[TheForge] standard materials on hand

[terry l. ridder]

hello peter;

On Sat, 13 Jun 2009, Peter Fels & Phoebe Palmer wrote:

> Terry;
> You might consider going heavier on the sheet and get some different
> weights of plate. Also some non-ferrous stock.
>

the heavy sheet and plate has to wait until i have a safe way to handle
them. having one good arm and zero good legs ;-) limits what weight of
material i am able to handle safely by myself.

i need to build up the non-ferrous stock and sheet. i have two people
who have seen items in paul nooner hasluck's book on tinsmithing, an ice
tea barrel and the picnic basket kit. they both would like quotes on
what is would cost them for those items. they are both good projects to
gain experience in tinsmithing and regaining some of my fine motor
control back on my hands.

>
> I like to have shafting in various sizes as well as concentric round and
> square tubing. An assortment of black pipe is handy too.
> Round stuff from wire to bar in size is good too.
>

i have a vast assortment of black pipe from all the propane lines i put
in in the past years. i even have some left handed black pipe. drives
people crazy when they see my paper weight of 4 elbows and 4 nipples
with no unions. so far no one had guessed the way i made it. left handed
pipe dies and taps were a find at an auction of an old plumbing
business.

>
> An assortment of allthread sizes and matching nuts and washers.
>

i figure that i have the rod stock and the dies i can make nearly any
size threaded rod i have a need for.

> If you are where it's damp or salty..the lighter Ga of steel don't keep
> well.
>

with all the slime we have in illinois from all the corrupt politicians
we have trouble keeping the materials clean. ;-)

>
> Don't neglect to build up a little junk yard! I like drive shaft tubing,
> bed frames, steering rods, truck axles, and all sizes of springs.
> For a beginning...grin...pf
>

building a junk yard is difficult because of the above physical
limitations. dimco, dekalb iron and metal, the local scrap yard no
longer allows looking for usable steel in the scrap. they had serious
problems last year when scrap prices were high. alot of theft and such.
the slimeballs spoiled it for us. :-(

i have been looking at stopping at the remote farms and asking about
their farm equipment that is parked rusting into the ground. my friend
gary, stopped with his son at a business and asked about their equipment
that was outside rusting and they let gary and his son salvage out some
nice brass and bronze.


-- 
terry l. ridder ><>