dagr8tim

Thanks for the info. It looks like it’s 950 - 1450 F. 

I doubt my cheap little propane torch torch got up to that temp. 

My understanding (from watching videos of them being cut in half) is that it is basically 2 stainless steel cups that nest and are attached at the top lip and have a vacuum drawn in the space between.

Good thing I'm heat bluing a coffee cup.  But I think I may have misread and posted this in the wrong section.

Yes, this is an odd one.  But I'm sure somebody here knows the answer.

I've got a stainless steel knock off Yeti tumbler (Walmart Brand).  Awhile back, I used an electrochemical method to destress an area after I had applied a decal as a mask.  Today I got wondering if I could hit it with a propane torch and blue the rest of the tumbler to give it a worn sorta rusty/corroded look.  Things went well, until I brought it in and washed it in the sink before drinking out of it.  Alot of the straw to blue that color change I was going for washed off with a simple dish sponge with little plastic nubs.

Is it possible to get the effect I'm after while keeping the tumbler food safe?  I'm only doing the outside, and not the inside of the tumbler.  Or is it just the way of things that the discoloring will scrub off over time?  I know that it's a thin layer of oxide.

On 6/20/2019 at 1:16 PM, ThomasPowers said:

D8T; are you going to modify them into twisting wrenches? I like the "Ford type" ones for reverse twists as they generally have narrower contact surfaces.

Ebay as Father's Day gifts.  There's a youtuber who made a limited run of steel and brass reproductions, but I wasn't willing to pay the premium.  My wife picked them up on ebay for around $30 for both with shipping.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them.  The Ford wrench has a tight spot about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way to full open on the jaws.  I'm hoping I can clean that up and resolve it.  A cursory glance of the teeth and the thumb wheel don't show any damage.  I'll probably do some file work on the Ford wrench to clean up some casting flash and work on some dents in the lower jaw and mushrooming of the sides of the lower jaw.  After that, a nice soak in evaporust.  I'm on the fence about cold blueing it or finding a gunsmith to hot blue the wrench.  If it's functional, I'll use it for something.  If not, it'll be a wall hanger.

The smaller one opens and closes as smooth as glass.  It just has some mushrooming around the hammer head, the jaws and dent on the metal ring just above the wood where somebody was hammering on it.  I'll clean it up as best I can and if I can get it apart, evaporust and refinish the handle.  Otherwise clean it up and leave it alone.  Either way, the little one will probably end up in my desk at home or on my desk at my office.

I hadn't thought about twisting wrenches until now.  I may troll ebay for some wrenches that are functional, but poor condition for that.

While not strictly blacksmithing, it will need some blacksmithing work.  I picked it up at an auction yesterday for $50.  It's missing a tine, and I'm hoping I can have one made that looks similar enough to pass.

Not strictly related to blacksmithing, but I’ve started cleaning out my wife’s grandfathers shop who was a small engine mechanic. 

I’m going back before the end of the month. 

Looks like part of one of these.
[D-ring receiver hitch]

12 hours ago, JHCC said:

Washing soda and baking soda are both basic. If you’re using either as an electrolyte and you want to neutralize it, you’ll need a vinegar rinse. 

Washing & Baking soda are the same thing (nearly).  Sodium Carbonate vs Sodium Bi Carbonate.  You can put baking soda in a shallow pan in the oven on 250 - 300 for about 45 minutes (stirring every 10 minutes or so) to drive off the moisture.  This will convert Baking to Washing Soda.

I agree about neutralizing the soda.

TSA = Security Theater.  

 

How about setting rivets? Yeah, most induction forges use copper tubing for the coils so water can be pumped through it to keep it from melting. The current doesn't heat the coils it's the IR from the stock being heated that cooks the coil.

One on the site says it'll heat a 3/4" nut to red in 15 seconds with 220v -230v input. 

A friend of mine is or was handling the induction forges Grant Sarver was producing(?) and I've wanted one of these puppies since I first read about them. One was on my list after I got the shop finished. Stupid tree! 

Frosty The Lucky.

Could you use say a 220 tombstone welder as your power supply for something like that?

Maybe we should start a thread in the misc area to talk about Jeeps and not clutter up this thread.

I've got a 75 CJ5 that I spent years trying to get a title for before I cut it up.  I've still got the axles, and drive train.  I've considered cooking up a small tube frame and making my vision of a side by side.

