Jim Fecteau

Gee Jim, I'd just love to be cutting grass right now, but it's raining like the proverbial cow drenching the rock. Radar looks like it will keep up for the next hour or two and then be on and off all day and tomorrow, too. I really wanted to be up at the new property playing lumberjack/landscaper/gentleman farmer this weekend, blast it. Looks like I'll be confined to the shop and house for the most part. I purely detest operating a chainsaw in the rain and will only do it for emergency road-clearing after a hurricane.

Ah well, this is just a little tropical wave passing over and should be out of here in a day or three.

Well, I had this all written and the power went out. I was too lazy to start the genset so I just sat on my duff for an hour till they decided it was okay to turn it back on. Right after that was when the lightning started up. One was close enough there was a strong ozone smell in the air - I decided inside was a good place to be.

I realized yesterday that I have to meet with the client and do some re-thinking on the 90 degree return section of that stair rail. Maybe "advanced planning" would be a better term. Where it goes there will later be a step or two and a landing area and I have to know the exact grade levels in order to get the rial height correct. The client is planning to build the steps later but it has to be determined before I make and set that railing section. Th efun never stops. :-)

Rich

speeking of process

Have a look at Steve Parker demoing in Memphis. Good stuff.

http://w w w.youtube.com/watch?v=tHf90vzHpfM

Rich
Was this realization of impending fun a day dream or a wake up at night night mare? I hate the latter, I never get back to sleep.
They don't happen often but when they do.....

JIM

wake up call

Jim,

It was one of those "oh s**t" moments that happened when I was doing the final pattern/layout work. Better now than when I go to install it!

Rich

Taught another "intro to smithing" course up at NM Tech Fine Arts yesterday.

Had a new one on me: Fellow was having great difficulty hammering with one of my lighter hammers---couldn't hit the hot piece but every 3rd or 4th blow and the workpiece looked like it was chewed by beavers.

I watched him a bit and finally asked if he was holding the hammer in his dominant hand---he said no and I suggested he do so and he told me he "was trying to gain skills in his off hand". Now he was slowing the rest of the class down, damaging *MY* equipment and himself! I told him that trying to learn on your off side shouldn't be done the *FIRST* time you try something new and that you shouldn't try to drive a car blindfolded to gain "skills" in doing the same...

Did no good; instead he complained of how his "off" arm was hurting all afternoon and that he couldn't do the work. I put him on the "do not continue" list. I'm happy he wants to become ambidextrous; but he should mess up his own stuff to learn!

Thomas

Thomas P

That guy wasn't looking to become ambidextrous so much as he was looking for a built-in excuse for failure, I think. You're making a wise choice to drop that one!

Rich

anchor and Handle material

TOM C. I don't know what a Danforth is.
This one has a bent loop that is about 3 1/2" at the bottom and about 2" wide at the top and is about 14 " long welded in the middle of a pipe with hinged feet that both point the same direction. You can flip it over till it grabs in mud or sand and then let out a BUNCH of line. It will hold pretty good.
In rocks you can back up over the anchor flip your line till the sliding link goes down the loop that is belled on the bottom of the loop letting you pick it almost straight up.
Does that sound like a Danforth. Is a Danforth something that has been around up there a long time?

Used Some Dynawood(sp) for the first time in 10 years or more. Got little left might as use it up.Grin.

chuck

Yes, It's esentially what you're describing. I guess it might have been a brand name at one time. As you've shown, it's a design that can be easily welded up out of scrap plate, pipe & rod. If you google Danforth anchors there'll be a pic.

What's Dynawood? Sounds spaceage.

Tom C

Dyna wood

To answer my own question; it's a resin impregnated wood product that, among others custom (fly) rod makers use. It does sound like it'd make a good knife handle.

Also, some Eastern European company makes something called Dynawood that's used for flooring, I think. I can't even tell what language they're using on their website.

Ain't the 'net grand? You can learn about some pretty esoteric things.

Tom C

You can even use it to look up what the hell "asoteric" means.....:-)

Anchor

Sounds like a Danforth. Google Danforth Anchor and you get lots of pictures. They were invented in WWII and first used to pull landing craft back off the beaches with a stern mounted winch on the LC. They dropped the anchor on the way in. They have tremendous holding power to weight ratio.

anchor

There is a strong resemblance to the Danforth. Still altogether different.
I have written two windy pieces on the anchor and somehow I hit alt or something and cleared the damn thing.
I went out to get a picture of the anchor and it was not the old boat. I hope it is in Brady's pick-up. If those boys lost it and close to 90 foot of 5/16 high priced line....
Maybe the daughters friends have it in their boat.

chuck

A friend of mine bought a brand new collapseable flute anchors for his fishing boat. I tied it to the anchor rope and when we got to one of our fishing spots he said to throw in the anchor, which I did and we watched it go down, down , down and the rope uncoil and uncoil and then the end of the rope followed every thing else to the bottom.
We looked at each other and he said " didn't you tie off the other end ?" and I said "nope , didn't you ?".hehehehe
Corse it was alot funnier to me than it was to him.hehe

John; did he make you go get it?

