I would follow these guys ^ advice. I have seen slit grates before, but never just a single slit. 

Also, I want to say that it is great to see a blacksmith from Croatia. My wife is first generation Croatian-American, and her dad was from Zagreb. Cool guy. 

5 hours ago, Davor said:

I don't know if the blower works, the wiring needs to be redone.

Even if the motor doesn't work, as long as the blades turn, you could modify it to be driven by a hand crank.

Honestly I don't think I've seen a slit grate before either. But if it wasn't changed by the guys using it, then it must be fine.

The blades rotate easily by hand. The motor looks simple enough in construction that I think it won't be a problem getting it in working order.

 

Picked up a piece of roadkill: some sort of steel roller, 3-3/4”d x 3-1/4” high with a 3/4” wall thickness. 

I’ve got some ideas for putting this to use as fly press tooling. 

"I LOVE my fencing pliers even though I haven't hung any fencing in a couple decades they still come in handy."

I recently moved about half of my pliers from our house in Superior to the tool box in Westcliffe, including my fencing pliers.  That brought back memories of the most heinous fence job I ever did.  A friend had a serious spinal injury unloading fence poles and chain link fencing while I was helping him.  As my friend recovered from surgery, another friend joined in and we put up the fence.  It was "only" a quarter mile long, but it ran through a swamp and the land owner friend had bought galvanized poles 3" in diameter, top cross-bars, etc.  Auguring out the post holes in the swamp was a beast.  We did it in one very long day, then I spent the next week recovering.  I can't look at those pliers without remembering the last quarter of that job, knee deep in cold water.  I don't blame the pliers for my lack of toughness I had that day.  Cold and wet really sucks the will out of my brain.

Relative to this thread, my son found a Kelly axe head at a flea market.  It was in OK shape, with some significant edge damage, but he got it cheap, like $3.  We found a good, 35" hickory handle at Tractor Supply and we handled it up after he reworked the edge.  We took it up to our mountain property and used it on our ongoing fire mitigation work.  It performed well and the altitude got me into the anaerobic zone.  We have hundreds of Pinon and Ponderosa with low dead branches and probably 10 down-and-dead trees, mostly Ponderosa.  Fortunately, we're not in a real high risk area, but it's great to get out in the fresh air and do some work.

I actually have good memories of hanging chain link with Dad but we lived on old orchard land and the ground wasn't hard to dig with a manual two handled post hole digger. Our longest run was something like 350' +/- so doesn't compare. 

I think Anaerobic does not mean what you think it means. Of course it could have a meaning I'm not aware of. And which popular movie inspired my opening sentence? 

Frosty The Lucky.

You'll take my fencing pliers when you pry them...well out of the toolbox. I don't hold them all the time, but I ain't giving mine up easy either. Put in a lot of fencing with them.

I thought I was done with my axe and whatnot on this property, but we got the power knocked out for a few days last week and I had to go clear trees off the road with a bow saw, an axe, and a rope the other day at 2 am so my wife could get in to work. I'd say a week's recovery sounds just about right; I was hurting for a few days. It's fine though, not supposed to have big wind again until tonight...sigh.

You know they put engines on saws to make killing and butchering trees easier don't you? If you have downed maple trees use THE rule of thumb. Stand back hold up your thumb and look at it. If you can see the tree back up and do it again until you can't see it at all. Go back inside and call someone with really GOOD live insurance to deal with it.

Seriously maple is maybe THE most dangerous tree to fell, limb and buck. They kill and cripple people everywhere.

Frosty The Lucky.

6 hours ago, Frosty said:

I think Anaerobic does not mean what you think it means. Of course it could have a meaning I'm not aware of.

In exercise, the “anaerobic zone” is intense effort that needs more energy than you can get just from breathing, so the body starts to burn glycogen. Think strength training rather than jogging. 

Ah HAH I was RIGHT! It was a definition I wasn't aware of till now. Cool new word for the vocabulary!

