Problem Solving

Hey everyone, Just looking at the blueprint about making touchmarks and was wondering where a person could find reversed letter stamps so that when the touchmark is stamped, the letters would be facing the correct way. Any ideas?? A good old google search didn't turn up much at all. -Aaron @ The SCF

I have a Beaudry #4 Champion - this is a 100lb mechanical power hammer for those not familiar. Beaudry's came with built-in mechanical brakes, which is normally a real good thing to have. 15 or so years ago when I bought mine, it came with a cork like substance for the brake liner but the material was in bad shape and didn't last more than a few days after the hammer was up and going. I think whatever it had been was dry-rotted and just disappeared. At any rate, I replaced the brake shoe with a piece of cloth belting but the oil from the main bearing ran down onto the liner so the belting eventually got gummy and went to pieces. I then replaced it with some commercia…

I've only welded with gas a few times and I've some simple questions. 1- Is the flame supposed to whistle/ blow fairly hard? I believe that my flame is blowing my material all around. My result is fairly good, but it boesn't look like an arc bead, which brings me to my next question. 2- Is the bead supposed to look like an arc weld bead, barring my in-experience with this? I can arc weld like theres no tomarrow, but this seems to be a bit complex. 3- And last, the flux I'm using was sold to me by the guy at the local hardware store up the street and it says 'tinning flux'. Am I not supposed to be using brazing flux? Thanks for listening!

I'm building a propane forge. I have the burner built I'm just short a blower. after two weeks of my head hurting I figured I'd ask I found this on the net and the CFM is what I'm looking for..but the shape is a touch baffeling. Would this work as a blower for a gas burner? Fasco Blower also what is a draft inducer? it looks like a blower, but the descriptions don't match. Are they designed for intermitant use?

I wanted to start forging some wood carving gouges. Looking at commercially made ones, there is a measurement called sweep that has somwthing to do with the depth of the curve on their edge. Anyone know how to measure these? What makes a number 3 gouge a number 3? Thanks! Jeff

I just bought a smoker built from a zinc-coated (galvanized??) trash can. The heating element is about 1250 watts, and rests on lava rocks. The temperature at which the unit cooks is UNDER 250f degrees, usually closer to 225f. Am I going to have a problem with the release of any zinc gas under these conditions? thanks in advance, John M

Anyone know what this is? steel pins about 1/4" in an aluminum block. thanks Ron Smith

HI, I've done a few small jobs that contain lots of splits and drifts, but I always have the worst time getting consistently accurate holes and getting the drifts on several bars to meet up so that verticals may pass through them. I'd like to do a split and drift room divider but I need an efficient and accurate method of doing it. Could someone here who has done a lot of this sort of thing give me instructions or even point the way to some good ones. Thanks Jeff

I need to make Hot Chisels & Punches What do I need to make them from that will take the heat and not deform? Is there a good & easy to get junkyard materail?? Thanks Ron

I realize that there are a million out there, but are old digging irons (or digging bars) generally tool steel? Or just mild with tool added to the cutting edge? How about picks heads? I cut a few of the irons up and the sparks looked to me like tool steel or higher carbon steel, even when I cut far from the tip. Thanks, Mammooth

My forge is not that old or ' broken in' to say( had it since X-mas), yet ever since I recieved it, a few things I've questioned. It's a 2-burner LP gas forge. I have fixed the simpler things, but the main concerns I have are the burners themselves and the fire brick. Burners- I understand that I can adjust/ tune the burners, but the blast, looking through the port windows, doesn't seem to be EXTREMELY strong. I have a good fire and heat( forging temp. reached in about 3-4 minutes), yet the flame on one port is a slighter blue than the other. As if this burner is not pushing as much gas as the other. Is the flame supposed to be more blue or more orange? Fire Br…

Some of you may know of my current 'fun' project. Mythbusters did a show a little while ago where they said you could hit hammer faces together and you wouldn't chip them out. Well, I'm doing a little project to disprove this. However I'm having a little bit of a problem. My current setup is lifting and then dropping a hammer, so that gravity is the only thing powering the hammer hit. After 33000 hits, it hasn't chiped. I can change it to where it delivers a powered hit, but I don't want to exceed the force that a human would be able to deliver. If I knew the speed that a human driven hammer hits, I could work the math out and drive the hammer at that rate. …

Looking for Advise End of last summer had to have some work done on my 4 X 4 pickup- replace rear end- wheel bearings and front end work,It wasnt cheap. I found a place in Vinita OK. " Phonix Coal Sales " -sells Coal $75.00 a ton . I sure dont want to break my pickup again and wondering what would be safe weight to haul. Its a Dodge 4 X 4 short bed 1/2 ton with the 360 motor. Tires 5 ply side wall. Just so I have an idea how big a pile is 1 ton of coal:confused: Thank You Ron

