Alchemy and Formulas

Hoping someone can tell me what I did wrong here, though I have to admit to kinda liking it...I just don't know how it happened. I was making some very basic hooks this weekend from round stock, mild steel. Final heat, I took them out of the forge, a couple taps to true them up, then oil quench because I like the dark color it takes on. But end of the day, strangely, I noticed this tiger stripe / snake skin kind of coloring on some but not all of the hooks. ??? Same process on all, all quenched in newish (not used) motor oil. I've never seen this, haven't read anything about it. Help?

Hi folks, I've been cleaning scale off exterior work with an angle grinder wire wheel but now I'm looking into buying blasting gear or setting up some acid cleaning area. I've done a bit of research on this site and others about the two different processes but I still don't have a sense of what's more convenient and better to live with. Can anyone give me a comparison of the two process considering things like: running costs time efficiency size of work suited to the processes convenience of waste acid/blast media disposal space needed noise Any pointers would be greatly appreciated, cheers.

Admin, please move if this is not the correct location for this topic. Here is an article in our March Saltfork Craftsman newsletter. It supports what many here have stated about the effectiveness of ATF mix with Acetone, and puts a little study behind it. May save some $$ on products... Dennis 2014March.12-20.pdf

I have a Milwaukee Portable Bandsaw and have kept the old bimetal blades as I replace them. Is it possible to use these for pattern weld (using a contrasting steel, like strapping) or is this project doomed?

So, I didn't find an answer to my question doing a general search or maybe I'm just lazy. My question is, does anybody use or recommend using a heat gun to apply wax finishes? As it is now, I put pieces back in my gas forge to heat them up but I would much rather use electricity than my propane. Harbor freight has a 1100° gun for $10 and I thought that would be an option. Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks!

Hi folks, I was given an old stevens single shot 12ga that is way beyond repair so I cut off the bit at the end with the bead sight hole and forged it into a ring. I polished it to 2000 grit and put Blue Wonder cold blue on it. I looks super cool (post a pic later today) but it has turned my finger rust orange. Is there a silver solder or something that can be applied to prevent this?

hello everybody , I am new in here , just a quick consultacion I just forged a garden table from the tree of live series my question is what is the best way to protect the mild steel table from the rigours of the weather, someone mention bees wax but I don't think that is enough I will apretiate any advice and best products cheers Fredy

Does milk coming in contact with finished mild steel pose any rusting problems? I finish the bowls I make by food safe baking them in the oven with vegetable oil, as you would a cast iron skillet. A lady that bought a bowl from me at one of my stalls asked if it was ok to put milk in it as milk is acidic, I had no clue as to the answer.

Hi guys, Out of curiosity, how do smiths weatherproof outdoor pieces like gates, fences, driveway chains, etc? What way works the best in the experience of those of you here?

I just finished prepping a load of forged railing with Black Beauty "medium grade" with very fast results. The mill profile is a bit rough, though. Perhaps in the 3 - 4 mill range. This requires a lot of primer and top coating to smooth out, masking my hard-earned hammer marks more than I'd like. What size/grade/type of steel shot would efficiently remove forge scale but give a smoother surface, say closer to 2 mill? My local blast media supplier has steel shot but wants to know what grade/size I want. I've no idea!!! Any advice would be most appreciated. Thanks!!

I see a lot of "2 parts this to 1.5 parts that" but generally on these forums are you guys talking weight or volume? I have my base materials ready but do not want to screw up my first mix, perlite is very light, so by weight it is 3-4 times more volume than the sand or fireclay of the same weight. Thanks in advance.

I bought some vegatable oil to rub on at a black heat for a finish and it stinks... Which cooking oil doesnt smell that bad when applied to hot steel? Canola? Peanut? Thanks!

Have any of you used NaOH or KOH for quenching low carbon steel? I just started with my very first 2 knives and used RR spikes to make them. I am going to use Gunter's lye water quench 3-5% which according to what I have read could possibly get the hardness to 40-43. Does anyone know if there was anything in his quench besides the lye?

So I'm going to buy some citric acid so that I can passivate some stainless. I was all set to buy some on line, but the shipping is a little pricey. I don't know how much I'll use, so I don't want to buy in bulk quite yet. I thought I'd see where I can buy it locally. So, I'm in San Diego. If anyone knows any place specific that would be great. But I don't expect anyone will know my local options that well, so I'm looking for some ideas. What else is it used for? What kind of places will carry it?

I've used this material mostly on firplace frames and doors. It's made from 1/2'' round and has a natural finish.....What's it made from?How did I do it? Betcha can't guess.....

