This is the new blacksmith shop, 30' x 40' and just a hundred feet
from the house instead of 17 miles. It's oriented to the compass.
This is the view from the west.
It was always a problem to get a vehicle into the old shop through an 8' x 8' door. I can easily back my pickup into this one.
The south side has a dormer to let some light into the upper level
that will be my wife's weaving studio and a clean place for my
draughting table. When the woodpile is gone (and, with the
temperature hovering around 0°F, I'm working on that real hard)
we plan to put a small greenhouse against the south wall.
The object wrapped in tarps and punji cords is the 300# Alldays & Onions air hammer that just might be running some time this coming summer.
The main forging area: The quench tank is half of an old water heater
tank and rests on a bracket that hangs off the forge frame. The
smoke
box and flue are stainless.
The wall in the background with the two windows is framed to be removable without weakening the building. When (if?) the A&O air hammer becomes usable, I'll move the bench and open the wall to give access to the hammer.
In the meantime, the 25# Jardine will do. Since this photo was taken,
it's been put up on 8" blocks and bolted down. A flatbelt jackshaft
is now hung from the stringers overhead. The mount for the 2HP motor
is under construction.
The Brown & Boggs brake and shear came from the Acadia Gas Engine
shop shortly before they went out of business, along with most of the
rest of the sheet metal gear. Both are a bit finnicky but with a bit
of cajoling they work great.
The other workbench with drill press, Beverly B-3, a second leg vise
and a benchplate to hold various stakes. It needs wheels 'cause it's
too heavy to move. Ho hum. One more thing to do instead of mashing
hot iron. There's a 4'x4' welding table, too, but I don't have a
photo of it.
Here's a curiosity: A Foley Saw Filer. Works fine but it's way easier
to just file a hand saw by hand if you only have one to do. It takes
a while to set this marvel of Edwardian engineering up for a given
pitch and rake but once you've done that, it can do a perfect
sharpening job in approximate no time at all. I even have the manual
and parts list but, regretably, not the attachments to do band saw blades.
Here's yours truly with the 305# Peter Wright.
And here's the view of the new shop from the tomato patch when all
that snow — about two feet as of mid-February 2003
and more falling as I write — is gone. Wild roses,
8-foot tall thistles in bloom.