Toreus

http://books.google....king%22&f=false and http://www.archive.org/stream/makingsmallshopp00vandrich/makingsmallshopp00vandrich_djvu.txt Googled 'em, but I don't have the experience to say if it's good or if it's dreck.

Bent- I think I'll want something a wee bit bigger than that for now. If I do get to bladesmithing, I'll definitely keep this in mind! Thomas- I haven't called any shops. Look in the phonebook for "Heavy Equipment Repair" or something like that? I got the RR track from family, and the one place I did call works mostly with mild steel. That got me a lot of metal to experiment with, though! Cheers, T.

I'm using rail cuz it's what I managed to get! It's my first foray into metals, all the tools I have and have access to are all for woodworking so I don't think I'd be able to cut a chunk off a dozer blade, if that's what you meant. If I do find something bigger, I'll definitely switch up. I just snagged an 80lb stump yesterday, so I'll just lag screw it in, and that should do to get me started. Thanks again for the input, T.

Thanks guys, greatly appreciate the help! I figure I'll just clean it up for now and use it like Phil suggests, and if I need t flatter I'll take a page from BigGun's book and have the college mill it. Dodge- I totally hadn't thought of the safety issues in treating a piece that big, just the logistical stuff. I guess I'll stay on the lookout for a farm auction! Thank you guys very much again- I'll post some pics once it's set up. Cheers, T.

Hey guys, I've finally gotten the time to clean up the propane tank cylinder. I let all of the propane out, twisted the valve off with a long wrench, filled it with water and then took an angle grinder to it. I plan to make a base out of 1/8 x 1 galvanized stock and then bolt it on before putting in the ceramic wool. [1] Are there any problems with having holes UNDER the insulation? (I'm thinking the galvanized is far enough so it wouldn't burn.) The shell I have left is 12in deep and has a 12in diameter. Assuming 2 layers of 1in wool, this would leave me with an inside area of (10-2)*pi*((12-2*2)/2)^2= 402 cubic inches. To start with I would have a door made of soft firebricks, eventually replaced by a door made with the cut off from the tank and attached the same way as Dodge's door. I seem to remember people quoting numbers like 350in^3 per burner, but I think those were all for venturi burners. [2]Should I keep one big burner as planned, or move to two small/medium ones? Could I temporarily fill the unwanted space with soft firebricks (low thermal mass)? I'd like to be able to achieve welding temp, even if it's just for the small space that wouldn't be filled with firebricks. [3] Have you guys needed to completely open both ends of your forge? I'm thinking of just making a small 2in x 3in opening at the back, plugged with a firebrick when not in use, but I'm not sure if it would be large enough... Thanks for all your help, T. PS: The mercaptan smell isn't actually that bad. Wouldn't want it next to my pillow, but with 2in of refractory I won't even be able to smell it. Maybe because I flushed it with water then wirebrushed the dickens out of it?

Thanks Phil, that PDF's going to be extremely useful! Yay, the forum's letting me upload now! The rail section is about 12in long, but as you can see in "Rail End View", the top is curved and the metal's in pretty bad shape. It would take a LOT of grinding to get it flat. That's why I was thinking of using the flatter, bigger bottom section (see "Rail Bottom View") as the face. I did a quick model in SketchUp- in that picture, the green is the bucket, the pale grey is the cement and the darker grey is the upside-down rail. Hope this is enough info, and thanks for the help! T.

Hey everyone, First time blacksmith in Winnipeg (Canada) here, and I'm trying to set up my own shop. I'm about halfway through building a gasser and I've got the tools I need to make the rest of my tools. I just got an old piece of rusted railtrack. I took the grinder to the top face, but it was rounded AND had metal delamination in most corners, so that wouldn't work. I then took the grinder to the bottom and found it fairly flat, but really pitted. The surface is 12in x 6in in size. After having taken the rust and most high spots off, I started drawfiling it to see what it would give. The result is pretty smooth, but I'd have to keep at it through probably another 5-6 movies to get all of the pits out. Or I might just go to town with the grinder and then just even things up with the file... Here come the questions: 1- The rail will fit in my forge (barely), so the plan was to heat it to bright red then put it in a barrel of water and move it up and down to get it to harden. After this I'd bake it in the oven at 330*F for about an hour. Is there something that's wrong/could be better with this heat treatment?. (I don't know the exact makeup, but the sparks were exploding enough that I think it is hardenable.) 2- Because it's a rail bottom, there isn't a solid mass of metal under most of the striking surface. Plan is to put the rail in a pail full of cement and sink it until the cement is a bit higher than level with the lower edge of the striking surface. Would this put enough mass underneath, keeping in mind that I'm a complete beginner? 3- Because the metal is thin on the edges (1cm), I'm thinking a backing like I mentioned in Q2 would be pretty much required no matter what I do. Opinions? I've got something that can be used as a mandrel, so I don't really need a horn, and I plan on making a separate hardy holder (and perhaps sinking it in the same bucket. Maybe it's just a quick, but I like to keep things modular. My computer decided that it didn't like my camera, so I'll upload the pics from another computer in a few hours. Thanks, Toreus Edit: it gives me an internal server error when I try to upload pics, will try again soon

Good example is: http://www.blacksmithsdepot.com/Templates/cart_templates/cart-detail.php?theLocation=/Resources/Products/Hammers/French_Pattern_Hammer

Hey guys, I've been seeing a few french-pattern crosspeins around. Can anyone tell me what's the deal with them, or in what situations they'd be used instead of a symmetrical crosspein? Thanks, Toreus

I finally managed to snag me an expired propane tank, so I'll be purging it tomorrow, acquiring the materials during the week (got everything sourced save the tuyere) and start the build next weekend. I'll try to post pics as I go along! :)

Thanks guys! JNewman- I completely hadn't thought of the Mercaptan! Do you think firing it once at low temp without insulation would do the trick? For getting the dregs of propane out, my plan was to fill it with water twice. I"d then cut the top off with an angle grinder. Lenaghan- Cheers, mate! Do you think I'd be able to take a look at your forge (I'll send a PM)? the Sounding Stone looks to have good inventory, I'll check it out this weekend. Do you think I'd be able to use their kiln wash or hi-temp cement to surface the ceramic wool (the fiberfrax, right?)? Dodge- Good to know I picked a good design . I'll definitely check the hospitals (oxygen bottles), AC repairs (freon bottles) and welding outfits (oxyacet bottles?) for expired ones. I was planning on using a hard firebrick cut in half for the floor (easily replaceable if flux gets on there), but I'll definitely investigate to see if casting it would work better. I'll probably scale it down somehow... BTW, is the front plate (door?) on your forge held on by the two bolts at the top and the pivot at the bottom? Is it sheet-metal and ceramic wool insert construction? Also, what size of blower should I get? I was thinking of just cannibalizing a hairdryer and using a blade valve for more precise control... Thanks again! :P

Hello everyone, first time poster here. I'm located in Winnpeg, Manitoba (about 3 hours North from Grand Forks ND, and I'm trying to get materials for this forge: http://home.flash.net/~dwwilson/forge/plan1.pdf Question 1: Did I pick a silly design, considering I want a blower forge? Question 2: Where can I find Kaowool (or equivalent), ITC-100 (or equiv) and firebricks for the bottom and door? I can't seem to find any shops in Winnipeg that sells that stuff. Question 3: I've seen a lot of pictures of people using expired freon containers and the like- would an expired propane container do the trick? Thanks guys!

Un franco-manitobain ici!