BillyBones Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 That looks exactly like my old sleds. If you looked at the runners they were triangle shaped with the flat on top. The side down were concaved. Like if you put a square bar in a swage made from 2 round bars, then forged to the shape of the swage. (at least that is my best description) Kind of shaped like the bayonets they used on the old Brown Bess muskets. Also the runners were quite narrow, like 3/8" maybe 1/2" narrow. Roy at Christ centered iron works on the youtube done a series of videos last year making one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 Thanks BillyBones I’ll check that video out! An see how he does the runners I wasn’t looking at the steerable sleighs y’all more like the fixed ones like I posted, I was just thinking about something to tow max around on as we don’t have hills on our property and he’s not able to steer anything yet anyways, lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 TW, it won't be very many winters before Max will want to steer and have you take him to whatever hill or slope is nearby (dirt pile, river bank, etc.). In flat Chicago I thought that 10' elevation difference was a big hill. Of course, you have a built in excuse to build a bigger, better, and steerable sled. You could fit it with wheels for the times that eastern OK does not have snow. I guess that would make it a species of wagon. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 Oh yeah we can definitely look into building a steering one later! and there’s hills around the area just not on our property, He’s not big enough to go out sledding himself he’s just turning two next month, that’s why I’d like to just make something I can tow him around on for now, and when he gets a little bigger and learns to hang on I’ll tow him a little faster behind the four wheeler, lol but he’s a ways off from going solo for now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les L Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 When I was a kid in Germany we had one of the sleds that didn’t steer, we used our feet, or a hand, as a drag to steer it. Worked good in snow, not as good if you were on ice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimaera Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 Les, whenever doing that, I would always over-correct, leading me to spin out and fall off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les L Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 That was half of the fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimaera Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 Absolutely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 Small hammer mod: I’d made this doghead hammer a few years back out of the end of a torsion bar. However, it turned out to be awkward and not especially useful. So, today I cut off the heavy end: And made a small hammer that I plan to use for chasing and repoussé: The chunky offcut will eventually become a tool of some sort. We shall see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 Decided to replace the latch on my attic's troll door (3' high door). So i made one. All was going good then i realized for it to work the handle will have to be on the inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 More convenient for the trolls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 If the troll deserves freedom of egress. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Spent most of the weekend doing the build-out for Lisa’s new yarn shop, but did get in some shop time making a yarn bowl for one of her customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Saturday was the Friends of the Library book sale; disappointing this time; but for a book on Timber Framing and one on Knitting designs from Norse runestones... Saturday afternoon I'm doing cleanup and sorting and planning in the shop. I need to add several more circuits and run conduit to carry them. Of course where they should be mounted is covered with vertical stacks of heavy wood and steel...Had a forge friend come over after lunch and he was trueing up some pattern welded blocks with my screw press---using stop blocks to get them identical in size for their next stack and weld. I unrolled a spring as a piece of cable we picked up at the scrapyard had a plastic center---amusing to burn out! It now has a spring steel center and should be ready to go Tomorrow when I celebrate my first day of retirement with a forge welding party! Sunday; I sorted my electrical stuff and started laying out the pieces of conduit for the first 220/110 outlets on the west side of the shop. Now to buy breakers and plugs to fit the outlets. After lunch I went into town to watch a Chasing and repousse DvD at Fine Arts West; but the player was down, so we started laying out all the smithing events we wanted to do the rest of the year. Currently 4 of us plan to go to Quad-State next fall. Today: last day at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Congrats on the last day Thomas. Probably mostly cleanout and goodbyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 I'm hiding in my office wearing an Aloha shirt and bluejeans and my mask with cartoon dinosaurs on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rojo Pedro Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 Yes congratulations on retirement for sure! My plan is 6 years from today (yesterday I turned 59) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 "Hiding" in an Aloha shirt and cartoon dinosaur mask? Congratulations on retirement.... Huzzah! