Hello from Madison Wisconsin

I was very happy to find this forum as this covers many of my interests.
I currently am 64 years old but in a younger day I worked as an industrial blacksmith and have worked with power hammers from small little giants to a strap hammer with a 500lb head. I am also trained at tech school as a machinist. I moved a few years back and do not have much of a shop set up at this time but I am slowly moving in that direction again.
I have studied knife making under Daryl Mayer and Phil Baldwin and have done some art metal work.
Nice to be here.

Hi blacksmithjk - welcome to HomemadeTools.net :welcome:

Sounds like you have a wide range of expertise. What's next on your project list?

Hi blacksmithjk! :welcome: Glade to have you here.

Hi blacksmithjk,

Welcome! :welcome:

Lots of great experience there. What are you working on currently?

Ken

I am currently working on getting a shop set up again. I moved and then was unable to do much for a couple of years till I got my knees replaced. I am now trying to get an Atlas Horizontal Mill back in operation so I can redo the tracking mechanism on my belt grinder.
I am also rewiring a Yamaha SR500 motorcycle that has been my money pit for the last several years.

Glad to hear that you're back on your feet and getting the shop going again.

What sort of work does the mill need done before it's operational? The SR is a nice little thumper; are you doing a full restoration or just trying to get it running?

Ken

The mill needs a good cleaning as it was stored in the garage and a can of carburetor cleaner was several shelves above it. The carb cleaner leaked and left a varnish like coating on many areas of the machine. I hope to get it into the parts cleaner this weekend. The nice thing is that it is a small machine about 2ft x 2ft x 2ft. The bad part is that it is extremely heavy so I need to take it apart to get it into the basement anyway.
My Yamaha project is a restoration of sorts. It is headed more to the cafe racer end of things. I have gathered parts for a whole new electrical system, redone the forks, custom shocks from Australia, etc, etc, etc. As I said, my little money pit.

I hear you on the money pit thing. My wife would love to tell you all about my stream of projects. Planes, bikes, cars, guns, etc. There's always something underway - and usually something else on its way! :lol:

Ken

I've done my share of project cars and other stuff, and yes, they always seem to be money pits. :(