Ric Furrer

Who was the Father/Sons team who wrote the article in Anvil's ring 20 years ago on this?...I recall the company name was "By Hammer and Hand" or some such. I also recall the father died 10 or so years ago. It was a good article...in two parts I think. Ric

tough job....you have work hardened it in a non-regular pattern on a non-regular shape. If you can not evenly soften the sheet then counter bending may be a viable way to go. Induce a bend in one direction and then slowly work it out. Nothing says you can not drive a car onto it with some wood blocks under to induce and then remove the bend. You may be able to get it close by placing it on the table base, weigh it down with a great weight..tons ..and then tack weld in place. If the base is strong enough it will hold. The simplest would be to heat the while sheet and lay it flat under a large flat platen to cool. If you can not get it to work to your liking then I suggest: 1)texturing an oversized plate..10" larger in two directions 2)take it to a three point bending outfit (they roll tanks and such) and have them counter-roll till flat 3)cut out your table top I have heard for some folk who could flatten large plate with a torch and water..selectively heating in areas and cooling them to pull it back into shape, but I have had no success with the technique. Ric

I stopped shaving when I left the Army...and for five months out of the year it is cold in Wisconsin. Ric

How about some details for the rest of us poor sods who have junk, er...useful tooling, scattered about. Stored where? access how? I have a pile of wrought laying under a pine tree here..about two foot tall pile. last year a woman of 70 or so knocked on the door asking if the pile was for sale for her son...how she saw the pile at 55 miles per hour I'll not know...but it put things into perspective. I'd say try for replacement costs on the tooling/parts...i.e. a new hammer. Ric

Why not get coke if you are to order a truck load? Ric

One inch is getting up there..and stainless would put a crimp on the plans as well. I had the same issues so I got this: Ric

I suggest you have a read of Ian Ferguson's book "mokume gane" http://www.amazon.com/Mokume-Gane-Ian-Ferguson/dp/0873499018/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1321898661&sr=8-3 Ric

There may be something in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford http://www.ashmolean.org/ I'd look also at the Tanavoli collection in its various representations in books. In 950AD Spain you would still have some holdover from its previous eras....Roman to Visigoth to Umayyad and the rise of the Jewish tolerance in the period (and then ending shortly after) you are talking about. Of course you know about Cordoba being one of the most prominent cities in that time with agriculture and general learning....I assume your barber is there yes? Due to the trade and ties with Moors and challenge to Abbasid Caliphate and such I would look at Toledo steel for proximity, but well as crucible steel which would have been available as well via production there or certainly trade. Ric

I pay $75-76 per 100 pounds propane tank...I'm getting a 1 million BTU natural gas line put in this month (before the snow hopefully) to offset that cost. it should be a break even deal in five years. Steel: Mild steel I get from a local fab shop and he will cut and allow me to pick from his cut offs on most things. His price changes with mood on occasion, but its always fair. Far better than getting it anywhere else. I got rid of my forklift years ago and he lends me one from time to time as needed as well as acts as a staging are for larger machines I buy from time to time. I like to keep him happy with the odd job when he asks. He has no tool steels so that I find as needed and buy in what is bulk for me...200 to 2,000 pounds when I do. Ric

I think they are Jim's as well...honest guy. I remember the listing for the auction he got them at....there was a large amount of tooling dies with them..it appears he is keeping those dies. I think any of them running would be useful for a smith..either those from Jim or the one from Stewart. A running hammer is a good thing and you will quickly adapt to the tool you have. Ric

If all else fails..take up drumming as a hobby..invite a local high garage band to come play..tell them you like things loud. Invite the neighbor and speak calmly about how this new hobby of yours is SO MUCH more fulfilling then dirty metalwork. Wear a "big brother's big sister's" T-Shirt. Some folk, when faced with options, take the one you wish them to take. Ric

The best thing to do is get the specs on chemistry and recommended procedures for cutting and welding from the manufacturer....and then apply them. I am not sure you would wish to do too much work (heat/weld) to a material designed for armor plating as it has been treated in a way to gain those properties...your secondary operation may reduce its usefulness to a lower grade of material....or worse Ric.....former SGT US Army (I lifetime ago)

What I do not understand is why, at some point, one of the folk in the factory would think "hey this may not be how it is supposed to work". Or at least sheet metal guards redirecting the spray......very odd. Ric

Indonesia I think they need to adjust the machine a bit. Ric

that sounds like operator error more so than general concept. I am a blacksmith...I believe that proves my wife is tolerant......its when the stainless mixing pots end up filled with wax and boiled linseed oil that she gets a bit testy. Ric

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Wiley, Some of the endurance of mild steel dies is gained from the shape you wish to swage, preforming so the swage is not asked to do the major metal movement, but rather just to get the final shape..some shapes can be done in one heat with three or four swages better then one swage where you have to knock it so hard it will deform. For sharp detail and corners and such you need more yield strength then what mild steel can deliver. Presses heat the dies due to slow movement and thus more heat transfer to the dies from the part...this needs to be taken into account. I have an h13 cut off that is mushroomed so badly it does not work well (I still use if of course cause I ain't that bright)..it gets so hot that any heat treatment is wiped out after a few uses....this is a design flaw on my part, not the H13. Ric

for short runs mild steel works well for the arms and some short run swages also. For "sharp" cutting tooling and corners H13 is a good choice..if you heat treat them. 4140 for most general application tools such as fullers and hacks and such. It really depends upon what you have for heat treating capability, how many parts you intend to make off the tool and how good you are with the tool. I have seen students ruin a tool in ten seconds that I have used for years to make hundreds of parts. For "quick" swages I hairpin bend some 14/1 1/2" mild steel and butt weld them to blocks of mild steel and then heat sink the swage pattern into the blocks...clean up the swage and go to work. The welds will fatigue and break near the butt weld most likely. There was a good discussion about that, and avoiding it, somewhere on this list. Ric

I think it is a good and useful adaptation of existing tools..re-tasking them. I have a P9 pullmax that can do about the same thing so I am not interested in your version, but I can see how some would be. Tom Latane' prefers the hand tools for most of his work. We all have our path. Ric

1365 is my hammer number I recall. It has a gross weight of 13,300..heavy for the nazel...so I do not know. I do not believe that the ram is stuck in any way..the weight is accurate. Ric

Hello All, If you happen to have a self contained hammer I have a request. Set you bathroom scale under the ram when at rest (I used a small jack, just past the die, to lift and set it back on the scale). My 3B Nazel has a weight of 230 pounds for ram and die. This seems light to me, but you get what you get. What do others have for a ram weight on their hammers? Ric

You need to locate a ductile iron foundry near you. One or two will not be cheap...10,000 will be abetter per unit price. Ric

Frank, The use of powdered metal for making pictures is called "mosaic" damascus..I have seen everything from snoopy on his dog house to very organic quilt patterns. As one who makes pattern-welded steel (simple,composite and mosaic..in a variety of alloys) as well as the crucible stuff I can say with certainty that it is a disease. There are some who have dedicated their lives to the technique...such as Daryl: http://meiersteel.com/gallery.html and has inspired a generation of other smiths. If you REALLY want a treat have a look here: http://www.steveschwarzer.com/images/ss-knf-pic-9.htm Steve is a friend and he was one of the pioneers of the technique. I used to visit him 15 years ago when I lived in Florida and we would stay up till the wee hours of the morning preparing the billets for the next day. Mailemaker, I may be able to take a few years off your learning curve if you care to stop by some afternoon. Ric

yes Ric

Anyone have the Chamersburg self contained literature? I have the ones for the Nazel, but not the gross weights for the Chambersburgs. Ric