steamingspud

Hallo folks! I'm curious what ideas are out there. I want to make Christmas gifts for the important people this year, and I have SOME ideas, but not all great ones. I was wondering what else you fellas do or even ideas for trinkets and gifts. i'm makin little pen knives for my rook-buddies, roses for the people I haven't already given roses, a tripod and cooking set for my friend doin a colonial reenactment group, and the big one is a grandfather-clock gun case for my paps. Hehe, and another discussion, what's a good smithed-gift for a lady friend? I figure this'll be a fun topic, Happy holidays, and merry Christmas! -P

Hiyah folks! Just got this brand-spanking (several decades old) bandsaw with all the nifty features: hydraulic lowering and oil cooled. Has a few problems with holding at its highest point, and the oil pump is crap, but this'll make life so much more exciting! Rah

If the experiment is successful... well I guess it's just to see if it works. I'm thinking in terms of statics, so bridge parts and crane beams. We have a bridge building team that does competitions that involve building the strongest bridge with the least amount of materials, built in the fastest time. If we could manufacture parts for the joints that were smaller than ones made from mill steel, every ounce counts.

Howdy again, We've been working with grain direction in materials science this week, the same used on turbine blades and aircraft parts to get the max strength. A few of us wanted to try testing what this process does and doesn't do for steel, and whether it can actually be done on a forge. Thing is, we've only gone into the chemical concepts on atomic bonding and grain patterns, so we're not subject matter experts... My question for you guys: Has anyone ever tried doing a heat treating to produce a 'parallel' grain structure? I realize it's one of those less-than-microscopic things that's only a tiny bit beneficial, but it'd be interesting to try. The experiment would use 3/8 inch bar stock about 6 inches long a piece, probably something like 1037 or what we have in the shop. We'd try several kinds of treatments on the forge, then test the shear and bending strength of each piece. This would include a control test. Problem is, I have no idea how to treat the steel correctly to get a single grain direction. The idea is to cool it from one side of the bar to the other, but it sounded like it needs to be slower than quenching. Maybe some of you have seen the process and can explain it? We'll probably try a few tests on an annealed piece, an piece annealed then quenched, and a piece quenched only, just for comparison. Any suggestions welcome, it's not academic either so don't worry bout that. I'll post results if I get any, haha Cheers. C/Purdy

Hahahaha....aha...ah.... ah man. So my paps insisted we let this brick thing dry for a few months, just to see what would happen. We ripped it apart today, and it was still gooey on the inside. A little softer, I could have put it back in the container and brought it back to the store. But the forge is working great

Mornin! I tried to make a touchmark out of a bolt head the other day, and it went... badly. I scraped out what I wanted with files, and tempered the face at an orange heat, thinking it would need it. The end result... well it ain't pretty. Who's made one? What did you use to carve it out? How do you get a sharp edge on the impression?

Hey all again, So I've been asking around, and noones heard of nanotubes. Not my paps as a welder, not my engineering professors or buddies, not machinists, just one fella. He insists that good tempered steel will have smaller carbon nanotubes or something. Well it doesn't seem like common knowledge, especially if the main resource for info on it is a wikipedia article. So, what the heck is it? I know they X-ray welds for certifications before they bearing test them and cut em. Are they looking for this mythical carbon nanotube? I figure if it's not a chapter in my 'strengths and materials' book for next semester, it can't be all that important... Just a friendly question Matt Essayons

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We picked up a "Mr. Heater" high pressure regulator and hose today. They work EXCELLENT and I didn't need any bushings; the assembly was 1/4" and it matched right up. Can't go wrong for 30 bucks... well, I could be incinerated, but at least I saved some money. I wish, but I lack faith. After 10 years, it's almost tradition...