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I Forge Iron

Gerald Boggs

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Everything posted by Gerald Boggs

  1. The problem is that blacksmith might not have been so wise. Getting a bigger hammer just wears you out. Acceleration with accuracy is for more useful than trying to use a bigger hammer. I know I'm stronger then Peter Ross. So how come, with a lighter hammer then I use, Peter is able to move twice the metal? I've watched him do in two heats things I know would take me four-six heats. Why?, Because Peter is able to accurately swing his hammer under acceleration and is able to do it better then I. So better advise might be "Learn to use your tools"
  2. Trust me, I'm pretty strong, I can not only move the 600 around the shop, I've twice loaded it in the back of a pickup truck by myself (not fun) Of course, I don't pick the whole thing up at once. I use the smaller for several reasons: The rebound on the 100 is better then the 600. That results in more work, less effort. The horn on the 600 is so large as to not be much use for the type of work I do. The width of the 600 makes forging items like Suffolk latchs and door pulls difficult. Once I've worked one end and go to the other, I can't get the right angle because the anvil blocks me. 7 vs. 3 1/2 inches It's easier to forge weld odd shaped pieces, the face doesn't get in the way. Having said that, if I was forge welding large flat pieces, I prefer the 600. It's like a table, lots of support for the bits sticking out. I do use the 600 when photographers come by, makes a pretty picture.
  3. Well, I use a variety of hammers, it all depends on what I'm doing, but I think you're asking about my main use hammer. I use the heaviest hammer I can accelerate with accuracy and still use thought out the day. It does me no good to use a heavy hammer if I can't accelerate it as well as a lighter hammer. Folks I see doing that, just end up choking up on the handle. Which sort of negates any advantage of more weight. My current use hammer is 2.70 pounds for most work and I'm slowly progressing to a 3 Lb hammer.
  4. But is it a valid application of the math? No where does it take into account securing the anvil to the earth. In short, practical experience doesn't support his claims.
  5. I have no idea if the information has any application to an anvil and hammer. Back in the Seventies, a whole lot of knowledge was created that has little to do with reality. Here's what I do know: I have four anvils. I started with a 600 Lb anvil, went to a 400 Lb anvil, then to a 218 Lb, than I bought a 100 Lb anvil. This last has become my main use anvil, the rest collect dust. I routinely forge 1 1/8 on my 100 Lb anvil without feeling that it's undersized. As I have no power hammer, everything I forge is done on that anvil. I am a full-time smith, the mortgage is paid by what I forge.
  6. As these are practice/prototypes, I'm using mild steel and the size is one inch square. When I go to production, I'll be using 4140 round and will start with whatever diameter gives me the weight I'm looking for. E.g., 1 3/8 will give me a bit over 2 lbs if I start with five inches and 1 1/2 will give me 2 1/2 minus any loss during forging :-)
  7. Did this one today. Tried the weight forward style and decided to put a little less eye angle on this one.
  8. Me too, but they were fun to forge and as I'm starting to have a go at blade forging, I wanted to give them a try.
  9. One could use a backing plate, but with these I didn't. The hardy hole was enough. I did leave out of the photo one of the drifts. I'll get a photo of it and post later today. I've been on my own since 2004.
  10. Secret stuff :-) All will be reveled in detail in book three of Mark Aspery. In the meantime, I just slot punched from both sides with the slots offset by a 1/4 inch. Gives me a common hole on the overlapping end of each slot. The drift will follow the slots and end up going in at an angle.
  11. While I've been forging hammers for a while, these are my first go at the off-center style favored by bladesmiths. The one with the handle, as you can see, is forged with an angled eye. The one beside has a straight eye. The tools are those which were used: Slot punch, hammer eye drift and the taper hammer eye drift. Next try will be the tapered doghead style. Maybe tomorrow if time permits.
  12. OK, I did write "Challenge" but it wasn't really a challenge. It was more a dig at those whom say/write "only my way is the right way" So far, most of those folks have stayed quiet. I think one inch would work fine for a hardy tool. Simply upset the mass about an 1 1/2 -2 inches from the end and than draw down the end. If I was doing it, I would start with a long bar and cut off after I did the upset and drawing.
  13. The only difference between a hobbyist and a professional, is whether you do it for free or pay. Being a professional, in no way endows you with skill and knowledge. Just as posting a lot, doesn't mean you know what you're talking about, getting paid, doesn't mean you're skilled. As for the body. I prefer to keep my body quiet, however, some smiths do quite a bit of body movement. Peter Ross and Lee Sauder are two that come to mind.
  14. WE all are waiting with bated breath for book three. However, for those interested, all this information is in book one.
  15. Don't do that, live on the end, get the point and all will follow.
