Tips 2

Jars

I like peanut butter and end up with lots of jars. These can be quite useful for storage of little items like bits, burrs, springs, and screws. I screwed my jars up out of the way on the ceiling, the contents are visible and within arms reach at any time. There is an even neater tip contained in this picture for the very observant and that is that the walls and ceiling of the shop are covered with plywood. By doing this, I am able to screw anything to the wall anywhere I want. I learned this from Jimmy Fikes and it is really a good idea especially where space is at a premium.

Bader Replacement Spring

This leaf spring replaces the coil spring found on the Bader grinders. The spring is made by
Howard Clark It is made from L-6 hardened to banite and is very stiff. It turns the Bader into a whole other machine, stiffening the tracking and belt tension considerably. If you own a Bader, you ought to get one of these.

Canadian Sanding Blocks

From sword maker Randal Graham a handy sanding block with a national flavor. Randal is known his swords, claymores and katanas. He does a lot of handwork on his blades and finds the pucks well suited for hand sanding.

Wheel Reel

A good use for an old rim, suggested by Randal Graham This is definitely not "Norm's" workshop, but recycling found materials to serve a useful purpose can become a noble cause if done with gusto. I have added a subsequent caution 
From Anthony Clarke Metal Crafts
The picture seems to be using the reel for power cable in use. Using a
metal reel for AC power is dangerous as the wound cable causes induced
current in any other wire (including the earth cable) or the reel itself
(like a transformer). I don't know if you have DC power over there, but
it may be safest to mention the problem in a world wide website.

Welding Thin Stock Billets

One of the problems encountered when welding up billets comprised of thin layers is that the pieces tend to bow up in the fire and will trap pockets of slag making blisters in the steel. A way to prevent this bowing is to add sacrificial thicker pieces to the outside of the billet. To keep the outer layers from sticking to the billet place a piece of stainless heat treating foil between the billet and the outer layers. The stainless will oxidize and prevents the weld from happening. The stainless foil can be used anywhere you do not want a weld to take. After the initial weld, you can knock the outer pieces off with a hot cutter and go on with the billet.

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