Thomas

anchor

I went back out to the old boat and found the colored achor and the detached rope for it.

Betcha a big old Orange soda pop the other anchor and rope are gone goose.

Three boys could have been there and no one gots after the end of the rope. There is only a couple places on a 15,000 acre lake that much rope will not reach bottom. They must have thrown it over them drifted away from it and no one noticed it was not tied off.

I can tell them how to make another. The steel loop and big chain link is the only part that requires close attention.

chuck

anchor

Well, I got in a dither over nothing.Grin. Ordinarily I am not a pessimist.
Brady had the anchor in his pick-up. Tickled me to death that I had assumed the wrong thing. I just knew the boys.
I will have HELEN take a picture and see if she can put it up.
I like this little anchor because you can back over it drop you chain link down and pull almost straight up on the back of the sharp points that are used to dig into the mud but will hang up in bigger rocks.
The half inch chain link and the bell in the bottom of the steel loop is what enables this.

chuck

Anchors

Chuck,

I use a small Danforth-style anchor because it works that same way. Very easy to get unhooked when you want to, but very positive when properly set. Of course, my boat is so small it doesn't take much to hold it. :-)

Rich

roll up doors

I was able to aquire 6 roll up doors yesterday. 9' wide. 7' tall I think. Have to unroll one to tell. Used condition, pulled off you store-it type place. Blue on the outside, white inside. Anyone interested in these at Quad State? I think I can get more, also in more narrow size. These are not top of the line doors but should serve well in home shops. I am thinking a roll up wall for my shop for cooling.
I think I can do the 9' wide for $75 each.

How heavy are they? If my wife comes to OH with me I'll be in a minivan, (with a roof rack), instead of a pickup.

Saw an Iron City pickax head at the fleamarket this morning. I'd have got it but it had broken at the eye and been clumsily rewelded, (arc), at some point.

I did pick up another propane tank for $15, I could have gotten one with a partial fill for 20 but it was going out of date this year and the other one, while empty, has 6 more years on it (and then I swap it!). Fill was US$13.96; $2.90/gallon + tax for 4.5 gallons. So total for another full tank was $29.

Thomas

I get propane tanks at our scrap yard for .30¢ a lb, with the new tri handles and the cost to fill a 20 lb'er is back down to $10.00 tax n all.
I've proably got 8 or ten of em.
Once in a while I can get the 30 lb'ers.
They got a new tracked excavator/shear and cut stuff up almost as soon as it comes in :-(
Hardly worth the trip some days.

the cost to fill a 20 lb'er is back down to $10.00 tax n all

Mr John "Gate" Fee; $10 is a whole lot of beans for a fill it yourself type of guy! Me I'll pay what the local refill dealer asks (only do a swap when I need to deal with valve issues or out of spec issues)

Thomas

ThomasP, The doors were picked up by myself and another guy. I mostly used one hand. I would guess, about 150 to 200#. I will think of a way to get an accurate weight for you. I thought you might be interested, and would be happy to reserve for you. If you need I can also get more narrow doors, down to about 40" wide. I personally would go for the widest I could get. The 9' will usually pass a full size pick-up, as long as the mirrors are not of the hugely extra wide type.
I also can send photo.
Perhaps Ellen will come with her truck and get a few herself:)

Texas Panhandle

Well-Well-Grin.---It rained an inch last night and then two inches this evening.
Wonderful day at the Bennett/Parks/Baker reunion in Amarillo. Come home to find a great rain had fallen.

Life is good.

chuck

Hot yesterday. First had to change a 25 year old faucet in the bathroom. I had changed the identical one in the hall bath about a year ago, and the nuts that retain the faucet were corroded and stuck, and I chipped the sink getting the sink off the vanity. I expected much the same this time, and applied my fave penetrating oil ahead of time to no luck. Since these are self rimmed drop in ceramic sinnks, and in an almond color that is no longer available, I gave it my best effort.
Razor knife to the caulk for about a hundred repeats, and gentle lifting and the sink came off without chipping or breaking. Then to the blacksmith shop, where a whiz wheel made short work of the brass retaining nuts etc. The new faucet is on, the bowl reset, and The Rock is very happy.
Today we do mufflers. The Hoodlim Genius's car haad been getting a little louder, and I noticed that the muffler had come apart from the pipe completly. Full on computer geek that he is, he had not noticed anything:) I told him the muffler had come off, and he asked was that under the car! So in a bit I will awaken him and he gets to change a muffler, with me doing as little as possible to help him achieve some pratical knowledge. We shall see how he does at rebooting a muffler:)

Juggle Guy's Car is on very last legs, valve guides gone and not worth rebuilding. Searching for ride for him.

rain!!

