It followed me home

[Hillbilly iron]

Bwilloughby,


What was in the tank? Have you cut into it yet? I am not trying to mind your business, but please be SURE you know what was in the tank before you start to cut into it. You sound like a neat person and I would hate for you to go boom .


What kind of critter is Spooky? She sure is cute.

Yes i Agree with Leah i was cutting the top off an (what i found out later was an avgas drum)and it went boom blew top clean off just about took my head off.fill it with water first.

[Fe-Wood]

A circle shear!? Holy Smoley I'd LOVE to have a circle shear, hand crank or not. I got LOTS of experience cranking Dad's circle shears till he motorized them then it was easier but slower.

Have you checked this site? http://allmetalshaping.com/showthread.php?p=13836&posted=1#post13836

They have a metal spinning section and got me talking about old times in Father's shop.

Frosty the Lucky.

Thanks Frosty!!! Finally a place with a few more spinners to chat with. Got me all excited and everything as I read a few posts amd looked at pictures.
I'm off to spin some pewter this afternoon for the first time :D

[Double Y]

I never get to post in here except for jelousy of the finds some of you have had.

I went to a close friend's cattle branding this weekend in central Montana - The county name is Petroleum because of all the oil wells that were dug now about 70 years ago.

The rigs at the time were all cable type. At one of the branding corrals was on old homestead that had fallen apart. In the former basement hole was about a mile of cable from the 40's.

I asked if I could scrounge a couple pieces and was advised to go get a truck and haul the whole works...that wasn't practicle, but I did gather several pieces you see here.

Some of the larger cable has a woven rope in the center. My friend's Dad lost an eye sometime in the 50's because he was unwinding the cable to get the rope out of the center.

Now to practice forge welding cable and making a few items. If I get good at this I may have to go back for more!

Any secrets anyone will share about forge welding cable?

Thanks,

John

[Dave Hammer]

Forgewelding Cable...

Cut a piece about 8" long. Weld (arc or ?) the ends into a blob. Weld (arc or ?) a stick on one end to hold it with. Heat to red. Untwist (opens strands), flux generously, heat again... Twist (close) to hard. Heat to forgewelding temp, lightly tap, holding the cable in a round swage. Keep turning (turn in direction that will maintain twist) it while you forge weld until you have a solid mass. Numerous heats may/will be necessary. Flux often and generously....

Worked for me. Good Luck...

[ironstein]

I heat the cable up cherry red and quench it in a 5 gallon bucket of water with a box of borax dissolved in it. When you quench it helps to blow off scale and clean out the crud from inside the cable. I usually do it two or three times, it works the flux into the cable as well. I forget what brilliant blacksmith told me that. I wish i thought of it!

[ironstein]

Add my previous post to what Dave said! He Throws down some knowledge on here. I picked up around fifteen feet of old cable from the naval base i was working on building explosives magazines, it was inch and a half, and it welded up pretty nice.

[winterbear]

Frosty not sure if shipping would kill the deal but there is one on the WA state surplus auction in seattle area for cheap and they will ship. http://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/all,wa/auction/view?auc=438397
chris

A circle shear!? Holy Smoley I'd LOVE to have a circle shear, hand crank or not. I got LOTS of experience cranking Dad's circle shears till he motorized them then it was easier but slower.

Have you checked this site? http://allmetalshaping.com/showthread.php?p=13836&posted=1#post13836

They have a metal spinning section and got me talking about old times in Father's shop.

Frosty the Lucky.

[clinton]

my neighbor had this wine press (I think that's what it is) looks pretty old forged ring 3 feet in dia and stands 2 1/2 feet tall has bolts 3 inches on center, she is moving and said that I could have it, I gave her 50 bucks as it has to be worth something and I am sure she will need the money for moving

[Bentiron1946]

Frosty, I got a good deal on a spinning wheel kit at Goodwill on half price Saturday once for my wife's best friend Christmas gag gift, $5 for a New Zealand made, new in the box deluxe something or rather wheel. Anyway when her husband got it all together and finished up they looked it up online and the list price was $375. It cost us more to ship it to Albuquerque that we paid for the thing,$15.45. We bought it as a gag gift since she was always sitting around knitting, now she sits around spinning(if that makes sense). :blink:

[ironstein]

My wife spins yarn like a banshee. spinning yarn to a knitter is like a power hammer to a blacksmith!

