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I Forge Iron

silkhopesmith

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  1. I have to strongly agree with Tim also. Every hand forged wrought iron vise I have examined (probably 300 vises in my lifetime) had steel jaws welded in. the only vises I have seen without steel jaws added are the relatively newer ones that are not wrought iron and not hand forged. these newer vises are drop forged or cast solid steel. Interestingly, I also own a drop forged vise with welded in steel jaws.
  2. in order to establish a curriculum you should to identify which skills you want to teach (and test) and what level of skill you are aiming for. peter
  3. in my opinion, the discussion so far has missed the most important point, and what I believe is at the heart of any "certification" program. That is- how stringently is the test piece(s) judged? to me it makes no sense to come up with a list of projects if there is no judging criteria: what dimensional tolerances are allowed, what tools are allowed, how much time is allowed? if you don't have these, you have no real assessment of skill. Even a simple item can be a good test if judged carefully. a cube for example. made to + or - 1/16 inch is a whole different test than +or- 0.001. if made with only files a whole different test than with a mill. peter
  4. Sorry for the confusion, my earlier post I was referring only to Sam's photo of the Butterfield die stock as being for machine screws. I'm still digesting the linked thread posted by Bob S.
  5. the "thread swedge" as mentioned is a threading die for making machine screw thread, not wood screws. Wood screws have unequal lands and grooves, with better quality examples having much wider grooves and very thin lands. This leaves most wood in the hole intact and more between each land. These split dies do about half their work by swaging and half by cutting. They do produce chips!
  6. I doubt you will find any evidence for water cooled tuyers in th 1820's. Most mention of them is 50 years later. Before you decide to make one you might want to look at period sources.
  7. I have two old Champion blower rheostats that I use daily on my coal forge. They probably were made in the 30's or 40's. Both have some sort of plaster or ceramic wash inside that was used to coat and insulate the windings. Some of it is flaking off and I'd like to renew it. Can anyone tell me what that material is and where to get more? Thanks!! Peter
  8. The die stock is a style that was commercially made, and commonly shows up in early 1800's tool catalogs. However, those taps were not originally made for that die stock, and are much newer. The one with the squared off head is typical of early 20th century tools, also commercially made. While there are left and right hand thread on axle ends, the taps and die you have are much too small for most axles. I would use caution if you plan to use these tools. When these were made, wrought iron was the material to be threaded and it is much softer than A-36. They are only carbon steel, and will not hold up well if used on modern mild steel. Good collector's find. treat them well.
  9. I agree, forge welding is the traditional way to approach this. Normally, I would do that, but wondered if there might be another option. The finished piece will be a heavy drawknife with a blade 19 inches long. It's the extra length that makes me wonder about alternatives. Shorter welds are much simpler. If I had a big hammer, I'd consider welding two short thick pieces and then drawing them out to finished length, but don't.
  10. I'm looking for recommendations for welding W-1 to mild steel. I'd like to forge the piece after welding the two together, and eventually heat treat.
  11. I'd like to second Frank's approach. I think this vise is definitely worth preserving. I agree it likely dates to late 1700's or early 1800's. It's worth preserving for several reasons- it's in relatively good shape, other than the pitting. It's mostly all there, including the original pivot pin with key. it hasn't been abused by damage or bad repairs. Finally, it's not a very heavy vise meant for forging. Most of these small vises were made for bench work like filing, fitting, or use by non-blacksmiths such as silversmiths, clockmakers, etc. It's worth preserving rare old pieces for others to study. There are plenty of newer vises around to use. I'll even trade you a heavier one that's ready to go!
  12. I'd be interested in pictures too. can you take one showing the underside of the jaw where the steel is welded on?
  13. most old hardie tools were made by jump welding the stem to a thick block, avoiding the need to upset a big piece in the anvil. you still fit it to the anvil hot, but very little time in the hardie hole is needed and very little pounding. Its a lot easier to soften the face than harden it.
  14. one thing you can do to make the forge welding easier- since you're drawing down the stem anyway, just leave the end of the stem large. Then it's easier to get to welding heat without burning, it's closer to the size of the main branch, and you can hit it harder during the weld without making it too thin. This is one case where less work equals better results.
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