Problem Solving

I am working with a client on my first commission of fireplace doors for a large fireplace.We have decided on brass screen but I have no idea as to wire size and opening size that would be appropriate. The design is very simple but has large unsupported openings to be filled with the screen.(32" X 26" inside the frames on each side) I see a lot of suppliers online but would appreciate recommendations from "The Professionals" Thanks Johnny

I've got a friend I am trying to help out on a project. What it is, is some 5/8" OD schedual 40 steel pipe. They need to be bent in a U-shape with a 4-6 inch radius. I don't have any experience working pipe cold or hot. He has tried bending the pieces cold but they collapse. So for the questions? What would be a good but simply jig that could be built to bend these with? Would you recommend bending them cold or hot? Thanks!

I have been a member here for a few years and this is my first question. I am working on restoring a big old schooner here in New England and have been making bronze fasteners and specialized steel tools for the job, but now want to make some half-inch square head bolts in bronze. Any advice? And what would be the best way to make a header for square head bolts? Thanks in anticipation.

I tring to learn to make chain. I dog ear scarf and bend to lap each other & forge weld. Im having a lot of trouble getting the ends of the scarfs welded down. Ive gotten a few welded good but took like 4 heats. Most of the links Ive made are welded in the center and not at the scarfed ends. Thanks for the help Ron

I ordered a piece of O-1 drill rod to use in a machine I'm building. I'm not entirely sure but I think its coming not-hardened. My question is; can it be welded by conventional means? I plan to use MIG and I need to weld it into the end of a piece of mild steel pipe as part of an axle type shaft. I'm not worried about rehardening as the O-1 should be tough enough for this application anyway...I hope. Just wondering if I can get away with welding it to mild. I figure I would preheat it a little anyway. Thanks in advance for input Scott

So I have a backyard forge I built into the ground, and It just wont get hot! I use a one-horsepower blower and it still won't get hot. Any ideas?

I'm wondering if anyone on this forum has any real world experience in working with zinc sheet metal. I'm putting together a proposal for a fireplace hood that the client wants to have made in zinc sheet. This would be in a product either called Rheinzink or VM Zinc, both trade names for a alloy of zinc, copper and titanium. Most of it comes from Europe but it is available here in the US. It is used primarily for high end exterior cladding and roofing. Does anyone have any experience with this material, particularly in annealing and hammering and re-rolling to establish a texture. Also any experience with soldering or welding this material? Patinas and finishe…

Well, little dilemma....building a new shop from scratch in the backyard. Let me start by saying I have no electricity skills whatsoever. I have a lincoln arc welder that I need to be able to weld with and it has a big industrial plug on it, 225 I think. We got it estimated that it would take around $400-500 to get electricity ran from the power lines/my house to the shop, PLUS more money to get the outlet itself installed. I can't really afford the $500, is there any other way to be able to run my welder or I am in a rut here? I know it isn't good to use a generator for them so, looks like I'm going to have to pay the $500 if I want to weld or am I missing another opti…

I have two Heller brothers ( flea market) hammers that feel real nice but the faces have issues, one is a cross pein and the uncrossed face has a chip on the side, and I have a rounding hammer with similar issues on the un-round face. Is it possible to weld up the chipped face and use it safely, what would the pre and post heat tx be, 60,000 or 70,000 type wire? I think gmaw would be the best process I don't have a gtaw set-up, smaw would heat it up to much ? Thank you Kenny O

I bought a 67CH-743 Fisher regulator from Kamps Propane last week. The tech that sold it to me installed the gauge, hose, and POL fitting for me. I connected it last night and backed out the adjuster wheel completely. I opened the gas valve on the tank and the needle on the gauge red-lined. However, I opened the ball valve on the other end of the hose and no gas was flowing. I then turned the adjuster clockwise all the way in and there was still no gas flowing. I disconnected the regulator from the tank, and with the adjuster wheel still fully turned in, I blew through the POL fitting and was able to feel the air passing through to the other side of the hose at the ball…

id like to know/see how to forge diamond shaped bar without swages or top tools please. from round or square or flat?.

I was asked buy a designer to quote some light fixtures to go atop the stone columns on either side of a driveway gate. The people want to have UL listed fixtures. Has anyone ran into this before? Ideas? Rob

i was forging a knife out of a railroad spike and as i was working it i noticed striations in the metal. they would split off kinda like failed welds in pattern welded steel. i am just curious as to what may have caused this. they were there before i started because i took took a wire wheel to the rust, and the lines were revealed as the rust was taken off, so i dont belive that it was me. of course i could be wrong, but i would like to know what caused this.

