woodsmith

Nice job, I made a pot rack and matching utensil rack set, as gifts from similar 1/8 mild steel forged and riveted, seeing them after several years I am quite pleased how the bare steel with just an oil finish does not seem to rust, in the kitchen it is apparently more likely to get greasy and not damp, I think the black metal looks much better than painted. In other places were I used copper rivets on steel and they remained oiled I have not seen any corrosion even after several years of use, I have found bracing wire for fencing at the hardwar store, uncoated and annealed I think 8 or 9 gaudge (about like 1/8 round) can be cold worked for braided handles or small chain, and work hardens to become quite stiff, also a huge fan of using scrap of course, keep up the good work

I use vinegar to derust parts a lot, its slower but works fantastic, Ive seen the electrolysis done and I belive it will not work on scale, but is faster at removing rust, and Im told, you don't want to use stainless for your sacrificial plate or you get hexovalent chromium in the solution in the tank.

We have priced having one such bevel gear made, and eventually found a shop that would actually give a price instead of just saying itll be too expensive, We are waiting on this a bit as it is quite expensive. I am primarily a fabricator/designer not an expert on parts sources for rare/foreign autos, so thanks for the input. Good parts and material sources are really valuable. even though I made the request largly as a joke in chat, (because it is so off topic for the site) I appreciate the thread. If anybody else is looking for an odd tool or part feel free to ask me I guess, we have a bunch of old Jag and Mercedes stuff laying around.

Interesting vice, haven't seen one quite like that, it appears, the scissors hinge is made so that the jaws move parralell instead of simply hinging and having the front jaw angle in relation to the back jaw when opened very wide. The other very short vices Ive seen were made to mount on the wagon or cart of a portable forge rig, not sure but it could have been made for that. Woodsmith

Nice work, I have anvils in my own shop now (but started with a piece of train track), but at work I couldn't convince the boss that we needed one so I made an improvised anvil from 2inch thick bar for the top and welded on a really heavy wall square tube down the side for a hardy, and a short section of 4" round stock for a single radius "horn" mounted on 4" round tube, within a week of seeing it used constantly he bought it from me, it prefer it to all rr track anvils Ive tried, I regularly use my post anvil made from a piece of axle for blade forging instead of my London pattern anvils, The main thing I would say for a smaller anvils is, fasten it really securely to prevent tipping, and make the base under it as solid heavy and rigid as possible to maximize the work you can do on top and to stop it from ringing too loud so you don't make yourself deaf. Keep up the good work

Nothing in the forge but mice love to jump in the vegtable quench oil if I leave the cover off, even with no food in the shop the field mice still store seeds in the strangest places like the end of a grease gun tube full of grease with the cap missing, a whole handful of weed seeds what a bunch of work that must have been to collect.

I anneal aluminum on a regular basis, as Frosty said heating just enough to burn off a sharpie marker line will get you the temp you want, then water quench it, we always use a layer of soot from the OA torch then burn it off and quench, to anneal sheet sections for cold working, this is the age old standard for panel beaters making cars and airplanes , In my experience 6061 T6 is what most of the off the shelf Al tends to be, and it will always crack if you try to do enough shaping to cause any real forging at all, once annealed it will be amazingly softer, and will cold work a lot before work hardening too much, I regularly use forms made from wood or body filler to hammer form the aluminum because it gets that soft and workable, annealing will make a huge difference it may even leave the part a too soft after you are done working it depending on the intended application. I usually work 3003 grade but have used this for 6061 many times for bar stock and some tubes,

I purchased a set of Ti engine valves on Ebay, (cheap, used, from a nascar class engine rebuild), I used a complete valve to make a light bodyhammer, contemplating making some punches from the other valve stems.

Very cool, I did some fake norse costume armor for my daughter a few years back, http://s922.photobucket.com/user/woodsmith2/media/f7bb53dd-f428-485b-a9ba-3d355f7ee474_zps670cf707.jpg.html?state=copy#/user/woodsmith2/media/100_0802_zps8c006678.jpg.html?state=copy&_suid=138457876637504963120120541204 this was my costume work this year

dont sell yourself short, Im not the buisnessman at my work, but I know how very long hand shaped metal takes in patterning and forming, compared to alluminum or even mild steel, stainless takes its toll on tooling and people, when cutting edges and forming dies last half as long.....Im sure its much more so for Ti. I have done some really good work and gotten paid average for it, because I wanted to do it, but the end result can be unprofitable. I could be wrong , but that price seems a bit low. Woodsmith

This is one of the several times Ive been glad to notice how abnormal this group is. :D I got a set of used TI engine valves off Ebay, appently they saw one NASCAR type race and were replaced, so far Ive made one into a body hammer (appropriate shape), but havent tried forging any of the others, expect they could make some decent tooling, for punches or chisels or hot work., has anyone trid this?