Why would that be preferred over say drilling a hole, tapping it, and using a set screw with lock tight?

Any more pics?

 

No, you must be thinking about someone else. Tc2 is a very good teacher in person, but not in a high school and I don't think he has any videos. :-) 

I think you're right.  I'm thinking of mrpete222 (tubalcain - https://www.youtube.com/user/mrpete222/videos)

 

TubalCain2 is one of the best guys living... 

He used to be a High School Shop Teacher, right?

I think that's why I enjoy his video's, because he reminds me of a High School Shop Teacher.

14 hours ago, Lou L said:

I'm morally opposed to buying new cars and have never done it.  However, I'm seriously considering setting myself back financially in order to acquire the new Jeep pickup when it releases soon.  If the bed on that thing is 48"+ between the wheel wells in the bed I'm likely diving in.  I have wanted a Jeep since I was 15 but could never fit in them.  Well, I did manage to wedge ,shelf into an old grand wagoneer woody when I was in my early twenties but it wasn't Jeep-ish enough.  The new Jeep pickup is basically a Wrangler with a bed and I'm having desires from my youth surge from within.

I love the concept of the new Jeep truck.  I've got a 97 Cherokee & a 98 Wrangler.

I understand what you mean about fitting in them.  My 97 has early 2000's Grand Cherokee seats in it, which helps alittle.  On my Wrangler, I'm considering the spacer kit that moves the seats up and back like 2 inches to give you more room.

4 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

Next time you see him ask if he knows a Thomas Powers....

I believe I have in the past.

37 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

So you want to practice on items that are difficult to work and in shapes that are not usable for much as they stand....why not just hit yourself in the head with the hammer a few times instead?

Hot rolled steel is quite cheap if you buy it at a steel supply store; shoot I used to get it free from an ornamental iron place on Outerbelt street, (near 6400 East Broad Street), probably not there anymore as it's been 15 years...., when I asked I was allowed to go through their scrap bin getting their drops.  Used to pick up several hundred pounds of new steel that was great for forging.

Learning to blacksmith is much less frustrating if you work with metal that is easy to use and doesn't require a lot of work to get it into "starting" configuration.

Have you started going to SOFA meetings?  We used to run a carpool from Columbus Ohio to them when I lived out there.

You might want to talk with Adlai Stein who teaches blacksmithing at the Idea Foundry in Columbus OH.

That's how I first got interested in Blacksmithing was taking one of Adlia's classes at CIF.  I'm friends with him on FB, and he lives about 2 miles away from me.

I come from the school of thought that doing difficult things and sometimes failing teaches you more than doing easy things successfully.  Besides, I have not done anything in about a year.  So anything that gets me back into the swing of things (pardon the pun) is better than what I'm currently doing.

12 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

I'm sorry but "decent quality steel" is pretty meaningless as you can have decent quality mild steel, decent quality medium carbon steel and decent quality high carbon steel.  In general steel gears will be a medium carbon steel or even something like 9620 and then case hardened.  If you were hoping that they were high carbon steel and usable say for blades you are most likely in for disappointment.

I'm not considering blade smithing.  I'm just looking for metal to heat up and beat on at this point to practice techniques.

Most seem to be fully machined with no cast surfaces.  It looks like I may just have to heat some metal and play around.

39 minutes ago, JHCC said:

That said, there are many members of IFI who use gears as raw material for welded scrap art, and you could certainly do the same.

That would be the other idea.  I've made afew pieces of sculpture out of gears prior.  I was looking for something else to do with them.

I've got a bucket of gears from lawn tractor transmissions, timing gears from car engine's, axle gears, ect...  Would those be worth anything to forge with?  I figure most are hardened and I would assume are pretty decent quality steel.

Edu-ma-cate me.

4 hours ago, JeepinJoe said:

My son and I were doing a little exploring in the woods behind the house and found this little gem in the woods. May have to make a gas forge out of it. So watch out for some future dumb questions after I do a bunch of reading in the gas forge section.

I made a smelting forge out of one of those.  It's alot safer to cut into than a propane tank.  LOL

Some home made refractory and an old brake rotor welded to the top makes a great metal smelter for casting.  Mine's a 2" exhaust pipe, and I use an HF weed burner and the Bernoulli effect to allow to pull the burner in and out of the pipe to modify the AF ratio.