EtownAndrew

It does not look like they have release the registration and detailed schedule packet yet. It is supposed to come out the first week of August so it should be available anytime now. However, as the guys posting before me have mentioned the general schedule stays the same from year to year. I think that I am going to buy and Iforge Iron tee shirt so I can hopefully try to connect with people who post on this site.

I was thinking more about this and it occurred  to me that I don't see much of a counter balance on your linkage. The motor will rotate it all around a lot easier if there is a weight on the opposite side of the connecting rod that is about equal to the weight of the linkage assembly. When you release the belt tension the overall hammer assembly falls down pretty quickly which indicates to me that it is not balanced. Also more balanced weight will give a flywheel effect and even out the load on the motor. I suspect that vibration will also be reduced some.

I have attached a couple pictures that I took at a local blacksmith's shop of his home made power hammer that is about the same design as yours. He attached some big weight lifting plates to the linkage arm to help smooth out things. The disadvantage is that you will get a couple extra hits after you let off the belt tension and so he would pull out whatever he was working on and also let off on the belt tension. He has learned how to use his machine and produces a lot of work on it.

Put an amp meter on the motor to see how close you are getting to the full load current draw. A "clamp amp" meter is the easiest way to do this. That will give you some solid numbers to evaluate. Motors do run hot so it does not mean it is too hot if you can't touch it but it certainly is an indicator to check things out. Jason's comment about letting the motor run to cool it off makes sense.

I think there is a active blacksmithing group in the Fort Wayne area. Certainly there are a few events that are not too far away that you could attend to learn and maybe pick up a few tools here and there.

I have used copper rivets to put together knives and I like them. They peen easy and look nice. So far they have held up fine. I use various wire sizes depending upon how big a rivet I want.

The widow maker is scary! I noticed after I finished watching it that my gut had tensed up.

Yes that does seem a fair price for the condition. The condition looks worn but quite serviceable.

It looks like a great anvil. I'm curious about your decision process to pick this one. What features did you want? What made this one the one to buy? 

Looks nice. I think he will enjoy it.

Cool

I agree with your thinking that it is a really big fire. Some clay around the sides to reduce the fire size will be good. You may also want to add a table around the sides.

I wouldn't worry too much about the clay. You might let it dry for a couple days or a week if you can wait and then start a fire in it.

I suspect you will make occasional improvements to your forge. I have adding a chimney on my list of things to do for mine. The hair dryer that I use as a blower is not shown on the attached picture of my forge.

Neat. I could use a nice wood slack tub too. A 55 gallon barrel that I was using froze this past winter and the bottom busted out. 

Welcome. Can you post a picture of it?

Thomas,

It took me a couple days to get around to re-reading the heat treating chapter in "The Complete Bladesmith". I just finished it. It is a good overview of the heat treating process but does not have many specific comments for particular grades of steel. Included in that chapter is a key comment. He says "Remember to check the tables as to hardening and tempering temperatures." Unfortunately the book does not contain any tables or detailed recommendations for heat treating specific metals. He does not make any recommendations either about where to find this. I looked in his bibliography and there was one heat treating book listed but no comments about it to know what it contains or if it is any good. The Complete Bladesmith is a good book but he is covering all of making a knife or sword and so the heat treating chapter is only 4 pages.

... which of the heat treating books by ASM or other publisher is/are best for heat treating knives?

I don't think this question was answered. Is there a good book that would cover heat treatment of knives and tools made from some of the less expensive steels like 1045, 1095, and recycled springs? I have purchased a couple books and they really did not deal with the more ordinary high carbon steels. The ones I tried were Tool Steel Simplified by Palmer, Luerssen, Pendleton and also Heat Treatment Selection, and Application of Tool Steels by Bryson.

I was very interested to receive in the mail today a "save the date" sort of preview for the 2014 SOFA Quadstate conference September 26-28, 2014. I was further surprised to see Dave Custer listed as one of the presenters. He posts on Iforgeiron.

The most likely problem is the 6" diameter stack. The normal minimum recommended is 10". I suggest that you take what is probably 2 sections of 6" stove pipe and put them together to make one 12" dia x 5' stack. That should work. 

Fun stuff!!

Thanks for the nice welcome and comments!  Unfortunately, I wont be able to make it June 6-8.  I spend a lot of my time on a sailboat racing crew, and that weekend is a big event for us here in Chicago.  I will have to catch the next one!  Or possibly a different one in the Midwest?  Sounds like that would be a perfect place for me to start meeting others and picking up tools.

 

Hopefully pretty soon I will have something set up to forge and I can post some new projects.  So much time away from pounding metal leaves me with nothing but ideas!

 

Can anyone make comments on gas vs. coal.  All of my experience is with a Forgemaster propane forge.  Also are there any particular brands of forge to look for or stay away from? 

I can make a couple pros vs. cons comments on coal vs propane.

Coal Forge advantages.

• With a wide open coal forge you can fit anything on it. Admittedly you may only be heating up part of a large beam or pipe that you are straightening or otherwise working on. After making a couple bends on a bar it will probably not fit in your propane forge anymore.
• I have tried forge welding in a propane forge and the Borax flux makes a terrible mess. In a coal forge the excess flux just goes away with the normal ash and clinkers. I think that some people have this worked out in a propane forge and probably change out a messy flux covered fire brick as needed.

Propane Forge advantages

• Quick heat if you want to do just a little more forging on a piece that you thought was done. Quick to turn off and walk away from if the wife asks you to do something.
• You do not have to pay as much attention to the fire to avoid getting your metal burned/oxidized like can happen in a coal fire.
• Easier to watch the metal and see that it is at the right temp to pull out and work on.

Due to flexibility the coal forge would probably be best to start with if there were not other considerations unique to your situation. I think that most smiths probably eventually end up with both so they can use the one best suited to the job.  

Anyone know what part of Ohio quad state conference is being held?

Troy, Ohio

Here is a thread about last years event. 

You have to dress like Thomas to stand out. I apparently walked right past a bunch of people at Quadstate this past year that post on IFI and I didn't recognize them but would have liked to shake their hand.

Be sure to preheat the RR track before welding. I didn't and after my RR Track anvil started developing cracks during use I realized my error.

This looks good. I had been keeping my eye out at scrap yards for something to use for a chimney. I'll grab some empty paint cans at work.

I got into blacksmithing through making knives. I had heard that a knife could be forged and so I gave it a try. I don't make knives very often now but have moved on and forge other things.

I agree with your thought that the handle seems too fat. In fact I also think that the blade is too fat for this size knife. If you make a second one you might want to reduce the thickness by 1/3 or 1/2.