Thanks John. 

Frosty The Lucky.

13 hours ago, Frosty said:

You know they put engines on saws to make killing and butchering trees easier don't you?

Yup, and they sure are nice when you have one handy. I haven't had or needed a working chainsaw in about 10 years though and the stores were both closed and on the other side of the trees. Last one was a Homelite and that kind of soured me.

We never had a lot of trouble with maple when I was on a tree crew up here, and we got a lot of vine maple and the occasional big leaf. But that might be because we very rarely felled the whole stick at once. I've heard black and sugar are more nasty.

Alder on the other hand was a bloody nightmare that you couldn't trust, and my least favorite was cottonwood due to the cleanup. These were just hemlock though and cut up real easy. The biggest hinderance was the weather and me being out of shape from my bad leg(s) keeping me from running the last year.

I took down a huge honeysuckle this past summer. While no it was not as big it was one of the worst things i ever had to cut. The branches are just a tangled mess that go every which way. 

"I think Anaerobic does not mean what you think it means."

No I'm aware of the meaning of the word.  Our property is at 8500' and it's not that difficult to get into the zone where I'm anaerobic.  I could slow down to the point where I'd stay aerobic, but I guess I enjoy pushing my limited fitness in hopes of a training benefit.

Princess Bride is a classic that is fun to re-watch.

"You know they put engines on saws to make killing and butchering trees easier don't you?"

I have no real excuses for using axes and hand saws for cutting trees except that I enjoy the work and the more peaceful experience.  I've got great quality gas and electric chain saws and do use them when I'm in high productivity mode, but especially after retiring, I end up doing manual labor more often.  Down the road, I'm going to apply to the USFS for a lumber cutting permit and for sure, the gas chain saws will be on that job.  I've worn out quite a few high quality chain saws.

Merry Christmas guys! John straightened me out on this definition of Anerobic as a Christmas eve vocabulary present. It makes perfect sense, I used to clear trail with a machete then come back with a chainsaw to clean up the ankle biter stubs. It's a good work out but in production mode I swung a Sthil with a 20" bar clearing trail.

After the Great White . . . birch attack nearly killed me I've put up my saws. I have a tiny battery one suitable for cleaning up brush on the driveway or around our parking areas. No more. After spending a week -10 days in a drug induced coma, at least two brain surgeries the TBI left me too unstable on my feet to cut trees. 

Still I had a darned good run, more than 35 years cutting wood, and only one serious injury, not bad eh? Even then the tree that got me went right where I aimed it, it just kicked back off the stump before I got into my hide. I have a dent in my head, wanna see? 

And OF COURSE I'd warn a professional tree cutter about Maple. Kind of a KARMA thing eh? I used to cut Tag Alder all the time but one more than 3" in dia. was rare, they're were the 20" bar really shined. I'm with you I HATE taking down a big old cottonwood! They're NEVER never sound and Even walking around whacking them with my "framing hatchet" was only an indication of where it's punky. 

We hired a local tree service to take down an old cottonwood too near the power lines for me to chance. One guy came out, took a look and about 2 hrs. later they unloaded a feller buncher, cut lifted and laid it on a log truck one piece. The guy on the manipulator just stripped the limbs with the claw and stuffed them in a dump truck. One guy on the ground halved the trunk and chained it down while the guy on the manipulator held it steady. The dump truck had already left and the feller buncher was loading itself on the trailer. The lead guy handed me his clipboard, I signed, we said thankyou to each other and they were gone. Maybe an hour, in out and gone with a 75' x 3' butt end cottonwood. I think it cost less than $500 and the power company picked up part. The stump was cut level with the ground and their number listed stump grinding. I cheated that, I scored it deeply short of the edges with my chainsaw and dumped 3lbs of potassium nitrate in the slits and poured water to the top. It was gone in 2 years and not a sprout. 

I kind of miss cutting my own wood but I'm not up to it anymore, can't move fast enough. <sigh>

Frosty The Lucky.

