Everything Else

what steps do you take after you formed steel to shape. What materials did you use? Why were certain ones necessary? I am making my first knife on the propane forge I just finished and want a checklist from forging to finished. I am making a quench tank from a old alum O2 bottle for quenching and haven't decided on what oil to use. I have a pizza oven but need to know when or how to temper. I do know I shouldn't quench until after grinding and shaping and drilling.

Once you get comfortable with not having to be exact, or at least correct to 4 or 6 decimal places, fuzzy math gets you numbers to work with right now. The following was from a discussion of chimney diameter size vs inside area of the pipe, specifically how much of an increase in area is achieved with the each additional increase in pipe size. Fuzzy math: Forget for a moment the formulas for circles and just use square measurements. 8 x 8 inches square is 64 square inches inside area. 10 x 10 inches square is 100 square inches inside area. and 12 x 12 inches square is 144 square inches inside area. That is 150% increase in area with each additional pipe size. …

Just saw an anvil on CL, 100# Fisher with part of the heel broken off "$500 Firm". It was only a couple of years ago in my area I bought a 112# PW, face in great shape but with the end of one foot broken off for US$150. Pretty much the reason why I sent my latest student home with about an 80# block of steel to work on. Told him it was a loaner or he could buy it for what I paid: 20 cents a pound at the scrapyard---and feel free to take a couple of months to decide. I hope to stop by the scrapyard Saturday and pick up another piece for my next student...

Yesterday I had three completely different jobs all suffer from the same basic problem. The designers weren't updating their design to include changes from people outside their office. One job had all the HVAC equipment located in the middle of every partition wall in the project. If the Mechanical engineer had bothered to consult the floor as well as the ceiling plans, they might have avoided this rather obvious problem. Another job came in over budget so we came up with a cheaper lighting package. The architect never updated their plans to include the new fixture specs so when the city planning and zoning department approved their exterior plans, they commi…

....Maybe You guys like to watch this.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvAgpu1QX_I Cheers

Rulers are tools. So let us look at ways to use the imperial ruler. If you have a measurement of 3-7/8 inches, to get there you measure 3 inches + 1/2 inch + 1/4 inch + 1/8 and then converted all that to 3-7/8 inches for the total measurement. To transfer that measurement to something else you break down 3-7/8 inches into 3 inches + 1/2 inch + 1/4 inch + 1/8 inch and make your mark. All this conversion and addition is what confuses many people. There is a better way. DO NOT CONVERT. Keep the original measurements as they are. That is 3 inches + 1/2 inch + 1/4 inch + 1/8 inch then transferred to the work piece, and read directly on the ruler as 3 inches + 1…

Hello there! I work as a purchasing agent for a heat treat in Arizona, this might not be the best place to post this for answers, but I thought it would be worth a shot. I am currently trying to find a better quality (latex, vinyl, or nitrile) glove for general purpose use, i.e. cleaning with acetone, oil dip, etc. We are currently using a 5 mil vinyl glove and are going through roughly 5000 gloves per month and the general consensus is that they are basically only good for a single use. Has anyone found a higher quality glove that will not be torn down by oil? If Iron Man and Silver Surfer teamed up, would they be alloys?

It could be just a “small sample size” thing, but most of the really cool blacksmithing pins seem to be from Russian websites. Has anyone else noticed this? They use an algorithm to drive the pins you see. If you click on a particular type of pin often, you will quickly begin seeing pins of that type more often than other types of pins. So it could be as simple as that. If the pins are those of Russian blacksmiths, there are an awful lot of amazingly gifted blacksmiths in Russia. I really wish I could read the language without Google Translate.

Hi to all, It's been quite a while since I have posted, however I was keen to jump on and provide a bit of an update at the end of what has been my first year of blacksmithing. (The forge as at July 2018; A year on since I first set it all up) I've been extremely luck to have had such a convenient working space over this period of time, allowing me to come and go as I please. I have tried my best to make maximum use of it around what has shaped up to be a very busy year, and whilst it's true that I haven't been able to be totally commit to improving my skills, it's remarkable how much more confident I have become as a result of the time I have been ab…

"The location might seem inappropriate to modern eyes, but both brewing and smithing are transformative processes, and likely held a degree of symbolism in Roman eyes. "This is reinforced by the burial of the remains of a raven - a mystical bird ascribed supernatural powers by the Celts and Romans - within the floor of the smithy". https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leicestershire-46528894