[ironstein]

Clinton, thats a cool item your neighbor parted with. What are you gonna do with it? Gonna salvage the wrought? Or just admire it?

[ThomasPowers]

My wife has been teaching spinning for over 30 years; she pretty much gets the house so I'm always having a high fiber diet; but I get the shop. Works out for this Steel-Wool family.

I hope your friend in ALBQ is a member of Las Aran~as and will be at the major fiber conference being held in ALBQ this summer!

[Frosty]

Frosty, I got a good deal on a spinning wheel kit at Goodwill on half price Saturday once for my wife's best friend Christmas gag gift, $5 for a New Zealand made, new in the box deluxe something or rather wheel. Anyway when her husband got it all together and finished up they looked it up online and the list price was $375. It cost us more to ship it to Albuquerque that we paid for the thing,$15.45. We bought it as a gag gift since she was always sitting around knitting, now she sits around spinning(if that makes sense).

Great score! Keep us in mind next time you find a good gag will ya?

I'm the ferret half of a steel wool couple, so yeah it makes sense.

Frosty the Lucky.

[clinton]

Clinton, thats a cool item your neighbor parted with. What are you gonna do with it? Gonna salvage the wrought? Or just admire it?

I am not sure what to do with it may use it to store my coal in but its kinda big, with all the holes in it I am not sure what to use it for as far as wrought iron it has holes every 4 inches for the bolts

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Hey Clinton,
if the press is complete you could probably get a good price for it up around the Napa, Sonoma, Healdsburg area. I have seen some fixed up for displays. Either that, or use it for squeezing some grapes, apples, etc..I have seen ads by people looking for a press to use from time to time.

[Sam Falzone]

<snip>

Some of you guys are part of a steel wool couple and recognize what kind of deal this is without all the wool. for those of you who aren't so lucky, the wheel is worth an easy %475 and there is more than $500 worth of clean carded wool in 1 oz packages which sell for between $2 and $3 each not counting shipping. Oh yeah, I forgot, there were three extra spindles, a niddy noddy and a skein winding gizmo so I don't need to sit there with my hands up while Deb winds yarn into balls.

for non- steel wool couple members, this is like finding a 300lb Peter Wright anvil, a box of hammers, sets and punchs for $100 and then finding out there was half a ton of wrought iron you HAD to haul off too. In short, this is one HECK of an auspiscious start to the garage saling season!

Frosty the Lucky.

Frosty I know exactly what you mean.

Here's my story ...
My wife's name is Leslie and she is the weaver/spinner in our steel/wool family. Last year, she came bounding down the stairs, bouncing and giddy like a two year old. She tells me that she had a line on a 45" loom that a weaver in Toronto was looking to part with. Leslie had a 36" loom, but she had wanted to upgrade to something bigger but a 45" loom was a few thousand dollars and we couldn't afford it. This was an opportunity not to be missed. So the next day we go to the address after work and meet with this lovely woman who was truly going through some rough times. She was separating from her fiance and had to sell the house and move. It was really sad and our hearts immediately went out to her

This woman was a serious fiber artist, there was spinning and weaving equipment everywhere. She took us upstairs to where the loom was - it was a 45" LeClerc counter-balanced loom - exactly what Leslie wanted. I immediately began dismantling it to get it down the stairs and into the van, and while I was working we all three were talking about life and our crafts. She was rather surprised to hear that I did blacksmithing and she thought this was all great. I told her how lucky I was that I had a wife who supported my ambitions, and that how happy I was that we finally found something to support her craft ambitions. The woman perks up at this, goes to a corner stacked with boxes and comes back with a lovely vertical spinning wheel. "Do you want this one?" she asks. We were both gobsmacked. She insisted that we take it, she had others and she would rather the wheel went to someone who would truly appreciate it. We went home with a 45"loom, weaving bench full of little bits and bobs and a spinning wheel for free.

