Glenn

I am working on the coppermine issue.

Borax is a laundry additive. DO NOT use Boraxo as it is all together different. Borax can be found in the laundry section of stores, and some older hardwear stores. Flux is not needed to make a forge weld, but many things can be used as a flux, borax being a common flux. EZ Weld, and other welding fluxes can be obtained from your welding supplier, or stores that cater to blacksmiths and farriers. I have heard of sand, mud dabbers nests, and many other things being used as a flux. Try them all, but what ever you decide on as a flux, it will not improve bad technique. Practice is what makes a good forge weld, not the flux.

If the bodies of many brands anvils are made from wrought with a tool steel face, why would you have to harden anything other than the face on your RR track anvil? I can not see lead adding anything to the anvil capibilities. Lead is not one of the things you would want get loose in your shop, either being spilled during pouring, or being vibrated out from between the anvil rails with each impact of the hammer. This construction project is an assembly of materials to approach the solid mass of a real anvil. Considering the actual area of the anvil being used is about the side of your hand, and the ideal location for the mass of the anvil would be under the impact area, why not look for some round shafting in the 4" to 6" size. Consider a set of Rail Road wheels and axle. Cut off one wheel. Bury the other wheel into the ground leaving the axle sticking straight up as the anvil. Just do not walk into it in the dark. :shock: A block of steel 12" x 12" x 4" thick is 163 pounds. That is 4 anvil faces of 4" x 12" and two more anvil faces at 12" x 12 " in size. Mild steel will show some wear but by the time you wear out the 6 anvil faces on the block of steel, it will be time to move up to a real anvil anyway. This is not to rain on your assembled anvil project, just that there are many ways to skin a cat. We also need to rethink the design of the anvil. Do not weld the ends closed like I suggested earlier. Instead, lay the welding rod down and back up 3 paces. Now "look" at this and "see" if you can find a bridge anvil. :idea:

You may want to weld a plate of steel to the each end of the anvil to both close off the interior but also strengthen the anvil.

Don, welcome to the forum. Go to http://www.iforgeiron.com/BPindex/BPindex.shtml and look over some of the "Blueprints" the how to projects, tools, and jigs. As you construct your anvil, take photos of the process and we can work them up into a blueprint.

FIREBRICKS are designed to take heat, but there are different types of firebrick for different applications. You need to seek the advice of those knowledgable in that field. Thomas Powers is knowledgable about clays that can be used for making forges. He is a member of this forum.

You folks are having too much fun !! Keep it up.

What is the prupose of the notch in the blade?

This month show us what you can create from a Rail Road Spike. The one I have here is 5/8" square and 6" long. In case you can not get a rail road spike, you may substitute 7" length of square bar from 1/2" (12mm) to 3/4" (18-19mm) in size. You may use several spikes to make a project, but if you substituting square bar, you must cut it to 7" in lenght and the join the pieces back together to make a longer piece. This is just to be fair to the rest of us with the short RR spikes.

Thank you, it means a lot to get the feedback. It makes the effort worth while.

Chuck, you got it.

I would suggest building a inexpensive forge to start with, one that is potrable and easily moved. Forging outside does not require a hood, let the smoke go where it will. With a practice you can learn how to build a fire that releases very little smoke.

My anvil can be heard at 4 blocks during the heat of the summer (with thin less dense air to carry the sound). The same anvil can be used at 2 am if I am careful. Always be mindful of the neighbors and their sleeping habits. Try a couple of wraps of loose chain about the waist, a carriage bolt in the pritchel hole (carriage bolt with the low profile round head so you do not injure yourself), loosely strap the feet down, bed the anvil in silicone, the magnet never did much for me, but you can try one under the heel or the horn, and there is a BP on a device to kill the ring in the process of rolling down to dot.com. All these will help. One of the things I noticed was the position of the hot metal on the anvil, directly over the body mass rings less than on the heel or horn. When all else fails, those little foam ear plugs, AND a set of good ear muffs make the ring of the anvil disappear. :wink:

Your Grandpa is on the list. We wish him and your family well.

