zach124816

My first attempt at a flower. A Christmas gift for grandma.

i dont have access to a welder but i think i might build a smaller forge. i have a big brake drum forge on blocks but its outside and i dont have a hood or chimney so it would be scary to sit by it without being able to duck and run haha. im set up under the end of the lean to where the lawn mower is parked so im limited on room. i hace a smaller brake drum i might try and just swap them out. i would like a small gas forge tho. i wouldnt lose my rings in the fire lol  but thanks for the directions to look ill start lookin more

im not sure if this really fits here, but im going to try. i broke my foot about a month ago and am going to be on crutches for a couple more months. i cant play around in the shop anymore. im looking for a small forge design i could sit next to or cold worked projects i might be able to do still. i was making jewelry before my injury and would like to keep working on stuff like that. and ideas would be great, im getting painfully bored lol

Wow thanks, you just answered all my questions. thank you

can weld, cut, if i cant, i have someone who can, have a friend 25+ years repair shop and regulator shop experience so if i cant, pretty sure i have help that can

i have access to welders and tools and even an airtank/ regulator shop, (used to be airgas, now private owned)

is there an adhehive i can use to hold the bricks together? would i furnace cement work? then blower, how big of a blower for how big of a forge and do i need a regulator?

thanks. i think im going to try and find a place i could put a brick pile forge. right now i am just moving my rivit forge out when i need and set up shop at the end of the garage.

can you use just refractory cement? or do you have to use ceramic blanket? i am trying to build on a budget

Does anyone know of any books with information about gas forges i could possibly check out from the library?

my first try at a straight razor. works great too. first shave with it this morning.

                    i started with a chunk of file left over from making a folding knife. its not finished, will post when it is. but i posted this earlier on my phone. here are some better pics. i want to cut the bend off the end and wrap it with leather or stacked leather rings. the handle is to long for my hand but i can fix that ;) im going to try to work more of a hollow bevel on it later but it works now so im going to take it easy

i made a couple "playin around throwing knifes" out of hay rake tines and had almost no pits and they worked great. i had good luck with files to but these billets are tough. im wondering if i should have left a different layer on the outside. will try next time maybe

i am using coal in an 18 inch ratcheting rivet forge. i use a magnet to find hardening temp. i polish before hardening and after tempering. almost completely smooth before (i know ill have more scale to take off after anyway why finish it twice) then to finish polish after. i think i am burning the metal. i'm not sure what my material is. right now i'm using band saw blades and banding to make billets to work. i know the outside layer composition makes a difference but i don't know what they are, so i dont know what layer should go outside for less scale and oxidation. i do wire brush before working the steel but i have bigger pitting problems during hardening heat. would a deeper fire give me more consistent heat?.  

how can i avoid pitting when i heat a piece up to harden it? i tried covering it in borax but i still get some bad pits that take forever to grind out. most my projects haven't mattered but i am working on a couple blades and don't want to spend three days polishing. can i use something in the fire to keep my work piece from getting to hot before it all gets to temp? or is it the nature of the beast and there's just a lot of grind/sand work to do. i was thinking put a firebrick in and keep my blade on it for more even heat but my rivet forge is probably to small. any ideas?

i recycled a folding utility knife and made a knew blade out of a file. still needs a paint job but its going in my pocket, here are some pictures.

before

blade prototype

file layed out

sharpening

finished.

i might add one after it is painted

I like that but the way deer season has gone the last few years ill never make one like that lol

Does anyone know where the pipehawk idea come from and why? Were they ever more than just for looks?

I made a pipehawk last week and i would like to make some sort if stand for it but I'm not sure how to mmake one. wood or metal is fine. any ideas?

im using a ratchet coal forge. i had trouble getting heat up i put my "oven" i call it on top. (cut the bottom off a 20# propane tank put a door on the side and cut the top off after i saw how much of a vent i needed)  that worked pretty well i can see i need a fire brick. i made 2 torque plates and i think i like the squarish one with four bolts better than the longer with 2. i tried in a vice and with a hammer. i think it worked better with a hammer. my anvil is a 10x11x4 block of mild steel from the barn i don't know what it was. polish on a 1x30 belt sander. my biggest problem is its all outside and i dont have tongs yet. using channel locks but i think they work great for Quarters.

i tried with nickels and  it looked kind of like a mill scale was forming and cracking. is that expected? then after sanding i saw no copper. did i melt it all out? when i trield to drill a hole in it all my layers split.  and what temps am i looking for? if i were to put a piece of steel similar in size what color would it turn? the quarters turned out a lot better but i started with fewer. better welds and color. what about brass and cooper? how hard is that compared. should i stick to quarters till i am  more confident or would experimenting with more metals help?

yes it is. getting addicting already haha. How far should I compress them at sweating heat to know they are all welded? I know different amounts need more or less but if im sticking around 1.50$ about how far? 

I started with 7 Quarters but they split on my so i decided to do 2. the first turned out better so i put a leather string on it and put it on my keyring 

what shape do i want to end with? my forge is 18 inches across and 5 inches deep flat on the bottom.

thanks alot. sounds like i have a lot more useful "junk" in the shed than i thought i did

does anyone know where to get coal in the tricity region of Michigan?