Backwoods Blacksmith

1 1/4 pipe, 3/4 and 1/2 round.

I had shoulder replacement surgary in Novmember. Could not sit around so tried to do a little bit every day. I used an oak tree behind the house as a model. After a few revisions and design changes, this is the result.]

That ought to keep them from sitting on it too.

I like it. Good use ofl jointery and style. Well thought out with nice flow. Good use for a large rock.

I either use old cold chisels, air chisels, or coil or leaf springs. No reason to buy tool steels for this type of tool.

The diameter of the arrow or spear shaft will determine the size of the mandrel. There are several good vidios on utube that will help you.

If the valve is open on an oxy tank and nothing comes out it is empty. I recently modified a 30 gal propane tank to add to my air compressor. I ran a hose from the exaust from my quad to the fully opened valve. I then drilled a 1/4 hole in the tank where I wanted to weld a coupling. After a minute or so to fill the tank with exaust, using a hole saw, I cut the right size hole in the tank and then welded my pipe fitting. Exaust will force out any propane fumes and oxygen, blanketing the atmosphere with a nonflamiable gas. This method is commonly used to weld up fuel tanks with no problems. I am sure I will hear a bunch of nonsence about this but it has been done for years with few problems. This will work very well on an oxy tank that has no pressure. This seems to be what was used in the video with the valve removed. Open the valve and you will have the same situation. If you want fill it with water, forceing out any gas. Once the first section is cut the the atmosphere is common. Wear safety glasses, wear gloves and long sleeve shirt. Maybe ear plugs. Safety concerns are valid and should be thought out. There are many ways to safely do things that are inhearently hazardes. lighting compressed gas in an enclosed area is dangerous, but it is done every time a gas forge is lit. Use you head, protect youself, and get the job done.

A positive ground is very important with MIG. The ground should be as close as possiable to the work and the attachment area should be cleaned or ground. Clamp directly to the work or clamp the work to the bench. Clean where the metal meets for good ground. No paint, rust, corrousion. I have not had good luck with magnatic clamps for MIG. Others may have, but I quit messing with them except for stick

Try Jantz supply. Great knife supplier.

I use a .040 tip with a 1 in tube. I start at 10 psi until hot and then throttle down to 5 psi for general forging. I also use a volume bypass to really throttle down when out of the forge or doing leaves etc. You may need to start a 25 psi and then lower pressure when hot. But you do need a fully adjustabe regulator 0 to 30 psi min.

Welcome to the craft. I live near Sutherlin. Intrested in getting together? PM me.

If you ever start using a bellows you will not want to use anything else. Good air control = good fire control. If you have the room fix it and use it. The next best is a good hand crank blower. You may be able to trade for a good hand blower. I had electric blowers and hated them.

Neat idea. Mine is similar but I use flat bar the same width as the dies. But for odd sizes your method is great.

That is a heck of a nice job. Keep it up.

I would use 5/8 or 1/2 in round but you could certainly start with 1/2 sq.

While a good blacksmith hammer of modest weight [2 to 4 lbs] will move the metal the way you want for knife making the same weight hammer with a smaller face and a mild radius would be more effecent. Check out the style of cuttler or knife maker hammers and see the difference. Even a 2 lb ballpeen with a radius face will move the hot steel better than a square face that is flat. By a mild radius I mean real mild. Once the blank is close to finish go to the flat face and finish up. There are several smiths on this site the make cuttler hammers that you may find by searching. Good luck and keep it up

Nice start. Keep it up.

Thats neat.

Beth, I must agree with McBruce. Lovely gate. I have started doing a bunch of viney stuff and I hope they look as good as yours. Thank you for showing.

You would be surprized how many machinist have never turned an Acme thread. Also a 3/4 or even 1 inch dia id Acme can be a pain. But you are right a machined thread is the best way to go unless the shaft thread is badly worn or streached. In that case the shaft threads will need to be trued up and a nut made to fit.. If it were me and a machinist was not avaliable I would go to Enco and get Acme thread stock and a nut to fit and replace both at the same time.

Get one that will measure from 32 pitch to 4 pitch. That is threads per inch. This will cover both course and fine threads of all you may encounter. Likely your vice is an acme thread. You can measure it with a tape or scale. Measure from the back of one thread to the front of the one at 1 in. Count the full threads.This will give you the TPI. Hope this helps

You need 30 amp 220 circuit. The 15 amp breaker will heat up and then trip. Starting the arc will draw the most current but the constant arc will heat up the small breaker. Is there a reason not to replace the breaker to 30 amp? Only safe way is if you also upgrade the wiring, the breakers are sized to prevent fires form the wire size used, not just to annoy us by tripping.

You need 30 amp 220 circuit. The 15 amp breaker will heat up and then trip.

It looks like the air blast is too spread out. Try blocking all but about 2 in square to concentrate your blast. Try brick to hold your coal and make it deep.

Give me a few days. Out of town