Above 1200 Sq/FT Cleaning Up My Shop

[dreamingmuscle]

It's good to have friends in low places. Take care and don't over do it. It aint time to harvest iron anyway.

Glen

 

[Guster]

A lie in, yeah, I'd be good at that.

One of my favorite tag lines "If I told you I was a pathological liar, would you believe me?"

Andy! Honestly!!!

A little "lie in" is colonial for what ye of independent states since dissolved from the great British empire call having a "sleep in"

Hopefully mirth is a healing factor too!

 

[drivesitfar]

Andy: how are you feeling?

maybe this might make you smile. i was just going to spray paint this old wheelbarrow, but dang it i like BLO and even though it's winter and will take a few months to dry i did it anyway.

since you have so many cool old rusty items on your property i bet you should maybe buy a few 55 gallon drums of BLO (boiled linseed oil) or just linseed oil and put some turpentine and maybe some beeswax in it.

i thought you might like the patina on my old Craftsman wheelbarrow and it has steel supports and wood handles that i think is a COOL combination.

cheers

 

[jimreed2160]

Drives--This stuff is new thread material--

"Post pictures of your wheelbarrow restoration"

 

[Rex_A_Lott]

Just a get well wish, and a "late to the party" comment about the squares.
I checked my squares, no taper. One I bought in the early 90's, an MF brand. Near as I can tell that's Miller Falls. Still stamped made in USA. At least the numbers are stamped,etched, engraved...something. The other is a made-in-Taiwan version. Letters/numbers are printed on. Not the best, but it serves the purpose when using two squares like a giant caliper.
I went over and checked out Pop's old square. I'm guessing he bought it in the early 60's. Its a Sargent brand, has the taper and all the numbers. Patent July 7th 1914. Google it and this info for the patent comes up:
https://www.google.com/patents/US1102689
Skimmed through it, saw no mention of the taper, but a fairly good description of the numbers and what they mean.
Get well soon.

 

[jbmatth]

Andy,
I'd like to send some get well soon wishes as well, take care and join back in when you are back on your feet.
JB

 

[bolensboneyard]

Andy hope you are feeling a little better? Was looking back through the last few pages and don't know how I missed you living in R.I. I was brought up there and spent a lot of time fishing back then. We may have been two ships passing on the bay at some point. Get Well!

 

[jimreed2160]

While Andy is power sleeping thru the flu, I will help him take up the slack and keep his thread near the top of the stack.

Andy's Fever Dream

Today I got busy in the shop and did some foundry work. I poured two hammer heads and a nice set of valve covers for the Stude project.

Then I noticed that the hood was warped so I made one out of two 55 gal drums. That new stump works great for forming sheet metal.

The cows had drifted into the neighbor's pasture, so Hershey and I herded them back home and fed them. When they got back, I trimmed the bull's hoof.

My feet were cold so I made a few pairs of socks and there was some dust on the floor so I made a few brooms--one for each room here in the shop.

Now I am planning the new extension. It will be 120' x 80' with 24' ceilings.

Wow! This is really a productive dream. I guess the flu isn't so bad after all.

 

[drivesitfar]

JIM: GREAT POST and i think you got a lot of ground covered there. of course you might add that he has a steady stream of old classic cars and tractors heading his way soon so they can drop them off as sort of his LIFE ESTATE TO ENJOY ALL OF THEM UNTIL HE PASSES ON which hopefully won't be for another 30 years or so.

The little Craftsman wheelbarrow might not be threadworthy on it's own, but I am getting ready to start a thread here maybe named Drivesitfar is getting ORGANIZED and other DIY PROJECTS to get my **** IN GEAR.

it's fun watching the other members get something done daily even those that still have a regular day job so with my 6 Saturdays and 1 Sunday every week i should be a little more productive that is for certain.

ANDY: i hope you are feeling a bit better and it's great that you have a friend to feed the cows and Hershey while you are resting.

do you make homemade soup and what is your favorite? my wife has a few AWESOME RECIPES if you'd like me to post them or email them to you.

all the best and hope to see you 100% again soon

 

[1/2 Cup]

Jim, that is spot on..............

