fat pete

Hey Joe those are absolutely great videos...and good tong making also ....you are bi-talented with videography and blacksmithing....very good!

i dont think you will burn the cable in a propane forge...but i know you can degrade the steel and it will get very scaled up and real tuff to remove the scale...the cool thing about a propane forge is you can't have too many irons in the fire....not like coal....so dont worry about burnin anything just heat em up

i dont think you will burn the cable in a propane forge...the cool thing about a propane forge is you can't have too many irons in the fire....not like coal....so dont worry about burnin anything just heat em up

5-7 on my chilli usually only use 1 burner...run both to bring up to temp...60# lasts about 40 hrs+/-

you can play with the size of the diamond in the middle...the trick is the more the overlap the more diamond...the closer those two cuts are to meeting, the smaller the diamond...when the cuts are equal you get a dot....but then they r real hard to open....i took a piece if strap and made a sharp end on it and i stick it in the hardy and that helps pry it open....i use a hacksaw all the time...safer....it also improves your sawing skill ...see if you can make a smooth cut

Types of CoalTypes of Coal Types of Coal We use the term "coal" to describe a variety of fossilized plant materials, but no two coals are exactly alike. Heating value, ash melting temperature, sulfur and other impurities, mechanical strength, and many other chemical and physical properties must be considered when matching specific coals to a particular application. Coal is classified into four general categories, or "ranks." They range from lignite through subbituminous and bituminous to anthracite, reflecting the progressive response of individual deposits of coal to increasing heat and pressure. The carbon content of coal supplies most of its heating value, but other factors also influence the amount of energy it contains per unit of weight. (The amount of energy in coal is expressed in British thermal units per pound. A BTU is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit.) About 90 percent of the coal in this country falls in the bituminous and subbituminous categories, which rank below anthracite and, for the most part, contain less energy per unit of weight. Bituminous coal predominates in the Eastern and Mid-continent coal fields, while subbituminous coal is generally found in the Western states and Alaska. Lignite ranks the lowest and is the youngest of the coals. Most lignite is mined in Texas, but large deposits also are found in Montana, North Dakota, and some Gulf Coast states. Anthracite Anthracite is coal with the highest carbon content, between 86 and 98 percent, and a heat value of nearly 15,000 BTUs-per-pound. Most frequently associated with home heating, anthracite is a very small segment of the U.S. coal market. There are 7.3 billion tons of anthracite reserves in the United States, found mostly in 11 northeastern counties in Pennsylvania. Bituminous The most plentiful form of coal in the United States, bituminous coal is used primarily to generate electricity and make coke for the steel industry. The fastest growing market for coal, though still a small one, is supplying heat for industrial processes. Bituminous coal has a carbon content ranging from 45 to 86 percent carbon and a heat value of 10,500 to 15,500 BTUs-per-pound. Subbituminous Ranking below bituminous is subbituminous coal with 35-45 percent carbon content and a heat value between 8,300 and 13,000 BTUs-per-pound. Reserves are located mainly in a half-dozen Western states and Alaska. Although its heat value is lower, this coal generally has a lower sulfur content than other types, which makes it attractive for use because it is cleaner burning. Lignite Lignite is a geologically young coal which has the lowest carbon content, 25-35 percent, and a heat value ranging between 4,000 and 8,300 BTUs-per-pound. Sometimes called brown coal, it is mainly used for electric power generation.

anthracite was what we used to heat the house...its hard coal...shiny and not quite as dusty as bituminous... soft coal..we in PA have lots of anthracite....used to be used in trains also....there is a mine north of me under a town called Centralia that has been burning for 30-40 yrs the town has moved and it looks like volcanic waste land...hard coal burning for a long time...once u get anthracite lit it goes and goes and in the morning it goes out...the trick was to get the draft to work right and the anthracite would glow for ever...it does not coke like smithin coal...nor smell like it...u can smith with it albeit realy tuff to ignite

i live in the "home of the outlets" there is a black and decker tool outlet locally so i went over and got 2 $25 4" angles that have worked just fine for 3 yrs...i need more of them also... I like the different wheels already to go...I once bought 3 angle grinders off ebay for like 15 bucks...plugged one in and it started to smoke ...packed em up and sent them back....thought i gotta deal....now the mennonites steel shop down the street has metabo's on sale but i can get 3 black and deckers for the cost of one...as far as a cut off ...I would love one but cant seem to justify spending more than 50 bucks to cut metal...HF has one for that price...now i cant seem to trust a 50 cut off!!!! I refuse to go to an analist...

