Problem Solving

I was always told by my father not to force things too hard or too tight so I'm always a little afraid to overtighten my vise when I need to hammer something in it. It's an old cast iron thing that weighs about 75 lbs (with a tiny anvil attached, which I don't use for forging). I've seen videos where users will actually hit the handle of the vise with a hammer to tighetn it as far as they can but just because someone does it doesn't always mean it's right. Is there something I can do to keep my material in the vise so tight that when I hit it it doesn't slide down into the it? Does the "squeeziness" of a vise deteriorate over time? Is this a case where I should just …

I'll preface this question with a short backstory. My mom's father did a lot of home butchering - back in the Depression and WW2 he traveled around within our family (which was quite numerous then) and the local neighbors to butcher hogs and cattle whenever anyone needed it done, often in barter for some meat. He was given a kitchen steel as a wedding present when he married my grandmother in 1925 and eventually it was passed on to me at his death as I was the only person who had use for it. I also inherited a couple of his butcher knives but they are so worn down that they look like ice picks. The problem is that the cutting texture on the surface of the steel is …

My brother is a crane operator and gave some track pins. The only thing I have able to find out about track pins for cranes is they are high carbon steel. Does anyone have any experience with them and know what metal they are. Or some tips on how to go about testing them. I am thinking about forging something with one and then try a quench in oil and see how well it hardens. Any info or instruction on what to try is much appreciated.

I've never made nails before. I made a header like all the videos show. Made the taper the right way. My nails stick. The ones that don't look like they came out of the wrong end of something. None of the sites talk about how THICK the actual working part of the header should be. I think mine,after making the indentation using a ball peen as fuller,is around 1/8" thick. What am I doing wrong that they stick so bad? Tried to add pictures. No Go. I'll post over on NWBA site. Easier. Wish it weren't... I REALLY love the sharing spirit on this site.. Eric

I have a 220V 30amp KMG Belt Grinder sander I'm going to run on a dryer 220v 30amp dryer outlet. The machine does run on 30amps and I verified this with them. I got the right receptacle for that outlet from lowes but the instructions have black white and red wires connecting to the 3 blades of the plug. They show the white wire going to the middle L shaped prong and the red and black going to the v-shaped dryer prongs. I don't have that! I have BLACK WHITE AND GREEN. So i'm looking at this plug and wondering does the green go in the middle and the black and whites are the hot's? Or does the white go in the middle and the black and green are the hots?!?!?

I've been wanting a rolling stool for awhile now. Like 99% of my projects, I procrastinate a lot and re-do the design in my head a half-dozen times before I even think about cutting metal. I knew I wanted a tractor seat and large rubber wheels. The tractor seat is very comfortable, something you can sit on for hours while doing tedious filing or such, and the bigger the wheels the easier it will be to roll over an extension cord or other small obstruction. Other than that, I'm open to ideas. I'd like some height adjustability because my wall-mounted bench is higher than my metal table. But, I don't really need a lot of adjustability. Is there a happy mediu…

I am relatively new to blacksmithing and I am currently working my way through The Fundamentals of Blacksmithing by Mark Aspery. I have been working on making the wizard bottle opener in his book and have done ok except for one part that I cannot for the life of me to get it to look right. The problem I am having is when it calls for a half hammer face blow with the bottom edge of the eye socket just on the anvil to set the nose. I usually end up flattening the nose or creating a line across the bottom of the socket. Do any of you have an alternate way to make the nose or any tips or tricks? I have used up multiple 2 1/2 foot sections of 1/2 inch square just trying …

Have a high in client that owns a ranch and stables , has his prize Appaloosa horse , and wants me to make something out of the horseshoes . What can I make out of about 10 or less of his shoes that would look nice in his office?

Seems like most the cold cut saws all list their max capacity for walled tubing and angle. What would be the best option for cutting steel up to around 2" solid round and square? I have a bandsaw, its just a little slow, maybe just need a bigger bandsaw?

I have a few pieces of 1 inch square stock that I want to make into split crosses to hang on a wall. The cross height I am looking for in 10 inches. In my drawings I have the arms at 3 inches and the bottom leg at 6 inches. Do these dimensions sound right? How long of stock should i need to achieve this and how long should the cuts be and how much overlap? I know this should probably be easy..but im having a major brain fart right now... Thanks

I recently picked up a Buffalo Forge Climax blower. Got the housing all apart, and most of the nuts off, but the gears won't budge. The gears inside all look great, but something won't let it spin. I'm down to one bolt I can't remove for the lower gear shaft, but after that I have no idea how all these gears comes apart and come out at all. I'm afraid to start banging on stuff, and find out it's held in by a pin and end up bending something. Does anyone know of a schematic, or have pictures of one taken apart? Even if it's not a buffalo forge climax, at least it might have similiar parts. Anything would help. Thanks, Ew

Hello all. I've been practicing my forge welding of billets in preparation for getting into pattern welding. I used 4, 5" layers of 0.125 x 1" mild steel held together with 2 loops of wire wrapped 2x each that were ground and filed to get to bare steel Took a red heat, fluxed, brought up to welding heat, and "set" (not sure if this is the right term) the weld on one side, re-fluxed, back in the fire. Second weld heat, "set" the other side of the stack, and back into the fire (can't remember if I fluxed again, probably did, though). 3rd welding heat I worked down the length of both sides of the stack, then squared up the billet, working until a bright red-orange color…

I am seeking suggestions regarding the texturing of sq. tubing. I have no particular texture in mind though it may help if you know that this particular project is intended to reside in the garden.

