Blakksmyth

Quenched in oil from 900ºC from cyanide salt bath then double tempered at 220ºC

Only heat treating it. It was very popular with toolmakers for punches and dies and we hardened to 58 - 60 HRC.

Start forging at 1010ºC to 1095ºC. Stop forging when temperature hits 925ºC (ASM International Guidelines)

Over here in South Australia we use forge coke @ $30($A) for 25 kg bag or $450 a ton Unleaded 91 RON is $4.63($A) per US Gallon and Diesel $4.30($A) per US Gallon

We had a fellow from the states, called Steve Christiansen, who showed us the water can trick. I use an empty 'homebrew' extract can that holds a litre of water with holes punched through the bottom. I forge with coke, and when forging small items I use the shower can to cool the outside of the fire, as it spreads out wider than I need. I have found that it saves a heck of a lot of coke as well. I like to give the fire a light sprinkle over the top when welding, as it contains the heat, stops excess radiation and saves fuel. The only downside is the intense sulphur smell in the steam. A good flue will help in that department. Rob- A.B.A.S.A

We have a lot of very talented blacksmiths in Australia, but the only one I know of, that I would call a Master, is Malcolm Paine. Malcolm began blacksmithing in 1945 and is a nominated member of the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths. To watch Malcolm work in a forge, is to see a man who is so at one with his working environment, it sends shivers up your spine. He creates magnificent forged work that leaves you breathless in it's complexity and skill. It is a rare privilege to have been in his company on a few occasions.

Hi, I bought a Unimig Sitecut 10 with built in compressor. It cuts up to 10mm but prefers 8mm and below. One recommendation though, make sure it comes with a stainless steel electrode and not copper if you intend to push the unit fairly heavily. I learnt the hard way when the copper electrode fused itself into the brass holder and I had to replace entire hand set. Rob

If you want to work in 3d then you can try Freecad Parametric (Opensource). For 2d cad, you can try LibreCad (opensource). Both packages offer heaps of tutorials on youtube. I personally use Rhinoceros 5, which is an organic Nurbs modeller. It isn't free, but offers a 90 day trial.

From what I've found out on various machining forums, the shaft material is either 4140 high tensile or 1045 carbon steel. Most commonly chrome plated or nitrided, for environmental reasons. Either one will make good hammer making stock.

Another alternative you may want to consider is the humble push button public bathroom hand dryer. One of our members bought a pile of them from a machinery disposal yard for peanuts. They may require a bit of metal fab for a suitable casing to adapt to your circumstances but they blow a lot of air and would be cheap to run(once you disconnect the heater element) Rob K A.B.A.S.A

I have been using CAD for 15 years and I've tried the cheap,the free, parametric and the big name packages and I have settled on Rhinoceros Nurbs as the best package for blacksmithing, especially for organic modeling. You can download it from McNeels site and try it. It gives you 25 saves in demo mode and is reasonably priced should you buy it. Rob K

We have a couple of forges setup outside at our current workshop. They are fitted with a hood and chimney that were originally used as inside forges. We find that having the flues keeps the heat and sparks etc out of your face even though the outlets are only a couple of feet above our heads. Cheers, Rob Kenning Artist Blacksmiths Association South Australia.

Hi, I have been using Rhinoceros 3d since it's inception. It is up to version 5 now and version 4 can be downloaded and has 25 saves. http://www.rhino3d.com/ The program is medium priced at $995 US and with a decent render program like Keyshot http://www.keyshot.com/, can generate photo realistic shots of your designs that you can show to a customer and get a sale before you even light the forge. Not only that, but Rhino it can measure your design for weight, center of gravity, Interference and bill of materials. Another program that is free is Google sketchup for 3d design, although it may be a trial to draw artistic scrolls and ornamental work. Finally, another freebie 2d draft program is Draftsight http://www.3ds.com/p...sight/overview/ to generate working drawings. I should mention that with Rhino you can scan your hand drawings into the program and over lay with lines, splines, solids and surfaces. Good Hunting. Rob Kenning Treasurer Artistic Blacksmiths Association South Australia

At just over $2.00 a pound, it sounds like a good price.