those day's forged small kitchen knife out of file

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Shucks I just quoted this from the last page and see everyone has beaten me to it so Never mind.

Haven't you heard about The Right to Arm Bears.

6 hours ago, Frosty said:

the thought of bears arming themselves

 

Edited February 22, 2021 by Irondragon ForgeClay Works
Add Shucks

[Chad J.]

What would a bear prefer for his arms?  Anyway it was above freezing today so I fired up the propane forge after work.   I was practicing drawing out on a spike to make a steak turner but that wasn't my main goal.   I got a hot cut hardy pretty much finished up.   Gonna have to ice the elbow though,  my form is bad from the months off.  Oh and that jackhammer bit doesn't seem to like moving by hand.  Gonna swing by the shop at the end of work tomorrow and borrow the chop saw to cut it off.  

 

[Will-I-am]

Worked all day around ground pit forge.  Cut off 6” off tong reigns.  Worked the edge of new anvil with 2lb ball hammer.       Slid the material up constantly moving and rotating trying to draw out reigns.  Switched hands from left hammering to right the whole session.  Progress slow but learning.  Transported 2 gallons of hot coal to smoker and about to eat 2 racks of 2 hour mesquite smoked ribs after forging done.  Tired, time for a beer.