Have been lurking and reading posts, I think I know what spark testing is, but could someone elaborate for me. All I have heard is that the smaller the spark the more carbon. Is this true? And what exactly does this tell you? Thanks, Dave

hey guys, I'm a new guy, though i have posted a few times before, namely with help finding a gas forge. Anyway, so far I've been making little j hooks (also courtesy of this forum), s hooks, really ugly tongs, etc, and i decided it was a good idea to try to expand my boundaries a bit, so i tried my hand at forge welding. I had some Harris 600 flux laying around in the barn so i decided "what the XXXXX, flux is flux" and gave it a shot. on the first try i actually got a successful weld. so far i can only make single piece welds (like chain links), I think I'm too slow with multiple pieces from the froge and the weld wont bond, but im working on it . anyway, now that i ha…

I was just reading the post "Care and feeding...." and they were talking about coatings. Not wanting to high jack with my question I made this post. When you have made an object that is to be used with or around food people mention coating with oils and the one that seems to come up alot is peanut oil. Now, when giving a peanut oil coated object to a friend, or selling it do you mention this? As to selling, should you not put a nut warning on the object? Of course maybe I have missed something and that with the high heats the oil losses the reaction to people properties. Thought I would put this out there since I have not seen something on the allergy end. Denn…

Hey guys, I made (okay, they aren't quite done yet) a few pigtail meat flippers for people for Christmas. I want the people I give them to to understand that they aren't your basic dollar store bbq tool that can just be left to the elements and need special care. I was thinking of making a nice card to put in with the tools but I was wondering if any of you guys have a standard set of instructions you hand out with your forged items that you wouldn't mind me stealing borrowing. I would come up with something myself but to be honest, I'm running out of time and my usual flair for words is currently escaping me. I'm planning on blackening them with either canola oil or bees…

I found this material on my land and i would like to find a use for it. It is magnetic and heavy (in the iron family ) it doesn't seem to rust though. I had 2 pieces analyzed and they came back, the first 1) 73% fe, <0.003 C and the remainder is oxygen other metals ARE MANGANESE .43 silicon .76 al .65 the res is trace amounts. the second 2) fe 65% .001 C, MANGANESE.34 silicon 2.6 al 3.08 titanium .24 the rem is oxygen I would like to sell this if i can ,and i would really like to know what it is. I can also upload the analysis sheet if necessary. thanks in advance Geno pictures http://files.enginee...Picture_102.jpg http://files.enginee...2&file=Ore1.j…

I made this chart in Excel because I needed to figure how much 2" axle I needed for a 2lb hammer. It might be useful to others. For a given sq. or rnd. stock dimension, it gives the weight per linear inch in lbs oz. Edited: To add column names PS. I tried to upload the Excel file but the editor would not allow it.

Hi All, Just had an Ah Ha moment(these days more of Oh xxxx than Ah Ha) so felt I should share! For easy if slow derusting I normally use vinegar, particularly for complicated/intricate parts. This morning I was short on the quantity of vinegar required to cover a largish complicated assembly. It fitted in a 20L(5gal)bucket but I only had 3L of vinegar then 'AH HA moment' I put the item in a plastic bag and placed it in the bucket. I suspended the top of the bag and poured the vinegar into the bag, then added water to the bucket. The displacement effect has now got the part surrounded with about 6mm(1/4")of vinegar and raising/lowering the level of water in the bucket…

Does anyone know where a person can buy Mercuric Acid to use for etching metal?? I have no idea where to even begin. I tried to google but no luck. OOOppps meant muriatic acid. No wonder I wasn't having any success. Now I am probably on a DEA watchlist ..... LOL. I guess they use Mercuric Acid for Meth ..... LOL. My bad ..... I'm glad you guys steered my right. Mutt

Hello All, I am new to posting in this forum but I think this is the right one. Can anyone tell me a good method for calculating the amount of shrinkage in length when one takes a .5" square cross section of stock and you twist it? I would like to be able to control the overall length of a piece and know what it should end up when the twisting is done. I am assuming there is a relationship between the number of turns and the cross sectional size of the stock. As an example: lets say I have a square .5" stock 10" long. I am going to put a twist of 360 degrees along the lengthwise axis. What will the length be after the twist is complete? I am looking for a book refer…

so...long story short im a glazier.....I recently bought one of those plastic cases with the different screwdriver bits.well the plastic trays wouldnt stay in so i globbed a bunch of clear silicone caulking on the back since theres so much around the glass shop and it was close at hand.closed the case and kinda forgot about it for awhile.next time i opened the case my once new shiny steel bits are coverd in a black/dark brown/red very fine dust.the only explination i can think of is that the silicone corroded them....any anwsers?im currently trying to reproduce this effect on a knife blade my fillin the bottom of a box with the caulking and suspending the knife over it.…