The Life of Sam the Smith

Guardians Of Freedom Air Show

2012-02-07T11:17:00.003-06:00

Here are some pics from the Guardians Of Freedom Air Show a few months ago.

CAP Orentation Flights and Promotion

2012-01-20T16:54:00.007-06:00

Andy and I got our third stripe last Saturday and we got to fly.

Here are some pics of the O-Flights. When I was flying Abi was in the back seat, and she puked. But she was fine when she got to fly, she doesn't like the back seat. We each got to fly for about 30 minutes.

C.A.P

2011-10-12T16:25:00.003-05:00

Me, Mom, Dad, Andy and Abi have all joined the Civil Air Patrol, United States Air Force Auxiliary. Me and Andy are in the color guard. Dad is head of all cadets, Mom is the Airospace teacher and Abi is just a cadet.

After paint

2011-10-12T16:20:00.000-05:00

This is the same blower after I cleaned it up and painted it.

Hand Crank Blower

2011-08-07T09:32:00.003-05:00

I got this Royal Western Chief hand crank forge blower for free!

BIG BOWIE

2011-07-20T08:27:00.003-05:00

This bowie is 14 1/2 in. overall, the blade is 8 1/4 in. long, the handle is stacked leather with a deer antler butt cap. The blade is made of Dodge truck springs.

G.A knife

2011-05-08T11:05:00.004-05:00

This is a knife for G.A. The blade is stainless, the handle is leather from a old saddle, the butt is a deer antler.

N.A.'s knife

2011-04-16T16:06:00.004-05:00

This knife is for N.A. It is cut from a planer blade and I think the handle is cherry.

I'M IN BUSINESS

2011-04-03T16:40:00.003-05:00

I am buying 15 vending machines and am going into business. I might be getting 29 though.

Newest pear of tongs

2011-01-04T12:12:00.003-06:00

These are the latest pear of hand forged tongs that I have done so I thought I would post about them. They are made out of RR spikes and I used my coal forge, coal is nice. I still need to weld on longer handles.

ONE OF THE FORGES THE IMIGS GAVE ME

2010-11-17T10:42:00.002-06:00

The Imigs gave me this forge and another one just like it a few days ago and since then I have been working on it getting it fixed up and in working order. Now I just need some leather straps and it will be all fixed up and working.

My old and new blacksmithing setups

2010-10-07T11:44:00.004-05:00

This is my old setup.

My old anvil on a wire reel.

My old forge.

The whole setup.

The junk ASO or Anvil Shaped Object.

My new tool bench and tools.

My gas forge.

My new post vise.

My good Trenton 125lb anvil.

The whole new setup.

I have been blessed in that not only have Mom and Dad let me do this but that I have been able to find the tools at good prices. God has been good to me.

A BLACKSMITHS POEM

2010-09-29T09:56:00.003-05:00

Under a spreading chestnut tree the

The village smithy stands;

The smith a mighty man is he, with large and sinewy hands;

And the muscles of his brawny arms are strong as iron bands.

by Robert Louis Stevenson

FIRST SWORD

2010-09-27T19:37:00.001-05:00

Here is my first sword.

I GOT COAL

2010-09-12T17:31:00.004-05:00

My grandpa and grandma jest got back from a trip and they jest happened to be going through Nebraska City where there is a guy that sells blacksmith coal so they bought 100lbs 50 for my birthday and 50 for me to buy. So yesterday I used some of it and it bets charcoal buy a mile, I can literally melt a RR spike in 30 seconds. And my uncle Dale sent me a par of tongs. I will post some pics as soon as I get them.

Ashton's knife

2010-06-27T22:10:00.002-05:00

Hope you like it Ashton.

I saw, I loved, Dad bought

2010-05-08T11:12:00.004-05:00

I got a good anvil! 125 lbs. It is a beauty.

ANTLER HANDLED KNIFE

2010-04-28T07:47:00.003-05:00

This is the first knife I have ever made with an antler handle and it is also the first knife I have made from a mower blade.

HOME MADE VISE

2010-04-19T12:47:00.003-05:00

This is a vise I made out of some old well pip and other scrap metal. It my not be pretty but it works.

2010-04-09T12:08:00.004-05:00

Dad found a guy that had some RR track laying around and got me a piece of it for an anvil. This steel is high in carbon so it is very hard and won't dent like my cast iron anvil does.

TREADLE HAMMER

2010-03-16T16:12:00.003-05:00

This is what I have been working on lately, this is a blacksmith's treadle hammer. I got the pic off the Internet. This one is like the one I am making but not as big. I am making mine out of a rail road tie, 6x6's, steel well pipe and other pieces of scrap metal.

HAND FORGED TONGS

2010-03-12T20:41:00.003-06:00

I just made these tongs today, they are my first pair of tongs that I have forged. They are called pickup tongs and are for picking up very small objects. I can pick up something as thin as a razor blade with these. It was not as hard as I thought it would be, and I'm still working on your knife Ashton. In the old days a blacksmith used to make a new pair of tongs for any job that was a little different than usual.

