Problem Solving

Hi folks, I'm after some input regarding power hammer spring swages. I've not had my power hammer very long but recently made a spring swage that turns 40mm (1, 1/2") solid square into 28mm (1" ish) round. I need to use it in the middle of the bar to round up a 75mm (3") section. I've been doing a bit of experimenting with it & found the bar is twisting during the process so that the square sections either side of the round portion are out of alignment. Thinking back I know I made the mistake of rotating the back continuously in one direction & that is likely to have made the problem worse, but I'm wondering if this twisting is a common problem in any c…

I’m looking for the name of a certain type of mortise and any tips on doing it. It’s the type that doesn’t go all the way through the metal and forms a pocket. I’m looking to put some 3/8” holes in some 1/2” strap. I’ve done a little experimenting and had marginal success. I’d really appreciate help with the process and the particular tools used.

Hello Community, I badly need some help! I'm at my wit's end. I already made so many things successfully. Tongs... Knifes... Axes in different sizes... And many other tools and things. But I'm currently not able to make a simple nail! I made several nail headers, drilled holes through 'em an drifted them to a square cross section tapered to the bottom side. I shouldered down the stock on two sides and draw out the tip of the nail. But every time i forge out the head, it's not centered. No matter what i try to move the metal in a direction.Also after "forming the head" i turn the nail header and the complete nail is croo…

I need to build a fireplace screen. I have the mesh (ordered from King) but what is the best way to attach the mesh to the frame and keep the wire tight? The top bar of the screen has an arch. The whole thing is about 30"x30".

Hi everyone Can anyone help in installing an auto die lubricator and mixer on my forging press. i am forging both, cylindrical and rectangular pieces on the same press. I am facing challenges in making an optimum and continuous system for mixing lubricant, air and water before being sprayed on die cavity. If anyone has a solution then please help me. I will be really thankful for your good support

I have a piece of 2x30x50'' steel plate I'm going to use for a PH base and it has a 1/8'' bow in it the long way.........I do have a a large oxy propane (as big as a flamin' golf club) rosebud and am wondering if it's any use to try and get the bow out or just put the cup towards the floor and forget about it.............? thanks, mb

Well I am new here, but need some help from the guys that know metal work and bending rod. I am making some weight throws for use in practice for my 16 yr old daughter and other throwers. Commercial ones cost $350 to over $1200 and her Catholic school only has bought one. Practice is tough with 3 or 4 people trying to share one implement. I made her one last year to practice with and she has gotten pretty good. Throws the 20lb weight 50 feet as of last practice. I am bending up some mild steel rod to form the weight throw handles. It is 3/8 rod bent into an equal side triangle and then a reinforcing triangular flat stock piece is welded into one corner …

I was working on a wood heater for my shop today modled off of the one in my house. I decided to use folded and lapsed edges like the professionally built one has but I do not have a brake in my shop. In my resource pile I have some large angle I rescued from scrap years ago that looked like it would work so I have it a shot. I took a couple pictures to show the setup even though I could describe it fairly easily enough. Once you have your angle setup simply insert to your line and clamp it firmly. Then you can bend up or down. I had to use a hammer to persuade the last little bit to cooperate and straighten out. The sheet I used for this project was salvaged …

Hi folks, I'm hopefully going to be doing a long handrail for some clients who have a Grade 1 listed house and garden. (Listed meaning it's architecturally important and additional work has to be sympathetic to the original building and approved by a conservation officer). They want the handrail to come straight down their steps, level out flat at the top and bottom, then curve off around the corners at both the top and bottom. I haven't been to site for a while but from memory the total handrail length would be about 5m. It would be made using half round square edge and made in 3 pieces as it's too long to manouver in one piece. At the clients request the posts on the…

So at our weekly gaming session my budy who is taking his turn as GM asked me about cold setting 1/4" 300 series stainless rivets in doubled over 1/8' stainless strap. Now indulge me, as Will is a manufacturing engineer working for a custom shop that dose over the road truck trim. Aperantly some one came in wanting stainless straps for his fuel tanks and figuring out how to do it fell to him. it seems he can find dies for the 25 ton press, but not wether they will cold form the rivet head. Now I set copper and aluminum and have even cold set mild steel rivets but have little experiance with stainless. Best answer I could give him is I'd bring a forge. And anvil and we cou…

Having an abundance of 1/4" H.R., I have been playing around in the shop making simple 2 piece Banana stands for the special ladies in my life. They love them but I cannot seem to come up with a better way to attach the legs. I have been Mig welding them and I really dislike the ugly welds. Anyone have any better suggestions? I am having a mental block figuring out this simple task. And I am no beginner. LoL! Thanks guys.

so everybody, we have always had a wood sign that has the words Grants established 1995 burned into it, well, my mom really wants me to forge our last name which is obviously Grant out of metal she said it was ok if the letters are separate and ive been trying to figure out how to make the letters where they will look nice the G needs to be capitalized and the rest of them need to be lower cased, I have figured out how to make the t but that is it any help would be really appreciated I was hoping to finish it before Christmas so it could be a gift like I have said I have a huge supply of 1/2 mild steel I was considering thinning it down but idk how small I need to go