The Birch incident sounds brutal.  It's great you survived it.

It was worse for Deb, I just sort of came too in a specialty care hospital. It's a long list of me being very lucky, hence the "Frosty The Lucky" signoff. I screwed up felling a leaner and it got me good. I don't know if I remember starting to cut the tree or only think I do because I gave it so much thought beforehand. 

It just ate Deb up, it was months before she knew if I was going to recover or be a vegetable. The one thing kept her going was a vast support network, she got nonstop emails from people on Iforgeiron, blacksmith friends of mine stopping by, helping keep the farm up and fed. The youth group from church, etc. etc. Friends never left her alone.

I actually remember coming back from wherever I was. I guess I never stopped fighting, they had to keep me restrained constantly. One of the docs decided I wanted out so they strapped me into a bed chair thingy and wheeled me outside. Abby our rescue dog came up to me and after a quick sniff laid her head on my leg. It's one of her ways of making people feel better and she slipped her nose under the sheet. I reached down and started petting her on the head and said "You're a good dog Abby" and I was back. I remember sitting there petting Abby and talking to Deb. I was in and out for quite a while afterwards but clearly remember feeling better if Abby was in the room.

Deb got requests to bring Abby to hospitals to make people better for years. Abby was already a service dog, Deb's mobility dog but she just fixed people in distress. It was like she had bad vibe radar on occasion she'd just drag Deb gently in a seemingly random direction in a store to some poor soul who was hurting. Lots of times a disabled Vet in a wheel chair would be having a bad time and Abby would put her head on their leg, her tail slowly wagging and you could just see and feel the pain and anguish leave them. An honest to God angel at work.

I gotta stop, I'm tearing up remembering how lucky we were to have her as long as we did.

Frosty The Lucky.

I needed a place to work when it's ugly or.   Too hot,  too cold,  need to glue up a blade,  antibiotics like that so I went to harbor freight... again.  I got myself a work bench and now I'm going to get some electrical work done down here so I have outlets. Need to figure out how to orient it and get some pool noodles for the low hanging pipes 

Posted too soon.   This little roller shear wasn't supposed to get here until tomorrow.   It'll definately come in handy for cutting out rose blanks.  Little guy was 65 bucks online.   If it saves me 3 hours in cutting out roses it'll pay for itself.  Beats pneumatic in cold weather for sure.   Also a box of 80CrV2 came in.   

Chad, what gauge sheet metal do you use for your roses?

Thx.

G

PS You can't be too rich, too thin, or have too many outlets in your shop.

I use 20 gauge.  I like to cold work the petals, I feel like it gives a better look to it.   Last night I cut 42 rounds out in a 2 hour span.  It seemed to work faster than the air shears and nibbler.  Got nicer cuts too without having to break out the tin snips. 

Nice Chad. Im going to have to look into that shear

Found while hiking an old rail bed. It was abandoned in 1903….not sure what I can do with it  

Pedro, really nice piece of wrought. You could start by cutting and welding it all to get a bar without holes. That’s what I would do. Make it something like 1” square or so. Then you can decide later.

You guys aren't going to beleive this one.  I got a load of stuff off the book of faces Anvils group.   He put it up last night and a fellow Smith and I ran down fast as I could.   A 350 lb Peter Wright,  a 98 lb Hay Budden, a coal forge with champion blower,  and 4 bench vices.  There was also a stand for the ambulance but it's heights are all wrong and will do better as scrap or building materials.  All this for half if what you're thinking.   My buddy and I kept looking at eachother and saying "This is real?"  Score of a lifetime but now my girlfriend is really going to roll her eyes when I start looking for the 500 lb double horn...

Edited January 26Jan 26 by Chad J.
Autocorrect correction

Nice! Great find!

I saw that post, and I’m delighted to know it was you that got it. 

(This also means I know how much you paid. That would have been a good price for the big PW by itself!)