Blakksmyth

Thanks for the reply. I guess we can have a play around resetting the distance and see how we go. Cheers, Rob

Hi Everyone, Like the OP and a few others in this thread, we have managed to get hold of a Champion #1 Spring hammer, but unfortunately, the spring that is fitted(looks like a leaf spring off a light truck) is totally wrong and doesn't allow the hammer to work as it was originally designed. Basically, there is no gentle start up, it hammers hard and is difficult to moderate the force from gentle to hard. We have a spring maker who will make us an original design spring set but we have no specs. I have done a bit of searching on the net without any luck, and I'm hoping one of you folks who own one of these beasts come help us out with some specs on the spring setup as far as spring dimensions go. Our association is slowly getting a work area setup with all the bits and pieces to start teaching blacksmithing. The spring hammer will be invaluable to us and we would like to get it working properly. Any help in the way of measurements or close up photo's etc would really be appreciated by all of us down under. Regards, Rob Kenning Secretary Artist Blacksmiths Association South Australia. Here's a shot of the hammer as purchased...

My understanding is that Borax and Boric Acid are two different animals. Boric Acid is made by adding Sulphuric Acid to Borax. I used to sprinkle Boric Acid powder in my socks to get rid of smelly feet and as an eye wash solution for eye infections, and it worked like a charm. We have just held a two day clinic in forge welding under the guidance of a smith with 65 years forging under his belt. We used river sand, or nothing, and everyone achieved passable welds. I have seen this particular blacksmith forge weld re bar with out flux, and that, to me, was amazing. As to the original question about Borax and red oxide. I would say that the Borax scours the metal and the red oxide prevents oxidization prior to welding. It would be nice to get the science of fluxes sorted out though. There seems to be a hint of dark arts about it all. Cheers, Rob K

Hi, Have a look at my blog. http://artisans-in-iron.blogspot.com/ Rhino3d is US$995 but you can download the program and try with 25 saves. There isn't anything better for the price. There's a few free programs you can use, but most of them are clunky and don't allow dimensioning and 2d drawing. Cheers, Rob Kenning Secretary Artist Blacksmiths Association South Australia.

It's funny you should say that....I use charcoal out of my wood fired over to start the coke. Speaking of charcoal, we have a few charcoal chicken take away shops that are going away from bagged charcoal to electric because of the cost, currently $35 a 50lb bag. The chicken isn't going to taste the same. One story is that the farmers who used to supply it are getting leaned on by our green friends. Pretty soon we'll be forging on a sunny day,with a magnifying glass and harsh language. Cheers, Rob Kenning

It's not only steel. Coke from our steel works has jumped from $450.00 a ton to $700 a ton in the last couple of months. Gas forges are starting to look like an option for our group, at least for small to medium work. Four years ago a 50lb bag of coke was $12.00. Currently, it costs $35 for the same quantity. That's this week at least. It wouldn't surprise me if it hit $40 a bag by the end of the year. Cheers, Rob Kenning Secretary Artist Blacksmiths Association South Australia

Hi All, Everyone seems to be hitting the mark describing the bee hive fire. I saw a demo last weekend when we had a flying visit from Steve Christensen from L.A. come up for the day to our heritage forge in the Barossa Valley. Steve built up the fire and mounded the coke about a foot high from the hearth. Once the fire was on temp and burning well he poured water around the sides and back of the fire and over the top. After pulling the black coke from the front of the fire , our work was put into the fire to take a heat. For the four hours of forging, we went through 50% of the coke we normally use and the work came out very clean during forging. All through the afternoon Steve had us pour water on the fire wherever there was gas or flame breaking through. This had the effect of creating a mantle of cold coke over the fire and seemed to hold in the heat, therefore getting the work up to temp a lot quicker. Now I have seen this done before on coal fires to reduce the coking of your outside coal. I never thought to use the same principal on a coke fire. I have had three forge days since then at home and used the same method and getting very good results in reduction of time to forge heat, and reduced coke use. Let's face it, coke isn't as cheap as it used to be, at least not here in Australia. Anyway, give it a try guys, but watch out for the steam on your bare arms. I am going to make a traditional water shower can up with an extended spout for this procedure. Happy Forging Rob Kenning Secretary Artist Blacksmiths Association South Australia.

+1 on the Quench oil 'B'. I worked as a Heat Treater for 8 years and that's all we used on all classes of tool steel. In my forge, I use Auto transmission fluid, which is free if you have a Trans service shop close by. They have to pay pollution tax to get rid of the stuff so they are only too happy to give you some.

