Copper Coffee Scoop

This may come as a bit of a surprise but, I really like coffee. I was surfing through youtube a couple of weeks ago and I saw a video of a blacksmith making a copper coffee scoop. I watched it and immediately fell in love with the look of it. I also decided I wanted to try to make one. I searched for any other videos of these scoops being made, watched their techniques, picked up some important info on the properties of copper and how to work with it. I then set about figuring out where to get the copper material. I ended up going to the almighty Amazon to get my copper disks and rivets. Next was figuring out tooling. Aside from some very beginner looking steel spoons, this is the first bit of forge work that requires shaping a cup. Ideally I would use a swage block but I haven't been able to afford one. I did some looking and I found one I want to get in the future when more surplus funds are available but for now I will have to rely on my own creative DIY work-around. I found a couple of old ball hitches and a used pintle hook ring I have in my scrap surplus to use as a cupping jig and decided to give them a try. While I was working on the cup and kinda chasing my tail, a good buddy of mine stopped by. He scored me a couple brake drums off a semi trailer I had asked him for in order to make a couple things (teaser!!) for the shop and for a friend. We were chatting about what I was making and he wondered about the use of a wood mallet. I hadn’t seen anyone use a mallet in the videos so it didn't occur to me. I dug mine out and decided it probably wouldn’t work for this project. After he left I got to looking at the mallet and discovered that it fit into the inner diameter of my ring jig. I gave the copper a good annealing, placed it on the ring jig, centered the mallet and hammered it through. It worked really well. A wonderfully shaped cup. I cleaned up the rim of the cup, polished off the forge scale, hammered out a quick handle and then riveted it together. I’m pretty happy with the results as a prototype. I’m ultimately going to change the shape and process of making the cup because the rim of the prototype is a bit too flimsy and I want to experiment with different handles that are a little more flat rather than twisted square. But as a “proof-of-concept” I’m pretty happy with it. I will be making more with a goal to make them available for sale. I look forward to seeing these evolve.

Shop Saw Update

Several months ago I stumbled on a Craigslist ad for a small metal cutting band saw. I had been kinda looking for one but they were always well out of my price range. This one caught my eye because it was listed for $50. I brief look at the pictures revealed that not only was it the kind of saw I was looking for, but it was also a Grizzly brand which is a brand I quite respect. I called to see if someone scooped it up and found it was still there so away I went. 

I showed up to a small fabrication shop and they walked me back to where it was. I was a little rougher in person than the pictures showed and it was missing a blade, some guards and a manual. Still, they plugged it in and it turned on so we I loaded it up. 

I did some searching on Google and came up with a PDF of the manual and discovered Grizzly still sold blades for it. Woohoo! 

I ordered the blades and set them aside with the manual for when I would have a chance to tinker with it. 

That was last year...

Well, tonight I dragged it out and started fiddling with it. I figured out how to install the blade, rigged up a larger table face so I could use it as an upright saw, hunted around for some srock i wanted to cut for split crosses amd started cutting. I experimented with different blade speeds. I discovered a loose lock bolt for the blade tension wheel after the blade came zinging off during a cut. 

All in all, it worked really good.  I'm super happy with that $50 chance. I look forward to being more productive in the future.

Wonderstate Coffee Review - The Ghost of coffee past

Greetings my fabulous Fox River Roustabouts, welcome to another Blue-collar Coffee Review. This review is somewhat special. The coffee I’m trying is no longer available because the company has changed its name and branding. In December of 2019 (11 months ago as of this post) I was given two bags of coffee beans from my boss at the time Mike as a christmas gift. The beans he gave me were from a Wisconsin roaster called Kickapoo Coffee Roaster. As I was doing research for the review video I discovered that they had decided to change their name in order to be more socially conscious with regards to cultural appropriation. They are now doing business as Wonderstate Coffee.

I could sit here and describe all the very interesting things they do as a progressive coffee company (like being 100% solar at their facilities!) but I really suggest you go to their website and spend some time learning about these wonderful Wisconsinites. Their website is easy to navigate and makes for some really good reading. Especially as you drink some of their coffee(wink, wink). Oh, What’s that? You’ve always liked coffee and are thinking about upgrading your brew set up but are not sure what you need? No problem, Wonderstate has your back with their own, hand picked “Brew Kits”. I’ll be honest, when I get a little side cash saved, I am very likely going to pick up one of these kits myself. As I said, the beans I’m trying were a gift; this is not a sponsored review and my opinions are wholly my own. I do hope you enjoy the video. Give it a “like” and subscribe to see what happens next in the shop. Halloween is just around the corner….

Die-grinder bit holder and organizer

Today in the shop I decided to organize all the bits I use with my die-grinder and drills and such. I was tired of them rolling around in a drawer and having to dig through them to find what I need. This was a very quick build with a minimum amount of effort put into it and it still came out pretty good. Some minor sanding and a coat of Boiled Linseed Oil and done.

Check out the whole video here.

