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rusty_iron

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Posts posted by rusty_iron

    Two for Two welding

    in Blacksmithing, General Discussion

    Posted

    Gday Guys,

    Congrats on the success, its a nice feeling ain't it?
    I've just got my first birds mouth weld to work, so I understand your joy.

    Just keep trying, it gets easier the more you practice, now that you know what your looking for.

    A hint, I've noticed that the flame colour changes in the fire when your using borax and you have reached a welding heat. It gets a bit of a greenish hue to it - atleast with the glasses I use.

    Regards
    Rusty_iron
    Brisbane, Oz.

    WVO Forge Run

    in Induction Heating, Oil forges, etc

    Posted

    Gday Archie

    Thanks for sharing.

    How do you light your burner? Do you have to pre-heat the chamber to get it going? Did you buy the needle valve new or did you salvage it from somewhere and if you did, what sort of machine did it come from?(so those who would want to make a burner like yours know where to look). What sort of shut down procedure do you use?

    Questions, questions.... they never cease...

    Regards
    Rusty_iron
    Brisbane, Oz.

    Beginner Projects with These Tools

    in Tools, general discussion

    Posted

    Gday jimmyw404,

    Good choice for a project, its 'relatively' easy and will allow you to make other things. Those bolt tongs are some of the most useful in the shop.

    You can make a punch & drift. A drift is just a length of steel with a long taper at one end and a short taper at the other. I often make a quick drift from the material I want to put in the hole. Lets say you want a 3/8" hole for 3/8" stock, just put a longish say 1" to 2" taper on one end of the 3/8" bar, cut it off about 4 to 5" long and put a taper on the cut end that is just longer then the thickness of the material its going through. Thats a simple drift. It can be mild steel, it will work just fine for a while. Make the end of the long taper just a bit smaller then the hole you punch or drill, so it will fit in easy.

    A punch, well thats just like a drift, execpt the end of the long taper is flat. This too can be made from mild steel, it will work for a while. If you use mild steel, you don't need to harden and temper them. Just be warned, they bend easy and mushroom easy too. Both these tools can be round, square or any shape you like.

    Thats 2 easy tools, you learn a lot by making your own tools. Also try looking up "quickie tongs" they are in A Blacksmiths Primer, page 97. They are the simplest tongs you can make, and will let you start, you can even make them without a forge. If you can't find them, I'll explain how to make them.

    Good luck and keep trying.

    Regards
    Rusty_iron,
    Brisbane, Oz.

    Vice stand

    in Vises

    Posted

    Gday Sam,

    I sunk a post in the ground about 2.5', its don't move when packed down good and hard, but you can't move the vice around. However.......
    I have managed to "loosen" the 1/2" coach screws that I fixed it with :)
    you get that with twisting and hammering on 11/4"*1/2", especilly if you let it cool too much :) Doh.

    I like your vice stand by the way.

    Regards
    Rusty_iron
    Brisbane, Oz.

    Six dollars a pound!!

    in Blacksmithing, General Discussion

    Posted

    Gday all

    I paid AUD$2.50 a pound for a 400 pounder, in near perfect condition, recently at auction. Yes its a lot of money, but cheaper than they want on Ebay for an anvil thats very well worn/broken. I know I'll get my money back if I ever want to sell it.

    $6/pound sounds way to dear for something broken/damaged. Check out the prices of a new anvil then figure out what its really worth.

    If you wait a bargin will come along.

    Regards
    Rusty_iron
    Brisbane, Oz.

    hack tool according to blueprint

    in Blacksmithing, General Discussion

    Posted

    Gday Evfreek & HWooldridge,

    Ev & HW, I attended a week long class by Brent Bailey in 2006, he described a Zimbabwe hot cut/hack made from a car spring. the handle was rod, but attached by punching 2 holes in the blade and passing it through each hole, then wrapping the end around the handle just behind the blade. From memory the blade was at right angles to the handle, but you could do it any way you want. I think there is a pic on Brents website of this tool.

