anvillain

Yes, I've heard that you always find it in the last place you look. Since hearing that, I've completely avoided that...I just go ahead and look in a few more places after I find it. Sometimes when I'm really having trouble I don't know whether I'm blind or crazy. I don't know which is worse. Anvillain

I worked the majority of my life in arc welding. General repair, fabrication, then pipefitting. As a youth, The local weldor in our neck of the woods had a portable Lincoln welder on his Ford truck. He was a wizard with an oxy acetylene rig. He did some work now and then on the farm for my Dad. I wish I had known about his anvil, and power hammer then. not that he would have parted with it at that time. I wish I would have known how he sharpened those plowshares. Because when they came back with that nice thin edge, not a grinding mark on them. I wondered how he did it, but that was the extent of it until much later. I later knew he heated them and drew out the edges on the power hammer. Eventually I became a pipe welder(which is as addictive as blacksmithing), going to power plants and refineries, paper mills, steel mills. Late in my career a co-worker was telling me that he would like to get into blacksmithing when he retired. Shortly after that I saw an article in a magazine that showed me what it was all about. I saw the light! I had been too busy trying to make a living in the modern processes to give much thought to the old ways. I wish I would have known sooner but given the addictive nature of forging, its probably better for me, the way it worked out. Anvillain

The devices I've seen I am pretty sure did not have a slot. I think they had 4 small holes no more than an 1/8" dia. and they were probably operating around 100 psi give or take 20. Another place I've seen them in use was in refineries. There they could move huge volumes of air to get rid of volatile fumes without using any electricity. for safety. After looking at the previous post that mentions "eductor" it reminded me of what some guys called these. I think some referred to them as "ducks" I now can see the possible derivative, but it didn't make much sense to me at the time. Anvillain

Frosty, I would never have thought of using compressed air in that way. Now that you mentioned it I remember using a similiar device back in the 80's when working in the containment building of a nuclear power plant. An "air horn" is the only term I can come up with now, but there may have been another trade name used for it. It was an aluminum doughnut with about a 3" ID, and had approx. 3 ft long sheet metal funnel that opened up to maybe 8" dia. Plant air would be hooked up to the small end and was controlled by a ball valve. It had small orifices around the doughnut shooting air toward the large end. If one went into hot or smoky area you could blast it outta there very quickly then throttle it down to just a whisper for comfort and ventilation. Your idea would be on this same principle, but much smaller in size. Of course in a containment bldg. if you cleared your area you were really only diluting the pollution and sending it somwhere else. It was not conducive to good health in there. This is quite a departure from supplying air to a coal forge. Folks, forgive me for ruminating about past jobs. Old pipefitters tend to do that. OK back to the subject matter, The point is: a little bit of compressed air flowing through your injector picks up a whole lot of other air to go with it. It is such a clever device, and doesn't require a huge amount of compressed air.

That would not be too difficult Unicorn, You would taper in the middle of the rod. If you have access to a small torch it would be easier to control the heat. Then you would actually be twisting two screws at the same time. Then when you get it to your liking, cut in the middle of the twists with a hacksaw or just file around the bar to weaken it and break it apart. In the absence of a torch for localizing the heat just heat both tapers a little more than needed then pour water where you DON'T want it twisted. I'll bet you won't have much trouble getting some respectable tapered threads. This isn't just theory, I have actually done this. The tapers I made were four sided and were not used as screws. The rest of this is theoretical. I believe if you make your tapered cross section diamond-shaped with two opposing corners rather sharp that you will get something resembling a wood screw thread. Let me know if this works for you. I will also try it myself. Anvillain

I'm admiring your finished product as well as the clear pictures and procedure. Great Job! Anvillain

I don't know how large these hornbeam will get. The biggest one I have is about 8" dia. I think the most desirable stump here is sweetgum. I really messed up a few years back. Someone brought me some from a tree trimming job, thinking I could use it for firewood. I have a hydraulic splitter, but it wouldn't split that. And it was also unseasoned. I took it to the recycle yard run by the city. But at the time I didn't know what it was. :(

Hello Nett: I was interested in your wood turnings in the picture. They are are beautiful. Is ironwood a desirable wood for this. and is this ironwood in the pictures? I have an abundance, (or a plague) of ironwood. In fact here in Illinois part of my prescribed forestry program on a place I have involves cutting ironwood, poplar, Black locust in order to permit more hardwood growth like oak, maple, hickory. Oh also some wet areas are literally overgrown with American Hornbeam. It has a very ridged, but smooth texture. A very interesting looking tree, but I don't know of any demand for it, except some use as an ornamental. Anvillain

Thank you Thomas Dean and Gobae. I'm not acquainted with her but I think her shop is in Eastern IL. I am in West Central. Feel free to send me a message if you come thru the area.