 

[oldironfarmer]

Andy, passing out is bad. Not as bad as passing but still bad. It sounds like you have some real doctors to help prevent that.

I get a lot of medical advice watching TV. I should keep a note pad handy to write down all the "ask your doctor if Razzlefixcondroitin is right for you. Side effects include nausea, swelling of the groin and death." I didn't actually write that down but I think it's close.

Please take care of yourself. Mom will be really mad at me if anything happens to you. I promised her I would look out for you and I'm not doing a very good job at the moment.

Good to hear from you, Bob! My wife and I really enjoy the commercials with the "may sometimes cause death" cautions, or even "stop use and call your doctor if you experience death".

Can't make Mom mad, you know what happened the last time I made her mad. I wound up left handed after she thumped me in the head. And you laughed.

Went to see the heart doctor today. He says "no big deal, you'll pass out occasionally, won't hurt you". I said "unless I'm on the roof" and he made a face at me. What? Told him I wast thinking about taking up rock climbing and rappelling. Then he thought I was being silly. I assured him I was not being silly, just plying my trade (his nurse was laughing).

The good news is I have severe indigestion before I go out cold, so I have to remember to pull over or set the crucible down if I'm feeling poorly.

I promised him no more foundry work on the roof...

Glad to hear you are feeling better. I'll try to stay away from your area until that flu bug has flown away.

Jennings? Is that in Louisiana? Thanks fro stopping by. I think my flu bug flew four miles west...

It's good to have friends in low places. Take care and don't over do it. It aint time to harvest iron anyway.

Glen

I've never had friends in high places. But I do know some folks in Colorado. Is that a high place?

But I do have friends in low places, puns being the lowest form of humor, and some here have spun a pun. Or two.

Andy! Honestly!!!

A little "lie in" is colonial for what ye of independent states since dissolved from the great British empire call having a "sleep in"

Hopefully mirth is a healing factor too!

Since the birth of mirth we've been getting levies on levity here in the colonies. It taxes my tea brain.

Andy: how are you feeling?

maybe this might make you smile. i was just going to spray paint this old wheelbarrow, but dang it i like BLO and even though it's winter and will take a few months to dry i did it anyway.

since you have so many cool old rusty items on your property i bet you should maybe buy a few 55 gallon drums of BLO (boiled linseed oil) or just linseed oil and put some turpentine and maybe some beeswax in it.

i thought you might like the patina on my old Craftsman wheelbarrow and it has steel supports and wood handles that i think is a COOL combination.

cheers

Wheel barrow looks great! Looks like you know how to give a BLO job!

I'm feeling ever so slowly better. Thanks for your concern. I'm trying very hard to not overdo it, our low temperature last night was 256 kelvin and it only warmed to about 265 k today. Supposed to warm up tomorrow, though, maybe 2C or 3C. I'm going stir crazy figuring out temperatures. My son like to report in kelvin, says he hates negative numbers.

Drives--This stuff is new thread material--

"Post pictures of your wheelbarrow restoration"

That's a good idea Jim. I was going to suggest pictures of your caboose, my wheel barrow is on it's last legs.

Just a get well wish, and a "late to the party" comment about the squares.
I checked my squares, no taper. One I bought in the early 90's, an MF brand. Near as I can tell that's Miller Falls. Still stamped made in USA. At least the numbers are stamped,etched, engraved...something. The other is a made-in-Taiwan version. Letters/numbers are printed on. Not the best, but it serves the purpose when using two squares like a giant caliper.
I went over and checked out Pop's old square. I'm guessing he bought it in the early 60's. Its a Sargent brand, has the taper and all the numbers. Patent July 7th 1914. Google it and this info for the patent comes up:
https://www.google.com/patents/US1102689
Skimmed through it, saw no mention of the taper, but a fairly good description of the numbers and what they mean.
Get well soon.

Thanks for the well wishes. Patent date gives you the early date on your dad's square. I'm assuming he bought it used. Or from a store with slow moving merchandise.

