jayco

I think soy oil is just vegatable oil. Lots of knife guys use it as quench. It's also an ingredient in some finishes.

And yes, veggie oil is a lot safer to use than used motor oil!

I've been away from IFI for a while, and I thought I should explain a little.
Nearly a month ago, I was working, but not feeling so well:
Then I had computer problems:
Then, IFI was off-line for a while:
And then we had.......THE ICE STORM! No power for 4 days and nights.
We were lucky about the power outage.......lots of folks are just now getting their power back on!

If that wasn't enough trouble, Sunday night I began to feel really BAD and had to go to the ER.
To make a long story short, I had to have my heart shocked back into rythym. The doctors installed a nice new defibrillator into my chest.
Left the hospital Wednesday.

I got home to discover that the computer was down!
Talk about bad luck!
A local computer guy fixed it just today.

The good news is that I actually feel better than I did a month ago.
I had a heart attack years ago, and open heart surgery 3 years ago,so I'm not totally surprised at having cardiac problems show up from time to time.

My doctor tells me I will not be able to arc weld due to the electrical fields interfering with my new device........(I will be asking him more about this later)

Hopefully, I will still be able to do some metal working.....I was slow and semi-retired even before this incident, so it might not be so much of a change for me LOL!

I'm gonna brush up on my O/A welding.......just in case........I've already had my old shop books out looking for the information.

You know what they say:
"When one door closes, another one opens"

James Flannery

Welcome to Iforgeiron!

(You can click on the ''User CP'' at the top of the page to make your general location a part of your posts)

Believe it or not, it makes it a lot easier for folks to help if they know where you are.

James

Jr., keep posting. There are a lot more of us out here taking notes than you realize.

You are a thick book of blacksmithing knowledge.......it would be a shame not to open that book!

James

A great bunch of pictures, Hollis! Thanks for sharing.

About this "safety glasses not being period correct" thing.........

Maybe we should try a new strategy.......and declare ourselves the 'New Blacksmiths"

You know........the ones that demand adequate ventilation, avoid zinc fumes,.......and wear safety glasses!

Think about it........no one expects Civil War re-enactments to be done with REAL bullets, do they?

Just a thought.........James

Happy Birthday, Richard!

With much of the U.S. going into the 'deepfreeze'.....and the current hard times a lot of folks are seeing, It's a good idea to check on older folks, the sick, and the disabled in our communities.

We should make sure they have food and heat.
Folks on fixed incomes often face difficulty making ends meet toward the last of the month. Not enough money for medicine, heat, and food.

If we cannot help them ourselves, we should notify local authorities.

James

The arrival of the seed catalogs is a sure sign that spring will eventually arrive in E. Ky.
My wife does most of the seed catalog browsing, so I'm not sure what I'll be planting this year.

In mid January, I'm always kicking myself for NOT cutting enough firewood back in september, when the weather was nice........

After half joking in a post about making "Bullwinkle" tongs.......I'm wondering if I really could make them.......the horns are the dilemna!

'dilemna?.......maybe I should learn to spell too...........:)

cam7002, welcome to Iforgeiron!

Soon you will be drooling over blacksmithing tools and picking up pieces of scrap iron along the highway.
Like the rest of us, you will soon be addicted.

Please use the User CP at the top of the page and post your general location. There might be other smiths near you.

enjoy!

Using the same parameters, no knots or bark. Would this apply to other wood as well? There is not only pine here, but lots of oak. Would that work as well? And if so, what other woods would or would not work?

Mitch

Mitch, any dry wood would work. My reason for avoiding the pine knots is simply that they make for a mighty smoky fire.
Oak should work fine, but it burns slower.
I haven't tried oak in this way yet, but I imagine if you split it finer, or pile the wood higher on the forge, it would work much the same.

With denser, slow burning woods, I would expect it to take a little longer to get a good heap of burning coals to forge with at startup.

I have a good supply of very dry sassafras that I intend to experiment with as well.

The white pine I've been using is very dry.....very light in weight....almost like balsa.

Next time I try this, I'll try to get pictures.

Yep, good stories and information, Adirondacker.
There's a film I've seen on the 'documentary channel'.....called....."The Charcoal People of Brazil".............They may still be airing it, I'm not sure.

Any way, the program depicts the making of charcoal in mud and brick domes about 5 ft. high.
Pretty interesting and informative.

Dick, welcome to Iforgeiron!
If you have any questions, just ask...
With your background, you may be able to answer some too.
Good to have you here.
Enjoy!

Barnaby, welcome to Iforgeiron!