GAUGE FOR GAS FORGE

2010-03-10T12:25:00.004-06:00

I got a gauge for my forge yesterday, now I will be able to see how much fuel I am using. It will help me use less fuel. Now I just need a thermometer, another gauge for the tank and new and better insulation.

NEW PART FOR COAL FORGE

2010-02-24T21:29:00.005-06:00

If you look in the bowl on the forge you will see a ring that is cracked in half. That ring goes around a damper in the center and the forge wont work right without it.

This is the new part for my coal forge to replace the cracked one in the picture above, I made it out of a old iron skillet, I couldn't use steel because it would melt.

COAL FORGE AND COBBLERS STAKE

2010-02-23T16:31:00.004-06:00

This is a cobblers shoe stake that I found down the road from our house at an abandoned farm and the owner said we can have any thing we want from there.

This is the blower I need a motor for it but it is in good shape with no broken or bent blades.

These is a coal forge I got from a man in Richland for nothing flat, it needs some work but it will work. I have been work ing on it today and got the broken part off.

THE LATEST IN SAM'S KNIVES

2010-01-15T09:44:00.002-06:00

I made this knife from a R.R spike using my forge, it was a lot of fun. R.R spikes are cool when they are red hot. The handle is cork and the guard is steel. As you can see it is hard I can carve on a R.R spike. This is a big improvement over all my other knives.

15 minutes, 10 minutes, 8 minutes

2010-01-01T00:00:00.001-06:00

From left to right it took me 15 minutes, 10 minutes and 8 minutes to make them.

I used my new forge. That thing is great. It gets up to 2300 F.

MY GAS FORGE

2009-12-18T18:15:00.005-06:00

This is my new gas forge. I bought it three days ago and just got it. The top picture is one of dads head bolts off his truck after 45 seconds in the forge. The next picture is after I turned it off. The other two are just pictures of it. This forge cost me $263.00.

PLASTER OF PARIS FORGE

2009-10-30T09:20:00.008-05:00

The other day I thought of using plaster of paris to make a gas forge. I tried it and it worked. All you need is 1 tin can, some plaster of paris and a propane torch. The forge I made can melt brass and that means 2000 degrees F. I just used a torch like my dad uses. If you make it with a can bigger than 6 inches long you will want two torches. It is not foolproof, if you run it too long the plaster will crack and every once and a while you will need to put new plaster on the inside of the firing chamber. Don't push the torch too far into the firing chamber, the tip is made of brass and it might melt.

launch of homemade canoe 1

2009-10-18T16:43:00.004-05:00

launch of homemade canoe 2

2009-10-18T16:37:00.003-05:00

My Knife

2009-09-22T16:16:00.005-05:00

I am finally done with my knife. I was not able to make the aluminum handle that I wanted to but I made one out of wood.

Hinge

2009-09-16T11:07:00.002-05:00

This is the beginning of my first set of hinges. With this set I just have to rivet it together.

Who's Knife

2009-09-15T11:41:00.003-05:00

I have finished the knife and I want my visitors to guess who's it is. Evan, Andrew don't say a thing. There is info in my second post.

Fence Post Coat Hook

2009-09-15T11:31:00.004-05:00

I made this yesterday at my forge and I had a good time making it too. It is a coat hook nail and is made out of a piece of 1\4 inch fence post.

257Roberts

2009-09-09T08:53:00.008-05:00

This is my rifle, it is a 257Roberts with a Simmons deerfield scope and a bipod. I have shot two deer with it, two bucks that is. One was a seven pointer one was a six pointer. These bullets are not Remington They are special Sam B. hand loads in a Remington box.

Balsa F4U Corsair, Cheap

2009-09-05T11:22:00.000-05:00

A few days ago we went antique shopping and I found this F4U Corsair balsa model for half the price it is at a hobby store. It has all the pieces too. Since mom took these pictures I have finished the wing and the body and glued them together. It cost me $12.50 and it is normally $30.00 or so.

Green Canoe

2009-09-04T12:41:00.004-05:00

Yesterday and the day before I was working on my canoe and it is now almost ready to go in the water. I still have to paint the inside and a red stripe on the side and make the lockers on each end then it is done.

MY NEW FORGE

2009-08-20T12:20:00.004-05:00

This is my new forge it will be propane fired and I am going to put on a metal door. I am going to us a weed burning torch for the torch and I hope that this forge will get steel to the welding point. What you can not see is in the left side there is a hole for the torch. This forge is made out of a metal five gallon bucket, concrete and a one gallon bucket.

Other knife

2009-08-11T12:08:00.000-05:00

This is the knife I could not find the pics of, they were hidden in some other file.

Knives I have made

2009-08-09T11:36:00.000-05:00

This is a knife that I made for Jim C.

This knife is one I am still working on. The handle is made of foam and is a mold, when I am done the handle will be aluminum.

This is a knife that my friend Evan and I made two or three years ago.

This is a knife that I am making for a _______ birthday.

I have another knife that I made but could not find a pic.

Hello

2009-08-08T14:01:00.000-05:00

Hello bloggers, this is going to be my first blog and if you are not interested in metal and wood and hunting you won't be interested in this blog.