Spyhouse Coffee Roasters - Orion Signature Blend

Greetings my fellow Fox River Roustabouts, welcome back to the shop. It’s time for another video from our coffee review series. Today I am featuring some coffee gifted to me by a long-time friend and band-mate Aaron. I was chatting with him after seeing a picture of his home coffee station and when I mentioned I was doing coffee reviews he said he had some coffee he thought I would like and offered to grind up a pot worth. The coffee he gave me is from a bag of “Orion Signature Blend” coffee he bought in Minnesota at Spyhouse Coffee Roasters. While making the video I desperately wanted to use the Metallica song “Orion” off their epic 1986 album “Master of Puppets”. It is one of my favorite songs from the band but of course I would almost immediately get hit for song licensing issues so I settled for adding a hyperlink to the song title above. Even though I couldn’t use the song, I still enjoyed the stars out of this coffee. Enjoy!

Gearhead - Beadlock Texas Pecan Roast

Greetings my fellow Fox River Roustabouts and welcome back to the shop. It is about time for another coffee review and since it’s International Coffee Day I figured let's roll!! Today I will be reviewing Gearhead’s “Beadlock Texas Pecan Roast” coffee. This is part of the sample pack I purchased from Gearhead a while back. I have several friends who own Jeeps and it’s because of them that I knew a beadlock is a device used, especially on vehicles built for rough offroad use, it helps keep the bead of the tire seated in the rim when the tire is experiencing abnormal stress. Often when off roading in rocky terrain drivers will decrease the pressure in their tires to allow the softer tires to grip the available surfaces a little better. If they did this without a beadlock there is a chance the tire could pop off the rim and cause a real problem. This coffee definitely got a grip on me. Enjoy.

First Coffee Review Video - 427 Stroker from Gearhead Coffee

Greetings my fellow Fox River Roustabouts, welcome back to the shop. Well, here it is! The premier video from my new coffee review series. In this video I will be reviewing the “427 Stroker” blend of coffee from Gearhead Coffee. As I was trying to figure out which coffee to start with on this series I happened to notice ads for Gearhead coffee showing up in a lot of my feeds so eventually I checked them out. The company is obviously targeting a demographic that is interested in car culture. The coffee I’m reviewing first is a nod to the iconic “Mystery Motor” used by racing legends Mickey Thompson and Smokey Yunick. When I was in high school I figured I wanted to be a mechanic when I graduated so I took all the classes related to that like small engines class, automotive concepts both one and two, auto maintenance, ect. I’ve always liked cars and trucks, especially old ones and hotrods and while I didn't end up becoming an automotive mechanic I did end up working on trucks and heavy equipment so I still fit in the gearhead catagory. Looking at their website I discovered they offered a sample pack of six different blends with enough of each blend to brew a full pot of coffee. This seems like a great way to start the series so I ordered the sample pack and here is the first review.

Something New Brewing

Greetings my wonderful Fox River Roustabouts, today I am excited to announce something new coming out of the shop. I am going to start doing coffee review videos. I’ve been a regular coffee drinker for decades consuming vast amounts of the wonderfully caffeinated elixir while working or making music or just hanging out at a cafe with friends. I’ve noticed that coffee culture has been growing and when you look on media sites there is all sorts of content related to “this roast” or “that grinder” or “those brew methods” and is constantly portraying a glamorized idea of coffee culture. I noticed something missing. There is very little input from the average, everyday working stiff slugging back a “cup-o-joe” as they deal with their blue-collar, multiple-job trying to make-ends-meet life. So I thought I could develop a series using a basic automatic drip coffee maker and do some taste tests of different types of coffee available for purchase. I’ll use some standard controls so I can maintain a neutral brew environment like store bought water and a reusable, dishwasher safe filter. I think this will help eliminate anything that might unduly affect the coffee I brew. I’m looking to start this series in the very near future. I hope it turns out well and provides some entertainment for everyone. If there is a coffee you would like to recommend please feel free to send me an email at Chris@foxriverforge.com and I’ll check it out.

Giaco Whatever Unboxing

In a fit of retail therapy I paid money to a Kickstarter in order to get a specialty retractable utility knife from a maker named Giaco in Italy. I stumbled across it while watching videos from Jimmy Diresta. In this video, I open up the package and check it out for the first time and give my thoughts. I will do a review of it in a couple weeks.

Enjoy

Setting up the Shop

I finally got some time and weather to get into the shop and get things essentially placed. I was able to dig up a knockoff GoPro camera my wonderful wife gave me a few years ago so I could have a couple different camera angles for this video. I also used a licence free music site called “Epidemic Sound” for some of the video. It was an exercise in creative problem solving moving some of those items alone but I succeeded.

Enjoy

A new Beginning

I’m not a New Year’s Resolution person,
like, AT ALL.
I don't need a special day dedicated to making promises I’m not likely to keep. I do, however, like tidy increments of time so since it’s January I’m launching an overhaul of my YouTube channel. I haven’t been able to get out to the forge at my dad's house for months mostly because it’s inconvenient to wedge into my schedule, so I made a decision. I’m moving the forge.
Again.
My house has a two car garage and I am going to give up parking inside so that I can put together a shop where I can work both on home projects and other creative endeavors.
I want to start making regular YouTube videos showing the creation of the shop and the projects that go through it. I’d like to augment that channel by creating corresponding posts here. I would use these posts to provide more details and explain things that either I didn’t have time for in the video or would be too tangential.
My gear and expertise in video creation is fairly sketchy but I hope to improve that with time.
The first video in this series is called “A New Beginning” and I’m literally, starting from scratch. I used my phone and the YouTube app to shoot it. It didn’t sound or look that great but I got it done.

Enjoy