The blacksmithing and bladesmithing classes will definately improve the learning curve for you. Just seeing a working smith at a working forge will save you from much trial and error.

Check out the "Getting Started" and the "Lessons in Metalworking" sections on the opening page of IFI. Much good information there.

Enjoy!

James, you and yours and everyone else who is looking for employment will be in my thoughts and prayers as we enter into this new economic era.

This is not really a trick, but I thought I'd pass it on anyway. Might come in handy for someone.

Today I was preparing to forge some small pieces.(1/2 in. round.....6 in. long) and didn't need a large fire. I lit a fire with newspaper and small kindling.
Because the shop was rather cool today, I just kept adding 1 in. x 1 in.x `12 in. long kindling to the fire.

By the time I had gathered my stock, tongs, and proper hammer, etc, I looked at the fire and noticed that I had some NICE charcoal in there.

Since I didn't need the large fire, and was only cranking the hand blower once in a while, the charcoal making on top of the forge pretty much kept up with my fuel needs.

Now, I've tried things like this before, and usually there's too much smoke........the fire burns out and I'm left with a pile of burning sticks (which, by the way, will not heat metal properly.)

The reason this worked was because the pine kindling was very dry, the bark was gone. The bark adds a lot of smoke and ash to the fire.
As luck would have it, most of the wood had no knots........the resin in the knots makes for lots of smoke.

Without the bark and resin, the fire did not smoke much.

This wood charred quickly and easily........I was so surprised that I will have to do more experiments.

I like a little primitive woodworking along with my metalworking. Kinda goes hand in hand. I have a shaving horse and drawing knives I use to shape handles and other things.

Believe it or not, using a froe can be fun........once you catch on to how it works and can make the split run the way you want it to go in green wood.

Of course, I like my chainsaws too. I made nearly all the cuts in building my new shed/shop with mine.

bsiler, I'm pretty sure it was Glenn who did the B P on the expanded metal sifter.
You might contact him....I think he has it on file somewhere.

There are hundreds of B P's that are currently off line.......they may be returning soon.

By the way, I still haven't found a good way to get a worth while amount of charcoal out of the pot bellied stove. Just too much air gets in there and burns up the wood.
It's too far along in the winter to radically change things around, but before next winter, I might make a 55 gal. barrel stove for the shop.....with tight fitting dampers and door.
For the time being, I will still try some of the great ideas from this thread.
If any look promising, I will report on the success.

James

Gee, I bet you're wishing you were back home finishing up the new shop!
I know I would be........
If you ever get stranded between loads up in my neck of the woods,(say, around Grayson,Ky) be sure and give me a shout.

We'll get together and hammer a chunk of iron or something.....
show you how hillbillys live.........:)

Unkle Spike,thanks for the tour. Great little shop you have there.

I like the red wagon, too.

James

Warren, what is a 'roots' blower?

( I've been following this thread and thinking I might try a waste oil burner with a little veggie oil). Might be interesting.........)

James, I have no doubt it will work........but just for the fun of it I'll try it anyway.
Sassafras is the only wood I know that grows locally (Ky) that can lay on the ground for years and will STILL be useful as kindling!
I'll have to try it!

James

fire4ged,welcome to Iforgeiron!
This is a great place to meet folks and learn about metalworking.

Since we're always building forge flues, hoods, and other sheet metal type things, maybe you can help us with your expertise.
We kinda learn from each other.
If you have any questions, just ask.

Enjoy!

Erik, welcome to Iforgeiron!
There's lots of information and lots of friendly folks here.
If you have any questions, just ask.

Enjoy!

I have to agree with ironrosefarms........sassafras makes great kindling. I'ts my number one choice.
A balled up sheet of newspaper , a handful of pencil sized sasafras sticks, a match, and can build my forge fire most anytime.

In emergency situations, when it was pouring the rain and I couldn't find anything dry in the shop to start a fire with, I have shaved a few small pieces of parafin candle and wrapped it up in a piece of cotton cloth.......placed it in the forge and lit it.
Kinda makes a big candle that burns for five minutes.....and usually gets the fire started.
It only takes a spoonful of wax to do it.

free2forge, welcome to Iforgeiron!
This is a great site with lots of metalworking information and lots of friendly folks.

I can readily identify with , as you said, 'health problems'.
I have an intermitent bad back and I had open heart surgery three years ago.
But like you, I'm ready to go again.

Feel free to jump in anywhere you like.......ask questions.....provide answers........that's what this is all about.........( and it's also FUN!)

Oh, by the way, please use the 'user CP' at the top of the page and let us know your general location........there might be smiths just down the road from you!

Enjoy!