Problem Solving

Hi, I am a high school student In a Materials class which combines metal and wood shop. I am required to make a project which has 80 percent of one material and 20 percent of another (but does not have to be exact percents). I have access to a forge and anvil at home and would like to continue on learning even after my class is over. I would like to build something in my class to help me out in this hobby. Any help would be great keeping in mind my two materials the project has to include. Materials that I can use include but are not limited to: Metal Wood Concrete Tile I would like my prominent material to be metal and i would like to be able to forge it. I hav…

I have a wood furnace that requires a custom type grate. After many years the old one simply wore away. Since I am having trouble finding a distributor (even after talking to the manufacturer). I am thinking about making my own grate. The grate is simply a 24" rod with about 18 fingers running perpindicular to this rod. So the question is what type of steel would handle the temperature and oxidization effects from a wood fire, and can this steel be welded? A suggestion has been to use a s10 steel, are there any other options. any suggestions would be welcomed Armand.

hey everybody, by the time i am done with my piece, there is like all kinds of junk like welded onto the piece and i can't get it off, only once did my piece not have all of this stuff on it, how do i prevent this or clean it up once it is down?????/ The Elder M Brother

any good way to de-galvanize metal? a guy at work found the PERFECT tank in a junk yard to turn into a gas forge. problem is, its an old RV water tank and its galvanized i know the precautions to take when welding on it... but will pose a problem during operation? I plan to line it with about 3 inches of koawool. let me know your thoughts. thanks! :)

Ever start to stick weld and try to figure out the right settings for the material vs rod used? Miller has cleaned up the process with their welding calculator. Just input your material and the rod and they will suggest the best amp settings for your welder, the polarity and other tips. Now if your into TIG MIG and the other stuff, click here.

I am trying to drill through this disc and it's not cooperating. Can anyone tell me what it is made of or where to find out. I've tried a few searches, but don't know diddley about these so i'm having no luck. thanks, James

Hi, I was working with tool steel for the first time and got a bunch of cracks in the piece I was making. Worked it at a yellow heat. I used a water quench, ??? Any suggestions on working w/ tool steel, or how it differs from mild steel. Also is there a difference between oil and air tool steel? Thanks for any education sent my way. Mike There are no stupid questions, only stupid people who ask them.

I am Trying to help repair a horse drawn corn binder for a local historical display. We have a worn binder arm, it is the part that pulls the shock of corn into the area that ties the shock together. The arm rotates around a 1" shaft at low speed and is made of cast iron . I figured that the best way to repair this would be a babbit bearing, but I am having a hard time getting the babbit to stick to the surface. 1. I am using new babbitt 2. preheating the part untill a pine stick chars 3. I have tinned the part with tin solder(I bright sanded and fluxed the part and still only got 80% coverage with the solder) 4. I have fluxed the part and the Babbitt with rosen (l…

Hi. A contractor just dumped a large box of nails in front of my home. Couldn't let them go to waste . So, I had to figure out what to use them for. They are very lightly galvanized, and do not smoke when they are burned off in a gas forge. Alternatively, a dilute muriatic acid wash strips off the coating in a few minutes. The problem is that they have two heads. The normal head is not a problem, but they have a second head about 1/2" down from the first head. Yup, you guessed it. :mad: I cannot drive this ridge back down without creating an annoying cold shut. These nails make great heart charms, and the first head tapers well, and any cold shuts are fixed by…

I bought a box of stuff at the flea market recently, and this horseshoe was in the bottom of the box. It's unusual to say the least. I've never shoed a horse and know nothing of farrier's work. I figured some of the farriers here could explain this thing. Next to the shoe, is a sheet metal plate. The gray wedge is some kind of very hard, tough plastic The really dark(almost black) piece on top is leather. Just curious as to why a horse needed to wear this..... James ......

I thought, when I put this together, I might need a bigger motor. I am sure of it now I'm getting ready to buy a motor and I see terms like "compressor duty", "farm duty", "industrial/commercial duty", "general purpose". What kind of motor do I want for a tool such as a belt grinder? I was looking at these: Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices Pros? Cons? (other than "it's from HF" lol) p.s. sorry for the poor quality pic attachments, cell phone cam with cracked lens

I've got 200+ leaves to make for a project. using 5/8 dia round. I am experiencing cold shunts on the drawn tips that I don't see on my smaller points. I don't want to resort to rasping each point. I am working the steel at a high yellow and not past a low orange. I keep thinking it is a technique issue. It is too easy to blame the material. anyone like to edumacate me as to the problem?:confused:

I got a few hardies in the big lot of stuff i got last weekend. my anvil has a 3/4" hardy hole, but most of the hardies are for a larger hole. any reason i can't/shouldn't take a grinder to them and thin them out to the 3/4" i need ? I cant think of anything that would make this a bad idea, but i might be missing something. let me know your thoughts :)

