HAPPY 4 U Peter! There is nothing that seems 2 calm and inspire the spirit of a man, than a place to 'fix and create'. I learned this well, through my dad and my hub. We (me and hub) had a 2 1/2 car garage that was a; 'skeleton of a thing'. We worked harder on getting it in shape, than the ol' house we lived in. I understood it's importance and recall many times, bringing out a cup of coffee to encourage our Provider. So much changes in so little time. My hub worked in concrete most of his life. At the start of our marriage we dreaded winter on one income, as concrete would 'take a winter sleep' = unemployment cheques. Not many winters passed and concrete became 24 hours and 7 days a week. Lovely 2 B able 2 do without this complexity in life. Who knows what man may yet B blessed 2 invent? Aristotle said; "Those who know, do. Those who understand, teach." U seem 2 score on 'both' levels Peter. Thanks kindly 4 sharing your creations with us and thanks 2 Catherine 4 your fine artistic hand at filming. Health and God Bless! :)
I can relate to a the dry spell in the winter. Being an arborist for 36 years, people stop thinking about their trees about October and don’t start to think of them again until April. Fortunately I was on part time faculty at a college during part of the winter. A place to fix and create, indeed. When my younger grandchildren visit they love to come out to the shop and help Papa build stuff. They call it my toy room! I love that quote of Aristotle, it is so true! Thanks as usual for your thought provoking words.
@@TheWoodlandEscape AH...so; 'Out of the mouths-of-babes', comes the TRUE name 4 a man's 'Workshop' = 'TOY room'! = PRICELESS revelation! LOL! Thanks 4 sharing Peter!
Looking forward to watching this build. That was a lot of bags of concrete to haul. I do well with several bags. And after wrestling them I am done. I give Kathy a big applause for helping.
Hi Peter, enjoyed the video and the history bit along with it. I look forward to following you along with this build. I have watched every video you have made many several times over. Love your content.! I look forward to the next. Take care 👍
Can't wait to see the progress on the workshop! It is a worthy goal between now and the howling of winter. I look forward to seeing it "under roof." Great video.
Another great episode. I have been watching some older episodes and are really impressed with the amount of views. This channel sure is becoming a favourite of many. Hope it brings in a few monitary blessings from RU-vid.
Thanks, Christiaan. We were really climbing with views and subscribers but, of late things have slowed down. Probably tired of seeing my ugly mug, lol. We are making a wee be now, which is a bonus because we initially started the channel to simply show what we do from an educational point of view.
This is a very ambitious project, especially for basically the two of you. I do appreciate your full disclosures. A forge is about as carbon footprinty as it gets. I wouldn't worry about a little concrete.
This is going to be exciting to watch, especially since I've been a Blacksmith for over 30 years, LOL. A couple words of advice if you don't mind. It looks like your anvil is a little low, by 3 or 4 inches perhaps. When standing next to the anvil with your back straight, make a fist. Your knuckles should just touch the anvil face. That's the height you want. Next, I recommend putting the anvil off to one side of the forge and perpendicular (90 degrees), not behind the forge as you have it now. This way you have faster access to the anvil, especially when forge welding. You'll only have to turn sideways one step instead of all the way around to access the anvil. If you have the anvil perpendicular to the forge, it doesn't matter which way the bick (horn) is pointed. Which ever you prefer. I like mine pointed away from the forge myself, but it seems most like it towards the forge. Next, I would recommend wrapping the base of the anvil with a chain to dull the ring. However, I don't do this any longer. I stick a couple of welding magnets on the base in strategic places which has the same effect. I'm really looking forward to this build !!
I always appreciate getting advice from folks and do appreciate yours. It may not look like it in the video but, the hand straight down with knuckles touching is just what I did. In fact there may be a slight bend still at my elbow to allow for the floor when I bring it up a tad. You may be right on the position of the anvil. I’m hoping it will work, because the reality is that at this point nothing can be moved. It is close, so I’m hoping it works out. I,ll let you know. Thanks again for your interest and council.
