Krstofer

Lots of stuff has found it's way back with me.. Some I bought, some I took.. Some were freely given. Most I've made into things- A few I've written about here: http://krstofer.org/projects/ My welding table & computer desk are both made from 1/2" plate aluminum I picked up in a Forest Service "boneyard".. Both tops are 2' by 4'. Add some inch square thinwall for legs & wallah! Indestructable. With the change to the newer propane tank valves the old ones become un-refillable- Often free at refilling stations. Great for forges. And freon tanks? Look behind the local car shops- light weight pressure tanks for that home-brew air compressor. Or a small forge as well.

Sounds Great! I can shape it, just have a hard time making it. (ok, fail miserably..) I'll gladly flow some $$ for the post- Anything you want / need from "over here"?

Here we go. (I think) And if the upload doesn't work, the image is here: http://krstofer.org/jbean/jb.jpg

Hello all- I'm looking for some damascus stock- My girl would like me to make her some earrings.. Her ears are "gauged", check 'em out here: http://www.inkednation.com/r/r.cfm?t=48&DisplayUser_ID=30603&photo_ID=174069 I showed her some damascus, and she really likes it. Problem is I'm not good enough at forge welding to make it. Yet. So... Perhaps if someone has some laying around- 1/4" round stock would be Great.. Maybe 8" worth or so? Maybe we could work out a trade or somesuch.

Hey Guys- Here's some 3/4" "toy hose" used in the Fire indusrty to "mop up" the woods after the main front of the fire is past. That's a 50' roll in my hand. It's called "liteweight" because it is.. I could carry 3 to 400' in my pack no problem. It folds right over & is very thin when empty- And it only weighs ... 4 oz or so. The problem with this particular roll is when you unroll it, the other end is 50' away. You have to go get it then attach more hose or a nozzle or whatever. Easier to have it double-rolled, so when you throw it you have both ends in your hand still. The bearings for the new rolling device are from "rollerblade" wheels.. Less than a buck a piece. Here's an old prototype- I made it from stuff I found in the hardware store. Tested for a year by the Plumas Hotshots. They broke it. But that's what "in the field" type testing is for. You put the hose in like this: And it makes this: From "ball of hose" to rolled & ready in under 45 secconds- When rolling by hand takes at least 5 minutes. NOt much time, except when you have 20,000 feet of hose to roll & take with you at the end of the day, and only 2 guys tasked to do it. I used to be one of those guys- And after about 2 afternoons of hose rolling tedium, I built the first prototype roller. As I continue to think about the new roller- I'm not absolutely sure the "business" part needs to be a spring, or very hard.. As I'm not terribly sure it will get mashed together very hard. BUt I like to build things that are"bomber".. I know alot of the gorillas who will be using my stuff and trust me- If it *can* be broken, they'll do it.

Thanks for the input you guys- I can use pretty much any steel I want, as long as it's 5/16 as that's what fits the bearings.. So it can't be any bigger. Also, if it was then the hole in the middle of the roll would be too big and the roll would probably unravel. I'm trying to find 5/16 spring steel, as that's already a spring so even if it gets mashed it will bounce back. Pretty hard to find that size tho- At least so far. From what I understand most of the time round spring steel comes raw in coils & is then wound into a spring.. And .3125 would make a fairly big spring, so it's not stocked much. Going to have the notch cut by the local water-jet shop.. So there's no limit to what metal I use. It's just ease of making the forks stay durable that I'm really concerned with. The pieces will be 3" long when done so I can easily fit a bunch of them in the oven- That's a really good idea. So for now I'll probably use 4130 cold roll or somesuch. I just went to onlinemetals.com & pulled that from the sky- So if there's a better option don't be afraid to tell me ok?

Hello All- Apologies if I seem unfamiliar with the terms of hardening metal- I'm pretty new to this whole thing, so.. Here's my conundrum: I am building a device to roll 3/4" fire hose. Currently it's done by hand and can be rather tedious. We double-roll it, so the middle is found, it's folded over on itself & the roll started from there. Now my idea is to take a piece of 5/16 round stock & cut a slot down the middle as seen in this drawing: Attach a handle to this piece like a crank and with the appropriate mount & such, one side of the hose is placed in the slot, the handle turned, and the hose will wind itself around the 'business end' of the device. Only one problem (so far) and here's where I need your advice: As the hose is rolled, the tension created will tend to crush the 'fork' together. I'd like to overcome this- as if that fork is smashed together the roller becomes useless. I'm hoping to harden or temper the forks so they can't be bent easily.. But I'm not sure how to do that. I have heard about "case hardening" where (I believe) the pieces are placed in an air-tight can full of charcoal or bone, heated to a red heat & left to cool in the forge. Is this an option? I have also heard of using a propane torch to heat the piece one wishes to harden untill the color changes to .. "Straw" I believe, then quickly quenching the item in water or oil. If this is my best option, can anyone suggest which liquid to use? Now of cource I don't want the forks to become brittle and break off, but I don't want them to mash together either. Thanks in advance for any help- and apologies (again) if I've mis-used any of the terminology.

First off, Hello- I'm a Newguy. Finally getting back into learning to blacksmith after loosing an on the job fight with a burning snag several years ago & breaking my back. I'm now retired & "confined" to a wheelchair. More about all that here if you want to know. Anyway- I'm in the process of building a forge- Exterior is 8" square steel pipe (3/8 wall) I found somewhere.. Lined with 1/2 height firebrick. Here it is so far: The black stuff is GE "Special Projects" High Heat Mortar I used to fill the spaces between the bricks & hopefully glue them to the steel. I want to line the firebrick with kaowool, but I haven't any idea what adhesive to use to attach the kaowool to the firebrick. I'm hoping you folks will have an answer or at least some ideas for me. I also need to stick the kaowool to the inside of the door (the diamond plate) somehow- Ideas so far: For the kaowool to brick bond: DIluted (with a bit of water to make it easily brush spreadable) GE "Special Projects" High Heat Mortar, brushed on. Diluted (with water again) ITC 100 ~> But that stuff's a little precious (and Spendy!) so that's not really 1st choice unless it's *perfect* for the job. For the kaowool to steel bond: Drill & tap holes in the door, use bolts & a thin strip of steel to hold the kaowool along the top & bottom of the door. I've left enough space for a kaowool "gasket" by setting the bricks 1/2" back from the edge of the pipe. That way the plates used to hold on the door kaowool will not be exposed to internal forge temps. ~or~ Simply glue the kaowool straight to the steel door, *if* I can find the right glue. Thanks all for your input-