  16. The horn is everything, why would you try to draw anything without using the horn? Photo?
  17. One of these statements is not true, if you can forge all day, working 1/2-inch, then you should be able to hammer for a single long heat. That is unless you over-did your hammering. This is not a contest of muscle and speed. You're not suppose to death grip the handle and swing as fast/hard as you can. That's just a path to injuring yourself. What it is, is way of seeing where you are with your hammer skill. Eye, hand and hammer working together. Let the hammer do it's work. Deep breaths, relaxed grip. However your progress goes. Remember, blacksmiths are the tool makers. This is but a step in making your own anvil tools. If you don't learn to make them, where are you going to get them?
  18. I think some are missing the point Beyond that and why do it? I've always loved the old skills. To me, developing eye, hand and hammer to a level to which I can do this, is a lure I can't resist. As for power vs. skill. I've been lifting weights for most of my life. Physically, I'm stronger then either Mark or Peter. The difference is in their ability to swing the hammer and hit exactly where they want it. That's skill For those of you who have watched Mark, you know he doesn't swing fast. Slow, steady accurate gets the job done.
  19. I'm not sure, but it was probably 4 1/2 inches. While it's cool to be able to forge that skillfully, just doing the taper isn't the purpose. What Mark is doing, is prepping the piece for anvil tooling. After the taper, the bar is inserted into a swage block hole tip down. The top is upset and forged into a block. This gives you the platform to make any tooling you need for the anvil.
  20. Mark Aspery Hammer Challenge OK, it's not Mark's challenge, it's mine. Over the years, I've heard/read no end of opinions on hammers and the techniques to use them. This is your chance to show the truth. This is a photo of a 1 1/4 inch piece of A36. The taper was done in one heat. Over the years, I've watched Mark do this many times. Can you? This particular one, was done on a 100 lb anvil using a Brent Bailey 2.75 lb hammer. No tricks, just good, solid hammering technique. I freely confess, I've not yet made it. The best I can do, is two heats, but I'm getting close.
  21. From want I've read, I don't have much of a positive opinion about the author of Beautifuliron. I would say , more skill with the pen, less with the anvil. Ok, that was my slam for the day :-) Or read it as, beware the internet, as anyone can post a web page. On the subject of my testing, I'm not ready to publish my finds. Most of my work has been in the area of Empirical Method? So right now, it's just my observations. Why is the black crud important? In itself, it's not. What I think is important, is the knowledge that a chemical process is taking place. All the benefits we get from this process is a side effect. So if we understand what is happening, what we need to happen (side effects) we then have a base from which to conduct test of different fluxes. The first and simplest test: Watching the flux as it's applied to the iron. I take a flat bar, bring it to welding heat, add flux and watch what's happening. I've done that with the fluxes, the mixes and the individual elements. No need to thank, it's an itch I need to scratch. Hey, no fair using big words :-)
  22. What Phil posted: Is the relevant difference. The lower melting and becoming chemically active might be of some advantage to the knife maker who is using exotic metals with lower temperature tolerances, but I can see none for the blacksmith forge welding mild steel. Which is why I asked the question, is there something else I'm missing. The differences in purity isn't really a factor for the blacksmith. If it was important, we would all be using Boric Oxide. As for the difference is price, in bulk, it's only about 25%. Not to be coy, but I've been researching the fluxes blacksmiths use for about two years. I don't mean just reading on-line. I mean time in the forge with every flux compound I can lay my hands on. Watching, testing, mixing, throwing it out and mixing again. I cringe to think of the money I spent to buy stuff that doesn't work. Anyway, there's still one more reason for the use of Boric Acid over Borax. I'm not posting what I think I know, because I want other insights and ideas. :-) What about the H2O? Is the presence of water an issue? And what happens when the scale combines with the flux? In other words, just what is that black crud?
  23. Good Day to all I've been doing a little research on fluxes. I've learned quite a bit, like I know what is happening at the chemical level when borax and iron oxide is exposed to high heat. However, there's a few areas I've not been able to find any information. Now, I'm not talking about opinions, feelings or folk tales, I interested in science. Information that has been researched and documented. If you know, please tell me the source. As I'm plugged into the university library system, if the book exists, I should be able to get my hands on it. So without further adieu: Of the different fluxes, one of them is a blend of Borax and Boric Acid. My question is, what is the boric acid doing, that the borax is not. And if it's doing it, why not use boric acid alone? Red Oxide is recommended for use in fluxes. Why? What is the red oxide doing? Why RED oxide Fe2O3, why not any iron oxide, such as black oxide, Fe3O4?
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