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I Forge Iron

RyanMark

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Everything posted by RyanMark

  1. Okay, so no lowering the anvil. Ric, Thanks, I now remember you told me before about the Pullmax. However, it doesn't look like it will do what I need. I'm starting with 3/4" thick and forging down to 1/8". The Nazel is the only power hammer I've ever used, but I liked it's "squishing power". Thomas, I'll be wanting an air hammer then. Just not sure I'll be able to afford one! I'd like to hear if anyone has used a stop on the foot bar with any success, as mofokaye mentioned.
  2. Oh, right. Sometimes (a lot of times) the obvious escapes me. Let me know how it goes!
  3. I hope to be in the market for a power hammer soon. I'm not sure which type of hammer would best suit me. A local blacksmith was letting me use his Nazel 2B until his insurance company cracked down on him for letting people work in his shop. I was just getting good at it, too! I am forging castings into plate or thick sheet. The castings are drawn out 360 degrees, into a circle. What I want to know is: Which (if any) power hammers can be set to hit at a even depth? I figure adjusting the anvil height would maybe work, but that would mean always running the hammer on "full", which might not be good for the hammer... Or, is that OK to do? Obtaining an even thickness is important. Because the work piece ends up wider than the anvil, I can't use a "stop" as far as I know. Any ideas?
  4. Here's an easy way. Less dramatic than others but works. 1. Clean piece of all oil and dirt. 2. Dissolve non-iodized salt in vinegar to saturation. 3. Mist piece with spray bottle and let dry. 4. Repeat The green stuff that forms, verdigris, is easy to sluff off and not good to breathe or ingest. She can clear coat it afterwards. The salt/vinegar solution also works as a pickle to clean off fire scale. She might want to do that first. Works best if the solution is warm. I have a dedicated crock pot for this.
  5. It doesn't take too long to mull green sand manually. Ten or fifteen minutes for 50 lbs. It would be less but I leave my sand in a pile and it dries out. I've heard petrobond pretty much requires an actual muller, but I've never used oil based sand.
  6. Mixing and riddling your sand is not mulling. The point of mulling is not only to break up clumps, but also to smear the clay over the sand particles. To do that you need pressure. I wear flat-soled boots (a really worn pair) and stomp, smear, and flip the sand, adding water until it passes the squeeze and throw test. Chalk line powder works as a parting dust.
  7. I didn't realize or forgot there was a non-ferrous HT section, sorry. Thank you all for your answers.
  8. Cymbals, Ric? How'd you guess? :) I have read a few references to such a coating from one cymbal manufacturer. But, I'm thinking the coating is actually to help prevent excessive oxidization and tin sweat. I figured if there was such a coating then you guys would know about it, thanks!
  9. Is anyone familiar with coating a piece to be heat treated with clay, sand, or something to prevent warping during the process? If so, please elaborate. Thank you!
  10. That sounds like a good idea. I've changed my mind a few times but I'm still going with the bottom fuller method. I'm just going to mount a crosspein hammer, pein side up, and hammer on that. Then hammer on a flat surface. This is for drawing out cast alloy ingots. Can I buy it in the gauges I need? Yes, but only from overseas. I would like to make it myself in small amounts.
  11. Thanks Jim, I will try it that way before I spend money making or buying a fuller.
  12. I'm just worried about my accuracy. I figured that hammering with a flat face while moving the work over the fuller would be easier to get my ridges in line, rather than swinging a crosspein.
  13. If you wanted to spread out some flat stock quickly, what size fuller (bottom only) would you use? I don't have a fullering tool. I read a post on here, can't find it now though, about using some small round stock clamped to the anvil as a bottom fuller. So, I'm wondering what radius (or diameter in my case) would be best. My stock starts out at 1/4 inch thick, 6 inches wide or more, and I want to spread it out and elongate it efficiently. And how about spacing? All suggestions welcome! Thanks
  14. Could have been that, too. Even though the door was open, lack of air flow could have meant that the fumes were collecting in there... I'll be forging outside in the shade from now on.
