14 hours ago, Shainarue said:

Ashley wants me to go to the Dr tomorrow to have it looked at, which I think is a waste of $40

Ashley's right. Abrasive cut off blades are dirty, heck any saw is dirty and it gets embedded in the wound. If you think $40 is a waste of time, wait till you find out what an infection costs. Cellulitis hits fast and is generally good for a hospital stay, possibly an amputation if you try toughing it out. 

I dropped something on my toe once, it wasn't very heavy and only felt like a boober, I didn't even stop, I said ouch! (adult explicative) and carried on. A couple hours later when I took my boots off my toe was feeling sore, I figured I'd bruised it so didn't look at it. By that evening it was actually sore so I checked it out ad found a little scratch made by the nail of the next toe over, hit it with peroxide and some Neosporin. I woke up early next morning with a hot red swollen foot. Within maybe 2 hours I had red streaks running up my leg and had to hobble to the passenger seat so Deb could drive me to the hospital.

I probably would've been fine if I'd stopped, taken my boot off when I dropped whatever I dropped on it and did basic 1st. aid to my toe but it wasn't even a boober just a miner owe ##@!*. Almost 2 full days on IV antibiotics to clear up the blood poisoning. 

The problem was the tiny nick was in a place that was out of sight until the infection had taken hold. I don't go to the doc in a box for little cuts and such but I DO clean, Neosporin and watch them like a hawk till they're well on the way to healing. AND even then. 

There are things that are just NOT worth the risk. I had to learn the hard way.

Frosty The Lucky.

Doc said I did really well at cleaning it up and keeping it shut. It was already closing up so just glue - no stitches - although he said I would have gotten stitches if I'd gone yesterday. I've been very accident prone all my life so I'm very good at taking care of wounds. No matter how much it hurts to do so, I flush it with cold water / soapy water / then more water until it is clean. (NEVER hydrogen peroxide or alcohol - contrary to popular belief - because they indiscriminately kill even the good stuff that helps the healing process.) Then I pack it with neosporine and wrap it with a bandage. If I bleed through the bandage within an hour, then off to urgent care I go. But otherwise I just change it twice a day and reclean/redress and keep an eye on it for any increased inflammation or streaks (another immediate doctor sign). 

My dad had cellulitis just last summer and he had no idea where he got the scratch from that started it all.  He ended up in a hospital in some other state because it all happened after they'd left for a road trip with the grandkids. He waited much longer than you did and required an ambulance to roll him out of the hotel because he couldn't stand up. The drs said he got there just in time. 

This is going to be the door on the front of a liquor cabinet I'm making. I made a frame out of square tubing that will have finished reclaimed wood, have to wait for it to warm up a little so I can finish another back piece- I made a catastrophic mistake on the first one

 

I'll post the finished piece when it's done 

 

Looks nice Donniev! 

beautiful, reclaimed wood is so nice I'm glad its the "in thing" right now

One of two guitars I'd like to get done before st. Valentines day. 

Have a good opportunity to sell at the Pittsburgh auto show at the convention center the 17th through the 20th. Trying to make some bigger ticket items as they have a good chance of selling there.  

Also getting some cigar pokers done for my cigar sales guy.  He's the guy getting me the spot at the car show. 16 to go on the 25 he wants first then another 25 for the whole commission. 

Das, cool stuff.  For the guitars do you do the chain outline first and then fill it up or do the interior and then wrap the chain around it?

GNM

George, I have home made templates for a few guitar body styles ( more to be made) that I use to shape and weld the outer chain. Then it is just a matter of fiddling with what goes inside and how it is aligned. Just to say, I lay the outer body upside down to layout and weld the inner pieces. 

Das, i have always liked those guitars. One thing i enjoy about them is that i spent so many years working on cars that i know where and what many of the pieces are. Kind of like one of those pictures where you see something new every time you look at it kind of thing. 

Donniev, cant wait to see the finished piece. 