Fascinating story about this portrait. Pat Lyon (1779-1829) was a British-born blacksmith in Philadelphia who rose in business and industry and became a wealthy man. However, in earlier years, he was unjustly accused of complicity in a bank robbery (he’d made the locks) and imprisoned in the Walnut Street Jail, whose cupola is visible in the background. When he sat for noted Philadelphia portraitist John Neagle, he reportedly told him that he did “not wish to be represented as what I am not—a gentleman” (as he associated “gentility” with the unjust treatment he’d received previously from the Philadelphia bankers) and insisted that he be depicted with the sourc…

I had a weird thought. Kids have always ridiculed adults who were slow to adopt technology that made things better. We're currently in a very strange situation right now because many kids would prefer to text rather than talk on their phones. There probably aren't a lot of people who would admit it, but the main advantage of texting is the social control over the sender. The recipient is free to read without reply, which is the most common social punishment for displeasing messages. The recipient doesn't have to admit they were punishing the sender if it later proves advantageous to claim they were busy. Now consider this. A car was driving erratically on the …

Appears they were doing refrigerated rail cars (ice boxes back then). I've attached a smaller version but the original is extremely high resolution and clear so you can see lots of interesting details http://www.shorpy.com/node/12320?size=_original#caption Curious horizontal forming press...and it appears that bolt making was a big portion of the grunt work. Anyway, just though the history buffs might like a look. If you spot something else interesting, please add a comment. Addendum...guy on the farthest right must have Popeye-sized forearms to be swinging that sledge the way he is.

I wanted to make some companion sets set in stone but don't have any experience with the stuff. After looking online I think I will go for limestone so I can carve a bit of detail on to it, but I am concerned about it cracking. Is limestone a good choice? if not does anyone have any experience or advice about the kind of stone to use? Thanks

Happy new year to everyone. Thank you to all for your contributions and helping me and others learn through reading your comments and suggestions. I may not actively participate in conversations, but I read most or all of them. Best wishes for a safe and healthy 2019. Ken

Finally found a little ol' lady who was selling her deceased husband's truck, 2007 Ford ranger XLT 22k miles 4 x 4 auto . Was beginning to think they were only a myth.

As I'm heading up North and don't expect to be on much for a while due to being busy. I wish you all a Merry Christmas---and as blacksmiths you are on the Double Secret Naughty List where you don't get coal in your stockings!

Headed to Savannah, Georgia, U.S.A. For a quick getaway with the wife. Anything specific sites recommended for smithing enthusiasts?

While doing a little historical research on the catch cones that riveters generally used in the USA when rivets were tossed, I ran across this little vid of shipbuilding in Scotland. In this case they were hand-catching the red-hot rivets and quickly setting them down to be grabbed with tongs for insertion. All I could think of is the 1 in a million that hits your pocket or goes down your overall/cuff of the glove because you fumbled. Just a little fun hunk o' history to remind you that your job could always be worse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVjS1DsqYvo

I am amazed what those 3D printers can do. Friend of mine at work (Brasso) has one, and he made this cool little key ring holder for the forge. Anyone else done this 3D thing, and are there any applications for our art? The possibilities for casting perhaps?

Another hobby I am getting into is Astrophotography. I've had a 10" DOB for years and my main hobby is photography, so I thought I should try my hand at some astrophotography. I have been using just my camera and 300 mm lens so far, but I had ordered a 80mm APO scope to get better images. I received my new Stellarvue Access 80 ED yesterday. Luckily it was also a clear night! I set the scope up on my AZ-GTI in EQ mode and shot 1 minute subs. I probably could have went a little longer as the mount was tracking GREAT, I only had to reset it for the meridian flip. So far, I am really liking the scope. I am using The Stellarvue SFF3-25-48 field flattener, but I…

Hi, all! I create a new website , have problems with the translation. Google translator gives the answer, it seems to me he's not quite right. "Forged chandelier stylized wagon wheel" "Chandeliers of wagon wheel" Please, Give the correct name.

Good evening everyone, I'm a newbie whose been searching all over for the answer to a question that someone with years of experience might know. Should I begin by forging simple projects that increase in difficulty, or try to tackle harder projects until I get them right? I'm not asking you to look it up. I'm just hoping that some master is willing to pass on information that not everyone knows. Thanks in advance, Hux.

I recently traded an old tractor for some 12v 660CCA batteries for DCEN welding and mower blades. I got 21 mower blades and they are fun In the sideblast leafblower jabod coal forge, to practice on. They seem so soft when I beat them, so what can I use these mixed metal alloyed blades for as a softer steel. I spark tested and they have pretty low carbon content if I read the spark test data sheet from this website correctly. What can I do with these softer steel blades other than a "forged in fire" san mai concept? BTW the batteries will be wired in series and used to weld with 6011Electrodes for whatever. Bottom line 21 lawnmower blades might only be useful for sculpture…