meco3hp

Hello, I'd think that would do it ok, never really thought about it. A fire pot in a factory pan is bolted tight most of the time.

Hello, This is to remind everybody of the live chat tonight. Please come on over. If you come in during a blueprint/demo, please hold your post until it's over. Thanks. http://www.iforgeiron.com/bp_location.shtml

Hello, What are the dims of the one you have now? Also, did you look in the blueprint section for the ones that are listed there? I'd measure mine but its just a little too warm right now! :wink:

Irnsrgn, I use wet coal around the edge of my fire also. I like to move the coal in from the edge of the fire as I work. I use a sprinkler can to lightly keep the coal around the edge of the fire damp. I just have better luck with damp coal. I never pour water onto the fire. I've just been told thatyou don't need to line the fire pot. My counter to that is why do you see so many rivet forges that are cracked and why do you see some forges that say "line before firing". I've got about 4600# of refractory so it's not a problem for me to come up with something to line it with. Thanks for the input.

Hello, Ok Glenn and I have been passing emails back and forth about verious BS subjects and one that we discussed was "lining a cast iron twyer". I have a "whirlwind" cast iron twyer, that I used in my new coal forge, and I was wondering if I should line it with a refractory. I've seen some that are and a lot that aren't. I also seen some that had the words, "line before firing" cast right into the bottom of the forge. I've also seen a lot of the old rivet forges that have been cracked and repaired over the years that I assume came from pouring water over the fire during fire maintanance, cooling the cast iron too fast and cracking it. Whats your take on the subject?

Yea, it'll just rust off!

Hello, The only idea that I can figure is heat them and flatten them out for misc high carbon steel. Anybody else got any ideas? They measure about 3 1/8"x 5/16" flattened out. I do have a buddy that can get alot of drops out of a local machineshop's metal dumpster, all they ask is you try to and make an even trade. But no tin! Just cast or iron. They love cast iron bath tubs. If I can't figure out a use for them I can always trade them out that way.

Hello, Can you jack the current building up and put a pipe skid under it? Two chunks of pipe (or channel, or any misc scrap metal you have) with a couple of cross pieces with braces would work for skids. Jack the building up and put the skid under it. Then use the tractor and/or truck to move it, carefully. Get it to where you need to turn it, (remember the center of the building should be your center pivot point in the turns.) and use the tractor on one end to pull one way and the truck on the other end to pull the other way, to achieve the pivot on the center point. Or like you said, just build around it! Just some thoughts. Good luck!

Hello, My brother has a big sledge with a short handle that he uses some times. the handle is a sledge handle thats been cut down to the size of a 32oz size. I have a straight pein 2lbr thats got a bunch of chips on the face edges that are about 3/8" deep. I think I might make that face a vertical pein with the other being a straight hort. pein. I've been trying to decide what to do with it as I think grinding the striking face down enough to clean it up would make it too unbalanced. You guys are inspiring, I get great ideas form this forum!

T-Gold, Those are excellant ideas! I never thought about a mushroom stake or a small bickern. I'll reserve some of those for that. Here is the link that gave me some ideas for getting some of this stuff. http://www.metalsmithinghowto.com/tutorials.cfm?page=IRONY/intro.htm&content=122 I like the plates because they make good bases to set grinders and such on after they're welded onto a stand. The guy's idea for a poor mans acorn platen has merit if a person could figure out the welding problems. I've got an idea about building a big fire and preheating them in that to cure the weld problem.

Hello, This is todays score. I found all of this stuff walking along the RR tracks around where I live. It took about 3 hours of walking to find all of this, and I passed up hundreds of spikes. If I could of carried off a 20' section of broken rail, I'd done that also. This will keep me for a day or two! :D

Hello, I'm wondering what everybodies take would be on putting together a blueprint section on metal working recipes. I just posted a recipe on repousse pitch. I got two recipes from Glenn and Garey Ford tuesday night on fluxes. I have numerous old text books that have old recipes for differnt concoctions for metal working, that I could add recipes from. I also have Lindsay's "Chemical Cross Reference" book that list the old names of chemicals and references the modern names of the chemical as we know it now. Let me know what you think.

