Steve Shimanek

Don't get confused, punches and drifts are different tools with different geometries.

Glad you are finally heating and beating; the rest just takes practice and a keen eye. My mentor told me a punch for making straight holes such as for putting rivets into should be parallel where the punch goes into the steel, not tapered, and should have a bit of a shoulder where it meets the shaft of the tool and the face of the punch should have crisp edges to shear through the steel. Nice first effort.

Take a step back, take some breaths, then look for a blacksmith or farrier near you to see some things first hand....I am sure there is someone near you that can help get you started. You seem to be focused on forge welding temperatures; there is a lot that can be learned and done at normal forging temps (red to orange)that does not require welding temps. Some basic experience will be a good thing and there are surely people within driving range for you to check out. Good luck.

A car spring is likely to have chromium in it already, and without resmelting the alloys are unlikely to combine. Thinking about it some more, could a case hardening process improve the carbon content of a typical 5160/9260 type steel.....that could be an interesting experiment. Got to walk before we run, though.

Manipulating hot metal is fun, huh? Keep going!

Don't know what your forge looks like, but wiring the refractory in place seems like a doomed proposition unless you coat it with some other type of refractory. I have had some decent results from putting Mizzou over glass wool. Definitely don't breathe the fibers and coating them with something will be better for your health. The stuff you have may still be usable if it isn't melted in appearance. Hard to say much without pictures...good luck.

I hear the angst in your post, it does seem like you have been through some frustration. After all you have put into your various projects you have posted here, it seems you might have been better off just finding a new or used manufactured forge with burners that would be ready to go right out of the box. If finances do not allow this, i can relate, however, the cost of suitable do it yourself materials can easily exceed the cost of purchasing a commercial outfit depending on how you go about it. It seems your main issue is getting your homemade burners to work properly. maybe you can post some good pictures and a description of how your burners are made (again) and you will probably get some feedback that will help. I got into gas forges like you by making my own and made 4 burners that worked (for forging, haven't welded with it)using info available on the internet; it is possible, but I am mostly using a commercial forge i bought from another smith as it gets to temperature quicker than the one I made and is easier to weld in. Homemade burners can and do work well but there is a narrow window that they have to be specc'ed at to make them functional.Yours don't sound as if they are made or tuned properly; pictures or a video would help us figure out why. A closeup of your burner would be helpful; looking at the photo above it looks to me like your burner tube is too long. Also, the thermal mass of hard brick soaks up a lot of heat and takes a lot of BTU's to get up to temp.

I built one out of an old freon tank and it has worked out pretty well for linear type pieces and smaller stuff; I made a small door in the rear for passing flat longer stocj through and the front opening is about 4 1/4 inches square more or less. Good luck!

You don't say what your issues were with your other forges, and whether they were homemade also. Homemade forges can work adequately if they are designed, executed, and used properly. A well made commericial forge should deliver good performance. Making a new forge without understanding the issues with your current forges could be problematic. No one forge can handle every project; I have 3 in my home shop and my mentor has 6 or so. If you read all the many posts on this site regarding forges you should be able to determine if your project currently under consideration will meet your needs, and also you might be able to figure out what to do about your other forges. Good luck, Steve PS welcome to the site.

Looks pretty cool, i have seen similar "curls" features done successfully can't wait to see the real blade.

Howdy, welcome to the board.

nice forging, that looks like it will go.

Nice haul and cute baby! You are a rich man!

I went over yesterday and did some troubleshooting and poking around; the turnbuckle connecting the treadle to the main valve needed adjusting, and I played with the limit switch adjustments some. The hammer is more well behaved now ;I made my mentor happy as he said he was almost ready to give up on that hammer. Ciladog's previous thread and the discussion in there helped me greatly. I am unsure if the cylinder cushions are working as designed but screwed up my shoulder muscles lifting the ram to check.....duhrrr! The exhaust/main valve adjustment valve was probably key as the previous adjustment did not let it close fully when the treadle was up; I am guessing this would allow the tup to slam at the top more that way. Thanks for the assistance on this thread; I may have some more questions after next weekend. Aloha, Steve

Happy Birthday, keep on rockin'!

Just my opinion, but if your work is good enough to go out of the shop it should have an appropriate price tag on it; you may not mind working for free but that may be a minority view. Once you sell something cheap you are setting the market price for everyone in your area. And just think....there is always someone who will do it cheaper, making you compete against yourself and the cheaper guy! Set the bar high, deliver quality work, and expect a fair price for it. Just my thoughts.....good luck and thanks for sharing your work.....looks like a cool project.

Thank you John; I am going to check out the cylinder now that i have a better idea of what to look for. Is there any available information on the air schematic for the Bull hammers? I have not found anything yet searching the web. It seems something like a service manual that explained the air flow and functions of the individual components would be very helpful. I hear good things about your Iron Kiss hammers; thanks for your assistance. Steve

There are some appealing features in your piece as well as some proportional issues that provide some avenues for refinement in your next work. The sheath artwork is very nice but the stitching method to my eye detracts from your beautiful designs. Personally I would prefer stitching that does not wrap over the edge of the sheath. The ricasso of the knife seems a bit long, and the guard/handle transition could be smoother. The handle depth from top to bottom seems a bit narrow in proportion to the blade. I like the blade shape and the plunge area.I do not know how many knives you have made; please see this as constructive commentary because I see elements of greatness in your work and look forward to seeing what you do next! Steve

Barnes Distribution has a closeout sale on hot mill gloves at .90 cents a pair; I just ordered a dozen for myself and a dozen for the company shop i run. I wouldn't use cotton gloves for any hot work. I rarely use any gloves at all when forging, and never on my hammer hand.

Ciladog, your previous thread on your hammer build and description on the operation of the Bull controls is extremely helpful; I printed that thread out and will use it to troubleshoot issues on my mentor's Bull. 5 star rating, much appreciated. I like the modifications on the hammer you built!

Thanks for the Kayne contact and the Parker link; I will check this out next time i am over at the shop.

Thanks for the replies; please forgive my ignorance, but what do the cylinder air cushions look like and how are they adjusted (if present) ? Thanks, Steve

Aloha, my mentor has a 50 lb Bull air hammer; some time back the cylinder rod broke and he had it replaced by a local outfit. It seems the length of the rod they installed was shorter than the original and the shop that did the work threw out the original so the stock length is not known. Is there a way to adjust the valving to eliminate the slamming at the top of the stroke and to maintain adjustability of the striking force? Is there an online schematic for the airflow and how to tune the performance of this machine? Thanks for any replies, Steve

Thanks for the info; I spent the better part of yesterday at my mentor's shop rebuilding the edges with Stoody hardfacing wire.I just need to make a stand for it and will give it a test drive then. There seemed to be a lot of voids in the casting which must have contributed to the spalling on the face.