Andy,
I'd like to send some get well soon wishes as well, take care and join back in when you are back on your feet.
JB

Thanks, JB. I need some get up and go. Mine apparently got up and went. I've got more doctoring tomorrow but I'm ready to at least start feeding my cows again.

Andy hope you are feeling a little better? Was looking back through the last few pages and don't know how I missed you living in R.I. I was brought up there and spent a lot of time fishing back then. We may have been two ships passing on the bay at some point. Get Well!

Don't think I'd mentioned that before. I was a kid, my dad was at Quonset Point NAS with Ski130's bound for Christchurch and Antarctica. We went back to Georgia while he was in NZ and on the ice. Interesting times. He was gone for six months, except when they broke the landing gear on one plane, chained it together and ferried it back to the Georgia factory for emergency repairs. He came along to supervise so we got to see him part of one day. I attended North Kingstown Jr. High School. One of the few childhood homes to which I've never returned. We could very well have passed, I was in a Scout troop on Davisville.

While Andy is power sleeping thru the flu, I will help him take up the slack and keep his thread near the top of the stack.

Andy's Fever Dream

Today I got busy in the shop and did some foundry work. I poured two hammer heads and a nice set of valve covers for the Stude project.

Then I noticed that the hood was warped so I made one out of two 55 gal drums. That new stump works great for forming sheet metal.

The cows had drifted into the neighbor's pasture, so Hershey and I herded them back home and fed them. When they got back, I trimmed the bull's hoof.

My feet were cold so I made a few pairs of socks and there was some dust on the floor so I made a few brooms--one for each room here in the shop.

Now I am planning the new extension. It will be 120' x 80' with 24' ceilings.

Wow! This is really a productive dream. I guess the flu isn't so bad after all.

I'm making notes. Look for spare drums to cut up.

120' NS or EW? Architect needs to know. I was only planning a 60' by 80' addition, but I can see where a little bit of space could come in handy.

Really the flu was not to bad, I was just very tired and had no energy. Still don't have much.

Thanks for helping to keep things going. As usual, your take on things is better than real life.

Hershey thinks I've abandoned her. She just comes up to me and leans on me, needing to be petted. Maybe tomorrow...

JIM: GREAT POST and i think you got a lot of ground covered there. of course you might add that he has a steady stream of old classic cars and tractors heading his way soon so they can drop them off as sort of his LIFE ESTATE TO ENJOY ALL OF THEM UNTIL HE PASSES ON which hopefully won't be for another 30 years or so.

The little Craftsman wheelbarrow might not be threadworthy on it's own, but I am getting ready to start a thread here maybe named Drivesitfar is getting ORGANIZED and other DIY PROJECTS to get my **** IN GEAR.

it's fun watching the other members get something done daily even those that still have a regular day job so with my 6 Saturdays and 1 Sunday every week i should be a little more productive that is for certain.

ANDY: i hope you are feeling a bit better and it's great that you have a friend to feed the cows and Hershey while you are resting.

do you make homemade soup and what is your favorite? my wife has a few AWESOME RECIPES if you'd like me to post them or email them to you.

all the best and hope to see you 100% again soon

Looking forward to your new thread Drives!!

I've had enough people bring food by you'd thought I had died. So I'm not fixing anything and we're eating well. Just have to keep track of everybody's bowls.

Jim, that is spot on..............

 

[1/2 Cup]

Andy, great to see you back in fine form as usual..

 

[oldironfarmer]

Great to see you pay 1/2 attention, Steve!

I am feeling better. Hope you're continuing your improvement.

 

[Craptain]

Welcome back Andy. I have been missing your unique view on life.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

 

[sublime68charger]

Glad very feeling better Andy!

Though this thread seemed to really get stuff done with you under the weather!

dreams and all! Thanks for giving us all a snap shot of a Andy dream Jim!

 

[jimreed2160]

It's just hard to keep a good man down. Great hearing from you, Andy.

 

[jbmatth]

Andy,
Your story with the Dr. reminded me of something. When my wife and I found out we were having our first child we went to see her doctor. The nurse was going through the usual questions and asked if my wife smoked, I answered before she could open her mouth, "no tobacco, just crack.". The look on both of their faces was priceless.

