Chancellor

Just checked NTBA's website and they're having a meet in Collin County at the YMCA Adventure camp. I might be able to attend, but it is doubtful, as we have family over this weekend.

Just got a call from the school saying that it wasn't a lack of materials (I was thinking maybe they only had seven anvils, and if I brought or donated one I could attend). Instead, it was safety issues and space restrictions. I'll have another chance this summer, and to be honest, it works out better with school anyway. Thanks guys, and have fun! Maybe the North Texas Blacksmith's Association will begin having meetings again, so perhaps we'll get to meet up sometime.

Blah, After a couple of weeks trying to get an answer on their registration, their class is full. Capacity is seven, with seven enrolled. I am going to try talking to the head to see if there is any way they can fit me in. Hopefully I can still attend.

Thank you Misters Ternay and Dean. I think I'll take that class. Will either of you be attending?

I just tried out corn today. It was neat, but there were a few drawbacks. I think most would be overcome by someone who had more experience managing the fire. As corn burns so much faster than the coal that I am used to, I spent almost all of my time managing the fire. It was hard to actually keep a layer of hot corn, and i went through most of a 40# bag today with only two or three hours forge time. Another thing is that corn requires an almost constant supply of air to keep burning red. After each heat, I would turn around to black embers which would take a long time to start glowing again. Forge welding was hard, and I never actually got a weld to stick. Heat wasn't the problem, the fire got plenty hot. However, I couldn't keep enough hot corn in the fire to get the steel to welding temperature. After a few seconds, I would have a cavern all around the steel, and would have to pack down corn that wasn't hot enough, and cover that over with uncoked corn. Another drawback was the smoke. Corn constantly smokes, unlike coal, and it is a heavy smoke too. I found it was impossible to keep enough coked corn around to be able to avoid placing fresh corn on the fire. After a while in each heat, the flames would get hot and high enough to consume most of it though. The smell was not unpleasant, and the smoke wasn't noxious like coal smoke is. I expected it to smell like burnt popcorn, but it was entirely different. I'll try again tomorrow to use up the rest of it, then go by my coke dealer to pick up a bag.

I'm sure it would have more to do with the fact that a pound of this alloy would cost 6200 USD. However, like you I have been a tad skeptical about the source. From everything I've heard, 1906 had some really wacky metallurgy. Though he is accurate to most of the other alloys, it seems.

I had considered that possibility, but when I read the separate section about cast iron and saw that he talked about forging not only that particular Iron-Gold alloy (the 28:8 mix), but also a number of the other alloys, I wasn't quite sure. Thanks for taking a look at it though.

According to this site :http://chestofbooks.com/crafts/mechanics/Workshop-Receipts-3/Iron-Alloys.html Gold produces toughness, and a yellow colour; this alloy is used for small iron castings. It doesn't give a percent of alloy though. 3 parts iron and 1 of gold enter into fusion together at a temperature inferior to that necessary for melting iron; equal parts of the 2 metals give, by fusion, a greyish mass, somewhat brittle, and attracted by the magnet; with 6 parts gold and 1 of iron, a white alloy is obtained, which is attracted by the magnet, ductile while cold, and at a moderate heat becomes yellow, red, and blue; 9 of iron and 1 of gold form an alloy which resists the file, unless previously subjected to a red heat; with 28 of iron and 8 of gold, the alloy is as white as pure silver, and more yielding under the fire and hammer than ductile' iron. According to Hatchett, the alloy formed with 11 parts gold and 1 of iron is very ductile, of great resisting power, and harder than gold. Without any preparation, it can readily be cut into blocks, laminated, or struck into medals. This alloy is of a pale yellowish-grey colour, approaching dirty white. ---------------------------- Allow me to provide a disclaimer that I am not knowledgeable in anything concerning this matter except google, so I cannot vouch for the accuracy.

Thanks for the welcome and the references.

Hello everyone, I'm a beginner blacksmith in North Texas, around the Denton area. I've been checking around the forums and they've been incredibly helpful and I thought maybe if I participate I would learn even more. I've been blacksmithing for about a year now, though I've had to take a few extended breaks due to a number of severe droughts. As a result, I feel like I haven't progressed as quickly as I should have. I tried snooping around ntxba.org, but it looks like it hasn't been updated in ages, and there's a notice saying they've cancelled all hammer-ins and their meeting tab pops up with "No meetings available". I don't really know where to go from here. Anyway, I'm glad to be here, and hope I can contribute at least a little to the forum. At the very least, I hope I can stay active.

Hello, new to the forum and already asking for help :/ Anyway, I have an opportunity to buy a Buffalo Forge model 700 blower (I'm guessing the 700 is the cfm [cubic feet/ minute?] output?) for 250 dollars. The guy bought an old wooden crate for his business ten years ago, and found it brand new inside. Its been sitting in his shop since, unused. My question is: does the price seem reasonable, and is there any info on the 700? I can't find any on google. The pipe comes out of the right side of the blower, but I would like to mount it on the right side of my forge, so are these reversible? Also, would 700cfm be too much for a modified brake drum forge with a table and 2in tuyere pipe? I'm guessing diameter of the tuyere determines the speed of air, so a higher output would blow too fast? My hair drier blower on high tends to blow the coals out of my fire, but that could be because even after a couple months of forging, I've yet to learn proper fire control. I run the forge with little coal, usually just enough to cover the top of the drum, so barely enough to cover the workpiece. There's usually tons of yellow smoke, flames a foot or two in the air, etc. All the videos I've seen have little flame, a much smaller hot spot, and tons of coal. So full of questions, though I think they belong in another thread :P