Steve Sells

for some strange reason my family can't understand why I don't find putting up more Christmas lights an enjoyable time. I try to explain that by the time I get home from my work putting up other peoples lights, the last thing I want to do is more electrical work. I do like Christmas time.

Funny: because an anvil IS a block of steel, But some do have additional shapes to the basic flat face. Welcome to IFI , While this ain't Valhalla, its close enough for this lifetime.:D

You did good on this One, keep at it. As a wise man once said "the good is too often the enemy of the best". If you will learn to never settle for "good enough", you will succeed beyond your dreams.

If you ask Glenn I am sure he can change your log-in name. But that may already be taken.

WARNING when it "clears" you are still poisoning yourself. you can not see CO and CO2, but if its burning it is still being produced.

rather than empty and refilling 5 gal of water every time I use the forge, I was thinking of a heater for the slack tub. I do have plenty of power 120/240v 100 amp. So I looked at small heated horse water tanks at tractor supply, but fear due to them being made of plastic. I have though of immersing an Aquarium tank heater, but would have to remove when in use. Also wrapping the bucket with heat trace tape, which can remain in place. Rather that attempt to reinvent the wheel what are others doing ? Sign me off as Shivering in Indiana :)

you do realize that you may be losing about half your aluminum cans in weight when melting them? that is why few use them as stock for casting.

about the stress. That is the major point of failure to what would be an otherwise fine blade, Many of us, at first anyway, make nice clean sharp cuts for the ricasso/tang transitions, but a small curve rather than a clean 90 degree angle is best, as it relieves what will be a stress point.

the W series has added carbide formers. Giving smaller grains, and well as making it somewhat hot hard. work as 10XX and you be fine

Welcome to I Forge Iron. Glad you have you here

I confuse terms a lot, Dyslexia, sorry. But isn't that the desired quality with a tang? To flex rather than break? One reason many of us make our tangs dead soft. The tang is not getting the same amount of working stress as the blade itself, also even with a lower flex measurement of the 6011's 60,000 vs the steels 100,000+, is plenty. I don't want to argue semantics, it defeats the purpose of our discussion, a strong functional tang weld. Jhomney or charpy testing can show it is weaker, but but enough to matter?

Actually cast iron has a higher carbon content, well over 2% C. Its melting point is higher than steel because while the addition of carbon does lower the melting point of iron, this is only true until reaching the eustetic point, which is around 0.83%C, then it raises the melting point of the mixture again. A second point I wish to comment on, as my Opinion only, is I have heard, and therefore assume that cast iron pots are made because casting steel is not as cheap as casting gray iron. It took me over 15 years to get a small hole in my last steep pot, and in fairness it has been outside exposed to the rain the last 6 years or so.

No real need to as cold mild is much more resistant to deforming than just about any hot metal.

weak how? many weldments used in MIG are stronger than the brittle high carbon blade steels we use. But i totally agree about keeping it out of the blade area itself, I leave at least a few inches of blade material into the tang area before I overlap mild steel for a tang extension. After I spot weld it in place with the MIG, I go back to the forge and forge weld it solid... Unless someone puts an etch it there , you cant tell it was welded. But I am making talkng about my pattern welded blades. That material is too costly to use for tangs, but for a less costly steel I would make the full blade and tang of same material. At an average cost of less than 25 cents a square inch for carbon steels, its to close to the cost of mild to waste the effort, and risk any potential troubles.

One problem learning with mild steel is that it does not work the same way as knife steels. IF you want to get started learning, as I assume from this posts tone, then go to a junk/scrap yard , Used leaf springs are not suggested for a fine blade due to many things listed in many other places, they are great for practicing, as they are higher carbon, and heat/work like many simple blade steels.

thank you, it just takes time and practice.

sure weld away

standard square clay flue liner tiles.

My side draft never gets hot enough for any code issues. Never to hot to touch bare handed and leave it there. I used 12x12 flue, works great. A forge does not work the same way nor have the same issues as a stove or fireplace chimney. also My day job is in construction, so I talked to everyone before I built mine. Most do not know anything about forge flues. The local code enforcement guy (not building dept) served an apprenticeship as a blacksmith, so he did understand.

show off :)

the cost of the ITC-100 means a top coat only for me, many others things even Bubble almunia are less $$$ than ITC for the entire coating.

I may as well jump in here too. My log in is not my birth name. I was born David Goldsborough, my birth parents were young teens, and I was placed in the orphanage. adopted and renamed Steve Sells later. I am a proud member of a group that assists adoptees in getting medical information, who in case you don't know are 2nd rate citizens in the US, and in many cases are not allowed medical nor ancestry histories, and many provided at adoption are Illegally faked, mine was. Through my helping others I found a lead to the agency that delt with my adoption placement, as well as a small snippet of a law change in Michigan where I was born that allowed updated medical info, 6 months later I was on the phone talking to my Birth Mother. There are registries where people can place their names to make known their desire to make contact, when a match is found, they can talk to an Intermediary, (just in case) and my Birth mother stated she wanted to talk to me. so with Birth Mother (known 7 years now), Birth Dad (never met but have info), and the family I grew up with, I have 1 brother, and 7 sisters, thats a lot of Xmas cards. also I am Steve Sells, I just didn't start out that way;)

Nope, just get the good stuff, and you wont regret all your efforts then. depending on WHEN you plan to line it, maybe we can share a bucket ? I will be getting a large bucket as I have to line a 33 inch long 4 burner. satenite and topped with ITC-100

Most stores don't carry them, Except Metalsupermarket does carry O-1 and D-2 Straight carbon steels can be had from the internet sites. If you want more detail, then first we need to know what you wish to make, as that has a major berring on the steels to use, also what are you going to do with them yourself? stock removal or forge? There is a lot more to making fine blades than just banging on steel, tho that is the funnest part.

I have heard it said by some that we do not need a "smoke-shelf" in our flues, But have they tried to understand WHY they are used by so many of us? The turbulence it creates breaks up the flow a little, and as a result of this, drops ash and sparks to the shelf. I have not had my side draft running very long, but I do not have any sparks leaving and I get a bit of fines to clean up from the bottom of the flue every time I use it, so it seems to be helping me. Just a thought.