Hiya I acquired a mini foundry at a local garage sale expo and had some questions about how to use it I'm only just starting starting metal casting/blacksmithing and I know the basics for the most part it's just this is really small about 6inch diameter and 4inches tall. How am I supposed to heat it up? At first I was thinking about using a small fuel supply like coal or wood and letting the crucible sit on top, but that doesn't seem right. Also thought of setting it in a ceramic vase and lining it with charcoal and setting the foundry inside it to heat it up, but I'm not sure. I would like to get some professional opinions about it if possible

Hello, first off I am sorry that I do not have any pictures at the moment, I will update with pictures when I am able. I would like to know what kind of steel railroad track connectors are made from (to be clear this is not railroad track). From what I have seen on the web my guess is that it is made from the same high carbon steel that railroad track is made from. However I was not able to get an actual confirmation on it. I was hoping that I could make hardy hole tools from it as well as other items that require good steel. For those who are curious as to how I got a railroad track connecting rod: I work at a place that uses railroads and it was leftover junk …

Using my coal forge, I wanted to weld an eye from a spring steel clip used on railroads. I brought the material to a good orange heat, beat out one end, scarfed that end, and then bent it back to form a loop. I then fluxed it with straight borax, buried it in the coal fire, and brought it up to a yellow-white heat. When I took it to the anvil, one tap sent the entire unwelded eye to the floor. It literally fell apart from a tap. The steel showed some cracking, which was not there when I shaped it. I tried another piece of spring steel, this from an automobile leaf spring. I drew out the end, scarfed it, folded it around in a loop, and then fluxed with straight borax.…

Gravity always has the right of way. What ever you do, be careful. Any weight at any distance in the air can be extremely unstable and dangerous is it were to shift or fall.

As noted elsewhere, I just rescued a bunch of pieces of WI flat bar from the chapel roof renovation job at the college where I work. Most of this was from protected locations and is quite clean, but some (that were exposed to the weather) appear to have been painted with what I suspect (given the original 1908 construction date) was lead paint. I thought about burning it off in the forge, but I don't want to create any health hazards by putting lead oxide in the air. I've got some paint stripper, but that stuff is really nasty. Anyone have any environmentally friendly suggestions?

Some while back I was given a pair of bench shears with a chip knocked out of the edge of one blade. I would like to have them repaired but I don't know how to go about it. How do I determine the alloy of the steel edge? It seems that would be the starting point, before I go on to welding and heat treating. The edge looks like it is welded to a softer iron body and I don't know how that affects heat treat. Thanks in advance for considering my questions

Hello, first time here. I sometimes have problems balancing unconventional metal weathervanes. eg. various ships, larger animal images..... weight and size varies some times, 5 lbs and plus. Although the wind sensitivity may be reduced due to increased weight, the balancing principal should still apply,,,, correct? - or why not? Also, (from something I read on the web) please enlighten me, how can you have an unequal surface area (of the image) but balanced weight on the pivot piont? Regardless of material used, if the image is balanced, isn't there equal amounf of weight each side of the balance point regardless of the design? I am including a link to some "working" Va…

All, I have a dilemma with the wacky hardy hole on my anvil. The hole is 15/16"...theoretically. I say theoretically because, while it is 15/16" as measure on the top of the anvil, I can't get a 3/4" shank through the hole. The problem is that, in the first inch of the hole, two sides belly out a bit and narrow the hole considerably. Inserting the shank from the bottom is smooth and easy up to that top inch. It also fits fine in the first 1/8". Here is my dilemma: I haven't posted this question because I know the easy answer is for me to make my hardy tools to fit the hardy I have. However, I don't want to use my 200 year old anvil as a striking a…

Hello, I was asked to make a couple sets of pins for the bows used on an Ox yoke. Have been told hay rake spring was used. It is full of small cracks and unusable for this purpose. Does it need to be spring steel? If so, I'll try an auto coil spring. Do you have any other ideas? thank you

I need some ideas on storing those "someday i'll use this" pieces. You know, irregular odds and ends that don't really mesh nicely on a shelf but on occasion you'll remember you have that specific piece of material that is PERFECT for the job at hand - you spend up to an hour looking for it and decide either it's lost, already used, or it's been thrown out. I use, right now, a 12x36ish steel 4 shelf storage rack. Those cheap stamped steel ones. It's got four indiscriminate piles of trash heaped up onto it, stuff that I do use and have plans for, eventually, but not right now. I am moving my operation into an 8x8 shed (the fire outside, machines and benches inside) wit…

Hi, New guy. Background: Grew up on a dairy farm. Became an electrical engineer. Got into woodworking. Got back into farming. Got myself a welder and a Oxy-Acetylene torch setup to fix farm equipment (and, I'll admit... "just because") We have the remnants of an old pipeline milking system on our farm: About 130 feet of 2" diameter stainless pipe and an old, double-walled stainless steel 375 gallon milk cooling bulk tank (which is too old to get parts for anymore). I've thought about scrapping them, but scrap is bringing next to nada at the moment. I never really thought much about doing anything else, except turning the bulk tank into a BBQ set…

I recently found a whole 5 gallon bucket worth of 3x3 steel plates. Some look to be 1/2 inch and some look to be 3/8 inch. Was wondering if there's any hot uses for these because if so, I may have hit a small payload because they are free! Any input is much appreciated! im sure there are about a billion different things that can be made, just wonder if 3x3 is too small to bother with

Hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone uses wagon parts for blacksmithing?