We were determined to pay this good fortune forward. Leslie in turn gave away her 36" loom to a friend of ours who was also looking to upgrade ... and she, this week, gave her old loom to a lady in her spinning guild who was just starting out. Leslie also sent the woman who gave us the loom and wheel the first thing she wove on the new loom - a lovely shawl. She was thrilled to get it.

I've had some good Karma moments too ... a few years ago, a colleague of mine sends me an email that he was cleaning out his class/shop - he had two anvils, did I want them? I'm sure I broke several traffic laws getting there after school and left with two 100lb Vaughan anvils in my van for free. Since I already had an anvil, I lent one anvil to a friend of mine who had picked up a riveter's forge at an auction and wanted to give smithing a try ... the other I lent to my 2 students. This past Christmas, I turned that loaned anvil into a gift for my 2 students.
I've been very lucky ... it feels good to pay it forward.

Sam

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Well this past year has had quite a few items follow me home. Some were free, some were purchased. Most everything was found on Craigslist.

Blacksmithing stuff from an estate sale; 170# HB($175), 2 forges(Buffalo, Champion), bucket of tongs($3 ea),bucket of hardies($3 ea), bucket of fullers/hammers ($5 ea), 1/4 barrel of coal, and some extras(dutch ovens, Hobart buffalo chopper,etc) $850 total.

125# JHM Journeyman anvil w/cams, single burner gas forge, folding anvil stand with spring vise, tool box of horseshoe blanks,tool box of hoof repair epoxy, and a tool box of farrier tools for $250. Anyone need hoof stuff?

Stuff given to me when the shop I work for relocated;

2 110V refrigerated air driers.Speed Air/Hakinson

Habegger cam shaper w/stack of blanks which get really hard with heat treating.

Sixis 101 milling machine.

Small automatic bead blaster with dust collector.

Stock rack made of 3" channel.

Pile of aluminum 3" channel, 3" angle iron, flat bar, pipe,plate, stainless sheet/plate, and a bunch of misc.material.

Couple of workbenches.

40+ 55 gallon drums.

piles of air hoses with disconnects.

A pallet of 3 phase S/O cords - paid $100

Misc shop stuff, pumps, tanks,tools,and MUCH more.

Woodworking stuff;

18"-20" DeWalt radial arm saw w/new 18" blade $250.

24" Powermatic planer

37" Sandmax dual head oscillating wide belt sander $1200 w/planer tossed in. I will end up selling the sander, as I only wanted the planer.

Kitchen equipment (because it is industrial ARR ARR ARRR more power!)

14" Hobart buffalo chopper with SS rolling cart, and meat grinder attachment $100

A-120 12qt Hobart mixer $295

Hobart VS12 shredder attachment with 2 meat grinders, power unit, and overdrive speed attachment for $350.

Barely used Kenmore Elite 30" dual convection oven $100

Material handling;

Champ 8,000# cap all terrain forklift with 25'-30' reach for $3,500.

I have a 5K Toyota diesel hard tire lift (another CL find from a couple of years ago) for sale now. Short mast with 79" lift made for container, semi trailer loading. My ground just isn't packed enough to run it out here.

Misc CL finds since I moved here;

5 Job Boxes of various larger sizes $50-$150 ea.

Leatherworking supplies, and tools.

Jet 20" 2HP disc sander w/reverse.

2-28" semi trailers for storage $750 ea.

Cress 23 series kiln $100


Material;

451# of assorted carbide round stock purchased from work. We grind our form drills from solid carbide. They still make great tools for a shop. This is for sale by the pound. Diameters run from 3/32"-1/2" and up to 1.5" long. Eventually they just get too short for the company to use. There are also some carbide slitting saws in the mix.