@@TheWoodlandEscape -- Many people position their anvil as you have yours and get along fine. Actually, it seems most people set up this way. Looking at historical photos and early 1900's video, it varied as well. So I don't think there is a "wrong" way to position your anvil in respect to the forge. I got the idea originally from a well known professional Blacksmith years ago and liked it so much that I change my set up. Well, after a lot of historical research as well to determine how things were done in the past, which of course varied, LOL. Anyway, cannot wait to see the build. Everything you've done has been fantastic !!
Actually went back and rechecked the height and I must say your very observant. Turns out it is a tad low and I will still be adding an inch or so to the floor. Had that darn base in and our 4 times trying to get the right height . It’s packed in now, so I’ll be adding some heavy plank to the top after I see where the floor height is.
@@TheWoodlandEscape -- Adding plank to raise the height should work out fine. I've done that before. You'd be surprised how having the anvil too low affects your body (back especially) and product quality. I'm glad you remeasured !! Oh, I would use a hard wood for the plank !!
I believe that the Romans used volcanic ash, lime and seawater for their formula. Been told that's what make's it a very hard cement. Love the channel always learn something new, thanks Cheers
This will be yet another exciting build, I am very much looking forward to it. I sure did enjoy the wildlife around the pond. Thanks you to you and Cathy.
Thanks Richard. We have two ponds on our property, the little one by the Tavern but, also a much larger one. They are both literally magnets for wildlife seeking a drink.
Great video! Awesome project. i Love watching your videos. it always makes me think of my family that live way back when the hand axes/throws were the only tools available to them. Yes, i was taught how to use the old axes and hand tools. :)
@@TheWoodlandEscape Of course the trouble is you would have to have enough land to graze them, and grow winter feed, but as your virtually single handed, it just wouldn’t be feasible.
Following along like always..... Kerfs are easy to cut with that sharp bow saw. If you cut a few more between your end kerfs all down to the exact sam level, you can hammer a wedge in from one side and they will split out the half-rounds leaving just a little clean up with your chisel. The key is to have enough kerfs to get the sideways motion that will break them free. As you know, wood likes to split in line with the grain and cedar is easy splitting wood.
Sound advice and your absolutely right in a better method. I’m working with green spruce for this build and it is a much denser and heavier wood than cedar.
Got the modern smith shop but, I figure if I’m to learn how they did things back then, I need to do it they way they did. Your right about the time thing … one thing I can’t make more of.
I am not sure when this happened, but it was later discovered that the coefficient of expansion of steel and concrete are almost the same, so you could use both to build tall buildings or bridges with those materials. Prior to that construction technique, bricks and mortar with wood framing were the standard for multi-story buildings, but you can only build six stories before the bricks on the bottom begin to crush. Ironically, modern construction techniques are going back to a laminated wood as the main structural material. The wood does not degrade as a result of road salt as concrete and steel does, so a wooden highway bridge will last at least twice as long.
Another great episode; thank you Peter and Cathy! Peter, do you have any concerns about frost heave beneath your corner stones? The weight of the structure placed upon a relatively small area of the stone supports may eliminate the frost heave forces, but I am unsure about this.... With generous roof overhangs and french drains along the perimeter, the building footprint may be stable and sound. I'd be concerned about frost heave concentrated at one corner of the structure causing a racking of the walls; I'm no 'Soils Engineer' so take my thoughts with a healthy grain of salt! lol
A healthy grain of salt it is and very sound reasoning. We have a very dense marl clay soil and in past builds it has not heaved on me or if it has it is negligible. Here’s hoping this structure does the same.
It is a Gransfors Burks, in my opinion the best axe made. I have 3. I believe they are the oldest continuously run forges in the world. They are pricey but, you’ll never buy a second one.
