jmccustomknives

No, your into industrial band saw or torch territory. You could do it with a metabo, but it would take a while.

Scrap it. As far as automotive stuff goes, find a leaf spring. It will make a much better cutting tool. Any "found" steel can be a crap shoot. The nice thing about the leaf springs is you'll usually have plenty to work out the heat treat.

I would have said a propane weed burner, but you want to move it, not burn it down. :wacko: I like notown's method. He's from a colder part of the world <_< . lol. 2" of snow around here and the world comes to an end. :o

Charles, that's pretty much the way I suggest. Since all of my brazing is done with an oxy/ac rig and I'm too lazy to use the proper tips I always preheat the base metal. A pair of pliers will keep one from singing those fingers. :o

Silver is the way you'd go. Solder has a melting point from 500-900. You'd run the risk of loosing your tip from the heat of the forge (usually at shut down). Silver (45 or 56) brazes at 1200f and the residual heat shouldn't cause any problems. Your set up should be able to do it unless the pipe is to thick. Brazing is tricky, practice before applying. I usually will heat the base metal up, apply the flux then bring to temp then put the small part in place re-flux then apply the silver.

There is nothing that will start a forge like open, dry pine cones.

I could say making Damascus, but not really. Or forging and tempering a sword, that was surely tough. But not that. For me it is impatience, trying to rush something that I shouldn't. I haven't overcome that yet. :blink:

I'm one of the few who still likes the old 4x36. I have it turned backwards so it pulls away. For small knives I can angle it so my eye is looking down the length of the belt, for longer blades I'll lay it flat to take advantage of the larger surface. As far as grabbing goes, I've had it happen more than once. From faulty belts to edges that catch to small pieces that slip and get thrown across the shop. Away is safer. :wacko:

Yeah, this one looks like a cast iron ASO. I saw one at a meet that look a lot like it that was real soft. Test it out. No rebound, walk away unless you need a boat anchor.

Sounds to me like you've got some crappy A36. Just for grins heat a little piece up and quench it in water, try to break it. Since a lot of steels re re-melts the alloys can be all over the place. A high carbon content or other alloys can cause numerous problems. That or you might have some high sulfur coal.

Some old files can make great knives. If heat treating is going to be an issue you can work the file hard (gotta keep it cool) and temper to get it to a good hardness for a knife. Black Diamonds and Nicholsons are always going to be good steel, everything else is a crap shoot. A late model leaf spring will make a bunch of knives, and the steel is typically some version of 5160. Those springs should be easy to get. Drop by a scrap yard, talk to the manager. Tell him what you want, he'll probably give you one. Be sure to thank him with the first knife. ;)

Typically steels that carry enough chromium to be corrosion resistant aren't for the entry level smith. They are much too fickle with forge temps and heat treating. If you want stainless, or simi-stainless get some flat stock and do it by stock removal or get some planer blades and work it hard. For a newbie forging blades, most of us will recommend 1080 or 5160. I should clarify, if you buy stainless or d-2 flat stock you'll need to send it to be heat treated.

I looked up this steel to see what it was made of. Looks like 1095, just really high in manganese. What did you quench it in? Did you use a magnet to determine the proper quenching heat? If you quenched in water, this will cause it to crack. If you over heated before quenching, this too can cause cracking. This doesn't account for any mistakes in the forging of the blade where cracking may have occurred (forging too cold).

For a Mousehole it is a good one. Mine is in a lot worse shape. Very common for these anvils to be rough since many would work the materials cold back in the day. I'd just use it as it is. The dents aren't going to any worse than the hammer marks you will leave. It would be a good beginners anvil. Looks just like mine, just in better shape.

Nice find. Should serve you well for years. I agree with you on the stand. That one is a little sketchy. :unsure:

It looks like Jar Jar Binks. "Misha thinks it needs the ears" ;)

The Lincolns are a top notch machine. Just keep in mind, it's a dirty little secret in the welding industry that they all keep, inverter welders have a short life expectancy. I usually tell folks about 5 years, our warranty repair guy says 4 is average with 11 being the oldest he's ever seen. So if that machine is a few years old, it could go for a few more years or die tomorrow.

No, once I left a billet laying on the floor forgotten for well over a year. Lets just say, steel and the Alabama climate aren't good friends. Just heat, flux and start where you left off.

Dude, that would sell for a fortune here in T-town. (U of Alabama's mascot is the elephant). Cool beans! B)

Did that monkey ever get his glass eye? lol Looks like and interesting anvil. Hope you can acquire it and start making stuff on it again.

Steve's right, not to mention in my experience they don't have a clue what is being used to make their product. Usually that stuff will be 1065, but that a loose guideline as Steve said, they may change suppliers and the steel will change.

Aluminum oxide has a melting point of well over 4000F, that's why it was at one time one of the most expensive metals in the world. (the Washington monument is topped with aluminum). You probably mean you want to cast aluminum, that's a lot easier. lol. The usual method for converting the oxide back to aluminum is to use electric kilns.

Do you have an annoying neighbor or in-law you don't like? :ph34r:

Do a stock removal knife, then heat treat. Did the problem persist in this un-forged blade? If so your procedure is wrong for normalization/heat treat. Are you following good forge theory? That is to start hot and end cool. Are you overheating during forging? These are all questions you'll have to work out. Also, one other thing, did you remove the teeth on the file before forging? Some don't but I found that the teeth will get pushed into the steel and can cause stress risers that can cause the steel to break. This could have been the reason it broke in the quench, that or overheating.

If you don't mind destroying the piece, cut into the cracks. This might tell you when they formed. If you forged at too high or low a heat you can get cracks. These types of cracks and inclusions, in my experience will be black inside. While the ones that happen during the quench will be clean. Also, if you can, brake a piece and inspect the grain for growth that might indicate high quench heat or improper forge theory.