Has any one noted that I DO HAVE MY LOCATION posted. I thought it was amusing how much energy was expended over this. My question "whats the big deal about location" seems to have touched a nerve. It was in response to Daryl's post that said: " It is difficult for me to justify a response to anyone who does not show their location. In my mind, either they are afraid of whatever (including scam artists or the possibility of an obvious answer to what may seem an insurmountable question) or (hopefully not) deviant persons themselves." I hope all you folks will note that my location(Illinois) is at least as specific as Saskatchewan. I hope that will at least deliver me from the "deviant person" list. I'm afraid I don't have the technical know how to be a scam artist so I think I'll not be suspected of that. My only fear of obvious answers is when they come from my wife. I also believe I am accessible. I have received emails from other members in the past. I won't flatter myself by thinking any one needs my advice. But sometimes I just offer it anyway:p

Those are beautiful bowls. elegant design.

I would keep in mind that scrap prices are way down from what they were early last summer. Also in my opinion a nice new straight piece of HR is better for most forging. I collected a pretty good supply of wrought iron years ago when I heard that it was easier to forge weld. Well, yes it may be, in the respect that you can get it hotter before it burns up. The flip side of that is that you also need to heat it to very near welding heat for every other operation also. Its great to work with the old stuff, it gave me more respect for the eons of smithing that was done with it. I don't think you should have to give a great premium for it. Another source of nice size wrought iron is the tie rods in old cast iron radiators. Good Luck,Anvillain

Sure, I too am ready and willing to help others with hands on. I have received, I have freely given. I have tried to recruit more interest in smithing by demo-ing at the county fair, supplying material, coal, advice I even give away some tools that I make in the demo. I was referring to the statement that we can't expect an answer on the site unless we give our location. Most people writing here are not expecting hands on help. If I have an answer to someones question I will give it regardless of whether I know their location. If they want to know where I am they are free to email me for more details.

Whats the big deal about location? Thats why we are using the internet. We get answers from all over the world. If there is someone that wants to advertise the address, fine. If not, most of us are still reading and answering online. I have nothing to hide, but neither do I want people showing up unannounced, I don't spend ALL my time at this so it might not be convenient to have too much access.

I just saw this conversation. I have one of the Smithing Magicians like you are thinking of buying. I recommend it by all means. and worth the money either in assembled or in kit. The kit is easy to assemble. I make my own dies for it from 3/4" x 2" CR which is same dimension as the dies you buy from the maker only not tool steel. The Cold Rolled holds up very well and is cheaper. I also have modification on mine which makes it a joy to use. I'll try to find photo of it. Also, Frosty, that one you made on the 45 degree angle makes it much more versatile. So versatile I would say yours would almost serve every situation. The modification I spoke about is the part that is colored blue (or purple). The springy thingy is a reworked spark lighter. You could also make it out of 1/8" round filler rod. It is bent so as to have enough tension to lift the upper die. Striking on the die you never notice the spring tension. This is great when rotating or moving your stock between blows. If you want be more precise in the placement before striking you can just pull the spring out of the top die and let the top die rest on the workpiece while positioning. I'm always working alone(without a striker) so most of the time I use the spring. My Magician is set up with .020 shims so the dies just behave themselves very nicely. The upper die happily dances up and down. And the lower die is easy to lift out. This has a piece of 3/4" x 6" HR for mounting in vise. I plan to make a short heavy stand to drop this in because my vices are a little too tall for comfort and I like to keep the anvil free of such a bulky contraption. Anvillain

Fionbarr: Yes, what you describe is very well put, and kind of spells out what I need to accomplish better than my original post did. Anvillain

Hello Frosty, Your "T-burners are interesting. What size orifice do they have? Do you use a choke of any kind, or do you control it with the gas pressure? Also is there two separate chambers there with a brick in the middle? Maybe you run one side hotter than the other? I really enjoy looking at all the different configurations and ideas that each person arrives at. Anvillain

A quick thank you again to all. I feel more educated for sure. and the pictures are very interesting. I'll probably not get back here until some time tomorrow. very good replies from all.

Thank you for your input,everyone. I like that forge setup and it looks like it really gets hot. Approximately what gas pressure was being used in the picture. Are those bricks on the base insulating firebrick? The brick I have are very hard and heavy. I also was wondering, if they are the soft insulating brick do they produce much airborne dust?

I've read that it has more insulating value. And also I already have it and would like to keep the shell as cool as possible. Another concern of mine is the possible airborne particles from kaowool. It seems that the hard brick would be less likely to disintegrate into the air. Thanks for your reply

I was wondering if anyone has tried using 1" x 4 1/2" x9" hard fire brick on the inner wall of a gas forge. I would be using the kaowool outside the firebrick and then outside the kaowool I would fabricate a steel jacket for durability. I've made one with kaowool inside and coated with ceramic, but it is too fragile in my opinion

I agree that the stainless is probably going to be the best. I believe you can also weld it with 7018, but I would preheat the brg to 350.

If you folks want to read some humorous deer camp stories check out Garrison Keeler's Prairie Home Companion site. In my opinion he is a genius. I've enjoyed many laughs thanks to him and his take on deer stories as well as many other subjects.

Welcome Tracy. Sounds like an interesting job you have. Yes this is a great site and the blueprint section is like going to school. Anvillain