We received another half inch last night: Bringing our total rain to three and one half inches in the last three days.
It is hard to believe but this JULY we have had over five inches of rain so far and it is trying to cloud back up. We have a 60 percent chance for more this afternoon.

Garden is lush! we are canning Jalapeno peppers right now. Have no clue where the jars are going to come from for all the tomatoes---28 plants growing out their five foot cages and loaded with small tomatoes.

Gonna hit the garage sales and flea markets.

chuck

Chuck, wisg you were closer, I have several cases of canning jars still from when the kids were small and we canned. Made about 70 quarts of apple sauce and the same of grape juice a year. 4 small ones went thru that pretty quick. Also used to put up 70-100 qts of green beans and maybe 70 pints of tomato base.
But alas, the garden has been fallow for a number of years since the deer crop it off as fast as I can plant it, and I am too cheap to put in the 12' fence needed to keep them out.
And the kids are now bigger and don't help:)

Morgan

Fixed the Hoodlum genius's muffler for less than $10. BUT did spend an hour repairing muffler with MIG. He was amazed, as I expected:)
His car may last long enough to need a new muffler in a year, when the repair fails.

Garden

AND the kids are bigger and DON"T help.Grin.

I am worried about inflation on groceries.
One grandson(Brady) has really been working in the garden another(Tanner) when we can pen him down.grin.

We did not plant a full garden for several years. Just peppers and tomatoes.

It is still a small garden but it has a lots in it. And it has rained so far this summer.
I noticed where TOM C. got some maters off the Red Recluse. We have just gotten a half dozens ripe maters so far. It stayed cold here so long we like to have never got the garden in. It was the second week of May before we got it started.
The Northern fronts kept dropping and our 4,000 foot altitude was hoding us back.

She going great now. Maybe it won't hail.

chuck

Muffler repair

When we lived in south Texas, there was a welding shop that did mainly exhaust system patching, just to get the car past the inspection so it could be licensed. One day the man accidentally hit the gas tank with the stinger and burned the shop down.

Hope not to fast.

That would be no good if it did burn to fast.0-:

Had a great weekend went to a county fair Sat. Sun. swimming with the kids.
In between I painted a bunch of out door stuff for a customer in upstate NY.

I think I better go check on my garden. Been a week since I got down there last.

JIM

John Odom, 100% of this weld repair was performed inside the blacksmith shop, on the welding table with the car in the upper shop. I clamped the muffler back to the pipe:)

Fine Gardening Magazine is featuring an article on my trowels in this edition. The subscribers are supposed to get their copies by 7-28. I think some arrived Friday, since I have sold 3 thru the ETSY web site listed for contact this weekend. I may have to whip up a couple of dozen right quick, I hope!

various

Jeff, I knew you would do it safely. I hope you can keep up with the demand for trowells!

Trowels

John Odom, I hope demand keeps up with my ability to make them:)

Rain and cloudy weather! I've felt like I was back in OH! I sure do enjoy the sound of a rain on my shop roof---I keep sneaking out to stand under it and listen.

We're at 2.57" of rain for July so far, out of a yearly average total of 9" so we're doing good during this monsoon season---I blame it on my buying a lawn mower. Each time I mow down the weeds the rain comes and tries to get them high again!

We finally got to try out the new bridge over the arroyo, worked good so far! Probably time for the Arroyo to change it's bed and bypass it...

I may be offline for a couple of days. Minor surgery probably tomorrow afternoon. Nothing serious just getting an annoyance taken care of---wanted to get all such stuff caught up before Quad-State!

Thomas

Rain

We got 1.7" in about half an hour. 2" so far, and still raining lightly. It was much needed. My figs have just started to ripen. There are a lot of little green ones, promising an abundant harvest.

John, we have been getting little pop up showers the last few days a ).1" here a 3" there, pretty much normal for us in the dry season.
I have been in the forge till 10:00 the last few nights, since the trowels being ordered have been the size I Didn't have in stock, the story of my life:)
BUT, I am seeing orders, a big change form the past year.