Sorry, but you killed it with the carbon foot print issue. That excavator, bobcat, whatevery you used, created a bigger footprint than the concrete. Kind of like how Politicians fly around the world on a private jet preaching about carbon reduction. Give me a break! Core samples of the earth showed that many areas were horrendous on carbon. And that was, as the claim, during the ear of dinosaurs before humans. This is getting absurd. I love your videos, but please do not bring politics into it.
Watch the video again. perhaps have it transcribed and then have someone SLOWLY read the transcript too you. The only person who uttered the word POLITICS was YOU.
@@mightyminifarm carbon foot print is nothing a but a political ploy for those in power to line their pockets with more money and power. Oh yeah? Imagine that? Creating an 18/19 Century haven while advocating and shirt tailing 'Carbon Footprint? Give me a break! A blacksmith shop creates more carbon than my cow. Now how hypocritical is that? Same shit in Europe. Try and have a fire place in Europe... You'll go to jail.. Oh but wait.. Blacksmith shop? Coal in the forge? Oh yeah.... blah blah blah! Blah blah blah blah blah! Take the green peace earth spike trees, whilst I cut them down, don't plant 3 trees for each one I cut down... Ummmmm/// trees breath in carbon and produce oxygen.... Jesus H. Christ... Wake the hell up!
@@rogerclyde2720 It's the principle that counts. War of the flea if you like. True his plot makes little difference. But, or However if you prefer, goes into the bowl of soup.
Good afternoon Peter. Been on vacation the last three days to catchup on things around here. Stopped to have coffee and a break and found you had posted. What a great start to the blacksmith shop. Really looking forward to this build. Beautiful weather here, just hot when your in the sun working. Take care and have a wonderful weekend and tell Cathy hello. Thanks and appreciate it.
Thanks Michael. Been hot here as well of late but, cools down nicely in the evenings for sleeping. Had to start irrigating the gardens for the first time this summer, could really use some rain.
You make such fast progress! Do you consider making clay floor? Old smith workshops here in Ukraine often had a smooth floor made of mix of clay, hay or straw and horse manure. It lowers forging noise nicely
Heres what God has to say about climate change. Gen 8:22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
Greetings Peter, you are a very clever man!! How did you get Cathy to help you mix 70 bags of cement??? I'll bet you got your own meals for a day or two. Good luck with the build, I'll watch with interest.
Nice work, it's exciting when taking on a project you've envisioned in your mind and materials start to be laid . Look forward to see the finished shop. I'm working on a outside basement entrance this year on my 1891 farmhouse so I don't have to carry my harvest through the house to the root cellar. Hopefully I'll get all the stone, concrete work and a door installed before it gets too cold. Goodluck with your shop and hope you get your roof on before the snow hits.
Thanks Roy. I always thought an outside entrance to the basement a brilliant idea. Good luck on your project and may the cold weather hold off until we’re both finished!
Maybe you can rig a boom to that center post to help lift your wall logs...maybe... At any rate, I am looking forward to seeing this build complete! The forge has my complete and undivided attention! My son wants to learn smithing and wants the forge to be here at my home instead of his. Just keep the chainsaws and such out of frame and we will all be good with it! We KNOW you know what you are doing and how to do it! We also understand just how important it is that you get the roof on before the snow flies!
Hi Peter I have been meaning to ask you about the ground composition. I know you mentioned Marl clay but I expected more alluvial composition mixed with a good degree of rock. You seem to be able to sink 4 foot post holes into the ground without much ado. Please elucidate!
We do have a lot of limestone rock and live only a few miles from Precambrian Rock. I can assure you, 18” down the density of the marl is like concrete. I’ve done both pole barn construction and simply setting structures on flat rock and both have worked.
This will be another great one to watch. Just finished a short road trip along the coast of Lake Ontario with my son. Saw a sign for a canoe museum but could not stop and thought, I wonder how Peters canoe is coming. I found Canadians to be very friendly and more environmentally conscious. Enjoyed reenactors presentations of the war of 1812 and frontier mentioned in your wee bits of history :).
