I volunteered to take the trash to the transfer station Saturday morning. Not much to hand in their metal pile though besides the Helium party tank for balloons. So I moseyed across the street to the small scrap yard and spent a pleasant hour wandering the piles.

What I brought home: a 10.5" diameter ductile cast iron ball in an old steel wire milk crate; an *old* square nut for threaded 2" shaft, a bolt that will go through one of my utility pole shop uprights, and finally the cut off female end of a nice chunk of sucker rod that I forged down yesterday to fit the hardy hole of a couple of my anvils and then used the domed end of a RR bolt to round the inner lip a bit to do cowboy hats I hope...

Taught a smithing class at NM Tech Fine Arts annex Sunday, probably the last one this semester. Now I can work on relining my forge and armouring the interior before the next class!

No pics but brought home a massive coilspring made from 1 3/16" round..biggest Ive ever seen..Bet its more than 20' long..

Wow, that's a big coil spring.

So Thomas, whatcha gonna do with the wrecking ball?

I almost had a fit today. I went to a scrap yard with one of my mentors. Their was one of everything there. Whether working or not. I'm gonna go back and talk to the big man in charge and see if theirs any blacksmithing stuff. After all he did buy out industrial warehouses. He's got everything from crane hooks to a 8 foot diamter pot-belly stove to heat his enormous shop. I think I may have found my heaven

went to a farm sale today and got a few things
pile of old files for knives strikers etc, small craftsman ball peen, couple cresents big on is a SK nice vice grips, big old pair of pliers, small chisel head I will repair, old tire gauge marked US property ordinance dept, and a old unrepairable bent scale beam for the bronze/brass it has a nice S curve when viewed from the top. all for 10 bucks wish I had thrown more on the pile may go back and buy more tools if I come up with the cash . there were 2 post vices one welded to a small welding table I may make a offer on and another with u bolts for mounting it to the bench leg but not bad otherwise. had a pic can't get it to load now

Went to an auction yesterday and got these fun toys. The roller is in pretty good shape, except the third wheel is frozen....gotta get busy freeing it up. Vise in pretty good shape as is the fire pot, but am missing the clinker breaker. Anyone know what the thread things are far? Is the one with the 7 holes for making bolts - a die in other words?

Also got some hammer heads, a brush ax, couple of tongs, foot adz, powder wedge, and a bunch of other iron pieces.

Friday fleamarket report: set of farrier's "alligator" tongs US$5 in very good condition, 9 socket chisels (inc 1 buck brothers) and a cast steel W.M.Butcher(?) plane iron intended for knife blades: $6 for the chisels and plane iron

That was quite a haul, Farmall. I'd like to see the adz.

The 7-hole thingy is a head scratcher. I've never seen a die that didn't have a place for the chips to go. The handles say 'die', but man, I don't know. And I'll be curious to learn what those tapered plugs are if someone can identify them.

I believe those are taps. They're either for using with a wrench for maybe threading a plug or something on a tank of some kind. Or they could be intended to fit in the hardy-hole of the anvil, or clamped in a vice.

Two weeks ago I happened to see an ad for an auction that listed a "Kerrichard Co. metal worker" and my brain said "that might be a kerrihard power hammer". I happened to be in the area the day of the auction so I stopped by.

Ended up getting:
- 30lb kerrihard power hammer
- 6 1/4" post vise
- 3 smaller post vises
- hand crank blower
- brand new hot cut
-guillotine type tool with two die sets and a length stop bar, needs the hardy posts welded on yet
- belt lacer
- a box of real nice blacksmithing books

Cost me under $200 bucks and that is including what I gave to some guys who helped me load the hammer in the truck. It was a great day! There was a lot more blacksmith and shop tools. I was just running out of room in my truck.

Also received a bunch of heavy truck spring a week or so back.

but why would they have such a taper? For making threads of any size? I figured they might be taps, but never seen any like that.

but why would they have such a taper? For making threads of any size? I figured they might be taps, but never seen any like that.

I have a similar ridged tapered tool that came with a small t handle that fits loosely in the back with a pin. I got in a box of stuff from a garage sale. On mine the ridges are all parallel and don't form a thread. I always assumed it was some type of specialized hole reamer.

Pipe threads are tapered, so they may be some sort of internal thread repair tool. If the ridges are parallel, I am stumped.

They appear to be 'ease outs. I have used some like this for extracting large broken bolts and/or pipe. Just my opinion.

Just came back from the Festival of the Cranes and had something follow me home----MONEY! Sold a bunch of simple S hooks and some complicated ones (basket, advanced twists, etc) and got an order from someone for 2 old barb wire basket hooks and a basket handled toasting fork and basket handled spatula. Also one fellow was looking at my stock for the light toasting forks I was making and told me his brother had dumped a lot of that sort of thing on him and it was just getting rusty and would I like to trade a fork of two for a bunch of it.... I sold 3 wind bells made from old rusty valve protectors a piece of heavy wire, a piece of road kill rusty chain and a chile forged from gas pipe. I also sold one made from an old fire extinguisher. One larger bell from a vehicle propane tank is going for a trade with the local honey producers who needed a way to hear that customers were at the door when they were working out back. (Way out back---it's a LOUD bell!)

All in all a tiring but fun weekend. I should be able to fill the big propane tank and fun the gas forge most of the winter off it.

Nice haul, Will!

Easy outs as far as any I've ever seen have spiral threads like this - - these are left-hand threaded for right hand bolts/screws, though they make right-hand ones too for left-hand bolts/screws. I've seen a few reamers for non-ferrous metals that looked like those - they have non-tapered threads.

I'm a sucker for an unusual hammer. Friday I bought what looked like a large silversmithing or coppersmithing hammer at a yard sale. It turned out to be cast not forged steel so it was kind hard to get a good shine on the two faces. The handle had never had a wedge put in so it was easy to drive out so I could work on the head. Lots of grease and rust on there and grease on the handle too but it looks good now. Cost me $2 and an afternoon but it sure looks better now. Not sure what I'll ever do with it but I told my son if and when I die to put it up on ebay and maybe he'll be around $40 for it or maybe more. Folks on there are suckers for an old hammer with shinny faces.

Very early taps were tapered like that as bolts were all hand made and not a standard size. The reason the taps were tapered is so you could just run them it till the threads fit the non`standard,blacksmith made bolt.

OK. So this guy comes into the lumber yard I manage, walks into my office and says,
"I know you are a blacksmith. I have something you might want. Been sittin on my garage floor, and I have kicked it for the last time."
Walks me out to his truck, opens the gate and says "$100 and we can lift into your truck."
My mouth said "OK" before I had even thought about it.
Comes in at about 125 lbs, and is in EXCELLENT shape.

Fantastic!! Ain't it nice when stuff falls in your lap like that.

wish something like that would fall in mine
good score mate ! B)

Christmas came early when I had a friend come up to stay over for the christmas market at Lincoln, he opened the boot of his car and pulled out 31 pairs of tongs as a prezzie for me. I just need to clean them up and tweak them to what I want.

Scored a queen bed frame as a "curb alert" it is not all there, missing wheels and bolts only, so I might be pressed to fix it for the upstairs guest room instead of having usable material for something... We shall see.

If I cut this up and weld it, since it is "high carbon" will mild flux-core wire be OK? I am getting my Dad's Hobart for "a few weeks" after my brother finishes rebuilding another oil change bay for the place he works.

Phil

Preheat and postheat to avoid HAZ cracking!