JB

 

[bolensboneyard]

Andy this is getting interesting. Ginny's dad taught in North Kingstown. I worked with a man who spent 30 years in the Navy all of it on the ice until he retired and went to work at QP. We were in flight test together. His last name was Keckley. (don't know if the spelling is exact.) you may have heard the name mentioned?

 

[drivesitfar]

Andy: yep i agree it's hard to put a good man down and with neighbors and friends driving over food and others feeding your critters I bet it's hard to feel bad. enjoy your rest and hope you are 100% soon again. BTW we had 3 days in the 60+ degree range this week which is about 30 or 40 degrees higher than normal mid January weather. maybe you should fly up and help my clean while i'm organizing since you are a pro at that?

maybe i'll send you some BLO in your package so you can give yourself a BLO Job? (sorry i don't think a video will be necessary cause we'll all believe you if you say you did).

enjoy your Saturday while i organize and do a little electrical work

cheers

 

[oldironfarmer]

Welcome back Andy. I have been missing your unique view on life.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

Well thanks for stopping in Andrew. I'll take that as a positive statement!

Glad very feeling better Andy!

Though this thread seemed to really get stuff done with you under the weather!

dreams and all! Thanks for giving us all a snap shot of a Andy dream Jim!

Jim got more stuff done here than I'm getting done!

It's just hard to keep a good man down. Great hearing from you, Andy.

Thanks, Jim. I'm expecting to work in the shop tomorrow. Spent all of today at two different doctor's and with a realtor. Getting aggressive about selling my rentals.

Andy,
Your story with the Dr. reminded me of something. When my wife and I found out we were having our first child we went to see her doctor. The nurse was going through the usual questions and asked if my wife smoked, I answered before she could open her mouth, "no tobacco, just crack.". The look on both of their faces was priceless.

JB

You're a braver man than I, JB. Did it take yo long to recover?

Andy this is getting interesting. Ginny's dad taught in North Kingstown. I worked with a man who spent 30 years in the Navy all of it on the ice until he retired and went to work at QP. We were in flight test together. His last name was Keckley. (don't know if the spelling is exact.) you may have heard the name mentioned?

Whew, that was close! What years did Ginny's dad teach there? I was there in 1963. I'll guess my dad probably met Mr. Keckley in 1963. However he only went the one tour, and since his passing we have no information. Unfortunately I haven't heard the name.

When I first started Zumba there was an old guy there already. He was an artist, and brought in a photo book one day from his time on the ice. In the mid seventies. He was a scientist, then. Amazing how many people have been there.

Andy: yep i agree it's hard to put a good man down and with neighbors and friends driving over food and others feeding your critters I bet it's hard to feel bad. enjoy your rest and hope you are 100% soon again. BTW we had 3 days in the 60+ degree range this week which is about 30 or 40 degrees higher than normal mid January weather. maybe you should fly up and help my clean while i'm organizing since you are a pro at that?

maybe i'll send you some BLO in your package so you can give yourself a BLO Job? (sorry i don't think a video will be necessary cause we'll all believe you if you say you did).

enjoy your Saturday while i organize and do a little electrical work

cheers

It was nice to have all the help, but I'm uncomfortable with others doing my farm work. I finally fed my cows this morning. It really felt good to be back on the job.

BLO is a real slick idea. I do use it on lots of wooden things, especially tool handles.

Hope to be back in the shop tomorrow!!

 

[Guster]

Welcome back to the living Andy! Glad to hear that you feel better especially that you are getting back to your regular Saturday programme.

Second Drivesitfar driving it further and starting a thread about not organising!

BLO-job eh? Thought linseed oil was a major component of blacksmithing ie. treating and blackening hot steal after removing scale for that hot-forged look that won't rust so much. Not be surprised if Andy has two barrels of it on the caboose. Darn stuff is so expensive here.

Hey... it is Saturday for all tomorrow!