Start with BP0051 Good Coal, and BP0131 Coal, Coke, and Rocks. It will explain solid fuels. Then move to BP0035 Fire and Smoke - Pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 - Index as it explains how to get the fire started. The 55 forge B-0133 55 Forge Pan is not a heavy duty forge, but a way to get started with only a small amount of time and money invested. It will work for both coal and charcoal. http://www.iforgeiron.com/BPindex/Subject/Forge/BPforges.shtml You can do a search on "charcoal" in the forum and get some information there, but there is not as yet a blueprint on the subject (hint-hint).

Kingsford is best used for the BBQ. Give us an idea of where your located and we can suggest fuel sources and blacksmithing groups in your area.

Iwant to get into blacksmithing. I have several questions about the whole of the process. Let me take this one question at a time. Welcome to IForgeIron. Many of your questions are answered in the matirial on this site. Post specific questions and they can be answered in the forum. I dont have a lot of money. Can I still start blacksmithing, and what tools should i have before i get started? STOCK You will need to get some metal to work with. The local junk yards, alleys on trash day, neighbors and places that discard metal drops as a by-product of their business are good sources. The local steel yard is good as they will sell you the same size and quality metal each time. FIRE and FUEL What do i use for the fire it self? What do you have available for fuel? Propane, coal, charcoal, wood (turned into charcoal), and coke can all be used as a fuel. You want a forge that will use the fuel you have available to you. FORGE Get way to get the metal hot. This can be in a forge, but is dependant on the heat source and fuel available. Could i make my own forge out of lets say brick? A forge is only a container to hold fire. It can be a hole in the ground, built from bricks, metal or as one fellow did on this forum, a little red wagon. http://www.iforgeiron.com/BPindex/Subject/Forge/BPforges.shtml will present several forge designs. The freon tank gasser and the now famous 55 forge are low cost was to build a working forge. HAMMER Some type of hammer. A ball pein hammer (machinest hammer) or any hammer about 2 pounds in weight will work. This can be located in many homes, garages, flea markets, or stores that cater to tools at a discounted price. I have purchased new 2# hanners for less than $5 from tool discount stores. TONGS Something to hold the hot metal. Look for a pair of vise grips. Later you can locate real tongs or make your own tongs. ANVIL Something to beat on and use AS an anvil. This can be any piece of metal with a mass of 70 to 100 pounds will work. A piece of rail road track that you stank on end, a piece of 3 to 4" solid round or square, a piece of 4" steel plate 12"x12" sq is about 150 pounds, or just a piece of metal with about 100 pounds weight. You would prefer it compact in size. You can use this for learning and practice blacksmithing while looking for a "real" anvil. How do u fold the steel or iron or temper it? FOLDING STEEL You fold steel or iron by siimply folding it over onto itself. If you are asking about then welding the two pices together in the fire, or making damascus, that needs to be ask later after you have worked with some metal. It has specific instructions to follow, and you need some forge time first. TEMPERING When the steel is heated it can then be hardened by quenching in water. It will be hard but also brittle. You then "temper" the steel or reduce the hardness of the metal in favor of toughness. This is done by heating and then only cooling the portion of the metal being tempered, then let the residual heat flow back into the portion being tempered. As the area then reaches the temperature desired for toughness, it is then quenched again. For more information see BP0078 Metallurgy of Heat Treating - Quenchcrack Robert Nichols If you have additional questions just ask. But keep referring back to this thread as many others can provide their thoughts also.

Make a rope holder to hold two strands of rope. This is to remind the public to keep at a safe distance. Someone will step over, under or around so be watchful and immediately stop all work till they return to a safe location. As to the questions, you may have heard it 100 times today, but the person making the comment is usually honest in their question or comment. You need to treat the question politely and with a informative answer. To reply with a quick zinger does not benifit you or the craft. You can simply say that a farrier is a speciality in blacksmithing. Or that in their grandfathers or other relatives day, " blacksmithing was necessary to the rural style of living. Also explain that their grandfather did not own a cell phone, the same cell phone which many people can not live without today. Times change.