My solution to this problem, is to weld a foot long piece of rod to the ball bearing to allow you to place it in the fire and then forge on the anvil. Don't go too berserk with the weld as you don't want to contaminate the original material too much with rod filler. I use the same method for forging fine leaves and bull nuts etc. Hope this helps Cheers, Rob Kenning ABASA

For the OP. I use Rhinoceros to create all my designs. I have used a previous posted thumbnail to demonstrate achieving an accurate reproduction. Of course, your original design can be done in the negative space. The point is that using a cad program to layout your designs can give you a very accurate base for material lengths, weights, center of gravity etc and even interference fit for locks, hinges and other components that have to work together without touching or binding. You can lay a grid over the drawing on the computer, then print it off and use it as a reference for a large paper plan grid for use in the forge to layout your work. I think Rhinoceros is a reasonably priced product considering how versatile it is. Cheers, Rob Kenning Secretary Artist Blacksmiths Association South Australia

All of the leaves were made using 1.6mm sheet steel. The colors are a combination of brass and copper. You can get some nice affects by using copper and brass on the same item. I tried bronze at one stage but it didn't seem to spread very well. Another way of giving you work a nice brass glow is by using a brass brush and brushing your work over at a black heat. Cheers, Rob

Hi Alec, I had a crack at copper and brass coating a year ago. It seemed pretty easy, with or without flux. I basically put the work in the fire and held a piece of copper pipe close to the work until it went plastic then smeared the copper over the work and it ran very well. Anyway here's what the result looks like. Have fun with it. Cheers, Rob Kenning SECRETARY Artist Blacksmiths Association South Australia

If noise is a problem, you could record the video with out sound, then add it in later as vocal description of progress. Dave Robertson does this on his videos and it's so much easier to pick up on his techniques. Cheers, Rob K

Hi All , Sorry for the late reply. It's a mad time of year. I hope these pictures answer every one's questions. I have made about 30 rivets using the tool in it's current form and it isn't showing any sign of wear. I have managed to get a drive shaft off a japanese car, about 3/4" diameter and will make a similar tool up in the new year, only this time I am going to make it as a solid form instead of two pieces. Someone asked,"how long to cut the stock for a rivet?", well I cut my stock about 1-1/2 times the diameter, if that's any help. There is a lot of info on estimating rivet lengths on the net. Good luck to everyone, and I hope everyone has a great festive season. I'm looking forward to a great year next year and look forward to everyone's ideas and input on the art of blacksmithing. Cheers, Rob Kenning Secretary Artist Blacksmiths Association South Australia

Try these guys, They appear to have everything you could need Consolidated Refractories - Refractories, Fibre Bricks, Furnace Bricks, Ceramic Fibre, Furnace, Fibrecoat, Furnacecote Cheers, Rob Secretary Artist Blacksmiths Association South Australia

Beautiful work guys. Leaves and candles go well together. Heres mine that I recently made. Cheers, RobK

I thought I would post a picture of a tong design I've seen in my travels. It may give you some ideas. Good Luck Cheers, Rob Kenning Secretary Artist Blacksmiths Association South Australia

Thanks for the comments guys. The Rivet block is made out of 16mm square stock, with 12mm Diameter solid bar for the handles. I have attached a blue print of the actual tool. I have made a cradle for the tool to sit in whilst riveting is done. This helps to stop any bulge occurring in the middle. The cradle is made using a piece of 5mm thick plate with 16mm square sides. If you are making rivets for large tongs I would recommend up sizing the bar stock to 25mm square so that you can get an increase in you rivet length. I have just got my hands on a 25mm Diameter coil spring, so I am going to cut and forge that into a similar design to make it unbreakable. Rob Kenning

Hi Andrew, No, I didn't use a power hammer. The set on left is made out of 12mm round the middle set I used 16mm square for the jaws and 12mm round welded reins. It took about 3 hrs to make one set. At the demo , the instructor made them in 40 minutes, with a power hammer. I got to get one of those one day. Cheers, Rob

I went to a Tong making demo on Saturday and came home and practised. While I was at it I knocked up a Rivet tool and a 8mm punch from an old coil spring. Rob Secretary Artist Blacksmiths Association South Australia A.B.A.S.A.

Do yourself a favor and buy a Centrifugal blower from ebmpapst. Over here in Australia I paid A$150.00. My unit cranks out heaps of air and its one of the smaller models. Cheers, Rob Secretary Artist Blacksmiths Association South Australia

When I do my daily clean and get down to the fines I use an industrial size pasta sieve with 2mm wide mesh. Scoop all the fines in and give it a shake, pick out small clinker and tip the remaining fine coke onto a piece of newspaper, roll it into a ball and place it on the next days fire with a bit of wood to get it up and running. Works a treat. Our coke prices have gone from $25 a bag to $34 in one hit so you can't waist the small stuff. Cheers, Rob K Secretary Artist Blacksmiths Association South Australia

Hi Alec, I have a theory. Myself and a mate both have identical forges. The forges are bottom air fed via 70mm square hollow tube up through 10mm plate steel, with 9 x 3/8" holes drilled in a square pattern. The mates forge fires directly off the plate and he boxes his fire in with house brick size firebricks. He has the same problem of the coke turning to a sticky, fluffy consistency after a half hour of lighting up. My forge has a 1 1/2" thick firecrete pad fitted around the 9 hole air inlet thus raising my fire up off the plate steel, and I don't get the toffee mass. In fact, my fire generates clinker the size of a large marble, that are very easy to remove. I don't get the sticky mass that he does. I reckon that if you could lift the height of your fire, it may solve or reduce your problem. I hope you find a solution. It's not much fun forging with toffee-like coke. Cheers, Rob K Secretary Artist Blacksmiths Association South Australia

I had a quick look over here in Oz on the net and saw a set brand new for AUS $265. I'll definitely keep my eyes open at the flea markets for acheap set. Cheers, Rob