    Regards
    Rusty_iron
    brisbane, Oz.

    Punches and chisels

    in Blacksmithing, General Discussion

    Posted

    Gday Pete,

    Another hint, put a center punch mark in the end of the punch you are making, it makes it easier to locate the ball bearing or round punch when you place the punch over the bearing - its very hard to be sure you have it centered when it yellow hot and your in a hurry. the center punch mark means you can feel when you have it in position - simple and quick.

    Get yourself several of each ball bearing size, you do loose them at the most inopportune time :-)

    you can make the eye punch 'eye' shaped by squashing it a little - side to side.

    When using car coil springs, I now water quench - no I have not had any break - instead of oil quenching, as they were just too soft -perhaps I need a thinner oil???. I draw to a dark straw/bronze, but have used punches drawn past blue. Try the oil first if you are using car spring, you can always reharden and temper if its too soft.

    Regards
    Rusty_iron
    Brisbane, Oz.

    hack tool according to blueprint

    in Blacksmithing, General Discussion

    Posted

    Gday Evfreek,

    I'd say your on the money with setting it firmly in the handle. Mine moves and it can be annoying. You could 'burn' it into the handle before you heat treat, so it will have a slot rather than be pushed into a hole.

    Its better if the hack doesn't move, its safer and easier to keep your cuts straight.

    Please let me know how the S7 holds up, I've not used it, but would love to try.

    Kind regards
    Rusty_iron
    Brisbane, Oz.

    making rivets

    in Blacksmithing, General Discussion

    Posted

    Gday Mlmartin15,

    I start by using a set of cutting dies in a guilliotine tool, cutting partway through the stock to the approximate thickness of the rivet shank, cut all the way around the stock, flat side of the cutter to the rivet head. Use flat fullers or butchers in the guilliotine tool to start to draw the stock down. Then I use a set of spring fullers to draw the shank to the final thickness. Then I use the cutting dies to partially separate the rivet from the parent stock, leave just enough metal to keep the rivet on the parent stock. Reheat rivet to a yellow and poke it into the rivet header, snap off the parent stock and hammer the head to your desired shape. one rivet :-) its slow, but makes good rivets.

    Regards
    Rusty_iron
    Brisbane, Oz.

    The forge build begins

    in Solid Fuel Forges

    Posted

    Sam,
    A suggestion, nextime try laying it out on cardboard and folding that up.
    You can bend it to see "What if???", its easy to trim and when your happy with the result you have a pattern to cut too. Also you can move the bits around for best fit to the material your cutting up, see which bits best fit which drops. Less time, less waste, less fixing misteaks ;-) (pun intended)

    Think model.

    On the drops note, got a nice pile of drops/offcuts tonight, from a fab/repair shop that rebuilds mining equipment. Now to use those 4" thick bits. Suggestions are welcome. Any suggestions for "Bisalloy" (if thats how to spell it??) I know its used as wearplate.

    Rusty_iron
    Brisbane, Oz.

    De-Galvanizing metal ?

    in Problem Solving

    Posted

    Gday Greg,

    Acid. A friends father ran a galvanizing plant. They used hydrochloric acid (pool acid) to strip gal off things. The solution thats left can apparently be used as a flux for soldering. He didn't say how strong to mix it, sorry.

    I have used phosphoric acid (the acid in rust converter & coke) to remove gal, it works but not that fast, I probably should have mixed it stronger.

    I imagine you can use any acid, including vinegar, it will just take longer.

    An option would be to take it to a galvanizing plant and ask them to put it through the acid bath to strip it.

    Be careful. Perhaps put it on an open fire after you have striped it with acid, to remove anything left. Stay well away from the smoke/fumes, they WILL KILL YOU!!!!

    Regards
    Rusty_iron,
    Brisbane, Oz.

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