Hello. I have a problem: My vice is a bit broken. The screw which brings the jaw of the vice in has lost the divider bit which keeps the screw and the mobile jaw together. Hard to explain, so here's a picture. How shall I go about fixing it? Forge a little collar? Cut a divider out of sheet metal? The screw has a groove in it seperate from the threading to keep the little metal divider in place. The red thing indicates the divider which is broken. How shall I fix it? Thanks, Archie

Help Please I'm having trouble lighting a fire. Im using somthing branded as Forge Breeze, it is a smokelss fuel some where between coal and coke. I have tried various methods of lighting the fire including balled newspaper, wood, firelighters and barbcue lighter fuel and combinations of all. The best I can get is when after about 20 minutes the flames die down, everything now looks promising, there is an area about the size of a small apple glowing red hot, but even if I turn the air supply on faster it just dies out, I cannot make it spread any more. I'm getting very frustrated and seem to be incapable of getting my forge going. Has anyone got any ideas please. S…

I'm looking for a supplier for vermiculite. Anyone have suggestions??? Thanks, Steve

I let the smoke out of my little generator and now find myself in a fix. How does one go about getting this dude repaired? Troy-Bilt kept referring me to the same 'service centers' as on their web site. every last one fixes the gas motor, NOT the generator. It being Saturday, there aren't any electric shops open around here so I'll wait til Monday and explore that option. What other avenues might I explore?

Help!! I have a tricky problem-- not blacksmithing, but tool-related. Putting a new roof on house, roofer left me with OSB (fancy particle board) sheathing under HD corrugated steel roof. Gotta cut a 14" OD hole in OSB for 2" setback from combustibles on rated 10" woodstove flue pipe, but then immediately above that a 10" hole in tin. Home Depot has: Ryobi, DeWalt, Rotozip spiral saws available. Any user evals on these tools much appreciated.

I have an idea of mixing smithing and glass, but have never tried it out. I have developed a liking for making the split & un-folded crosses, and alot of people are asking me about and for them. What I wanted to try was to mush/melt/forge a marble into the opening created when the cross is split. I have lots of marbles (haven't lost them all yet) and wanted to give it a try. Does glass shrink down when cooled, like steel does? Can I just put a marble into the forge (mine is gas) and pull it out when it glows? thanks in advance

Hi Guys I fired my homebuilt forge up this weekend, I had a few challenges lighting the fire but I think I'm getting there. At first I wanted to run the forge in my integral garage but despite taking precautions I'm a little worried about burning the house down. So now I think I will try running the forge outside and nip back into the garage (or shed) to work over the anvil. I'm running a flat bottom forge with a grate in the centre based on a design given to by a blacksmith and using coke beans for fuel. My blower is an electric dust extracter fan (lots of blow) and regulator in the input pipe. My question is if I'm running the forge outside do I need a chimney to …

I have been haveing forge problems, mainly not having one. The last one I had was a house brick and dirt forge on the ground, and it worked great, untill it broke. Now I am trying to make one, one thats off the ground, but I have no weilder, few tools, and a dump with tons of scrap that could work if I only had a welder. I picked up a propane grill that would make a great small forge, but I have no way to make it into one. I was thinking of just cutting a hole in the bottom and bolt a tweir on it but the thing would burn itself up. Then I saw the Wheel forge 2 Blueprint and thought that would be perfect, though the river by my house is mostly rock. Now I need help, does a…

I have been storing my 10'-12' lengths of stock by standing them up between the wall posts of my shop with large 3/8" spikes seperating the sizes and such. This worked for a while but I am getting to the point I need something else. I want to keep it in the shop out of the way but I had thought of large PVC pipe with caps on the ends to keep it dry and making a rack right outside the big shop door or possibly the same set up tucked behing the blasting cabinet inside the shop with no cap on one end.Has anyone tried this and does it work alright. My walls are pretty well full, I even thought of running a couple of braces from front to back on each of the legs under my woo…

A few days ago my mentor asked me "where do I want to go with this stuff from here"? Now, I know that this is really a deep personal question. Maybe I should let you know where I think I'm at. Most of the smithing I've been doing for the last couple of years has been in the making of tools kind of with the thought process that my skills will develop while at the same time I'll increase my tool inventory. I can make a workable set of tongs in under and hour. Punches and chisels no prob. Bottom tools for the hardie, etc. I have done some decorative stuff too, lots of candle holders, bbq tools, a few small sculptural pieces, etc. I finally feel like if I can see what…

I have an interesting opportunity in front of me currently. 2 of 3 partners in a shop have left and the third is probably leaving within a year. The 2 just decided it wasn't for them(one enjoyed collecting tools to much) and the third is moving back out of state. So I can take the shop, and the name. Shop is located in old downtown, right across from a great burger joint. I would like any advice possible on business arrangements, both while he is there with me, and after(or if) he leaves. I'm personally the handshake kinda guy and will shoot straight, and I believe him to be as well. But in these times i'm sure that's probably not enough. This just fell into my…

I have a 2 burner propane forge. I recently was making hooks and when I would remove them from the forge and do my last work on them they look like they oxidize right away. It looks like rust and is in random places. The steel is new and clean when I start. What am I doing wrong? Any ideas would be appreciated.:confused: