Tricks of the trade

[Glenn]

Post the tricks of the trade that you use, or know that work. This is open to everyone and a great way for the new folks to contribute to the site.

* You can never get a part cleaner than what the rag is dirty. When clean is critical, use clean paper towels.

* WD-40 for killing wasps.

* If you need some shim stock, wash out an old beer or soda can and cut it apart with scissors.

* When you making several duplicate items, put a soapstone mark on the anvil or work table to check the length in each step.

* Use 2 small inspection mirrors, one to reflect light into a dark area, the other to see what is there.

[ApprenticeMan]

Measure twice, cut once, and if you mess it up, weld a peice back on, then try again.

[Don A]

* I think I've seen something similar in the Blueprint section, but I always keep a spool of thick lead solder wire laying around. I use it to trace an existing piece or bend it to make a model of new piece. Then I can straighten it out and have a good idea of how much stock I need to start with.

* A quick shot of Glenn's wasp killer (WD-40) on the face and horn of the anvil will keep it from getting surface rust after not being used for several days.

* A small pile of hardwood charcoal in the fire-pot is a sure-fire way to get your coal going quickly when starting a fire from scratch.

Don

[jayco]

I had some really dirty charcoal I wanted to clean up. I tried sifting the dirt and rocks out, but I had mixed results......just didn't work very well. I remembered blueprint BP0450 (it's about using a bucket of water to "settle out" rocks and dirt and clean up dirty coal). The charcoal I was cleaning had a lot of nails,dirt, and rocksmixed in it. Well to make a long story short,it works for charcoal TOO! BP0450 Clean Coal
Here's a before and after picture:

[Joseff]

I prefer Liquid Wrench to WD40 for killing wasps, never seen anything kill them faster.
Joseff

[ksb]

I use brake cleaner to de-grease stuff ( mostly knives ) - it'll kill wasp in a New York second.

Ken

[Mr Smith]

Hairspray works on wasps too.... It hardens on their wings and they can't fly

[Ian]

When you want a really low oxidising fire for forge welding make a thick mortar like paste from coal dust (fines) and water and paste around your firepot to a depth of at least 1 inch. Then build your fire within the bowl as normal. The coal fines will slowly burn over a few hours eating up loads of oxygen that would otherwise help scale up your work and make forge welding even harder.

[ThomasPowers]

A variation on Ian's: you can throw some industrial coke found along RR tracks into your propane forge to give it an excess oxygen consuming hot bed to work on.

[gerald]

When your coal fire has died down but is still warm, throw in a hand full of sawdust and put the air to it. It will come back up in short order.