Here's an interesting one for the amassed minds. I've a friend who has been wanting to do a course with me for ages but isn't sure he would be able to forge on account of only having one hand! His left hand was basically taken off by a motorcycle accident years ago and he has been left with about half of his thumb being the only semblance of a digit on his left hand. In day to day life he gets by by using the digit to pinch things between it and what would be his palm, so he can grasp small (less than maybe 1" round) items in an awkward but effective enough way. The rest of his arm (and presumably the rest of his body) is fine and fully functional. I'm sure that some…

I was asked to replace some brass styled candle stands with iron stands in a church. From the photos I have seen the church is older with a lot of stone. They feel that iron, rather than brass, will go better with the overall style of the church building. There is a Paschal candle stand and a shorter one that need to be in two pieces for ease of lighting. The Paschal stand is 4' tall but the candle must be approx 30". The shorter candle stand must also come apart with a short hand hold under the drip pan so it could be carried during service. Both stands are for single candles. Their complaint about what thecurrent stands are that the brass candle stands screw t…

I'm starting a project where I need to attach a very small, thin stamped steel dragon fly to a small diameter (approximately 1/8" - 3/16") forged mild steel tree branch. My first thought is to try to attach it by tack welding the underside of the body to the branch with 0.024" wire and my mig welder set on its lowest heat setting, but unless I can precisely edge the puddle up just to barely contact the dragonfly, I'm betting I'll burn through it. My second Idea was to drill a small hole through the top of the body and do one small plug weld and then dress the weld and blend it in, of course it would take a lot of time & effort to clean it up good enough to not…

I have had this problem for a long time, there is no 3 phase power where I live, just 240 volt single phase, but I just been told its sometimes posable to wire a 3 phase motor to run on a single phase?. now I have a power hammer and need 3 phase. I saw people had made converters on the net but this looked very complacated, any info would be very helpfull

Let me preface this and say that I think I know what happened. I was drawing out this railroad rail, and working between a high welding heat to a low orange. After one heat where the end was burning pretty thoroughly, (sparks spitting off it like a sparkler) I drew it out a little more and as it cooled I noticed this crack. It was really deep and eventually, as I drew it out on subsequent heats, tore off leaving a jagged edge. I think that I may have burned through the metal, but cannnot be sure. Please advise me if I have done something terribly wrong, I'd like to make a note of what I did wrong and how I can avoid it in the future. Thanks, RidgewayForge

I am working on a portable fire ring. I have made a couple of them already but I need to revise my sides thickness. I used 1/8" on the last one and think I could still lighten it up some. I have looked at some sheet metal but I am iffy on how well that would hold up. The rings are about 24" Square with angle iron in the 4 corners. Anyone have some experience on what to use?

Hello all. Last fall, I was given an older gas powered generator/welder and was told, "The last time I used it, a few years ago, it worked fine." We did a basic cleaning of the fuel system (ie, purged old fuel, cleaned out the bulb, screen, tank, new fuel line) added some SeaFoam to new fuel and the engine started and ran for about 60-90 seconds. The following week, I changed the oil and have yet to be able to start the engine. Actually, if I use starting fluid, the engine will run for a couple of seconds only. I know more about diesel engines than infernal combustion, so I could use some help. I'm thinking a carb rebuild is next, do you think this'll solve the p…

I am trying to identify what kind of metal this is.

This is reguarding my almost completed ''Bulldoze Bender''. Now if I just had to make the motor go on and off I wouldn't be asking but my mind goes flop bot when it gets to this relay business. I can't take a chance on frying my new $200 solenoid valve so if there's anybody who can maybe doodle me up a diagram I would appreciate it muchly.......If you are just going to tell me to hire an electrician I don't want to hear it..... :) ...... Pic bdb2: the yellow line is coming from the solenoid switch. orange/ red are one solenoid valve and white/black is the other. These are to be comanded by the pendant switch by black and white, thanks in advance....mb

Been trying to look for a charcoal I can use in my forge. I spotted this brand yesterday at a Home Hardware, had them in bags of 10 and 20 pounds. The bag said "100% Natural Wood Lump Charcoal", and I looked into it on the charcoal review site posted on the forum, BGE seems to get its stuff from Royal Oak. I'm hoping I can use this for the forge, but the guy on the counter told me it was no good for what I intend. As far I seen, no one has used this brand for forging. Its either that - or the Nature's Mesquites Hardwood Blend I bought, which I been told is mediocre due its partial burnt nature. I might be able to find some Royal Oak Lump somewhere, but Cowboy bran…

Hello All, Anyone know a fab shop who wants to shear some specific sizes from sheet for me? I have spoken to five shops in my area and been turned away by four and waiting a week for a quote from another. I'm not opposed to laser cutting, but feel this is a job for an automated shear. I may end up buying a small shear (minimum 1/8" x 24" capacity) for this gig and slowly doing it myself, but I'd rather locate a cnc shearing shop. I need 20,000 small pieces cut from sheet. Target size is mostly 0.25"x 6" from under 60 thou material...need them flat... not made into curls by a poorly tuned shear or throat-less Beverly type hand shear. Please don't bother t…

I would like to make roosters and hens. But,my roosters seem to look like ardvards (L.O.L.). I want the rooster to be about 3" high. Can anyone help? :unsure: