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I Forge Iron

Ohio Rusty

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    The hill country of Hocking County, Ohio
  • Interests
    Pounding on Iron, 18th century re-enacting, Fishing, Hunting

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  1. I enjoy telling folks about how fires were started originally not using matches or bic lighters. I love making fire steels. I'll forge a simple firesteel then using that steel and flint, make a fire from charcloth and tinder. People love that !! Fire is part of our basic human instinct so it really relates to what people like. Ohio Rusty ><>
  2. Last week on Wednesday when it was 70 degrees, it was a nice day to be in the shop. I normally make things for the re-enactor community, so I forged a few fun things, hooks, a turn screw and a couple of firesteels. It was nice to get limbered up in front of the anvil. Tomorrow, Wednesday, it will be 70 degrees again. Looking forward to another good shop day !! Ohio Rusty ><>
  3. I am looking for some of the hard kaowool high heat board - 1/4 inch thickness - to put in the bottom of my gas forge.. I only need a piece 14 inches long by 4 inches wide. It can be a little shorter ... like 13 inches. Does any one on the list have some cutoff's of this kind of forge board that would be willing to sell and part with ?? Email me at two_knives@yahoo.com if you have any. Thanks in advance. Ohio Rusty S.E. Ohio
  4. Fortunately ... 5160 steel doesn't bloat up and get maggots like dead cows. I do get fresh road kill deer occasionally. So would I eat a dead deer that got hit by a car along side of the road and given to me by the sheriff ?? HECK YES !!!..... I eat alot of wild game all year long. So ... based on comments from Thomas and other listmembers here about the dangers of mystery metal .... I don't advocate anyone on the list picking up any free steel, free shovels, free crow bars, free tools and free hammers, free wheelweights or any other useful objects they see laying along the road. They may be faulty and might hurt you if you use them due to stress cracks or fractures. As for me ... It's my personal preference to use mystery metal, not any one else's on the list. I'm sorry for trying to share some good ideas with other folks here ...... Probably best if I keep my mouth shut on here anyway ...
  5. Another great use for My Harbor Freight hand held grinder with the cut off wheel. Whack off about 1/2 or 3/4 inch from the break into good steel, and you are good to go with the other 99% of the 5160 steel stock for what ever you want to make ..... Scavenge everything ...... The current bolt thread ?? I pick up those huge bolts all the time along the highway ..... No sense in letting them go to waste rotting along the highway ......... Ohio Rusty ><> The Ohio Frontier Forge
  6. I see you have a nice little brass or copper hammer in the bunch. That copper hammer makes an excellent hammer for cutting hot metal on your cutting hardy in the hole. The soft copper face won't damage the edge of your cutting hardy. Any good sharp edge will work for a cutting hardy. My cutting hardy is a log splitting wedge I lock into the vise. It all works ..... Keep an eye out at flea markets and garage sales for some good files you can get cheaply. You might even come across a few more hammer heads !! Ohio Rusty ><> The Ohio Frontier Forge
  7. I often find pieces of leaf springs and coil spring pieces from cars and trucks along the berm. I usually stop and get them the next day after making a mental note where they were. They are a good source of FREE 5160 steel. Here is a pic of a couple of springs I found this week along I-270. Nothing remarkable looking in the first photo. But the other two photo's show the one with the curl on the end is really thick !!! The common leaf spring shown is 3/8's thick. The thick one I found yesterday is a hair over 3/4's thickness !!! I've never seen a leaf spring this thick. I'm not sure what I'll do with that one. It would take a power hammer to move it. I may cut it in thinner 1/4 inch slices and try to make usable items from those. I need a bumper sticker on my car that says 'This car stops for spring steel! Ohio Rusty ><> The Ohio Frontier Forge
  8. The all metal wagon wheels with the steel spokes are steel. I have one similiar. The larger wheel rim all by itself that went around a wooden wagon wheel is most likely hand forged wrought iron. I see a wood wheel with no rim. The metal bands around the outsde of the hub are also wrought iron in my experience. The wood rim should have a metal hub inside the axel rotated on. That hub is normally just cast iron, same stuff your cast iron skillets are made of. Not really usable for forging. Ohio Rusty ><> The Ohio Frontier Forge
  9. I came across an interesting and useful article of de-cluttering our stuff. I call it decrapifying ........ We all do it and we all have an immense amount of 'stuff' that we 'might use someday'. When I read this article ...I thought the author was using me as the example and talking about me. I thought some folks might find this an interesting read and for others, not so much. I definitely need to be better about decluttering as I know I have a lifetime of stuff ..... some which will not get used. Last year in front of my trade blanket thre at Quad state, I had a big 'free' pile of iron things I accumulated. It was all gone that day. My personal Quadstate Freecycle Program !! Ohio Rusty ><> The Ohio Frontier Forge http://www.rootsimple.com/2015/02/de-cluttering-for-diyers-homesteaders-artists-preppers-etc/#more-18000
  10. Cut one half way thru, bend it at the fold and see if it looks stringy like wrought iron. If so .... you have some great iron to work with. You are luck to have a lot of them. They are quite expensive now as people are selling them as yard decorations on Craigslist for $100+ ..... Are you selling any of the rim pieces if they are true wrought ?? Ohio Rusty ><> The Ohio Frontier Forge
  11. I've not had one of the cutting wheels disintegrate. As you cut, they get smaller and the sand sized pieces from the cutting disk fly along with the sparks from the metal. I seem to always have grit in my hair ..... I don't wear a hat as that gets in the way of the band that goes arounf my head from the face shield. I concur with BillyO on the goggles. I have the plain, clear wrap around eye protection glasses I wear under the face shield. Ohio Rusty ><>
  12. I bought one of the hand held grinders from Harbor freight that use the 4 and 1/2 inch wheels. I also bought some 10 packs of the thin metal cutting disks. I have cut both thick metal (it was either 1095 or D2 a half inch thick), truck springs, leaf springs, etc. using my hand held cutter. You can lock your piece into a vice and the metal scribed so you can follow the line you want to cut. It is real easy to cut the leaf spring either width ways or long ways if you wanted a longer piece for a knife. I have done both. I always wear leather gloves , a thick cotton apron and one of the Harbor Freight cover your face face masks when I am cutting metal due to the pieces that fly around and the sparks. I also wear eye protection under the face shield as pieces can get under the shield. I think I paid $9.99 for the hand held grinder, $5.99 for the cutting disks and $1.99 for the face shield. The gloves were probably 2 bucks. I have cut everything from spring steel to wrought iron with this set up and it works well for me. You don't need a $500.00 cut off saw to cut metal pieces to forge. Ohio Rusty ><> The Ohio Frontier Forge
  13. Are there any Forts, stations, historical villages or historical outposts somewhere near you ?? Penna. was chock full of historical places starting in the early 1700's, all thru the revolutionary war and beyond. All of those places mentioned could have a blacksmith shop where you can volunteer if you talk with the site manager. Most sites are happy to have volunteers. Then you can pound away every weekend. Most places have a shop manager that can also help teach you what you need to know. Ohio Rusty ><> The Ohio Frontier Forge
  14. Nice work !!! Those hooks will last the new owner forever. Railroad spikes are still good steel for lots and lots of projects. Railroad spikes are an alloy that is tough and will take abuse without breaking. All sorts of good items can be made from them ..... Ohio Rusty ><> The Ohio Frontier Forge
  15. Does he brush them with a bronze brush when hot ?? Ohio Rusty ><> The Ohio Frontier Forge
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