Problem Solving

Good evening guys I have just aquired some Blacksmiths bellows see attached photo link. Can any one shed any light on what type these are. I am told that the leather is good but will need some treatment and reconditioning can any one recommend what leather product is best to use to bring new life back into the bellows. Many thanks any advice greatly recieved.H&tONGS 2nd photo is enlarged

ok so whos ever welded cast iron, i have a yoke for a bell to fix, the brake is a flat space about 4 inches wide, i know i will need to heat it up slowly to about 600, then weld with cast iron rods, then slowly cool, im just asking if theres any little tips, or maybe even brass braze it up, have lots of welding time under my belt, but have never brazed or welded cast iron, the yokes large about 18 - 24 inch's across, havent seen the bell but with the large yoke i am asuming its big

I'm trying to build a burner as described in the book Gas Burners for Forges, Furnaces, and Kilns. However it calls for a 3/16th inch inverted female nut. I cant find this thing anywhere. Any ideas?

My travelling setup forge is an old Buffalo forge with a large ratchet and flywheel blower driven by a tiller. It works all right for the small ren faires I've been doing, but I want a more authentic setup. As part of that I'm planning on replicating the rest of the Mastermyr tools and making better garb, but I'd like a more authentic forge, too. A friend of mine is making a small double chambered bellows, but he recreates the early to mid 16th century. I'm more interested in the 14th century, and as far as I know that's before the introduction of the D.C.B. I've seen recreations of Viking forges with two single chamber bellows, pumped by hand. But, I've seen som…

This should be a simple one for everyone to answer... I bought a small forge, but the tuyeer is not connected to the blower. What should I use to connect the two?

I read this years ago in a blacksmith book, but I cannot remember the source: A Ring was attached, 6' above the ground, to a post in the door way of a smithy. Below the ring was written the words: toti emul esto what was the purpose for the ring :D

At the graveside services for a lawyer turned politician, when they lowered the casket into the hole, the bottom fell out and fire and smoke came up thru the hole and everyone jumped back, question is: how do they go about closing the hole?

Does anyone have any suggestions here? A side question: can one use abrasive cut off wheels with a hand held drill? Thanks, Jim

What kind of steel would number and letter stamps be. These are NOT Harbor Freight stamps. They have (had) 1/2" characters some have 5/8" shank but most are 3/4". They were tossed at work for new legible ones and I couldn't bear to see them thrown away. Figured I could at least make a touch mark with one. Any other ideas??

I know I am a beginner and I need to be learning the basics and I plan on doing so with making my own tools (hammers, tongs, chisels, punches, and hardies), but I have a million ideas running through my head right now about things to make. Now I go to Texas A&M and some people around here and real hardcore on aggie merchandise. So I thought of maybe transposing a couple of our "symbols" on various products. Now here are the pictures I am trying to change. There are a couple others, but these are the hardest. Texas A&M Industrial and Systems Engineering (the dog) http://www.aggiemoms.org/pages/traditions/images/bonfire_big.jpg OR http://www.tailgatershandboo…

Im not Forge Welding Billets Im Forge Welding Mild Steel Im not Forge Welding Tool Steel Im Forge Welding Mild Steel Forge Welding MILD Steel When you bring it out of the fire it will be sparking or it will not weld right? Cause I havent gotten a weld with out sparks I havent gotten a weld with just a few sparks But I have welded with a good amount of sparks It seems every one has told me no sparks Im not making a knife and not welding billets MILD STEEL Coal is the fule BIG Fire Crank Blower Now Im not making a knife or sword but I just watched a Japanise guy forge welding a sword and it was sparking.

Hi All, Like so many others I am building my own coal forge Actually I will be using coke not coal (I'm in the UK) Some of the designs I see on the net have fire pot, others just have a flat 'table'. I know I've seen a discussion somewhere on the advantages and disadvantages of a fire pot compared to the flat table, but now I want it I cant find it. Can anyone give me a link, or give me your own preferences (and why) Many Thanks John

Hi. I posted a query that was buried in the T-metal pipe thread. A week or so ago I built a quick side blast forge out of red clay bricks, a hole in a terrace flush with the ground, some homemade fireclay/kitty litter refractory patch, a disposable propane cylinder, and a leaf blower. It worked great, for about two sessions. Although it ate a lot of charcoal, I was able to get a lot of metal heated up. Unfortunately :mad: the blower started running erratically. I found out that there was a short brush. The company who built the blower was acquired, and the acquiring company did not provide new brushes. Furthermore, the local hardware stores (tried about 5-6 of th…

