TWISTEDWILLOW Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 Gandalfgreen, Got plenty of Colorado coolaid and pizza for the help? JHCC, what’s that from? Thomas, I’m afraid It wouldn’t matter how big a building I have, my wife has a really neat and really run down 100+ old 100x30 building downtown we bought cheap a few years ago because she wanted to put some kind of business in there and you what? It took 2 years to fill it up with “stuff” and it never got used for anything, I don’t even know what’s in there anymore. I’m almost positive if I build a designated blacksmith shop it will become magnetically charged to attract more rusty stuff and in no time there wouldn’t be any floor space to work in lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 Exactly! That's why the building you need is *ALWAYS* twice as big as the one you have! I got the hoard because a fellow was collecting blacksmithing stuff to set up a shop 25+ years ago and it was stored in a building he and his wife owned in town and finally she wanted it cleaned out and they made me a package deal on all that "old blacksmithing junk"---including the 3 powerhammers and 248# PW anvil...Filled out a few "wants" I had and paid for itself so my cost ended up being US$0... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 Lol it sounds like I better be careful because these stories have some spooky similarities? After hearing that story On second thought maybe I should look into building a blacksmith shop lol. I personally haven’t found a hoard….yet! Well at least not all in one place I’ve hunted through who knows how many barns, farms and old buildings, so far not counting all the stuff I’ve already dragged home this year, I have located a couple fire pots, a few rivet forges, a few big forges, quite a few post vises, quite a few anvils, a truck load of blowers and this list goes on. I could fill a Walmart with what blacksmith tools I can find in my county but still no power hammers, no swage blocks and no floor mandrels. But I’m hunting every weekend and networking every work day, so maybe one day ill find a collection like you did instead of bringing one or two tools at a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 TW, it’s a parody of the opening lines of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow‘s poem “The Village Blacksmith”: “Under a spreading chestnut-tree The village smithy stands; The smith, a mighty man is he, With large and sinewy hands; And the muscles of his brawny arms Are strong as iron bands.” Full text Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 JHCC, thank your for sharing that! I’ve never heard of it or read it before, I did find a cool one awhile back by a guy named raudyard Kipling that talked about iron being master of them all. it wasn’t about a blacksmith but it was still kinda neat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 Bringing it home every day and one piece at a time saves you from having to use the BIG truck several times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 Over a spreading oil stain the Champion 400 rests; The blower breaths without strain Is strong and steady blest; Darn the prentice addled brain too much oil AGAIN! Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 In the eastern half of his garage, JHCC’s smithy stands, Crammed between Lisa’s Honda Fit And the household garbage cans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 That’s a good point mr Glenn I can only haul so much at a time on my old truck, But just once I’d like to find something like Thomas did with his hoard, instead here I’m just hauling home more blowers and beat up farm anvils every weekend lol. but I guess if nothing else I’m saving this stuff from the scrap yard. a week or two ago Thomas suggested that I just keep stockpiling so one day I might have enough stuff to trade for what I want. It sounded like a good idea so I guess that’s what I’ll do until I can find something I can trade for or I wind up with a few tons of blacksmith tools That my wife complains about lol. JHCC, and Frosty y’all should start a blacksmith poem thread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gandalfgreen Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Well I got the carport up just in time sun about to go down. Next day off attack my forge to get it finished. 10 feet wide 17 feet deep 9ft 3inches tall perfect for a start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Awesome Gandalfgreen! That outta keep the rain off you and the sun outta your eyes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywood71 Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Ted, I am using James Batsons book "Build your own hydraulic forging press" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 5 hours ago, Gandalfgreen said: I got the carport up How well is it staked down? Forget the little wire "stakes" that come with it you need something that takes serious effort to pull. You DO get wind don't you? I used #4 rebar with a hook bent in one end and adjusted the length depending on how easy it drove. A couple ended up almost 2' long but we can get 100mph winds on a bad day. It was our firewood shed for a couple winters then after the accident I couldn't get out to keep the snow swept off and it turned into a plastic tarp over the wood stack. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jobtiel1 Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Installed the new fire pot yesterday! Today I'm taking it for a test drive and forge a handle for the air regulator. ~Jobtiel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gandalfgreen Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 4 hours ago, Frosty said: How well is it staked down? Each corner has a 1 foot long ground screw. 2 of the center posts are steaked with 1 foot long spikes. And other set of 2 have 2 giant cast iron bottoms I salvaged from work sitting on top of posts. Have more spikes going in today lost the sun and the my headlamp. And my first project will be more spikes to anchor into ground. Cover is ratchet clamped to frame and ground . Going to drive the 3foot spike and 2 ft spike I have now before work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Just make sure that you don’t have any heat sources near the fabric. Also, get two fire extinguishers: one for inside and one for outside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gandalfgreen Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Forge will be outside of the carport anvil in the front needed storage and space so I will make it work. And already saving for exstinguishers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 HGR often has them for cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Sounds like you have it well thought out. Well done. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Now can you put a perimeter of PT lumber and fill with small gravel so it's a couple of inches above the grass level? BTW the Rudyard Kipling poem is "Cold Iron"; I have it set to music and listen to it on trips along with a bunch more of his work. TW; are you going to take a load out to Quad-State and double your money? Back when I was in the oil patch I used to try to figure out which building was the old blacksmith shop in the almost empty little OK towns and go peer into the windows to see if it was worth tracking down the owner...The hoard came to me! No searching involved! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Thomas, I think I’m just gonna hang on to everything right now, and keep building my collection, I’m not really interested in selling anything unless it’s to someone who’s having a hard time finding stuff while tooling up, then I’d be happy to help. I get pestered by “flea marketeers” that just wanna buy my stuff and go flip it. And that gets on my nerves. But if I find the right trade for something I don’t have or I’m looking for then I’d probably go for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 I "turned down" my locator when I was pretty tooled up just so new smiths had a chance...I still stumble over stuff on a regular basis though. Most of the hoard went to CraigsList at what I thought was a fair price and not a gouging one. Paid for itself and for what I kept and I really would rather have the room than the stuff I don't need! Most sold the first posting and I tried to winnow out flippers in favor of smiths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 I'll often get stuff from the industrial surplus place specifically to sell at Quad-State. For example, I've got a box full of rather chunky wire brushes that I'll easily double my money on, while still giving their buyers an excellent deal. I could probably get more for them on eBay, but as long as I'm getting enough to cover expenses and my own purchases, I'd rather make someone else happy than make an enormous profit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 I figure if the flippers want to buy blacksmith tools then they need to get out there and do their own gumshoe work to find them. I personally really enjoy tracking down stuff an meeting the people and hearing the stories and then getting to play with the stuff I bring home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Once we had gone down to the hills to buy a used station wagon from a dealer down there and on the test drive we passed a small house with a shed by it with a 5" postvise leaning against it. My wife would not stop to let me investigate until *after* we bought the car. (It was a dusky red brown, she called it the "Coachineal", we called it the blood clot.) Anyway when we picked up the car; I went back and found an elderly gentleman in poor financial condition who also had a 125 PW anvil. I bought them at his first price and so made his Christmas a bit warmer and well fed. (That was the 125# anvil I traded as part of the deal for my 400#+ Trenton.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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