[TheForge] Finaly a newbe can set up.

[Jim Poulimas]

Keep it mobile is great idea. You will end up going through various
iterations in set up and tooling until you a. get comfortable and b. find
the type of work that you want to do.

I just recently got my shop/studio to a place where I don't have to think
too much about it. Took me 5 years.

Because I'm only 5 or 6 years into this a few things that stick in my mind
are cutting metal and holding it. I remember hating the chop saw and
knowing it was a terrible way to cut metal but there were times I needed a
cleaner edge. Eventually I got a horizontal band saw, which I now only use
when I fabricate or when I cut tool steel that's larger than 1 inch. *
Everything* else is done at the anvil on the hardy cut, if possible. So...
if I had to do it all over again I would buy a very used hand-held portable
band saw. They cut well, more quiet, less dust. That and the hardy should
be all you need.

Make sure the tongs you have are made for the metal piece you are working
with. It is well worth to buy a couple pairs of commercial tongs in the
beginning. It's safer, they last forever, and the work is held securely.
Eventually, you may make your own. And don't be fooled by the large racks
of tools you see in shop photographs. You don't need a lot. I have a
sizable amount of tongs but I only regularly use 2 or 3.




On Fri, Sep 21, 2012 at 9:08 AM, CGRAF <adveniam at att.net> wrote:

>    The wisdom about what is "right" is often the fruit of the dedicated,
> industrial shop, with multiple people all using the same equipment.
> Heights, spacing,layout and tooling was each optimized to a statistical
> average and product requirements. ( A large shop making heavy chain as a
> mainstay differed in many particulars from one making hinges as the
> stock in trade money maker.)
>
> Much of what you do and how you do it is personal preference.
>
> My advice would be to keep things mobile as much as possible until you
> have a fixed system.
>   In process, thoughts like,
>   "This would be a lot easier if the vice was to the left", will come up.
> Make it so you can move it to the left without losing a day in the process.
>
> As to tooling , I'd suggest the most rudimentary of tools and ONE
> clearly defined and simple project to start. During that projects life,
> if you keep your mind open, you will discover the "need" for some other
> tool or jig.
> Make or purchase that tool or jig.
>
> Each thing you make along the way will recommend other tools or jigs.
>
> It took me about four years before I discovered I already had most of
> them already. At that point, I had a shop suited to what I do.
>
> If I decided to try being an armorer much of what I have would need
> resign or replacement.
>
> Mike Graf
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-- 
*Jim
203.887.7326
*