Coffee grinding for South Paws.ff

I had a bad time grinding coffee on Sunday I could not figure out why my grind was so far off. Was it the cheep 8 "O" Clock coffee or had I just lost my touch. After some investigation I found out that my left handed friend Alex had been the last to use the grinder. We determined that my old box grinder did not take kindly to being cranked backwards. Well just as quickly as I discovered the problem I discovered the solution. Today I found this vintage KYM MOKKA (German made) Coffee Grinder this fancy grinder had a separate mechanism that is below the Burrs and inside the box which will keep it in perfect adjustment the next time a lefty gets his hands on my grinder. No worries now Alex.

The Latest Trophy

Here is another trophy we built this week. This is for a Tom Osborne mentoring program. (Teammates)

Gearing up for hammer building.

I finally got the Champion forge put together this weekend. I also got my hands on a big chunk of Ash to mount my RR track on I want to be ready for next weekend when we will meet in Filley to build hammer heads. I don't know why I am so excited about a hammer (Ace has all I need right?) but something about it seems very appealing. I will post more about this next week.

Easter Pogo

I found some pogo sticks in the trash the other day. I could not watch them get thrown out so I figured I would garage sale. That was before we tried them and discovered that they were way way too much fun. The pogo sticks come out for our Easter party and were a big hit. After a few beers I figured we might as well add the Bone-Shaker and the Daisy Daisy tandem to the mix (better than hunting for eggs).

Todays Project

This was the fun of the day at work. It is this years Fan Favorite award that will be given out in Tampa soon. We made this for our fried Kevin at Scateboard Mag. This was a group effort which really goes to show how well we can all get something cool put together quick.

Bicycle Stool

Here is a fast project for anyone that wants or needs a custom adjustable stool for that hard to match table. This is a old bike shop project my friend Tom told me about years ago. In his application they needed stools to use while helping customers try on cycling shoes. (Tom was one of the owners of Deluxe Bicycles in Lincoln.) My application is for a table that is tall for a chair and short for a stool. This also gave me a use for that old bent road frame in the garage. What you need for this project is a hack saw some arm strength and the tools to do a bicycle saddle/seat-post adjustment. Just cut the top tube and down tube off right before the lug. Clean up the rough edge and shove in a couple of Boulevard Corks (drinking the Boulevard while building this stool is advised). Next if you have a derailleur hanger on the rear dropout cut that off the bottom of the dropout. Now start pulling the dropouts apart (this can be good therapy). Get the rear end spread out so it sits nice and straight adjust your seat to the proper height add some stickers and sit down. You now have a new stool! (you can turn you saddle around backwards this will allow you to lean back but basically do what is more comfortable for you)




Enjoy

I found it! Slim Witman Suicide attempt.

Do you ever regret not picking up that one album because the stack of records you had was already to heavy and your wallet was to light? Well that once happened to me and my friend Patrick and it happened to be the same album for us both. So I am now happy to unveil the Slim Whitman 15th Anniversary Album. If you are unfamiliar with Slim Whitman his voice was the secret weapon that could explode the heads of the green Martians in the movie Mars Attacks. The particular reason Patrick and I regretted not buying this album (besides the amazing vocals) Was the photo on the inside of Slim with a Gun to his head. Well yesterday I was given a second chance I found this in a box of albums at a Flea Market and gladly forked over the buck to make it mine. So here you go Pat.

Sweet Homemade Hacksaw

What can I say I love old tools. I found this Gem at a antique store last weekend someone went to a lot of work to make this Hacksaw and I was not about to let that mans work be in vain I pulled this out of the bucket of overpriced rusty wrenches and was happy to pay the $5.00 to take it home. I can wait to cut something.

My Day Job

I wanted to take a second to talk about my work. I work for National Mfg. in Lincoln Ne. We build lots of great things such as the National Walking Sprinkler. National has made these great sprinklers since the 1930's I now get to carry on the tradition which I really enjoy. Along with this we build a line of Mixers, Ovens, and other testing equipment for Cereal Chemistry (Its a real thing). We also have a Metal and Art Division (the MA in MANATIONAL) the projects we work on are very broad but it makes for a ever changing work day.

Baptismal Font

I am very excited about this project this was something I did at work MANATIONAL (I will explain that later) This was made out of salvaged copper from Lincoln's capitol. I was asked to create something that had a "Patchwork Quilt" feel I hope I accomplished that. I had fun making this but after 4 days of hammering copper my palm seems a bit sore. It was fun making a small dome from a large one (see capitol building below) I will try to take some more photos once it has been installed in the church (I will have to find out where the church it is)

Black Rebel Black Smith Shop

I recently Joined the Prairie Blacksmith Association I made this hook at my first meeting it was a fun project I was amazed how quickly I took to it. I was hooked (sorry for the pun) so I purchased a 22" Champion Forge from a guy in David City. I have been working on rebuilding it. Here is a photo of the freshly painted Blower for my new old forge.

And as everyone knows every Blacksmith need a Hammer so here is my first Hammer.

In April the Group will get together to make hammers I am excited for that weekend.

HELLO

This Blog for me will be a place to showcase the projects I have been working on or have done in the past. I will try to keep it simple and have fun with it.

Above is a photo of the switch for my Craftsman 109 lathe the Fisherman's Friend tin holds my chuck and some other odds and ends (I don't suggest trying Fisherman's Friend as it is a terrible cough drop.) I am using this photo as it has the B R C S stamp which is the title of my fake company and this blog. (Below is a photo of the 109 in its full glory.)

Enjoy.