ScottyB said:white_fly said:I made myself a ring. I really like it.
damn that's cool. is that sort of the same process to get that look as damascus steel? i'm pretty ignorant to how it all works but i've seen knife blades that kind of share that look.
Ok, super late reply, but I just saw this. I bought a cheap bar of twisted Damascus steel on amazon. Who knows what's actually in it, but it worked for my purposes and etched just fine.
Finally finished the master bathroom remodel.
In reply to Trent (Generally supportive dude) :
That is cool as berkeley!
Fiance and I cleaned up our backyard yesterday, and today we used some 2x4s and 1x3s to put together an outdoor couch. We got cushions from Lowe's, a kreg jig, and took a few hours to put together the couch!
Needed a coffee table for the patio. Had some scrap walnut that a buddy gave me for the fireplace that I thought might work pretty well, but I really don't need another project. So I decided to see what I could whip together in an hour with stuff on hand - no hardware store trips.
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It actually took two hours, including putting the tools away. Rough sanded the surface and soaked it in tung oil. It's rough but it will work for a while.
Started making a new shop at our farmhouse over the weekend. It was like old times with my Dad, though there can only be one foreman. Guess who that was. It rained all week up there, but stopped Friday and we got this much done:
Not bad for a 72 year old guy and a guy that feels like a 72 year old guy. Trusses are on order and the concrete will be hired out since, we have about 2/3rds of a spinal column left between the two of us.
I've been working on this plague doctor mask for a while. All it needs is some final tweaks to the shape, check valves, a harness and gaskets for the lenses.
The beak is fitted with 3M cartridges and detaches from the upper half which accepts 50mm goggle lenses. The lenses in it are basically sunglasses and not UV or IR rated for welding. (But I do have shade 5 and clear lenses as well.)
I have a few more pictures on my FB page. https://m.facebook.com/Strangeblacksmith/
I made a special sized shelf out of a maple dresser that didn't survive our move:
Now it's a loom with a view!
I took this chair apart ~2 years ago to replace the upholstery, and discovered that the frame was (very) broken. I had to rebuild and brace the back section, which I actually finished about a year ago but never got around to doing the actual upholstery part. I guess working in the basement with all of its forlorn parts got me motivated.
It's not perfect but I'm pretty happy with it as a first project. I had to fight my sewing machine the whole time, which did not make things easier.
Made these seats over the weekend to go with the table that I built over the winter, and I'm really happy with how they turned out. Ignore the uneven dirt area, it was our garden. I just brought them all outside to mock the area up.
Wanted to have the look of a bench, but the freedom of individual seats. Ten seats total, five per side, but will probably use it with four per side and end seats. Each "bench" came from a 14ft piece of California bay laurel, so plenty of remaining wood for future projects. Still need to sand, seal and attach the seats to the frames, but that should be wrapped up in the next few days.
In reply to carczar_84 :
Splitting up the bench like that is a really cool idea!
Crackers said:I have a few more pictures on my FB page. https://m.facebook.com/Strangeblacksmith/
Most excellent. Timely, too.
Quick project. Made a .380 loading block out of pallet wood. Used it to practice cutting chamfers with a handplane. Not perfect by any means but practice is practice
Lobsterpennies said:Made a .380 loading block....
Reloading .380? You have waaay more patience than I do! 
rotary themed bathroom tiling (SWMBO didn't realize until after)
Made it up to her with the next bathroom
Built an aquarium base and top as a present for my wife.
The wood is wasatree from an old Ikea bed frame.
DaveEstey said:rotary themed bathroom tiling (SWMBO didn't realize until after)
Your TP roll holder has a blown apex seal.
The raised bed garden is from last spring.
For Mother's Day, I added the inside "table" which holds window box sized planter boxes with herbs and I mounted a cool copper double spinning sprinkler that we've had for a few years, but didn't work once the beds were raised. (as you can see from the shine on the sidewalk, it reaches past the raised beds now, depending on prevailing winds).
Planning on watermelon in the non-raised section for this year. Then I may box those in near ground level for easier mowing & edging.
took an old slate serving platter (for charcutterie or cheeses i guess) and tuned it into a chalkboard for my kid to add his artwork to. framed with red oak and ipe i had in the scrap bucket.
5x7 dough knife/scraper out of scrap aluminum from my camper project, 3/8" round brass stock and walnut.
Exhaust I built for a sc300 na-T. 3" off the turbo, 1.88" WG into a 3.5" transition and 3.5" for the whole exhaust
In reply to malibuguy :
How well does 3.5" tuck up there? Any video of it running?
Been cranking out Atlas stones, with varying degrees of success. Neighbors, cops and contractors all apparently find my front lawn irresistible. Pretty labor intensive, but ultimately much, much cheaper than fencing. They weigh ~300lbs each.
Star
In reply to calteg :
What's the process for making them? I like the idea!
Clutch pedal from scraps of old clutch pedal and some 1" tube.
In reply to AWSX1686 (Forum Supporter) :
1) Buy the mold (I used Slater's stone, which supplies the Atlas stones for World's Strongest Man competition)
2) Set up (gorilla tape to join the two hemispheres, then your favorite silicone spray on the inside to act as a release agent). Probably want to set the entire thing on an old tire as well
3) Mix and pour concrete. I pour the mix in slightly dry, then add water inside the mold until the mixture is just very slightly soupy
4) Wait. How long varies depending on what type of concrete you used, climate, size of the stones, etc. For these 21" molds I give 'em 4 days
5) Tap the molds off with a hammer and try not to crush yourself moving them
The larger molds are pretty pricey, but if you just count materials, the stones in the photo are $14 each, and that cost will continue to drop the more I make.
This video covers it pretty well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90FCioJtpZg
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