Well, I've been looking at stock on various sites and whatnot and I see all the numbers and I don't have a clue what I am looking for. I've read a lot about 55120 and 1095 on here, but what else is good to use. Of course, since I am in the beginning I'm just going to take metal files and do what I want with them, but when I get established I'm going to start getting stock. I also read about people looking for blowers or whatnot as well. I had an idea. I am building the brake drum forge and instead of getting a blower I have two choices at home and I wanted to run them by yall. One is a Stanley fan:Stanley Fan and the other is a hair dryer. I'm not sure which will work…

Ok, well Im trying out the Brake Drum forge (dunno if I found the blueprints here or somewhere else) and I found my brake drum today after I went to the junkyard. Now I didn't exactly think through how I was going to get a T. Most people would say that you just cut a hole in onw pipe and weld another pipe on. The problem with that is I don't have a plasma torch (or a welder for that fact, due to family issues). In fact, I practically just lost all my tools in the matter af 2 days (my anvil and the tools), due to the same issues. Even though I now have a setback, im not going to let it stop me. Yall are imaginative people and Im still working on that, so for the time bei…

ok we never had a problem with the drafting of our forge at our shop but it seems that now that theres a back draft. the only thing thats been changed is the lenght of the pipe. we added alittle to it but i would think that it would improve the draft. theres a blower mounted to the side of the pipe that i think blows air both up and down but everyone says that its been that way forever and that can;t be it. Any tips or ideas are welcomed. THANX crZy jaKe

Older equipment use flat belts to transfer power from the engine to the equipment. The ones I have seen have been 8-9 inches wide, leather, and sometimes 40-50 feet in length (20-25 feet from drive wheel to driven wheel). Today we see *V* belts to powering all sorts of equipment. This can be just one belt or as many as 4 or more side by side on the same pulley. The *V* belts do not have the same surface area in contact with the pulley. They usually can not be repaired in the field and are usually replaced instead of repaired. What is the reasoning behind the change. And why now are we going back to the flat belts to drive the accessories on the car engine via …

Ok all, I recently purchased the post vise below($20). It seems to be pretty complete but of course I know almost nothing about these tools. Several parts actually move as they should but the gears are all frozen. I have sprayed it down with a good penetrating spray and unscrewed all the bolts and screws without too much trouble. It appears that most the parts are cast so I

My Champion blower cranks well and puts out good air. But when you stop cranking the blades begin beating against the housing something fierce. I was told that the bolt & big locking nut on the side of it adjusted this. No luck so far. I have set the depth of said bolt every where it can go and it still clangs away. Any ideas for a fix?

I met a guy today that happen's to have a power hammer for sale. Not knowing much about powerhammers or what they go for, i thought id ask here. Its a 50# Little giant, Newly refurbished , with a 3 phase 2 3/4 hp motor on it. It has one set of dies, no brake, and its mounted on 4x4's. And he said it was in fine working condition. He is asking $4000 for it, is this a good deal? Whatda think? -Andrei

What is this Mystery Tool, to find out tune in Tuesday night to the blueprint presentation.

The New Atlantis - Shop Class as Soulcraft - Matthew B. Crawford

So i'm essentially out of stock of any sort in my garage. I've found a mill with quite good prices an hour and a half from me, but almost everything they sell is in 12 foot lengths. They have a rediculously high cutting fee that i want to avoid... but I dont have access to a cutting torch that i could bring with me to do my own cuts in the parking lot. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to reasonably cut stock and avoid the cutting fees. I'm planning on going down there this next weekend to stock up on stock, particularly stuff like 3/8"x1" bar and the like for tongs ( I was recomended that size for tongs, anyone have a better recomendation?) 1/4" square stuff …

This should serve as a warning that nearly all cleaning supplies are (at best) harmful to our children (and adults). Subject: Fatal hand sanitizer Apparently this is true.....pass along..... I looked this up on Snopes.com and found that it is TRUE. There are 2 stories on the snopes site. One of the 2 is below. Urban Legends Reference Pages: Hand Sanitizer Alcohol Poisoning Please pass this on to anyone who has or works with children. Ok. I don't know where to begin because the last 2 days of my life have been such a blur. Yesterday, My youngest daughter Halle who is 4, was rushed to the emergency room by her father for being severely …

I'm having trouble trying to figure out a way to crush coal. The coal pieces I have are about 2-3" in diameter and are hard to crush. I need them smaller pieces because it is extremely hard to light my coal. Any advice would be helpful because I'm just starting out. Also see http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f7/trouble-starting-fire-3108/#post23420