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I Forge Iron

Mike R

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Everything posted by Mike R

  1. Hi Beth I really like how you textured the round stock. Looks great.
  2. Thanks for all the help guys. It started out as an exercise in upsetting and the ball was just something to shoot for. I really like the look of it. I haven't tryed welding yet so the other methods may be awhile out on the learning curve. I will try tapering the end some and see how that goes. The pics attached show how it folded over a little in a couple places. I found I had to keep pounding the sides of the ball to keep it from folding over. The Vice tool is very cool John. I saw somthing similar on one of Hofi's blueprints and I will be making one. A post vice is close to the top of my want list but still looking for one I can afford. Thanks for the vidio Francis. I tried some of the stuff Brian showed thru trial and error as I did this ball but I will have to try agean now I have seen how it is supposed to work. Mike I figured the digger chain was fairly hard based on the use but I have access to lots of it for free. I intend to get some bar stock from swift steel at some point. Hard to pay for it when you can get so much for free.
  3. its mentioned that 7000 alum. will work harden and break. Does anybody know what the alum. heat sink blocks from an old computer would be? Also just to be shure, there are no worrys with the fumes off alum is there? Thanks
  4. Hello all I decided I wanted to try upsetting and I thought the ball on the end of a rod looked cool so I tried that. I started with a small diamiter rod and was fighting it bending so I went to a heavier piece of digger chain. It took a lot of heats and time but I got something that sort of looked like a ball. Now the question is what are the tricks to this? I watched Uri's blueprint on it but it is for the mech hammer. Should I draw the end out and leave a bit on the end full size so it pushes metal to the end and then is there something I am missing or do I just keep beating on the end with the hammer. What I did was put the cold end of the rod on the anvil and pound down on the other end. It seemed to swell quite a bit down the rod when I wanted it just at the end to make the ball. Any hints are apperciated. Thanks
  5. Thanks Ciladog I have never used those befor but I will have to give a try to making them and using them for glue up.
  6. luke 978 I built a table along similar lines and I am going to have to add the sides. The kids are spending a lot of time picking up the bits of coal. We dropped the brake drum in so it sat on the lip and sticks up about 1/2 to 3/4". This did create some problems scraping coal into the pot. If I did it over I would flush mount under and build a brace under it. Good luck.
  7. Thanks Brian. A hot cut is something I need to make. We used a railroad spike to cut the leaf out of plate and to cut the sping off for the chisle.
  8. Brian couple questions: Do you taper the striking end? Looks like it in the first post pics. If so is there a reason or you just like it that way? Also what do you use to grind the working ends? I don't have a lot of metal working experience and I found it very difficult to get a nice even grind with the bench grinder. I have used the flap wheels on the angle grinder befor and thought they mite be better. Also was wondering about a belt grinder. Have to look into how to build one. I made a chisle today about like the one second from the right end on the first post pics. I needed it to put the viens in a leaf my son and I made. I drew the working end to blue and just let the stirking end cool in the air. Oh I started with spring steel. Had to resharpen once and the striking end is mushrooming just a little. Is that normal? The leaf was fairly larg and took a lot of hits. Thanks for the great info
  9. I am working outside and it is starting to snow so that could be an isshue. Is there a better steel to use? Thanks Mike
  10. Thanks I will go to the steel yard and get some round stock to try. Pounding to cold could definatly be part of the problem. I will keep trying with that in mind.
  11. Tom I have a hand truck just like that so I may try that. I still think if I can scroung some wheels in the future it would be nice to attach them to the forge. I did have better luck with the fire on the second try. I also used a lot more coke and less coal and that was different.
  12. The kids worked with the forge today. got a lot better fire control today and only took 2 tries to get started. Still heating the metal to much and it is cracking and busting. Anthony made a nice hook and we drilled the flat spot he made on back but tried to straighten it out and it shattered at the thin end. heated and rebent but the back of the hook was all cracked so we will start over. Kelsey made a nice heart but it had a crack in it also at the bottom bend. What color should I be heating to to pound on for this scrap metal of unknown composition? Been just heating till it is orange. I did straighten a piece of spring and start a hot chisle to mark with also. Need to make a hot cut hardie and mount it.
  13. drewed I am thinking about putting some bricks in the bottom to raise it up. The pot is about 3 1/2 or 4 inches deep and I was using a lot of coal and coke trying to get it up higher. I had problems getting the long piece of rebar to lay in it because it just kept spreading out. I will just keep trying till I get it figured out. Going to need to get more fuel though. I guess I will have to take a trip to the valley.
  14. PJames I tried channle locks with the same result. Didn't work well. Had better luck with some horse show nippers. I ordered a pair of OC wolf jaw tongs this week so should have them by end of coming week. Really interested to try that. I want to make some tongs but I held a pair of the OC tongs at Marks house last week and they had a real nice feal.
  15. Got the forge fired and made my first thing today. Tried of the hearts brian did the how to pictures for. I used some rebar and I kept burning it but finally got one hammered out. The pics you see are about 3 hours work with getting the fire started and figuring out what I was doing. Need to get the anvil mounted higher and work on fire control among other things. I need to build a hot cut for the anvil or just mount in the stump. I ended up using the edge of the RR anvil to cut the rebar then broke off the last bit. My 25 cent cross pien worked good but I need to soak it in antifreeze. Tomorow we fire up agean and the kids get to try.
  16. Finaly got fired up. First try discovered the used fan I got had bad bearings. Got a good fire going till the fan overheated but never got any metal in it. The pics with the kids are the first try. Got a new fan this week and got mounted today. Had a different outlet on fan so had to rework the hook up a little and build a small piece of duct to transition from rectangle outlet to round pipe. Got metal hot and punded on it today. Made a small heart like Brian showed but I used some rebar I had. Went thru a lot of coal. Think I was leaving the fan on to much. Also seemed like I had to build an awful big fire to get the longer rebar I started with laid in the fire and not shuved down into it. May need to put some bricks in the bottom so it is not so deep. I was really suprised at how fast the bar got hot. I burned the end off a couple of times.
  17. If you have access to a heating company the exhaust blower from a gas furnace seems to work well. The one I had turned out to have bad bearings but I had a heck of a fire going till the motor overheated. I am getting another one this week from a furnace that is supposed to come out today. All 90% furnaces have them and I am told they all have them in the last 10 or 12 years.
  18. It was said that IFI was the only place to buy the hofi hammer. Where is it for sale on the site. The store tab wont show anything whene I click on the catagories. Is there a place on the site to see price, options and order? Thanks Mike Mike check your pm
  19. I have found fuel locally but can't get it till after xmas so hopefully fire up by first of the year. Supposed to meet with a couple local guys and ck out there setups. See what a fire is supposed to look like at least.
  20. Thomas there are deffinatly things I will modify as I get time and scroung materials. I would like to put some of those metal cart wheels on it to move around the yard as I don't have a dedicated area for it yet. The rest I will figure out as I go so I guess I can go with ready. :-)
  21. Finaly finished the new forge. Hope to get fuel this week to fire it up. Top is 42 X 28 inch. 2 inch pipe with a gas furnace exhaust fan for air. Has a togle switch at the front and a damper on the intake side. The fan is variable speed and if I need to I can add a rheostat. Still need to add edges but can use it as is.
  22. I am just finighing the build on mine and i will be into it about $22.00 for 2 inch pipe and electrical parts to run the fan. I had $28.00 at the scrap steel yard for the brake drum, a piece of flat steel for the top and fan mount and some scrap to get started once its done. I used an old metal palat frame that a riding lawn mower came in to build the frame, the fan is an eshaust fan from a gas furnace that came out of the junk pile at a local heating company for free ( you may have to take it out of the unit) and the wire was an old extension cord I had around. I did use my brother in laws shop for the welder and cutting so you may have an expense there. Good luck
  23. I will go ahead and buy it and give it a try. I am shure my neighbors will appreciate the less smoke part. Thanks for the help. Mike
  24. Rich I have a damper on the intake side of the fan to control the air flow. My concern is do you think this set up will supply enough air to burn coke properly?
  25. the new forge is just about done. it is a brake drum off a 1 ton pick up. About 4 inch deep. 2 inch pide with a T out to fan. Fan is an exhaust fan off a gas furnace. Best guess will this work with coke? Guy locally has some coke I can get started with but he said it needs lots of air. I post some pics once I get back up to the shop where the forge being assembled.
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