  15. From what you guys have said, I now remember those things. In basic training we were not allowed cold water most of the time, only warm water from the canteen. I remember some news from a few years later that a trainee had died of drinking too much water, because of the electrolyte imbalance. Unfortuately he was probably just following orders, as I know I was told to "HYDRATE!" more than I felt I needed. And, I remember the diluted gatorade advice from my high school track and x-country coach. I should start doing that. In my case today, a fan would have helped a lot to keep my core body temp down. My sweat just wasn't evaporating enough, which is what does the actual cooling. I only had the fire on for half an hour.
  16. Thanks. Yeah, I finally started to feel better when I ate a few salty chips, in addition to the water. And now, the time is Beer:30!
  17. I was doing a test forging of some bronze today (went better than expected) and I was working with a temporary open forge with a propane burner mounted and aimed at a thick steel plate, because I wanted to make sure I didn't hit the bronze at too low a temperature. So, I was working the bronze while it was still in the flame. I had been drinking plenty of water, but there was no air movement in my shop (garage with the door open) and it's a muggy, hot day. I didn't turn on a fan because I didn't want to disturb the flame, and also because I haven't cleaned my shop in a while and didn't want metal dust blown on me. Anyways, my sweat was not evaporating. I was hot, of course, but felt ok until I turned off the gas and went outside to cool off. I started to get lightheaded and dizzy, and nearly passed out even after stepping inside with the A/C. My heart was pounding and I drank some water and had to lie down for about an hour. It sucked and freaked me out. I still don't feel quite right... So don't repeat my dumb mistake! Ryan
  18. Thank you for finding that! Seems what I have is the "LG" mixing tube with a flare attached. Says it will work with low pressure gas, allright! :)
  19. I was given this burner and would like to know more about it. I can't find much with a google search. The side it says Maxon, although so does the lift on our work truck. You can see the gas and air inlets. It's rusty but the ball valve still works for the air. There looks to be a valve for the gas,too, but it's busted and stuck open, I think. Inside the gas inlet, the flow is split and although I can't see, I think it's directed and exits evenly around the inside of the pipe. The flared end of the burner is just under 3" wide, outer. I'm worried it's too big for a small forge or (bronze) foundry. I'm also wondering if I need to connect this to a natural gas line, which is what it's made for I believe, or if I could also use a propane tank...not the 100 lb but smaller, 50 lb I think. I've read about vaporization pressure of tanks but I've used a bbq tank to melt bronze before, just barely, with no forced air, only a weed burner and a stack of firebricks. I would like to be more efficient, though... :) Thanks for any input.
  20. Hmmm... I guess I'm on my own now and just need experience.
  21. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=RUodDDYl-V0 Sounds kind of like an out-of-tune bell :)
  22. Any tips as to making these shapes by raising only? No dishing or sinking, or off-dolly hammering. I'm not sure how to shrink, which is what I think I need to be doing in order to restore symmetry. Tic sound is good, Tocs are bad.
  23. Thanks, Beth! The thickness ended up being around 2 mm after I was done grinding all the nasty crust. I did it with an angle grinder (took me 8 hours) and even though I made an effort to grind evenly, the thickness varies quite a bit here and there. Which is a problem that I'm solving by using a surface grinder next time. I don't own one right now so I'll have the next few castings ground at a machine shop. They have a test casting right now, hopefully I'll get it back this week so I can start working again. Cymbals made of brass (cheap ones) are spun, but maybe others as well. I'm pretty sure I'll break my castings if I try to spin them. As far as chatter, I will have to beef up my lathe to minimize it. I see it on some professional cymbals, and it's not really considered a defect. My current lathe setup is temporary. Cymbalsmiths usually just build their own lathe, I'm no exception. Will probably go through a few incarnations of the lathe.
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