I would like to a hole drill into the outside of 1 1/2" NPT elbow so that it lines up with the center of the pipe. I need to introduce a propane jet and this seems like the neatest way to go. How do I control the drill bit so that it doesnt walk around on the curved surface? I have thought of welding on a small piece of flat bar so that it would be normal to the bit in the hope that drilling through the strap would serve as a guide. Is there an easier way to do this? Thanks

Hey guys, I'm fed up with my rebar and mild steel nail headers. I'm wondering if it's possible to make a nail header from a railroad spike. possibly from an old file? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

I am now 0 for 6 on hammers. Every hammer that I have made has cracked, some in more than one place. What causes cracking? Working material too cold? What color should the hammer be before I start to hammer on it? =============================== Home Made Hammers General note: The hammers are shown in reverse chronological order, so the newest hammers are at the top. I did not keep track of the number of heats. Suffice to say that it was many, partly because my forge will not get hot enough. My propane forge will not get hotter than orange, even after adding a second burner, and tuning the burners on the bench. So I am working with the forge that I have. …

Anyone have any suggestions for removing a bolt from cast iron? While working on a car, I sprayed the bolt with penetrating oil and the manifold bolt still sheared at the flange. The rest of the bolt and nut are still attached to the other side of the CI flange. I would like to remove the bolt leaving the threads in the flange, otherwise I need to get the bolt out and drill the threads out of the CI. An internet search suggested all manner of petroleum penetrates, water, and heat followed by an application of wax to wick into the threads. Before I started, I thought I would ask y'all what you suggested. Any ideas?

Well I just got a fan from a car's ac system (fan and motor) . I an on making an air gate to use with it, but I am having trouble trying to figure out how to provide power to it. The wall outlets that I would like to use as the power source are 110v ac and the motor and fan unit fund off 12v dc, so theirin lies the Problem..... Also I wanted to have an inline switch to just turn the power on and off, so please let the ideas flow...... Thanks

I've been baffled for years on the subject of how the English garden forks are made. A neighbor with a small market garden has asked me to make a half dozen, and supplied 4340 (if I remember correctly) 1/2"x1/2" stock- I think it can be done, but I'd sure like to know how the big kids do it before I beat my head against the wall- they're advertised as "one piece" without welds, and I just don't get how to get that shape from one piece of anything. I showed Peter Ross an older example years ago, and he thought that it had been cut from sheet stock and then tines and socket forged piece by piece...this was a many-tined manure fork though... Help? Thanks! Andy G. Gueme…

I’ve got a problem with static electricity building up in me and discharging back to my sandblast cabinet with constant shocks in very dry weather. The cabinet is grounded to earth in two places. The discharge is happening through my arm where it enters the gloves and feels like I’m part of an electrical circuit. It’s very annoying. I’m guessing that the charge is somehow related to the sand hitting the rubber gloves and charging me. As my arm leaves the rubber glove, there is a metal plastic collar that retains the gloves and that is where I am getting shocked. The spark jumps from my arm to the screw that holds the collar in place. Anyone have a similar probl…

hey guys, I just spent a couple hours at the forge making two hammer eye drifts and some other hand toos. they came out ok but I also tried to make one for the power hammer, This did not work and i am not sure where to go from there. does anyone have experience making hammers with a power hammer? what tooling do you use and got any pics? any help would be appreciated Thanks a bunch

G'Day I would like some some help on different techniques to band wooden blocks together using steel straps, without burning the wood. I tried searching the site but to no avail. Cheers mark

I scavenged an old vacuum motor and I was wondering, how do I slow it down? I want it to run about 100-150 cfm but since it's an ac motor, I have no idea how to do it. I thought about running a dimmer switch to an outlet to which I could plug it in but I read that I shouldn't since it's against code. It wouldn't be mounted in my house, just on a piece of wood.

Hey guys, I ran across a 8" contact wheel for real cheep but it didn't have the bearing hub assembly, and I cant find replacements for less than 90 bucks. Does anybody know of an alternative hub assembly that will work? or a cheaper alternative? I AM CHEAP!!!! Thanks, Jody

i am starting to really get into blacksmithing (thanks in part to this site) and want to try to build a collection of tongs i have baught a few but want to make some so what size/shape of steel do you use to make bolt head tongs and are there any helpful tricks i should know about before i start and the first pair will be a double v bit to form a square like this <> for holding rr spikes thanks josh