Don A

Man, I hate to hear this. So many of us speak based on theory; Grant spoke based on experience. Ask a question and chances are he had done it. He'll surely be missed. Let's all remember that the next blow of our hammer could be our last... make 'em all count.

Also, if you are using a shop vac, you might be getting too much air. If you get the piece close to the grate, a strong blast can actually cool it. Otherwise, too much air = too much oxygen = mucho scale = no weld. You need a deep fire, gentle air blast, and patience to let the heat come up gradually. If it does stick, you might need to work through 2 or 3 (or more) welding heats to close all the gaps. You will need to wire brush and re-flux before each heat.

When you made the pass-through (I assume you slitted and drifted?), how did you prevent the tube from collapsing inward?

You might be suprised what you can do with just a clean cotton rag and some Brasso, SemiChrome, or Flitz.

I second the above... open up your grate and get some more air.

I really like this show too. I have seen Mr. Ross several times, but I haven't seen this one. I'll be watching for it. But I agree... I don't see how Roy has all of his fingers and other body parts still intact. It makes me nervous to watch him sometimes.

I think he is actually wearing wooden shoes / sabots. Now that's old-school OSHA. B)

My daughter got fogged by some poison ivy smoke a couple years ago. Though normally beautiful, she was quite hideous looking for a day or two. Had to take steroids to combat the swelling. Be careful and stay upwind!

So when does the double lung/double chamber/two-stage bellows for metal working come on the scene in documented history?

A lot of the old timers around here would use Plott hounds and pit bulls for boar hunting; the Plotts for the trail and the pits for the catch. One pit holding the ear, one the hind leg, and the hunter just steps in and cuts the boar's throat. They had to use a choke chain to make the bulldogs turn loose. The last one my grandfather killed was with a Case Sodbuster. Sounds rough, but times used to be a lot rougher.

I second what Thomas said. Go with gas if you can. If not, shop around for Royal Oak or Cowboy brand real charcoal. Both burn clean and relatively smokeless, but the charcoal will put off some sparks.

The only advantage that I have seen is that if you need to start a fire from scratch, you don't have to endure the process of coking out the green coal. If I have plenty of coke from my last coal fire, I would prefer the standard coal fire. Seems like the pure coke will go out if you spend too much time between heats with no air.

Yeah, wet (with water) sand on a cookie sheet in the oven will be dry sand in no time.

Thank you all for the advice. Let's go put it to use.

I don't have a picture of my header, but it is simply two pieces of 1 x .5" with a small piece of angle welded to the back of each. It was drilled through for two index pins running horizontally, then vised up and drillled through the seam with a 7/16" bit. I think I have plenty of volume, but I have not tried a top tool. I have been round-heading them with a ball pien. Perhaps the top tool would be the answer to my problem.

I need some practical advice on making rivets. I am starting with 7/16" round stock. The shank needs to be about 2" long. I have a coal forge and a torch. Remember, 7/16" is pretty thick. I'm using a clamp-type header in my vise, but I can't seem to set a sharp shoulder on the head. I want this: But keep getting this: Any thoughts? Thanks.

Mighty purty country up there. A lot of my ancestors came out of Carter County.

Welcome. I got into blacksmithing plus or minus 10 years ago. Last year I used some of my "knife & iron" stash to buy myself a detector (Garrett Ace 250). I haven't made any notable finds yet, but I really enjoy getting out and searching anyway. I have found some decent pieces of wrought to add to the scrap pile. Good to have you on board. Don

Where are you located? I'm in Blount Co., within a mile or two of Sevier Co. Welcome to the forum. Don

Did you tie your own broom? Care to share some details? I've gotta come up with a broom very soon.

Well, it is marked "INDIAN CHIEF" :rolleyes:

Well, I got 'em done, and they turned out nice. Drawing the elipse wasn't the problem (I work with AutoCAD in my day job). The real problem was getting 1" x ½" stock to bend smothly with no flat spots. Here's the jig I came up with: The shape extended well past the half-way point, so when I formed the opposite side, everything matched up nicely. Yeah, there was a considerable cloud of smoke and cursing, but it got the job done. If I were gonna go into production on these pieces, I'd have the same jig water-jetted from some 1" plate. But wood worked fine for the two pieces I needed for this job. Thanks for all of the good advice. Don

Dang Ric, that thing is amazing. It's funny how you don't have a lot of respect for tools like that until you're faced with the manual alternative.

Last night, I had two sections of 1" square and I wanted a 360º twist in the center 6 inches using the vise and a wrench. I had never twisted 1" before. When twisting smaller stock, I usually go at an orange heat and find that I can control the twist better if I don't get it too hot. Not so with this stuff. I nearly popped a vessel trying to move that stock at an orange heat. My wrist is still sore. What did I learn? "If yer gonna twist 1", you better git it yellar" ("yellow" for our friends up north). Another problem solved by simply getting enough heat to get the job done.

I look forward to trying some of this great advice this evening, if the storms miss us. I appreciate it.