Steve Sells

knee mail sent.

FYI i was told a while ago that sears does NOT warranty their tools for anything but home owner usage. NO commercial work. I pointed out my sister is a lawyer, and then they gave me a new socket, but also a paper stating the official return policy, so lifetime does NOT APPLY, to anyone that actualy uses their tools ?.

Ahh do y'all have a CO detector in your shops.....

my wife got me a new one even before I finished pulling the wiring on the new shop. its 4 foot from me about waist high. CO CO2 and an alarm with adjustable PPM to trigger it! big LED display so I can monitor it myself while I am forging.

Please don't shout. FYI Caps lock is bad neticate and very hard to read.

nothing wrong with additions of Chrome and Nickel, Add 3/4% of chrome to simple 10XX series and ya get 5160, add 2% nickel to that and get L6, both of which are great for blades. While this math is not 100% true, it is a close enough approximation for you to understand my point.

Just an FYI: tell your cement supplier what you are to be using the mix for. Its not just thickness for support. There are many different mixes available, ratings are based in pounds per square inch of force.

My shop floor is a 6.5 inch average depth of 4500 mix, with 5/8 rebar on a 3 foot grid, in addition to the 6 inch wire mesh. these additions did not cost much 120 for all the rebar at the scrap yard, for cut offs (known as drops, I got 300 pounds worth) the concrete is normally 3500 for a side walk or driveway parking area. I added $30 for 3.5 cu yards for the stronger stuff. I did use the std 3500 mix with rebar for the entry, and the base of the Forge chimney.

I figured with all the effort into this, what is a few more $$ when looking at the life time of the shop, and I did not want to have to make reapirs later. I also braised all the rebar to a 4 ga ground wire. so my floor is strong and electrically safe.

Welcome to IFI Charlie. Now start posting, and let us get to know you

Welcome you are not the only younger smith here. You have a lot of company, and all will help you when we can.

Welcome, join out online chat for live Q & A time too

I have done a few bike parts, in damascus, Someday I want do a springer front end for the soft tail in pattern welded steels.

welcome to the nut house plenty of gas users here.

the last time I tested any, they were 1080 but like all used/recycled/found steels it can be anything.

Also the added fire risk due to that down draft effecting the exiting heat/fumes.  One more reason nat'l code dictates a min 2 foot.

Also note combining two 6 inch pipes into one 12 inch pipe is common.

glad he is back home and with his family. Prayer works!

Now I got to go buy a new keyboard, I have drooled all over this one;)

not the mortor, most flux eats away the liners... Use a kiln shelf or similar as a barrier.

I am only a part time bladesmith, full time electrician. But my 5160 katana is still holding up fine, and I have had only one warranty repair in 15 years of making them, and he was cutting firewood with it, and broke off last 3 inches or so. If I make myself another one it will be L6.

Experience? no where hear as much as JPH here, but he has taught my teacher a few things, As for myself? not a lot cutting, as I teach Jujitsu, which is not known as an art heavy into sword work.

This was not intended to be a "mine is better that yours" ploy, only that a statement of "can not be strong/soft" is like Best of anything, it will make people speak up. There are many ways to make a fine blade, but some mono's are just as good as many laminates.

I have no idea what martial arts teaching has to do with blades edge retention vs flexibility, but here goes...

Shinan Steve Sells, No Tora Ryu Jujitsu
Sandan Goshin Jutsu Jujitsu
Nidan Yoshinkai Aikido
plus a few years playing in TKD

I am just glad I didn't mention L-6, hellasious bending ability and good edge holding. But I don't think of that as a beginner's steel either. Sometimes I wonder why I deal with it, rather than 1560, or 5160H.

still its great for the bright layers in pattern welding. I wish I had more F-1 to go with it :D

200 series isnt too bad, but MOST stainless will not weld up if exposed to air, its the chromium oxides, preventing the weld.

.I do not agree that you can temper high carbon steel to make it softer and stronger.

And all experienced smiths know that when you increase hardness you reduce ductility and so on...This is all basic metalurgy.

I can tell you from experience though that the range of hardness needed for a good blade is too high to make it flexible...which is why it is useful to look to the Japanese swordsmiths. If you use some form of high carbon steel, even differentially hardened and tempered, you cannot achieve the same results.

These statements appear to contradict. First you state it can not make it stronger and soften, then seem to say it does?

I admit that there is a lot of give and take in everything we do to heat treat. How much we think a blade needs to flex is one question we must ask to help define what will work and what will not. I am not aware of any Epee's that were of compound materials, but I do not study them so I can be greatly mistaken. The point I was making is for a beginner to start, mono steel is the best beginning place. Choice of a steel such as 5160H makes a good mono blade material, where as many Stainless steels for a mono sword would have more of an issue.

"can not" is a strong statement to make over as broad a terms as 'softer and stronger'. The science states it will be both when tempered at a higher temp.

I am getting confused by these statements , as I bet are those trying to learn something from this.

You don't have to agree, but I am curious, as to How many swords have you made?

Differential hardening and differential tempering are common practices not just in blades, but in many area of metal work, As hardness drops the strength increases.

soo m,uch food, so little time, and its all going to waist :D

in any size flue, each of your 90 degree turns causes restriction as well,

Min 10 inch diameter is recommended.

not having seen it, and what you did wrong, I am probably talking out my (T)...

It sounds like the OFF position you mentioned is putting your power directly at the ground, Get help if you are not sure, electricity can kill. 30 micro amps causes unconsciousness, 50 micro amps death. Our skin protects us from most of the charge when we get a shock, but the science says it doesn't take much to kill us .

Please work safely

a message from your Loving Union Electrician
IBEW 305 JIW

Brine isn't good with chrome steels. always start with oil, only then try water IF the oil does not get it hard.