Thanks Frosty, Im used to being the guy at work with the top knowledge of metals and thier characteristics, comes from things like you said, other blacksmiths, reading, growing up without a TV (I just read encyclopedias instead), makes me the jerk most of the time because I cant help but to tell someone why it wont work or what could go wrong based on data or experience. I keep this to a minimum as much as possible (honest), suggesting another way rather than being "the expert" or too pridefull about it. I appreciate your input here, and pick up as much as I can. But, yes, the greatest (and hardest) thing Ive learned is how much i dont know. Woodsmith

Impresssed, have enough english wheel expirience to have clue (car bodies), and would much rather work Al. No need for armor, I am already completely impressed. And DANG, Frostly what dont you know about?

Deffinatly has the all the shape characteristics of sheffield anvils, have you tried sprinkling some flour on the lettering and wiping the excess off with a towel, this can highlight the the depressions and give contrast, make them easier to read/ guess at ? Great find. I might put a wrench to the bolt and see if it will turn (left), perhaps some tapping from the bottom in combination with turning will free it if it is mechanicaly, stuck, if its rust, soak it with JB80 for a day or two, just suggestions to try befroe resorting to a big hammer or heat.

I have one that I cleaned up, and use all the time, they made several great blowers, I know were there is a hand crank for one, with the center fitting and counter balance ball sitting in an antique shop In Alexandria MN

Ill second that, while Ive sudied forge thrunk tires on wagon wheels with canted spokes that ideallly did not use bolts, most all the amish buggies here have the steel tire bolted in many places (and many use use fiberglass spokes and centers painted black).

I used to think a portaband was a silly idea, till I used one, now it has literally improved my quality of life by not having to listen to the angle grinder or abrasive cut off saw, the milwaukee I have uses a worm drive like thier curcular saw and is a torque monster I regulary cut everything from 14ga to 1/2" thickness with good results, by the time the blade breaks it is dull anyway, and I I think 3 blades cost $10-$15. Woodsmith

I recently purchased a used 5x5 milwaukee portaband saw, best buy of the year, put the noisy spark throwing ditry angle grinder down and the bandsaw is always on the bench top never gets put away. I built a stand to use it vertical with a table and it gets more versitile. I would reccomend this over a cheap 4x6 harbor freight type cutt off band saw. Many of the small steel bandsaws have a vertical option with a flimsy table but do work ok. My woodworking bandsaw will cut alluminum brass etc just great and has a slower belt speed option for this, but for steel you would really have to gear it down low and the tourque would be rough on the ruber tires.

Thanks for the positive feedback, I think this is going to stay in "patina" as a finish just like the my T shirt says, rust is a color, (and sandblasting sucks err blows), nice wheels Dcraven, I have roller blade wheels under my gas forge and even under a 15" planer, they have great bearings and I keep finding them cheap at garage sales, way better than low quality casters for my rough shop floor.

Thanks again, all the shrinking and stretching of the alluminum is truly by hand (mallet and stump/sandbag) and english wheeled to final smooth and shape, though the wheel only puts a very small percentage of the shape into a panel. We do not have a pullmax, but I have used one myself and it would be great if we did. There is no wood in the final car on this build, the entire buck or form is still intact for future use. I like the super hero bit Frosty, the car has a fantasy type quality to its look, I was thnking of a photo with us builders in the car with suits and hats holding a tommygun and sawed off sie by side. But the superhero image I am imagining is better.

Just completed this welding bench, had the idea for a few years, the top is entirely 3x3 angle iron joined at one end by a length of 3.5x6 heavy angle. The great amount of steel in vertical make it extremly rigid and not prone to warp with heat, also the angle are back to back and face to face with a 1" gap like having a bunch of T slots, allowing me to clamp though the top almost anywere, I will probably weld in a series of hardy holes in the 3" deep slots to accomidate stakes and more fixtures, making it function like a an improvised platen table. As it is all used and scrounged material I have $20 to $30 in the project and a days work, its not nearly as ugly up close as it looks in the photo with sandblast and paint it would be great. I have already used it to build a project and I would bet it will save me the time it took to build very quickly. I think this turned out to be a great option over a pricey big piece of plate steel and angle iron is a lot easier to find for cheap.

For a first run at such a project it looks great, I wouldnt worry about strength unless your going to take it into battle with live steel. I did a "prop" Capatain America shield for a costume a while back, .050 Alluminum with no backing (didnt have any vibranium/adimantium alloy), domed it on the english wheel and rolled the edge, paint scheem and leather handholds etc, it has stood up to much foam sword combat and even being walked on with the only damge being to the paint. More important in this use is that it is light enough to easily carry. Keep up the good work.

I have done many Deno's, (though few were profitabe) usually keepimg the anvil to the front with the forge at my left hand and vise to the right or behind, this is taking into acount the atmosphere of the event, I put up a simple rope fence out front for general public (3 -4 feet out from the anvil), and expect all the questions. The key seems to be in showmanship, explaining what you are doing while you are working, enguadging your audience. Not just good forge work but also maing a connection, it has taken some tme to refine this. With the extra distractions you can screw up the simplest project when people are watching. For general demo, keep it simple, they are just as impressed by a twist as a forge weld. When Ive demoed for fellow blacksmiths, it gets much harder, but, they are more impressed by the tricky stuff but also more foregiving if it didnt work. Congrats on your ambitions and success thus far.