Frosty Posted September 20, 2010 Share Posted September 20, 2010 Thanks for the info on wrought, Frosty. I must confess that my knowledge of wrought is lacking. I couldn't just leave the tires set there and rust away, though. Now I have to come up with some projects to use them for. Any suggestions? My pleasure George. One of the things folk really like about real wrought iron (WI) is it's fibrous texture and muck bar or single wrought has much less refined grain so it's a LOT more fibrous looking. After aggressive forging it may take an etch to bring the grain out but it's pretty. I don't know about wind chimes but giving them a whack with a piece of steel bar should tell you all you need to know. I'd be thinking about looking for restorations needing done or more traditional ironwork to do, say cabinet hinges, shelf brackets, door knockers, and such. Things that accentuating the natural WI grain would make more attractive. I just had another thought, how about using it where you'd normally see wood? A tree or bush wall plaque for instance or picture frames, heck frames in general it'd make a really cool mirror frame. you know, the ones that turn over on pivots from flat to magnifying mirror. I don't see a lot of WI here, a little occasionally but sometimes the price is just too high. Last I saw was on a largish wagon and I'm NOT burning a 100+yr old artefact for a little WI. Frosty the Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquamanlr Posted September 20, 2010 Share Posted September 20, 2010 Over on the knive forums they use wrought iron for hardwear, guards, pomels, end caps and the like. It makes some nice looking stuff !! LeeRoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
True Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 A few weeks ago I was on an auction site and found this 2X48" 1.5 hp Baldoa grinder! got it for $175 & 10 hrs on the road. Plus a few motors and a bunch of air valves. Now that brings me to This last week end I picked up Just a few air cylinders and pumps and a 2 hp hyd pump. All for $124 & one hr on the road. Now what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edge9001 Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 It hasn't foloowed me home yet, but a little more coaxing and I'll have a smithy 3 in 1 lathe/drill press/ mill combo. I have a lady holding it for me I will have it in have by the end of october. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 23, 2010 Share Posted September 23, 2010 This followed Deb home last sunday. She went on a short road trip to check out the venue for early October's spinning retreat and hit a garage sale. 5" multi-function Columbian machinist's vise, brand spanking new, in the box, wrapped in plastic and gooped up with whatever they use instead of cosmaline nowdays. She talked the guy down to $40. He bought it on sale and it sat in his garage for a few years before he decided to make some room. Go figure eh? Frosty the Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim McCoy Posted September 23, 2010 Share Posted September 23, 2010 Good score for the wife Frosty - got it for about 10% of retail I bet :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 23, 2010 Share Posted September 23, 2010 Good score for the wife Frosty - got it for about 10% of retail I bet I don't know what a new one costs, I have too many to even window shop new machinist's vises. This does even things up some though. This spring's first yard sale browse and I spotted a Louete Spinning wheel and accessories we got for $50 PLUS the seller made us take several 50gl. trash bags packed with wool. $50 is less than 10% for a Louete wheel and they don't depreciate till they're really old and worn. We have each other's back. Life is GOOD. Frosty the Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sask Mark Posted September 23, 2010 Share Posted September 23, 2010 I don't know what a new one costs, I have too many to even window shop new machinist's vises. This does even things up some though. This spring's first yard sale browse and I spotted a Louete Spinning wheel and accessories we got for $50 PLUS the seller made us take several 50gl. trash bags packed with wool. $50 is less than 10% for a Louete wheel and they don't depreciate till they're really old and worn. We have each other's back. Life is GOOD. Frosty the Lucky. Frosty, please PM me. I tried to send a message regarding spinning equipment and looms, but I got a message that you cannot receive pm's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 23, 2010 Share Posted September 23, 2010 Sorry Mark, I had to disable the PM function, I was getting just too much spam phished from the site. It's NOT like I'm hiding but I figure if they can find my E-mail addy they can get the 3.7 million American, US dollars fund check to my mailbox. right now I'm just letting the interest build, then I'm buying the moon or somewhere else cool where they can't bother me. Frosty the Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted September 23, 2010 Share Posted September 23, 2010 I was at a yard sale a couple of years back and bought one of those used with a big metal bench for $20. After stumbling around the bench and it, I just up and gave it to a good friend. I couldn't even sit or stand long enough to use it much but he sure likes that swivel head to pieces for doing his hot metal carving. B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dex Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 My mother-in-law has a small blast shelter in the back of her garden dating from the 50's - a bizzare relic of a former owner. She's always found the door 'sinister'. So being a kind soul I took it away for her this weekend. The fact that it is 60x27" of 5/8" plate just might of added motivation for me. It's going to be one sturdy bench top. With fittings it topped 300lb so was a little tricky to float gently across the flower beds, but worth it I think especially given it was at my favourite price (£0). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 Got a friend at work who has an old bomb shelter in our small rural town. He uses it to store his homebrew at a much better temperature than the summer desert heat... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divermike Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 A coworker noted a sign at an antique store that said "bellows for sale" and let me know about it, after tracking the owner down, I went to look at it, it's in pretty good shape, needs new airbag material, but the cone is in pretty decent shape, and the boards are all complete, even the inner valve leather is still supple, got another project it looks like, and look! the yater blocks have already come in handy, that's what it's sitting on!! It looks like they stuffed the cone with shavings or paper or something, I'm gonna need a diagram for reassembly when I get done cleaning it up, anybody got one? it's a 3 panel bellows. (edited in later) What I really need is the leather pattern for the exterior, it's all cleaned up and ready for refit now. I pulled all the hand made tacks and rotten leather, the cone is good, but I have no idea of the leather sizing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainely,Bob Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 A coworker noted a sign at an antique store that said "bellows for sale" and let me know about it, after tracking the owner down, I went to look at it, it's in pretty good shape, needs new airbag material, but the cone is in pretty decent shape, and the boards are all complete, even the inner valve leather is still supple, got another project it looks like, and look! the yater blocks have already come in handy, that's what it's sitting on!! It looks like they stuffed the cone with shavings or paper or something, I'm gonna need a diagram for reassembly when I get done cleaning it up, anybody got one? it's a 3 panel bellows. (edited in later) What I really need is the leather pattern for the exterior, it's all cleaned up and ready for refit now. I pulled all the hand made tacks and rotten leather, the cone is good, but I have no idea of the leather sizing. If it was mine I would make an estimated guess as to how far I wanted the chambers to be expanded and then prop them in that position with blocks of wood. I`d then proof it by cutting something like a tarp,heavy poncho or old sail cloth to cover it.After removing the blocks I`d tack the cloth in place with sheet metal bands or recycled pallet banding and some small screws and see how it works. If it works fine then take the screws and bands off and use the cloth as a pattern for the final leather replacement.We used some small bronze rub rail for bands over the leather on a friend`s bellows and it really dressed it up. An old heavy Army poncho should give you enough material to make a few mistakes and adjustments. Good luck with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divermike Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Bob, that's good advice, I have a section of the original, and it is from the narrowest part, about 3 feet long, I figure I can estimate the expansion and just continue the growth to the widest part, but like you said, start with a funky material for screwups, thanks, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Or you can just take the untrimmed stock and starting at the widest section apply it the boards and trim the edges when you are done. Picked up a beautiful Victor regulator at the fleamarket today, looks almost unused, 0-30 on the low end and 2000+ on the high end, reverse thread to the tank. He asked $20 and then rached down to $10 when I was walking off. Hope to use it on propane for a new burner I got at Q-S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny O Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 An acquaintance at BNSF let me go through the scrap box. Some of it is from a three engine collission. The pry bars are called a "sheep's foot ", or a "dromedary toe" by some. In my area of Az., they are Navajo named, thus the sheep origin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clinton Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 A few weeks ago I was on an auction site and found this 2X48" 1.5 hp Baldoa grinder! got it for $175 & 10 hrs on the road. Plus a few motors and a bunch of air valves. Now that brings me to This last week end I picked up Just a few air cylinders and pumps and a 2 hp hyd pump. All for $124 & one hr on the road. Now what? Nice score on the belt sander and the air cylinders, I have one of those air pumps also but I am not sure what it is good for, came with a compressor that I bought the guy told me that he was using it to paint houses with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 Wow what a great haul of RR stuff! Are you thinking of making a stake anvil from a RR spike hammer? I did and like it a lot! Some great anvils in that lot too---I used a busted knuckle for an anvil in my "under $25" smithy. I finally got a chance to check out the odd set of tongs I picked up at Quad-State for $10; yup as I suspected they were made from Ti! Now they can join the set I forged about 10 years ago... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny O Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 Wow what a great haul of RR stuff! Are you thinking of making a stake anvil from a RR spike hammer? I did and like it a lot! Some great anvils in that lot too---I used a busted knuckle for an anvil in my "under $25" smithy. Good idea for one of the hammers, I am going to cut the rough edge off of the broken coupler and put it on end, for an eleven inch square anvil. The other end of the coupler rings like a bell, I probably wont hit that much with a hammer. The 200 pounder with the 12'' through hole I am not sure what purpose it would best serve, maybe cut it in half, and the sheeps foot, well I guess I could make a sculpture of a three legged sheep.Of the slices of rail I have seen hardys made. I have been making more tools lately than anything else. Any suggestions would be nice, what else can be made of those hammers? could they be forged? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulric Posted October 6, 2010 Share Posted October 6, 2010 Just a hammer head, but was suprised to find a mark on the side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 6, 2010 Share Posted October 6, 2010 Ulric; Sorry that's not a hammer head it is a set tool and so meant to be struck with a hammer, hence the mushrooming as you don't hit two hardened pieces of steel together! 2dogs; of course they can be forged! Or how about a hardy tool from them where a short heavy piece is forged to fit the hardy and the other end forged to fit the eye of one of the hammers with say 4 inches of shaft between them. This is easiest if you have a substantial anvil so not so much forging to do with a large hardy hole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny O Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 2dogs; of course they can be forged! Or how about a hardy tool from them where a short heavy piece is forged to fit the hardy and the other end forged to fit the eye of one of the hammers with say 4 inches of shaft between them. This is easiest if you have a substantial anvil so not so much forging to do with a large hardy hole. Sort of like a stake anvil?. I was thinking of cutting one right in half through the eye and end up with two half round bottom swedge, then fit em to the hardy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 That would work, though be an expensive bottom swage in my thoughts----How about: anneal it first and cut off excess length and make them into hammers heads so 2 hammers and 2 bottom swages, or make one into a bottom swage and wire wrap a handle on the other for a top swage to match the bottom swage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagr8tim Posted October 9, 2010 Share Posted October 9, 2010 I had to run to Eastern Ohio today and brought some goodies home. Free air compressor. It fires up but I'm still trying to figure out if it's salvageable. Propane Tanks that I wonder if I can use to build a propane forge. Random lawnmower bits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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