Glad you enjoyed your trip. Next time give us heads up and drop in, we’re only an hour north of the shore. The Canoe Museum is also something that is a must see on another trip. Even if your not all that interested in canoes, it is a fascinating museum.
Great to see another build in progress. I expect settlers would have benefited from Ibuprofen. I imagine there were natural remedies they relied on. Another fun one to watch. I thought I'd read the Romans had found a way to form and pour cement under water. Maybe I'm just delusional.
Thanks Mark. It wouldn’t put it past me to think that the Romans did figure that out. Aspirin as we know it today is naturally present I will and poplar inner bark. The natives took it a step further, knowing that both are favorite foods of the beaver, they would dry the kidneys of the animal and pulverize it into a powder, knowing that it was very concentrated.
I think it depends a lot on the type of woof. Some have little to no shrinkage green and other species, shrinkage is huge. My first home was made from red oak. I cut and hewed it, stickered it and let it dry for a year and a half. The spruce will have a fair amount of shrinkage but, this is not being build too tight and should all settle out in a few months.
The onset of winter varies but, normally November. I need to hustle ,especially for mixing mortar for the stone forge. I’m thinking about 36 trees will be needed.
It is going to take some time to get this building done, but you have the patience to do it! I was glad you had Cathy to help with all that cement mixing!
Not sure of the make Richard. It is a small one, I think 125 pounds. I’d like to have a larger one but, the cost is scary. I have a rather unique second one I’ve been told is 18th century German. It has two horns, one normal round and one that is a tapered flat.
Offset your carbon footprint from the concrete by planting a small bamboo forest. One of the best co2 scrubbing o2 producers in the world plus very useful.
@@TheWoodlandEscape Oh yes Hemp is amazing but I tend not to point that one out as much because many people do not understand hemp is a material and it is not Marijuana. So some people can get offended. But hemp is great for clothing, ropes, tobacco substitute, insulation basically anything you heart desires. It also grows much much faster than trees,
All very interesting and educational. The work Kathy does to complete each episode is fantastic. Seeing the old skills in action are very impressive. Good luck with your deadline. Question! Under the bottom Log you notched is that a Rock or Tree portion supporting it? It’s a little hard to tell in the video.
Thanks Roger …. True be known, Cathy does a lot more work at this channel than I do. I’m using numerous big flat rocks for a base. Might move a wee bit with frost heaving but, in other structures it has not been a problem.
Well Judy on that day, at that moment, it was that or the ground. It seemed like a more ergonomic choice , well at least at my age, getting back on my feet,lol.
Power of work done there Peter - and some mechanical help is justified in site clearance and levelling. The shop layout looks good but yes, the anvil looks just a tad low for your back - though very well grounded! Well done.
My knuckle just rest on it with arm straight down. Should be ok. If not once the finished floor is in I can add a plank to the top. Thanks for the advice.
Earth's atmospheric CO2 is historically low. In fact, it's dangerously low for the healthful wellbeing of flora of all sizes, particularly for trees. I'm not suggesting the production of cement has no impact on the environment. It certainly does but, it has no negative impact on atmospheric CO2.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing! I am laughing at everything you have done in the week! All I was able to build in the same time was a new battery box for our solar system! You guys are amazing! And yes Fort Erie was hot in wool!! 😀
Thank you, Lance. If I can get a roof on this build I’ll be able to keep my powder dry,lol. Wait a minute, perhaps storing my powder n a blacksmith shop is not all that wise. What happened your top knot my friend.
With that center post in place all you need is a couple block and tackles and another pole and you can build a jib crane that will make lifting logs on your wall much easier.
Appreciate your efforts and dedication! Most of my smithing is done with modern methods although I have two coal fired setups. I have barely the time to mess with the modern arrangement let alone getting the others set up and in working order. If the time ever finds me , I will now have a digital record of getting a proper shop setup and running. Thanks again and keep your powder dry!