Jeff, I'm glad the article is paying off in orders. Congratulations; I hope there are lots more of them. Of course it would be the other sizes that you have in stock- you didn't expect fame and success to be easy did you? (grin) Steve G

Steve Gensh, not only do they have the gall to order trowels that are out of stock but they also have seen the veggie choppers on my page and order those, of course in the style I have no stock of:) Made more last evening.
By the way, I made a batch of the trowels in the freon can forge fired by your burner. Worked a treat. I then did an experiment and stacked up 6 layers of the hoof rasp drops from the choppers and with a dab of Zoeller flux, they welded perfect. So my forge will weld C1095 just fine. And uses little fuel doing it. The forge is a shameless knock off of the one you brought to Tipton, but made with 100% no cost items per my long standing practice :)

Jeff's Trowels

That is a good problem. Happy trowel making!

Freon can/ Steve G's Burners

I got Steve's setup as well ( we made a batch of forges at his shop, 4 I think, and it gets used). Did a production run of hooks. I love the fact that I know I'm saving fuel.
It's such a small forge that the radiant heat is easily blown up the forge flu by a make shift air curtain. I use that setup as much as I can for small stuff.
Thanks Steve you have a winner in that burner for sure!
JIM

Jeff

Congratulations on the trowel and chopper business. A great example of marketing!

An inch of rain Tues. PM, up to 1.7 inches for July.

The Rock just e-mailed that I sold another trowel. I think I like this change in business:) We have had 6.5" at the factory I work at so far, about average for us I think.

The new cash cow?

Jeff,
That is great that your getting orders!

52 degrees this morning and partly cloudy...... My kinda day!!
JIM

for those who like to wine

Wine Caddy in the galley I finally finished up :-) - JK

JK & stuff

Way to go. Almost makes me want to take up drinking again.......... NOT!

Got a bunch o forging done this a.m. HOOKS. I know I'll sell HOOKS.

I'm going to have to get some of the pending custom orders started this after noon but I could not resist forging with the weather like it is.

Finished up a fire place screen install yesterday that was a pain in the ____. I think I made a wopping $3 an our. Oh the things I learned from it though!!
Customer started feeling sorry for me.

JIM

weather--leather knots

Our normal temps this time of the year is 62 or 63 of a morning and 90 or so of the afternoon. I can remember a few times the morning temp was 70. That is hot for here.
In Mo. 70 was not usual but there you might just have a 10 to 20 degree swing in highs and lows.
In the Panhandle if you don't have a 30 to 40 degree swing it is unusual.

It has been a lot of years since I tied the knots used in making braided leather stuff. The single and double wall knots and the ever popular Turks Head. They Turks Head is used as a collar or keeper as well as being tied in the terminal end of a rope or quirt. The Crown knots of Spain and Argentina are hard to figure out. Almost more effort than I want to put into this teaching project. Kids don't seem to be that interested anyway.Grin.

Course the Cow-Puncher notion is not nearly as strong today as it was 50-60 years ago.

We used to make our own work bits and then make the headstall with blinders to fit each or horse or mule. All hand sown after dark when there was nothing else to do except listening to Amos and Andy.Grin.

chuck

I just walked in from work, and The Rock says "You had better get to work!". I asked on what and she said trowels, you just sold 6 and some veggie choppers.
The she says one person bought out the ETSY store:) So she refilled the online stock and we are good to go. I now however have to make a batch toot sweet.
Darn I hate selling out:)

Jeff

" Darn I hate selling out:) "

Sounds like you better get used to it..... Hahaha

God I kill myself.

Got down back to mow the field this eve. Not all got done but a good chunk did.
I'm leasing the field to a farmer that intends to grow root crop hopefully by next year so I figure I better be a good land lord and make the field look good....and it dose! Does my hart good to see in get used like it use to be back in the day.

72 degrees all day!!!! NICE. Got 50 hooks well on their way to being done but had to go into town to do some shopping for much needed shop stuff. The bank account is depleted )-:
JIM

JIM

Just found out today that I have to move the shop again. I have some work coming in pretty regular. but still nothing to brag about. I'm getting weary of being a fat cat businessman.

moving

Mills, I feel your pain. The last time I moved, it took me 2 1/2 months with 2 days off. Luckily I only had to go 800 feet & could carry the big things up the street with R Smith's fork lift.

I hope your move goes smoothly.

Tom C

Mills

Boy Mills I'm sorry that's happening. What, the land lord decided to jack the rent price?
JIM

Merchandise

JEFF--Good on you for getting some interest going. Word of mouth should keep some of it up.
MILS- I hear you. My knifemaking has gone down to knives someone needs to do something with. Lots of castrating, leather, carving and now quite a few of the fillet knives.
All of thes are low dollar and just will pay the expense of the shop. Sanding belts/disc and the electric/propane bill. When I have to start digging into my pocket for Iodine/bandaids and Super glue. I will go see ELLEN or go fishing or plop my butt down in the shade with a cold one.GRIN

chuck