Hello, "Metal Working" by Paul N. Hasluck, says "8oz brickdust, 1 oz resin, and 1 table spoon of linseed oil", makes a "softer and more tenacious composition", "more suitable to be beaten up from the back". This book has a fantastic section on Repousse work, along with sections on any other kind of metal working from 1907. An excallant referance book for any metal workers library.

Hello, I was under the impression that you should anneal a piece of high carbon steel before you shape it into some thing like a punch or chisel. I found a web site that said to shape it, then anneal it, then normalize it, then temper it. I can't find the site now. (I thought I BM it.) I take my RR spikes and such and anneal them, then I shape them. Then I normalize overnight. Then I do any cleaning, grinding, or marking. Then I temper. I seem to have good luck with my setup. Do I need to change it or do you guys have any suggestions for me. I've just been quenching in plain old water. I've heard of "superquench", should I be using that or what? I've had some requests here in the last few days for copies of my punches and chisels. I make the punches out of hay rake teeth, and the chisels out of "HC" or "WC" RR spikes. Oh also my lead hammers have just gone nuts here the last few days. I've had some of the local farmers ask for tools made by a blacksmith! Most are older farmers that know what good, blacksmith made tools are like, compared to modern store bought tools. Hopefully this will turn into a nitch for me.

And let me guess, none of it is for sale. I've got a buddy thats has a brother that has about that many and won't do a lick of smithing let alone sell any thing. They just set out in the weather, rusting away.

Hello, a creaser?

Hello, I agree with Glenn. I've got a uncle that has a sharpening business in Lawrence Ks (colleage town) and he gets a call about once a month from somebody wanting a sword sharpened. He refuses to sharpen swords and anything that he thinks shouldn't be sharpened. He has a excallent set up and a real good customer base. Also at most parties there is always some idiot that is an expert on everything and if he gets ahold of it you'll be sorry. I think a real sword wouldn't be a good idea at a party. Any more a sword is just a wall hanger. My dad told me when I was young, "Never bring a knife to a gun fight!"

Hello, I picked this up at a auction a few years ago. I think I paid a $1 for it. It's loose, although it does need cleaned. It is missing the caps on one side, but I can make them ok. The question I have is what is the deal with the weird bearing housings? I've asked some of my engine buddies about wether you use oil or grease to lubricate these bearings. The 2 differnt resevores with a drain valve is just way weird. I'm thinking the resevore closest to the blower housing, is maybe for grease (wheel bearing) and the outside one is for oil as it has a wick. The drain would be for draining off the used oil everyday or so, maybe. It has babbit bearings that I think might need to be replaced, not sure until I clean it up a little. I'm building a coal forge to go in the shop. I'm getting tired of my rivit forge, tired of pumping it :wink: ! Here are some pics of the blower. If anybody has info I'd love to hear from you.

Hello, Check out the blueprint section. There is some good stuff there. Also let those kids know about this web site. We're happy to give advise. Thanks Richard

Hello, My reenactor customer really likes the size of the flint strikers I'm making, but I'm having a problem getting a consistant spark from them. I'm using a 3/16" dia garage door spring for one size and a 5/16" dia coilover spring off of a car shock. The smaller dia material is real difficult to get right but I'm having better luck with them than I'm having with the bigger material. but going by color as I temper the bigger material, I'm getting a more consistant color through out the piece, but not a spark one. My customer wants them to spark a lot as he likes to work with kids at the rendezvous as they visit and show them how the mountianmen started their campfires. Then he lets them try so he wants all the spark capabilities he can get. Going by tempering color, what color should I have?

Hello, Full tang, of course? Nice shape and layering.

Hello, check this out. http://www.dieselboss.com/fuel%20report9_29WA.pdf Still don't know if they got any fuel. I haven't heard of any shortages anywhere. I'm in Kansas and get alot of trucks going north from Texas and I haven't heard any truckers complaining.

Tinker, Can you tell us which smiths you vist are on board with Iforgeiron? If they aren't make them repent and join us! :lol:

Hello, I had a reenactor in today, that asked if I had heard of pineapple twists. I think I have but I"m not sure how to make one. He was looking to have me make some blackpowder related stuff for him. He does a lot of trading at meets. This was one of the things we talked about. Anybody know how to do one of these?

Hello, check ebay. Grizzly sells demos and recondtioned w/full warrenty units on ebay. under grizauctions