  Very nice, Das.  Someday I'd like to visit your sales booth at a show but I would probably have to leave my credit card and checkbook at home, no self control with somethings....   . 

  I always thought elliptical gears would be cool to work into sculptures but they are hard to find.

Donniev are the vertical pieces also box tubing? I'm curious how you got the square holes cut if they are.

Das impressive sculptures as always, hope you sell everything.

Thanks guys. The guitars are fun to make. Maybe one day I'll make one for myself lol. 

Scott, do you mean the auto transmission clutch plates? I'm running low on em but I do have a few transmissions to disassemble to get more if I can find the time. I was looking online and "could" buy them but I like recycling the junk parts. 

It'd be more fun visiting the shop then a sales booth.  

Nice work, Das. Ever make a Flying V?

3 hours ago, lary said:

Donniev are the vertical pieces also box tubing? I'm curious how you got the square holes cut if they are.

 

The pieces for the door are all 3/8" square bar, I slit and drifted them to size. I did 2 practice pieces with the lines and twist to see how much everything would move and did a little math to figure out where exactly the center that I needed to slit was

  Donniev, that will be a handsome cabinet. 

  Aric, I guess they are more known as oval gears.  I had a small box of them once but traded them off and never seen another since.

  I'm betting a shop visit would be much fun!  

Das, no tranny shops near you? When i was rebuilding transmission we had them literally by the thousands. 55 gallon drums plum full. Then once or twice a year we would make a scrap run with them. One other note if you do go and ask about them ask for "steels". 

John, I haven't yet.  They are pretty iconic. To be honest I was never a fan of them. Doesn't mean I wouldn't make one, just that I don't think to make that style. If some parts jumped out at me to build that style I would. 

Haven't seen that style Scott. They would be fun to work with. Make good bright eyes or other decorative highlights. 

Yup, shop is where the fun and creativity is. 

Good idea Billy. Thank you for the better term that they would understand. 

New job. 

love those shelves Alexander. are those wrapped round bars holding up the shelf supports, or were they welded first??

3 hours ago, Daswulf said:

Doesn't mean I wouldn't make one

There's always the BC Rich "Big Bottom" double-necked base played by Derek Smalls of Spinal Tap

I made these racks to hold/display some old coal mining equipment.  8 hooks from 3/8 round and a couple of scrap boards   

 

Good Morning Dave,

I made these racks to hold/display some old coal mining equipment.  8 hooks from 3/8 round and a couple of scrap boards. 

How are/were those handled rods used, in a Coal Mine?

Welcome from the Left Coast, just off the Big Island of Nurth Hamerikaa.

Neil

9 hours ago, Tim695 said:

are those wrapped round bars holding up the shelf supports, or were they welded first??

Yes, I welded it first.

Neil, I've never been a coal miner but I have been a hard rock miner and I would suspect that they are used to clean out blasting holes prior to inserting the explosives.  However, there may be a soft rock/coal mining use of which I am unaware.

GNM

The bore holes were dug with hand augers (not pictured) and the hole was cleaned out with the bottom rod which has a little scoop on one end.    The dynamite was also pushed in with the other end of the rod.  The copper needle was used to punch a hole in the dynamite for the blasting cap.   This is very early hand mining equipment that I can’t imagine actually using.   
 

here’s another explanation 

To get the coal from the coal seam, John would begin by shooting the coal. Coal from Crayne mine was drilled by hand, with a hand auger. John would drill into the coal seam, usually about three feet deep, with the hand auger. He would then insert a long copper needle with black powder at the end into where he drilled. . Dummy sticks with clay were placed in the hole and tamped down with a rod. The needle was removed and a squib was placed in the hole and lit. After lighting the squib, John had to take cover quickly, because once the squib burned down it would ignite the powder, shoot down the hole made by the copper tube and light the powder at the end. Once John had finished shooting the coal, he would gather up the loose coal, usually more lumps than powder if he did it just the right way and bring it out in a wheelbarrow.