thingmaker3

The dendrites are composed of atoms in a cubic lattice. Reference the book cited in post above.

Five times the power is available from your 220v circuit. Do you know how much power you'll need a few years down the road when treating x number of pieces simultaneously?

Well, certainly they do if they have a decent marketing plan. If not, then not. Life. Deal.

Could make one heckava screw press!

Coal is often hard to find, but he has some in sight...

This thread shows a good sequence: '?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>>

He can quench tools in his pockets!

Another problem with overheating steel is runaway grain growth. IIRC there was also something bad happening at the grain boundaries.

Pretty much all the high alloy stuff needs a good soak. Exmples include D2, A2, the high vanadium stuff, the stainless types, and more.

May you have success with your finals and boards!

The only molecules in steel are carbides and inclusions. It is the crystal lattice within each grain which is cubic. And that lattice is randomly oriented within each grain.

Frosty, thank you for that excellent post. And the word you are seeking might be "equidimensional."

They say the better one is with electric welding, the less good one need be with a grinder. I am an expert with the grinder.

Does that one have the microprocessor controller?

After getting some coffee and breakfast in me this morning, I went out to assess the situation. I'll need to un-crumple the forge hood. I'll need to replace one exhaust duct. The tent is ripped from thither to yon. The anvils, vice, and forge are covered. Anything currently exposed won't be hurt by snow or rain. I have a functional one-brick forge in the backseat of the car, as well as the pencil torch which powers it. I have a 12 pound sledge head I can dig out of the snow and use as an anvil. I can still make things. Options for a replacement workplace include, but are not limited to: 1) sewing up the 20' rip in the tent. 2) buying another surplus GP small tent. 3) building a wee pole barn to use as a smithy now & stoage or goat shed down the road. 4) going into debt up to my eyeballs and building a 30' x 40' pole barn a couple years earlier than origionally planned. Option 3 is attractive to me today. An actual decision can await the melting of the snow this coming week

Building? That's a good idea. Maybe it's time to retire that old army tent... I should indeed try to look at this as an opportunity instead of a burden.

In the back seat of my car is a fully functional one-brick forge fired by a beat-up old pencil torch. Until I get my smithy back online, it and an old sledgehammer head will keep me productive. That said, I'll never be one to deny another man his excuses. Do as thou will.

Gerald, what would make you happy?

My smithy just collapsed under the snow load. I'm going to be in a bad mood for several days.

One may save a great deal of gnashing of teeth by using proven designs while learning. If one truly wishes to walk prior to flying, there are several resources for proven small aluminium furnaces. Worry now about getting a good pour without risk of injury. Worry much later about manipulating 40 pounds of sear-your-bones liquid chasing you around the shop. :o

You guys are confusing "grain" with "crystal structure" and "atoms." It is the alignment of the atoms which makes for magnetic or nonmagnetic. It is the crystal structure (how the atoms stack, whethere aligned or not) which makes for ferrite or austenite. It is whole crystal, whether magnetic ferrite or nonmagnetic austenite, which constitues a grain. What we do with or to the grain structure makes a differenence for mechanical properites, of course, but has no influence on magentic vs nonmagnetic. Other than carbides and inclusions, you won't find any "molecules" in steel - only a crystal matrix. I hope that was more help than hinderence.

That's a really good question. A lot of work is done with half-faced blows at the near or far edge. How big of a sledge may a striker wield without fear of damage? And just how much worse is it to work on a bottom tool in the hardie hole than to use a similar die over the waist?

When I looked at the thread title, I had two thoughts. First: "I've never heard of 20 series steel." Second "it won't have enough carbon, will it?" Clearly I need more coffee... Dave, those are really nice hammers. The decorative cheeks look great.

Nor would said engineer refuse to use individual equations describing how said materials react. There is no "bridge equation." Nor would said engineer have learned all those equations simultaneously. (Anybody here learn the whole suite of smithng skills at once?) That nail over there is useless. So is this board. That whole pile of nails has no application. This whole stack of boards has no application. I wanted a shack, not a bunch of useless items!

Why not just drill a hole in the bottom of the jeweler's anvil and stuff in a good magnet?