i have experienced the lovely fruits and veggies u have at your dispsal....we are pretty good too however our seasons are way too short...we dont have inspectors or any of that xxxx out where i live...i can still burn trash ....roofs are no problem...

they r fun to make and they make eyes wide

some use just coke...but now i find out about breeze....i am familiar wiht the coke you referr to...and the proces starts as the coal burnsin a shrt time you notice the coal starts to stop being shinny and starts to kinda grow and deform then gets kinda crusty ...thats coke, easier to light and burns like a coleman mantle....if you would only use coke i believe it would burn up pretty quick, much quicker than the coal....breeze is some kind of baked soot from petrolium plants is what i am told...it looks like a stone that was heated alot....burns kinda like coal but needs air more than coal.. it is also harder to light, but seems to burn just fine, maybe a little cleaner than coal...some guys do just buy coke, i would rather burn coal and work with the coke...seems if i just used coke i think it would burn way quicker and i would loose the time as i was burning coal plus the time with the coke....seems guys who cant get coal buy the petro coke... now a litle history Andrew Frick used to make coke for carnegies furnaces ....he became a millionair doing this and the process was akin to making charcoal with hardwood....thats all i know....

i have a propan comfortglo blue flame none vented 99% efficienct wall furnace. if it isnt burning corectly the flame turns yellow...it then needs air so i open a door and in a couple of mins it is blue again....if i shut up the room they wanto turn orange...no air...so i keep my eye on it and it works just fine...i use a sixty pounder tank that lasts most of the winter once i get the forges going i dont need much heat....but if i am doing bench work i want the heat....and that little bugger works greatgot it used for a 100 bucks

a clinker looks like an asteroidwhen it cools....as you are working your fire you may notice the temp going down or not being able to get the metal as hot as quick...u got clinker....stop working the metal and give the fire a little time to cool and them go in and pull the coals out to the side ...remove the clinker and return the hot pile back to the firepot some more coke and air and get at it again

great news!! hopefully in awhile it will just be a bad memory

good luck buddy i hope all works out ....

it reall is a tap as opposed to a hit ....try pressing it in the vice

i was taught to make tongs by forge weding the reigns to the tongs....still have a hard time doing it...bbut i got some laser cuts like that and the work well you ruff em up a little ...round the handles and shape um a little and they are ffine ....i also go to glenn GS tongs he does well and its easy.... i find lots of em at local sales a nd stuff way cheap....10 bucks and i got a real nice atha pair of bolt tongs great for billets

hardening occurs in the quench....take it to criticle(non magnetic) then quench in your medium (oil, water, etc) then use the torch...torch is fine as long as you can see the colors...a torch wont get it to non magnetic either....another alternative would be to bake it in a little oven....i got an oven for 5 bucks at a yard sale....but i have tempered quite a few with propane torch...i just did a bunch of chisels for a mason heated them up staightened them and ground an edge on them then i heated up to nonmag....quenched in oil(hardened) then i took a propane torch and hit them for a bit till i got a staw color on the edge..

good news rocks....keep on gettin on Frosty

welcome to the forum...i live on the other side of Reading...you should go here....> you will see you live in a good area for smithing...go down to bethlehem they have a forge right on main street....there are all kinds of sales to find things all around you....have fun!!

i would take it to a dealer and have them deal with it.....i have no idea what the rules in CA are.

thats great how the texture made it thru the process... I think they r cool looking

forge weld?

you and the family mave my condolences....very sorry...

i am sorry grant i didnt want to steel your thunder....I am sure you make a fine pair too! in fact maybe you could send me a pair for 5/8ths v just to try, LOL!