I will let the metalurgists address the chemical reaction part of the question. When the metal gets too hot, starts throwing sparks, it takes on a "burnt" look. You can do a lot of things but the best is to cut off the "burnt" part and start over. http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=418 explains plasma rather well. Plasma vaporizes the material being cut and air blows it out of the kerf. Ox/Ac turns the metal to liguid and blows (or burns) the liquid out of the kerf with Oxygen. You can find the metal from the kerf all over the floor as dust or little "ball bearings" which sometimes make standing up difficult. I must warn you that this gets into the soles of the shoes, cuffs of your pants, pockets and etc You then track "gray" footprints all the place. "Gray" is not so bad but overnight with a little humidity and the "gray" turns to rust and THAT is a whole nother problem. Rusty foot prints on the wife's carpet (notice it is no longer your house or carpet) will get you at least a week of taking you clothes off before you are allowed into the house. I mention the pants pockets because come time to do the laundry, you want to be sure you shook out the pants and reversed the pockets. Otherwise the "gray" gets all over everything and then turns to rust in the water. The little "ball bearings" then attach them selves to only the most obvious locations and "rust stain" the material. This results is being ban from doing laundry at home, so start looking for the local coin operated laundry and get to know how to use the machinery. You may want to find a second location as next person doing laundry will also get some of your "rust stains" in the most obvious places on their clothes. People say Plasma, and Ox/Ac is sometimes dangerous, but they fail to mention the dangers that remain after you leave the shop. :wink:

Andy, your on the list, Keep a good attitude, and keep us updated.

This is a good time to mention Woody's classic piece Dissertation on making Magical Swords

Why not use the anvil for a year just the way it is. Try to figure out how you can use the chip to your advantage. Then you will have an idea if it really bothers you enough to risk repairing the anvil.

Jimmy, I like that. Applies to hammers also.

I increased the brightness, increased the contrast just a bit, and went into the shadows and added a little light to give detail in the steel. All this is done differently for each individual image. Takes some time but makes things look better I think. But the secret to the whole thing is to have a lot of material to work with in the beginning. If you have a large file with lots of pixels you can do wonderful things.

Dear Family and Friends, I had surgery last Wednesday to remove a mass in my right arm pit. The doctor took out just one lymph gland. I went back for the follow-up today. Turns out, it is cancer, but they don't know what kind yet, whether it's a lymph kind or a breast kind. They had to send it to a specialist. Probably won't know for certain till next week. My mother had breast cancer, though she was in her 60s when it came on. And I did nurse both of the kids, which supposedly helps protect from breast cancer. My gut feeling is that it's some sort of lymphoma, though I could be wrong. I already know that I also have three growths on my thyroid, which will have to be removed. That's going to require an overnight stay in the hospital again soon. I'm also going to be having all the body scans to see if cancer is anywhere else. Then they can determine the treatment, whether surgery, radiation and/or chemo. Of course, we've been through all of this with Ralph, so I know what's coming. It's almost funny that cancer showed up in both of us the very same way, the very same arm pit...with hemorrhaging lymph glands. And within 15 months of each other. But mine's not melanoma (which is so deadly), and Ralph had to have ALL his lymph glands removed, which has resulted in daily problems and pain since. So I already feel like I'm getting off easy. Speaking of Ralph, he started whole brain radiation last Monday. There will be 14 treatments all together, so he's half way done. It really zaps his strength, though he's been remarkable, wanting to wait on me hand and foot since my surgery. He's such a good man...such a great husband. Sorry for the bad news. Seems it's been one thing after another with my family for the past couple of years. Oh well, it is what it is. God will take care of us, one way or another. Love to all, Dawn