I recently picked up a Champion 400 hand cranked blower. When I separated the 2 sides on the fan section to clean it up, it was so gummed up with dirt and grease that I couldn't tell if there had been a gasket between the 2 sections. Does anyone know if there is supposed to be a gasket or some type of seal between the sections? Also Can anyone advise me about what weight oil I should use and how full the gear box should be? Thanks

Recently a lot of interest has been generated in regards to hydraulics being used within the 'smithing realm. I recently came accross a John Deere hydraulic technician service manual and thought I would first share some of its info with you: Safety Bulletin: Subject: Oil Injection Injuries "Escaping fluid under pressure can pentrate the skin causing serious injury. If ANY fluid is injected into the skin, it must be surgically removed within a few hours by a doctor familiar with this type of injury or gangrerne may result." A small pinhole sized leak in a pressurized hydraulic hose can cut through any body part in a heartbeat. Hydraulic fluid is also highly fl…

I keep having a confusing problem with my forge. The LP tank keeps frosting over when I'm forging, so I have to shake the tank back and forth to get proper heat back in the fire. I could understand this if it were cold all the time, but I live in South Carolina. It was 57* today! Is this common? Or should I raise the tank up off the concrete floor? Help me!! I'm wasting time and fuel waiting on a good heat.

I am starting to make some larger items like fireplace pokers and tripods in quanity batches. I am looking for a good quick way to finish them. Right now I heat and wipe with canola oil. Heating and wiping down 30 tripods is time consuming and messy. Anybody have a faster way or something better to finish with? JWB

I have a friend who wants to cast some 50cal. balls for a muzzle-loader using silver. The worry we have is that the Lee mold has aluminum mold blocks. Melting point for aluminum is 1200ish, while silver is 1700ish. Will we destroy the mold, or will the aluminum sink the heat out of the molten silver before it melts deforms? Additionally, he'd like to NOT destroy the mold, he'd like to be able to use it for casting useable balls in the future. He's not afraid of werewolves and vampires. Its for a going-away gift for a colleague. THX, McL

Thought some may like YouTube - Water for Fuel!

I would like to make a small welding table not sure what I need. I havent much room maybe something 30in. X 30 in.? I would like to use it for stick welding,torch welding & cutting. I want casters or wheels on one end like to take it outside. maybe a small leg vise on it. You know, I really dont know. Just dont want to end up with a mess want it to be handy. I guess I need a good thick plate for a top. I could use some advise Thanks Ron

Is there a blue print for an air gate out there? Or are their cheap ones out and about that I haven't seen? I have a strong fan and am thinking I'm gonna need a good air gate to control it...

Now that I started to hammer, I've been contaminated with the virus "blacksmithobacilus hammergus"! But... I have been struggling to keep my coal burning since my first attempt 3 weeks ago (I'm at my 3rd sunday of blacksmithing only). It works very fine at the begining, I first light a fire with charcoal, then add fresh coal. It will provide me a nice heat. But after some time, the fire will die, even with a constant blowing and adding new coal. Yesterday sunday, I restarted 3 times my fire (same process: small wood fire, then add charcoal then coal). So... Should I remove burnt coal and if so, how do I know it has to be removed? Is it when the fire dies? Als…

After the orriginal grate that came on my rivet forge rusted out, I made one out of 1/4 or a little bigger steel plate. I drilled about 9 holes, about or smaller than the diameter of a pencil probably, in the plate and bolted it over the hole. However, my fire tends to burn very quickly and I am constantly adding fresh coal. Even with the airflow gate on my blower almost all the way closed it still burns quickly. Are my holes maybe too small, and this is causing the air to flow too fast through the grate? I was thinking maybe the pressure in the pipe is too great. Should I drill the holes out?

A fellow ask me to replace the weldings leads on an old working buzz box. What is your suggestion to making the plug in lead longer and how long? Can you gain anything by making this cord longer to save the cost of the welding leads? What is your suggestions for a good working length for the ground and stinger leads?

I have found this pipe, and I wonder if I can use it as the air admission pipe for my forge. I have doubts because it might be covered with zinc, and I know from IFI's safety notes that zinc is not good for one's lungs. If it is covered with zinc, can I still use it for the above mentioned purpose, or should I grind the zinc away (as I started to do, see the pictures) or should I reserve the pipe for anything but heat related tasks? Thanks Ludo