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimaera Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 Congrats TP! Took most of yesterday to get out to the forge. I had some... mixed results. While I was able to knock out a very nice little hunting knife, my other projects didn't go quite as well. A garden trowel I was making for my mother snapped. The tomahawk I had finished forging cracked and delayed during heat treat. A piece of 1x6” cable Damascus I was working on was all welded up beautifully before I accidentally left it in the fire too long and it burned. A lot of frustrations, but hopefully some lessons learned for next time, and the knife turned out well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 First day of retirement: I had a friend come over and we lit both the coal and the propane forges. Did some pattern welding and forging on previously welded billets. I also cleaned out the space where my next outlets are going to go: 220 and 110; I found that my electrician didn't follow my instructions; or I wasn't clear enough. He put in one outlet per 20 amp 110 VAC breaker. I think I can expand without buying more breakers; I don't think *2* outlets per 20 amp breaker is over doing it... I will have to add in another 220 breaker as I don't want to share the 60 amp welder breaker with "lesser" systems! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 TP, congratulations on your retirement. I'm no electrician, but I have a 2-3 20 amp outlets per breaker, but nothing besides my welder draws that much current. Plus I very rarely have more than one thing running at a time. Still, the lights are on a separate circuit that's coming out of my main panel in the house rather than the subpanel out in the shop. - Today I finished up a couple of tools. One bolster plate made from some 1/2" leaf spring. I have room for more holes, but this at least covers my bases for now. And a larger flatter. I don't have a swage block for the upsetting method, but I do have a welder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 Yes I know; but it was today when I was figuring out the runs for the next outlets that I realized the electrician had only put one outlet per breaker and so I didn't have to go back to the panel but could start the run at the outlet that would share the circuit. Save for the 220, it needs it's own breaker as I don't want "smaller" loads have to trip a 60 amp breaker to fil off. I have some 10 awg wire for the 220 run to my Bader grinder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donal Harris Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 Good repurpose of an unused hammer, John? It was back a page or to. Good idea, Frazer. If you don’t have what you need to make something you want, just use the tools at hand to make what you need. Basically finished my very first knife. I didn’t set out to make one, a personal steak knife, but that is what it is. I had a narrow file and WI. Put them forge welded them together into the shape the material seemed to want to be. Did three normalization cycles. Ground the bevels, ground the area around the bolsters flat and riveted them to the blade after shaping them. The hardened and que chef in re-warmed oil. It was at this point I realized I had made a mistake. I should have tempered the blade prior to attaching the bolsters. Put it in the wife’s oven while she was at work to temper at 450 for 15 minutes. Etched blade in muriatic acid for 12 hours. A bit long. It ate a bit more of the WI off than intended. But still OK. Cut the scales out of a bois d’arc log I have had drying for two or three years. Attached one scale and drilled the pin holes. Attached the other scale and drilled those pin holes. Rough shaped the handle using a 1 x 30 grinder. Glued the pins and fitted them though the holes and peens them. Finished grinding and the. Sanding with progressively finer grits. Did a bit to add secondary bevels. Soaked blade in instant coffee for an hour to darken the low areas of the steel. Buffed with very fine steel wool. Soaked the scales in BLO and placed on the fence in the sun to dry and soak up the UV rays so the bois d’arc would darken some. I want it a rich brown color. Tomorrow I will repeat with the other side facing the sun. we will see how it turns out. The first photo is me trying to decide if would from an old shrub would be better. Decided to stick with the bois d’arc. The second pic is the knife prior to linseed and coffee stain. The rest are the knife basically finished. Balance seems to be decent. Lots of mistakes with this first knife though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimaera Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 Looks good! I really like the bolster pin pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 Friday lunch, cut up some 3/4 inch coil spring. On Saturday, used a friend's forge and hydraulic press to make rough tong blanks from the 9 inch sections of coil. Sunday made another set of mild steel bolt tongs, with some jaw alignment tips from the friend with the press (who has taught a LOT of classes) improving on the last pair. Gas forge, 10 years old, is glowing alarmingly at the top, the rusty section where the burner fits in. New gasser build is in the cards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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