PS. Talking about SKI-130's, my dad was a technician in the airforce and also did work on Hercules. Grew up in a cot made from the spent plywood skins they used in the subfloor or something. C-130 is one of my favourite planes for its versatility and still quite amazing to this day.

 

[1/2 Cup]

It was nice to have all the help, but I'm uncomfortable with others doing my farm work. I finally fed my cows this morning. It really felt good to be back on the job.

BLO is a real slick idea. I do use it on lots of wooden things, especially tool handles.

Hope to be back in the shop tomorrow!!

Andy, I can relate to being uncomfortable with others doing your farm work however there are times ( as I have found out recently ) you just have to let go.

That said its great to see you can now do things independently but take it easy..

 

[bolensboneyard]

Andy Ginny's dad was teaching 5th grade in 63 on the base and later taught at Davisville. I started working with Keckley in 73 and he already had spent 30 years on the ice. Great guy totally stoic and nothing could rattle him. I guess you would have to be "chilled" to spend that much time there.

 

[drivesitfar]

ANDY: i'll be busy GETTING ORGANIZED and yes my new thread is UNDER CONSTRUCTION at the moment.

have a great SATURDAY and hope you are feeling better.

Guster: thanks for the encouragement and the sort of double dare that i can't become DRIVESITFAR'S HARDWARE STORE cause i know it's a dream, but maybe just MAYBE I'LL FIND THE PART OR TOOL I ACTUALLY OWN AND NOT HAVE TO RUN TO THE STORE TO BUY ANOTHER ONE IN THE MIDDLE OF A PROJECT.

cheers

 

[oldironfarmer]

Welcome back to the living Andy! Glad to hear that you feel better especially that you are getting back to your regular Saturday programme.

Second Drivesitfar driving it further and starting a thread about not organising!

BLO-job eh? Thought linseed oil was a major component of blacksmithing ie. treating and blackening hot steal after removing scale for that hot-forged look that won't rust so much. Not be surprised if Andy has two barrels of it on the caboose. Darn stuff is so expensive here.

Hey... it is Saturday for all tomorrow!

PS. Talking about SKI-130's, my dad was a technician in the airforce and also did work on Hercules. Grew up in a cot made from the spent plywood skins they used in the subfloor or something. C-130 is one of my favourite planes for its versatility and still quite amazing to this day.

Definitely feeling better! I've only used BLO for woodworking. I use paste wax on hot metal to seal the pores. It works pretty well.

My dad started on the C-130 program as a flight line mechanic in 1954, pretty early for C-130's. Those were C-130A models. In 1959 he transferred to the Field Service division and we began traveling to duty stations with customers like the USAF. Some weekends he would take me to the air base during emergencies. The Hercules is part of my DNA although I've never flown in one. It is still being produced, and is the longest production run of an aircraft design.

Andy, I can relate to being uncomfortable with others doing your farm work however there are times ( as I have found out recently ) you just have to let go.

That said its great to see you can now do things independently but take it easy..

My health issues pale compared to yours, but I certainly have gained more appreciation for yours. It sure feels good to be getting back up to speed.

Andy Ginny's dad was teaching 5th grade in 63 on the base and later taught at Davisville. I started working with Keckley in 73 and he already had spent 30 years on the ice. Great guy totally stoic and nothing could rattle him. I guess you would have to be "chilled" to spend that much time there.

Wish I had known him.

ANDY: i'll be busy GETTING ORGANIZED and yes my new thread is UNDER CONSTRUCTION at the moment.

have a great SATURDAY and hope you are feeling better.

Guster: thanks for the encouragement and the sort of double dare that i can't become DRIVESITFAR'S HARDWARE STORE cause i know it's a dream, but maybe just MAYBE I'LL FIND THE PART OR TOOL I ACTUALLY OWN AND NOT HAVE TO RUN TO THE STORE TO BUY ANOTHER ONE IN THE MIDDLE OF A PROJECT.

cheers

Hope you get organized!!

