Loveless Shop day 2

allen456

allen456

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Loveless Shop Day 2

Started off today at the shop at 5:50am. Jim likes to head in before traffic and leave before traffic starts again, can't blame him one bit! We spent the first hour chatting and sharing stories again, there is a fountain of untold stories that he has shared with me.

Today we went through most of the pre heat treat process, not something he typically does. like my own and at Fiddleback Forge, everything is done in batches, but he agreed to take one from bar stock to pre heat treat with me. It is cool to see how he goes thru the steps vs. others and the "tools" he and Loveless made in order to simplify the process. The one disappointing aspect, at least in once sense, is I have come to the realization that I need a milling machine ASAP!

Jim also took the time to give me a more in depth tour of the shop going from cabinet to cabinet, drawer to drawer, showing me all of the things Loveless collected, wore, played with, or tinkered with. From the famous hats, watch collection, drawer full of Minox cameras, and his fascination with screwdrivers( they are everywhere!). There is a pic of a set of wrenches you will see in this thread that have a great story. For those of you that have seen the most recent documentary, this will be familiar. Apparently Loveless one day had a desire to get a new set of wrenches. He was looking for a short set, but the local tool store was out and the clerk said he could have them the next day. That was not the answer Loveless was looking for so he proceeded to buy the long ones and bring them back to the shop. Still wanting them shorter, he decided to cut them in the center and remove the stock needed to bring them down to the desired length and took them to the local welder he used to put them back together. Long story short, it took the welder a few days and all the while it took longer than waiting for the set to come in the next day!

Apparently Loveless loved to label and name things and I snapped a few shots of some that gave me a good laugh.

I wish I had the journalistic talent to convey how cool this experience has been thus far and can't wait to be back there in the morning even with the unfortunate knowledge of knowing it will be my last day there.

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I actually got the chance to work on one of the blades. Tapering a tang here.
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amazing adventure.

One request, please label each picture - a few of them I dont have a clue what I'm looking at. :)
 
Amazing opportunity! I would love a small souvenir from there if you get a chance..:D
Looking forward to the additional influence this has on your work. And thanks for being able to share this awesome journey
 
Awesome Allen!

Thanks for the glimpse into the shop.

Quick question, and I hope this isn't taken the wrong way by you or Jim - I notice the forge crew always wearing respiratory protection, but I don't see those big pink 3m filters here. Is this a "when in Rome" scenario or do you only where a mask during more intensive sessions? Thank you for your insight.
 
Vayu said:
Awesome Allen!

Thanks for the glimpse into the shop.

Quick question, and I hope this isn't taken the wrong way by you or Jim - I notice the forge crew always wearing respiratory protection, but I don't see those big pink 3m filters here. Is this a "when in Rome" scenario or do you only where a mask during more intensive sessions? Thank you for your insight.
Click to expand...

great question, and I had the same for Jim. The dust extraction system here is great, but he will wear one when doing the handle shaping and such. I actuall have mine here ( TSA probably loved that in my suitcase). We will both be wearing them tomorrow during his handle shaping process I'm sure.
 
Super freaking cool. Love the labels for sure. I also like his duct tape goggles and the funnel under the grinder.
 
Allen, GREAT stories and pics! I love the picture of the Bob hats! :) Super cool!

-Will
 
Uncle_P said:
Super freaking cool. Love the labels for sure. I also like his duct tape goggles and the funnel under the grinder.
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Those are the original magnifiers from when he first started working with Loveless in 1982. Many years of duct tape later, still going at it. They away about two pounds due to all the tape!
 
Thanks for sharing a view inside what surely must be a bucket-list trip. I'd imagine you're having a great time soaking up all the old knowledge.
 
Just amazing - thanks so much for the photos. Can't wait to see day 3!

Eric
 
allen456 said:
Those are the original magnifiers from when he first started working with Loveless in 1982. Many years of duct tape later, still going at it. They away about two pounds due to all the tape!
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They look pretty bad@$$. His neck must be stainless also - two pounds.
 
Very nice man. I am stuck between wishing I could have been there to document, and being glad I wasn't so I didn't distract anyone.
 
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