Brass, copper, Beryllium copper,aluminum and stainless bar ends purchased from work .0625'-1.00" diameters, and average 7" long.

Scrounged some 1" angle from a company that tosses the steel skids.

Well that is a fairly complete list of what has followed me home lately :P

[clinton]

Hey Clinton,
if the press is complete you could probably get a good price for it up around the Napa, Sonoma, Healdsburg area. I have seen some fixed up for displays. Either that, or use it for squeezing some grapes, apples, etc..I have seen ads by people looking for a press to use from time to time.

I think there are some parts missing, I only got what is pictured, I may try putting it on craigslist and see what happens it would be nice to put in front of a winery

[Frosty]

That's quite the tally Biggun! You are aware how dangerous a health risk Beryllium copper can be, Yes?

Frosty the Luky.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Frosty,yes, I know about BeCu hazards. Actually it should be called CuBe as the copper is the major element in the alloy. I talked with a rep of one of our suppliers of that material who said that the actual percentage of Be is max 2%. Enough to allow hardening, but not enough to be really worried about. He dropped off some MSDS info on it, so I have some reading to do later this week. I would like to make a BeCu knife, not for everyday use, but just to see how it turns out. From looking at other MSDS sheets it appears that standard metalworking safety is needed, as the lead,cobalt,copper,and other elements in the alloy are also somewhat hazardous to breath. I have also contacted them specifically in regards to hot forging the alloy we use in the shop.

Safety first.

[Sam Thompson]

Clinton, That looks like a large cheese press to me, the sides on a wine press don't need to open. Is there any other metalwork with it?

[clinton]

Clinton, That looks like a large cheese press to me, the sides on a wine press don't need to open. Is there any other metalwork with it?

Oh a cheese press, you very well could be right, I was just guessing the person that I got it from knew nothing about it, the best info that I got from her was that she bought it from someone on the side of the road. There are no other parts, what is in the pictures is what I got, just the main tub
thanks for the info

[Double Y]

I have developed a habit of stopping at antique stores as I travel looking for blacksmithing pieces and parts. I have seen a handfull of anvils - usually way over priced - and one hardy that the store wanted $85 for...

I hit a lick in Choteau, MT on Friday. A small antique store with some blacksmith tools. I purchased the four sets of tongs seen here, I paid $16.25 for each. Not too cheap, not too expensive either. I look at it as I don't have to pay shipping when I find these old tools.

For you anvil hounds, the store had two anvils. One a Peter Wright about 175# that was in pretty good shape, but did have a pit about the size of a jelly bean in the face. There was also a Buffalo blower. The PW he wanted about $2.25 a pound for. The other anvil was a no name and he wanted $175 for the blower. If you are interested and along the Rocky Mtn Front, it may be worth your stop.

Have a great week,

John

[ThomasPowers]

Ahhh I'd be very wary of the Be-Cu (hey we call it "carbon steel and it has less than 2% C in it!).

I've talked with a fellow who used to work at a commercial foundry and *1* piece of Be-Cu in an entire train car of scrap was grounds to refuse the entire train car load *and* required them to do a through clean out of the entire scrap bin that could hold a train car of scrap!

As they had a very spotty safety record to begin with being that spooked by Be made a big impression on me!

Grinding is especially problematic and knives are generally ground...


I have a loaner anvils for students as it generally takes a while for a student to find their own equipment.

My last anvil was a Craigslist; since I now have double the shop space I want to set up more stations around the forges. I find that 2 students max per anvil is a safe limit.

[Sam Falzone]

I just posted this on the Anvil forum as well.

I just picked up my newest sweetie (.. and boy does my back hurt ... no, really ...)

Found her at a salvage yard - a 175lb Peter Wright ... paid $250.00 before taxes

She's got some battle scars and a bit of chipping at the edges, but there's still lots of life in her.

Not the 200lb I was looking for, but 175lb is a reasonable compromise and the price was too good to pass up ($1.40/lb before taxes - $1.70/lb after taxes)
A good night .

Sam