Spent some time in the shop today. Decided I had to improve the smoke collection from my forge. I have a 10-inch chimney with an 8-inch branch which was old A/C ductwork which came out of a building I was working at. Dumpster score. The 8-inch was too low and too far from the fire to draw properly. I tried to supplement it with a loose piece of 10-inch. I would draw most of the smoke some of the time.

And would draw flame pretty well most of the time.

But the shop still smokes up.

Today I made a ring for lateral support of the chimney, cut off the 8-inch, cut a 6-inch slot, and rolled a piece of 20 gauge to cover the 8-inch outlet.

Then I screwed the 20 gauge on and cut the 6-inch slot down close to hearth height.

Next step is to make a horizontal hood to draw smoke into, a side draft hood.

 

[dchance]

Andy good to see you moving about. I am sure that it will help to remove more of the smoke.

Dwight

 

[1/2 Cup]

Andy,

Good to see you back into it..

Your hood idea should work a treat.


Regards

 

[drivesitfar]

Andy: well a couple teaser pics of a couple of my benches that i need to finish ORGANIZING and mounting a few vises on.

hope your Saturday tomorrow will be as good as mine and sounds like you are feeling better.

 

[BUGTHUG]

This flame looks like it has a skull in it?

 

[oldironfarmer]

Andy good to see you moving about. I am sure that it will help to remove more of the smoke.

Dwight

Thanks! With the respiratory issues I've been having this winter I figured cleaning up the air might be a good thing.

Andy,

Good to see you back into it..

Your hood idea should work a treat.


Regards

Thanks for stopping by! It feels good to be able to do a bit.

Andy: well a couple teaser pics of a couple of my benches that i need to finish ORGANIZING and mounting a few vises on.

hope your Saturday tomorrow will be as good as mine and sounds like you are feeling better.

Now that you've started, it's just finishing!

This flame looks like it has a skull in it?

Hmmm, it does appear that way. Good imagination!

 

[oldironfarmer]

Finished up the hood for the coal forge today. I feel a little sheepish about posting too many pictures of sheet metal work but I'm having so much fun I just can't help myself. It used to be a big mystery, and although I'm not good, I at least can do what I try.

I decided to make the top and bottom of the hood from 20 gauge then use 31 gauge flashing for the sides. The top and bottom are identical, although the top is longer by an inch, I needed to turn a flange to fit the 10-inch pipe. So cut a 5-inch radius on two pieces of plywood.

Each piece needs a straight flange on three sides so I broke them first.

Clamped the work between the plywood.

and started hammering gently

Then worked it on down and smoothed against the plywood.

This is the finished bottom piece. The curved flange will screw to the existing chimney.

By the way, somebody asked about my throatless shear a while back. Been using it a lot, including cutting some stainless **** hinges. Looks like the lower anvil is chipped pretty good.

Surprisingly, the big chip and a couple of small ones don't seem to affect the quality of cut. The top knife is not damaged. I plan to stick to cutting 16 gauge mild steel and lighter materials from now on.

 

[oldironfarmer]

Here are the top and bottom pieces screwed into place.

Kind of hard to get a picture

Then I attached the flashing for sides, turned out ok, but I'm a little crooked on the top. It was good and straight until I tried to improve it as I was putting the screws in. The smoke won't care.

Built a fire to make the support rods to hold the chimney firm. The smoke found the hole nicely. I may tweak the opening some. It could use a 2" external hood, and I think the 1" flange on each side is more than required. But it is drawing nicely as is.

Sorry it's hard to see the smoke in the picture. You'll have to believe me that it is going into the chimney.

With the fire going it drew a lot of the sparks in as well.

I pounded the ends flat on two rods, drilled holes, and mounted them to hold the chimney in place. It's been hanging free for several years but gets to swinging in the wind so it is better to have it stabilized.

Thanks for stopping in!

 

[drivesitfar]

Andy: just curious are you cutting your forms for your fabbing forms on a bandsaw or just a jig saw?

nice work as per usual and i hope it helps cause no fun working around smoke or tough conditions.

looks like it's finally REST DAY TOMORROW cause it's Sunday.

