July 18, 20187 yr Sometimes, a friend gives you jackhammer bits and tiller tines... ...and you have a fifty-pound checked luggage allowance. I expect a note from the TSA.
July 19, 20187 yr Ahh for the good old days when you could walk onto a plane with a carry on bag weighing 90 pounds. (Found a scrap pile by a rotten down cabin around the 9000' level in the Rockies and the Rancher said to take what I wanted...) Or the time I carried two swords onto an international flight and all the Stewardess said was "Can I put those in the forward coat closet for you?" 1972 coming home from a productive visit to Spain
July 19, 20187 yr There’s a restriction on carry-on luggage these days isn’t so much weight, as it is what they consider a potential weapon.
July 19, 20187 yr Yep. Qantas won't allow my longhorn bull camp oven lifters in carry-on luggage. Those horns cold do some damage.
July 19, 20187 yr I’m fortunate in that I fly so much that I get to check one bag for free. Since I travel with a CPAP as well as with the blades for a double-edged safety razor, that saves me a lot of hassle, even on those trips that don’t involve checking a dozen pounds or so of steel.
July 21, 20187 yr The monthly meeting of Four States Iron Munchers was today, and I went despite the heat (107 F), but didn't spend very long out in the forge shed. I did come away with a leaf veining tool made by Bill Epps, who's a member of our club. Google Bill Epps blacksmith and you'll find a lot of articles he's done. He donated the leaf veining tool to the club's excrement in the cranial adornment drawing, and I won it! Then we went outside, and he demonstrated making a couple of leaves with it. Heckuva deal!
July 23, 20187 yr Went to the scrapyard yesterday. It wasn't officially open but as a long time customer I got permission to look for a while. Biggest find was 3 cast iron pots in good condition. a 3 legged 12" dia dutch oven and two 9" dia stew pots. No lids so forging rimmed lids are now on my list. Last visit I found an aebleskiver "pot". Forging I got some 3/4" rod, some 1/8x3/8 strap, a small pressure tank---domed bottom to make a ball stake from, top will be a bell. Couple of horse shoe, 6 pipe expanders, good truck coil spring and am wondering about going back to pick up a mess of jet engine parts for my Son in Law the forensic crash investigator---just to scatter around his yard next time I visit...
July 24, 20187 yr Brought all this stuff home the other day. ended up with a 90lb columbian anvil, 280lb fisher. 6inch columbian post vise, 4in post vise with the old style mounting bracket. a cast iron forge and champion 400 blower along with a random assortment of tongs and scrap. the strange pipe vise thing from a larger piece of equipment and an old locked up bench vise( i took this just because i want to see if i can free it up since it was burried in the dirt for who knows how long). To top it off all the ~1 1/4 hex stock on the pallet was thrown in. im going to cut a piece off of the hex stock and take it to work to have it hit with the xray thing we have to see what type of steel it it
July 24, 20187 yr You should have taken a left at Albuquerque and dropped it off at my place---either one!
July 25, 20187 yr if i was feeling more greedy i would have also brought home the 226lb peter wright that he had but i let the other guy i work with buy it and the cast iron portable forges that were in my bosses barn i figured if i let the other guy i work with take some of the stuff i could A. save some money and B. have someone to forge with (aka i could have a striker) .... oh did i mention that i got all this stuff from my boss? he had all this stuff in his barn that his father had collected looking to get into blacksmithing as a retirement hobby but sadly passed before he ever got around to using it. Unfortunately the fisher has some pretty deep pitting on the main part of the face directly over the front feet but ill see if it polishes out with use or if its even in the way, the working surface on this guy is huge so im sure i can find a spot to work on it lol. i had a piece of 1" plate burned at work to make a tripod stand for it today so hopefully i can get around to making that soon. cast date is 1912 and the foot has 27 cast in it which im assuming is the rough weight since its about 270-280lb
July 25, 20187 yr Mark, that Fisher looks nice. Mine is 260# and it is a joy to work on. Looks like you got the bases covered; forge, anvil, and vise. Love to see them after you get them all set up. As to the PW anvil. Mine is 138# and I find them to be a bit soft, but I have heard others are pretty hard, so it sounds like there was some variance in their manufacturing.
July 27, 20187 yr A stop at a yard sale got me a mostly complete tap-and-die set and a couple of nice hammer heads, and another at my mechanic got me a couple of heavy leaf spring packs, five coil springs, and a couple of other bits. (Yardstick for scale.)
July 31, 20187 yr Someone took apart a garage door and left it in the alley. (That’s our local signal for “hey, please take me”).
July 31, 20187 yr Dear All, I have suffered from serious iron-deficiency lately. So please root for me that I could succeed in aquiring a 800 lbs piece of plate to create an equilibrium in my mind. Coming soon... Bests: Gergely
July 31, 20187 yr I'm rooting for you. Not just for you, but because I still regret not buying the big steel blocks/plates I had a chance at several years ago. I picked up three 80-lb blocks, but declined the 700- and 1000-lb monsters. I'm an idiot.
August 1, 20187 yr 4 hours ago, bajajoaquin said: but declined the 700- and 1000-lb monsters. I'm an idiot. You're an idiot? HAH! We were doing a job out of Seward Ak. when the old Seward Machine shop and ship's chandlery assets were being auctioned off. I got an early chance at the loot and bought almost all the blacksmithing and metal working tools in a $1,000 takes all deal. I left a 1,200 lb. Fisher anvil because I didn't have a place to put it. Like someone was going to steal that monster from my yard in a trailer court. I'm not bothered by leaving the power hammer, wading pool size masonry forge or the other stuff. But that anvil. <sniff> Now, tell us again how YOU'RE an idiot. Hmmmm? Get well quick Gergely, we're pulling for you! Frosty The Lucky.
August 1, 20187 yr No doubt you’re a bigger idiot, but I’m still an idiot. No, sorry, I can’t leave it like that. You’re not the one who forged cutting fluid today. I’m the bigger idiot.
August 1, 20187 yr Thanks Guys! :) Wow, Frosty, a 1200 lbs piece in Ak? That sounds like a not every day chance... Baja: how to forge cutting fluid? wanna talk about it a bit more?
August 1, 20187 yr Not really. I started a thread that got moved to safety section. Basically I forged my hot cut without cleaning off the cuttting fluid I’d used when I cut it in the bad saw. Not an awesome decision. All worked out, but still....
August 2, 20187 yr Two-buck tinsnips, soon to be scrolling tongs. 19 hours ago, bajajoaquin said: I forged my hot cut without cleaning off the cuttting fluid I’d used when I cut it in the bad saw. Next time, cut it on the good saw!
August 2, 20187 yr Baja: Looked after that thread. I'm glad that all worked out well! And I can happily tell you that I'm an owner of a 970 lbs / 440 kg piece of plate. It measures 1200x780 mm (4' x 2,5') and has 56 mm / 2 1/4" thickness. No pictures yet because we took it right to the plasma cutter shop where half of it gets 2x2" holes cut in. So, yippee!
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