Scalebar Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 That'll keep me in lime wood once it's seasoned. And I wonder why I need a hip replacement.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 This (finally) came in the mail yesterday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 Scrapyard run Saturday; big find was a buggy tyre, hopefully real wrought iron; steel milk crate, some misc bolts, another pick head. With the non-ferrous I sold I got out with US$5.20 more in my pocket than when I entered. I think I have over 20 tyres now and a bunch of bits that were tires originally. Hard to turn them down when they are: free, 20 UScents a pound or US$5 a piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 The people around here want to use old wagon parts for yard decorations which makes a cheapskate like myself have to pass them up. There's no real scrapyards around though just recycling centers and auto salvage yards. The one huge scrapyard located next to Newport Steel went to a single buyer contract so I haven't been farther than their scales in probably ten years. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazz Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 This past month I have made several trips to shop at a retired smiths shop. I've come home with a tire bender, a Buffalo 14 silent 200 blower, a very large Parker 274 vise, a hand powered worm drive winch, a cross pein hammer, scrolling tongs, bar stock, sheet stock, a number of wagon wheel tires (all wrought), some buggy springs and a large iron ball - maybe 9" in diameter that rests in a slightly smaller hole in an 1.5" thick plate as well as bunches of small bits. He had a total of five power hammers but sold all but one before I got there, the remaining one being a Fairbanks 125 pound hammer - expensive and a serious moving task that I am not prepared for at my age. A fun place to poke around and an interesting guy. I will be going back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 Mail call! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 M A N Nobody mails me anything but bills. <sigh> Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donal Harris Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 Mail Call as well….. Much less expensive than the originals, one volume at a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bantou Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 I got the 4in1 kindle edition last night. The first part of volume one is a bit of a slog. Mr. Richardson must have had a thing form hammer, he dedicates a whole chapter to their history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donal Harris Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 Much of the entire thing was a slog. But if you keep digging, there are more than. pearls to be found. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bantou Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 I’m finding that out. I’ve switched from deep reading to skimming most of it. When I find something interesting, I back up and slow down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 29 minutes ago, Bantou said: hen I find something interesting, I back up and slow down. Keep in mind the historical period it was written. Wrought Iron was the primary material then so if you read something and think, "That just doesn't sound right, I'll pull a sparkler out of the forge if I did it that way.", that's probably why. Good book though for sure. My local library has a copy. I'm the only person who's checked it out in years. It was one of the first three books I found along with Alex Bealers book and The New Edge of the Anvil. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 My parents gave me a copy when I was first starting out, and I read it pretty much cover to cover. Good to go back now (a quarter century later) and see things with a more experienced eye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 The neat thing about it is---it's during the transition from using real wrought iron to using mild steel AKA "Bessemer Steel" and some of the discussion on the differences in working it and welding it show how smiths had to change their methods to deal with the "new" material. It also gives a lot of details on what a working smith of the period was doing---like the several entries on making special tongs for working plow shares. When we had a big discussion here on which way the anvil should be pointing; I went through "Practical Blacksmithing" and recorded which way the shop drawings had it. I remember the first one I found had the anvil's horn pointed directly at the smith and forge---they made a lot of rings in that shop and so they set it up to support their work! Not a good book to try to learn to smith from! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 Lots of details on carriage work too. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bantou Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 1 hour ago, ThomasPowers said: Not a good book to try to learn to smith from Do you have a recommendation for a better one? I’ve read The Artist Blacksmith by Peter Parkinson. It was informative but I found it lacking in detail for a beginner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.J.Lampert Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 would anyone recommend any of these books? The Art of Blacksmithing by Alex Bealer; The Art and Craft of the Blacksmith: Techniques and Inspiration for the Modern Smith by Robert Thomas; thanks M.J.Lampert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 Bantou; I'd recommend "The Complete Modern Blacksmith", Alexander Weygers (used under US$12) and "The Backyard Blacksmith" Lorelei Simms (used for under US$10) You should check if you can access them by ILL at your local public library and see which one works best for you! (prices were from abebooks and included shipping) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jobtiel1 Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 As a beginner I've liked "the backyard blacksmith* better, like Thomas said. However, once you have a better understanding of what you're doing, maybe like a year of blacksmithing, Alex Bealer's book describes how to make a lot of items, the actual instructions are nearly non-existent, and he just describes how it's done in a concise way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 Another thing to remember about what a slog reading "Practical Blacksmithing" and other publications of the period is it is written in, Victorian Pretentious English. Authors would often pack text with "educated" words and often didn't really understand them well enough so they ended up explaining simple things at greater than necessary length. If you want a real adventure in deciphering "Victorian Pretentious," I recommend early fluid drive power hammer patent documents. The guys who made the hammers knew what they were doing but they should've hired a patent attorney to do the writing. "Victorian Pretentious Legalese" is an education in Anti-KISS culture. Pick up a modern how to book to learn the basics, once you're proficient with them the early books like "Practical Blacksmithing" and "The Art of Blacksmithing," among others will make sense enough to learn some REALLY GOOD STUFF. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donal Harris Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 I enjoyed this one. It is a copy of the book in the Cornell University library. I believe it was free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 I have a pre WWI copy of a book he wrote for Popular Mechanics: "Hand-forging and wrought-iron ornamental work" Definitely a great smithing teacher in the Arts&Crafts movement. I particularly like his use of "baskets" to make terminal bulbs for ornamental work or his use of twisted square stock to make such baskets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 I've been thoroughly impressed with The Skills of a Blacksmith by Mark Aspery. I'm about to buy Vol. II Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 As for learning how to smith I would also suggest the videos made by our very own JLPServicesinc on the Tube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 I second that. I learn a new to me twist in just about every video of Jennifer's that I have watched and I've been at it for over 30 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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