BTW i've got a long way to go on my ORGANIZING cause most of those cabinets drawers and benches are empty and the stuff is in those plastic containers and 5 gallon buckets.

speaking of which you seem to always have a good supply of metal, screws and supplies, but you rarely go to town. did you buy a ton of stuff at a time or how do you organize your hardware and material?

if i didn't ask a question or two i bet you'd think there was something wrong with me wouldn't you?

cheers buddy and I hope your fever/cold/flu is on its way out the door finally.

 

[tym]

Welcome back, Andy!

And you know what they say, "where there's smoke, there's forge."

 

[oldironfarmer]

Andy: just curious are you cutting your forms for your fabbing forms on a bandsaw or just a jig saw?

I usually use a bandsaw. And then smooth up on a drum sander. A jigsaw works fine but it is hard to hold the blade vertical for a 3/4" deep cut. The keys to getting a smooth cut including going slow and careful and it helps to take fuzzy pictures.

nice work as per usual and i hope it helps cause no fun working around smoke or tough conditions.

Thank you. Blacksmith work is by nature smokey and dirty, especially with a coal forge.

looks like it's finally REST DAY TOMORROW cause it's Sunday.



BTW i've got a long way to go on my ORGANIZING cause most of those cabinets drawers and benches are empty and the stuff is in those plastic containers and 5 gallon buckets.

Empty drawers?

My signature line is safe...

speaking of which you seem to always have a good supply of metal, screws and supplies, but you rarely go to town. did you buy a ton of stuff at a time or how do you organize your hardware and material?

I have bought or acquired tons at a time. The 5/8" sucker rod string I have was given to me by a fellow who had sold some land and he gave it to me rather than the land purchaser. That's where both chimneys came from too. Probably 3,000# or more in the rod string (a string is a complete well's worth of rod or tubing). When I hauled off an old county bridge (six to ten tons) to get the wrought iron that was in it, I took everything, including all the 6" I-beam I use and that JB made his table from. The contractor was going to bury it (and had buried one a larger one a mile away).

However, the key is to use what you have. I design around what I have, and sometimes that includes frustration of picking through lots of stuff looking for the best fit and then alter the design to match. The shear/brake base would have been nice out of rectangular tubing, but the 6" I-beam was free. When I started body work I bought a sheet of 18 gauge and a sheet of 20 gauge. I'd been driving over a sheet of 16 gauge left over from my cattle chute construction for years and years. I bought two rolls of cheap flashing to do valleys in my roof and never used them. I'm using them now in sheet metal work when I can make the thin stuff work. I finally used the last of the first roll on the forge hood. It took several feet to make the wood stove discharge. It's a little thinner than I'd like but it's free and works.

I bought a small tub of self tapping sheet metal screws for the dust collection system several years ago. Finally put that together this year and had screws for the wood stove and now the forge, probably 100 left out of the butter tub size container.

if i didn't ask a question or two i bet you'd think there was something wrong with me wouldn't you?

Apparently I like answering questions.

cheers buddy and I hope your fever/cold/flu is on its way out the door finally.

Welcome back, Andy!

And you know what they say, "where there's smoke, there's forge."

Thanks!!

Keep the forge fires burning...

 

[Hubscrub66]

Glad your feeling better. I never really thought about makeing wood template to help form the metal around nice work.

 

[Farmall450]

The new hood looks good Andy. Out of curiosity, what's with the pile of dirt/(ash?) behind the flue?

 

[1/2 Cup]

Andy, I luv your approach to things.

[However, the key is to use what you have. I design around what I have, and sometimes that includes frustration of picking through lots of stuff looking for the best fit and then alter the design to match. ]

I am a bit of a bower bird and do much the same..

Have a great day..

 

[realvc]

It is great to see that you are doing so well.

This flu season has been insane with all the people being so sick for so long, flu or otherwise. I got over the flu and had an ongoing battle with sinus that kept me down for too long.

Take care and stay well.
Vince

 

[drivesitfar]

Andy: thanks for all the great answers as per usual.

NO QUESTIONS TODAY CAUSE IT'S SUNDAY!!

hope you are enjoying your day while i'm ORGANIZING!!