Iron Clad

Thanks DKunkler. Neat book. I just read most of it on PDF. I would like to own this one. Looks like with this book a person can put a blacksmith and wood shop together, build a house, make furniture, and tell time. All it needs is a section on growing food and making cloths and your all set! The best thing about this book is learning how it was done back then. I like the section on the foot powered wood lathe also.

It is a great learning experience about working high carbon in this case, however you don't have to make fullers from this material. Low carbon will work just fine. I made this spring fuller a couple of weeks ago from mild steel, the plans of which came from Mark Aspery's book "fundamentals of leaf work'. http://ironclad.shutterfly.com/43 I have made many spring fullers over the years and always out of mild steel. It's cheaper, and when they wear out, just make another.

I have the same problem, I can do many things and I'm not a master of anything. (Yet!) Now, here is what I think about you and what you wrote monster.....I have seen your work, I have seen pictures of your shop and your machines. You should be proud, and I'm sure you are. I have always thought that MOST people today go to work, come home watch T.V., attend to yard work, take a vacation once in awhile, and thats about it. Craftsmen such as ourselves I believe strive for more, we have perhaps over active minds, and want a more fulfilling life. When I'm seventy or eighty and look back at my life I don't want to say to myself that all I did was go to work and watch sports. You do excellent work and you will be remembered for it. Who am I?? I'm not sure.... I blacksmith, travel and explore, fossel hunt, read and study history, own classic trucks, too much my wife says. I'm not sure which of these things are more important to me. (Actually blacksmithing and history first before the others.) But then again traveling is high on the list. You see, I can't make up my mind. For instance, I'm planning to take a trip to Yellowstone in one of my classic trucks in the summer of 2011, I think about the trip then switch to thinking about history sometimes while I'm blacksmithing in my shop. It drives me crazy! Who am I?? Confused.... P.S. - You know Monster, you made me think. I had to come back to this topic. I guess it may be easy for some people, they know who they are and what they do. I never have! I have always wanted to master something and produce something special or meaningful. I need to nail this down before it's too late! Thanks for this topic.

Well said Dan. ;)

A few years ago I remember we could get a 50 lb. bag for $10 here in Oregon. The cheapest I can find for good coal now is $27 per 50 Lb. bag.

That's great news. Thanks for the update. Now if the prices would just go down. ;)

Hey, that looks just like my house. I made so much money blacksmithing I was able to buy a house just like it... Nice work!

Amazing, nice work! I have never forged bronze before, I would like to try. I have a bar sitting around somewhere.

Oh no David....Me like me glasses. Hey Ironsmith, they do look like mine. Perhaps slightly different color on the lens, same case though.

So what's going on out there? Are we coming to a time when coal will not be available anymore? I can get by with gas in my home shop, however I need lot's of coal for my other shop.... How about coke??

Thanks Grant. After all that hand hammering the die itself showed no wear. What steel are you using? I'm thinking S1 ?

Will do Neil. I completely forgot about these glasses. They were tucked away and I came across them today. I put them on and looked outside and everything looked more defined and clear so I think your assessment is right. I'll give them a try at the forge and let you know.

Cool, Fe-Wood. I found patents filed by the Welsh company going back to the twenty's. I don't think they are in business anymore. If I had to guess I would think these glasses are from the 1930's. I don't think they were used much, they are in excellent shape and no scratches on the lenses. I wonder if the colored lenses were for furnace work or when using torches?

Nice tools. Jack hammer bits make great tools. It's tough stuff. It's harder material to forge by hand though. A sledge hammer is useful. My son and I made a cut-off hardy out of a jack hammer bit. My son used the sledge hammer! :D

Check out these antique saftey glasses. The metal container says "Welsh Manufacturing Co. Providence, R.I. U.S.A." I have had these glasses for a very long time and I cannot remember where I got them. In what setting would they have been used for? http://ironclad.shutterfly.com/48 http://ironclad.shutterfly.com/49

Good job. It's still a useful anvil. They may break but they die hard!

Okay, I want one of those! Cool Tool. I could use it on my sickle mower. I have a sickle mower that was made in 1885 and still works great. The blades need sharpened though. I still use it!

And the "granddaddy" (pun intended), "My grandfather was a blacksmith". Perhaps not a phrase, but said more times than I want to hear! :blink:

I have built two coal forges, both look the same. I find it's easy to make a frame from angle iron, add a steel plate for the bed, (with a hole cut into the bottom), and add a fire pot. That easy!! I buy my fire pots from Centaur Forge. It's really an easy thing to build if you have a welder, cutting torch, and a cut-off saw. I built my last forge in about three hours or so. I figure the dimensions on paper before hand, then cut the angle iron all at once then start welding. I cross brace the legs with flat stock. Both have round, heavy duty fire pots. I don't know why I bought round. Perhaps they were cheaper, but they work well. Next time I will buy the square pot. You can kind of get an idea from the picture in the link below. I added the fire brick just to hug the coal around the fire pot but this is not necessary just something I like to do. This forge is in my ghost town blacksmith shop. http://ironclad.shutterfly.com/47

Grant, at one of the last NWBA conferences I bought one of your spring dies that swages a round ball in the center of a 1/2" square bar. I explained to you that I didn't have a power hammer and you advised me to then weld a 1" square shank to the bottom spring and set this assembly into my hardy hole. Great idea. A customer wanted a round ball in the center of every other picket on a 40 ft. railing I was building for him. So I made a stop to butt the bar against to make sure the ball was on center every time and then I had to swing a large sledge hammer with one hand while holding and turning the bar with the other. I thought my arm was going to fall off, but it worked. Here is the rest of the story.... I noticed right off that it's practically impossible to swing a large sledge hammer with one hand and hit the die perfectly flat every time. So as a result the die was flexing back and forth on the spring. I figured it was a race against time before the die broke off the spring handle. IT DID BREAK OFF.....on the last hit on the last picket to finish the railing!!! (If it's going to break, then the timing was perfect.). No problem though, I just cut off the handle and after a little clean up just welded them back on. I have four of your dies now and plan to buy more at the next conference. No more sledge hammer though, I'm using the treadle hammer.

Grant, your analysis is interesting and true. I had the same problem with the temporary bolt, hard to tighten down one arm without the other moving. I was already thinking how to solve this. You gave me the answer! I was debating whether to make this caliper with the two arms riveted seperately on the handle as seen with so many. I chose this design, well, because I like the looks better... I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't have designed it to the former. Just to finish this piece, I'll go ahead and make the wing nut and just for fun hand make a couple of crown washers! Thanks Grant for the advice!

The hammer really is very nice. I would keep it as is! You can buy ball pien hammers all day at second hand stores cheap... It's too bad modern tools don't have such character.

Here is my project for today, a pair of blacksmith calipers. They are almost done. I still have file work and scale to remove. I'm thinking of making a wing nut to hold the assembly together instead of using a rivet, this way I can adjust then lock down tight. It's still in the rough but what do you think? http://ironclad.shutterfly.com/46 Thanks for looking! :)

Would it be necessary to slightly hone out the box in order to allow better diffusion between the brass and the iron? Or is simply heating the box enough to allow some penetration into the base material?

Ah, that's funny, I think your right, it does! :lol: