thingmaker3

If you are going to submit a ring to the upcoming ABANA CONFERENCE, the ring needs to be made from 1/4" by 1" and the diameter needs to be 10", how much stock do you need to start with??

Easy! Use 2.224 pounds. B)

Hamon - Japanese term meaning literally "family crest of the edge." This is the visible transition between microstructures of a differentially hardened blade.

Or...

Hamon - what I eats wit eggson.

The added carbon is not "just at the surface." It is, however, more concentrated at the surface. "Case depth" is usually the depth where a quenched part will be 50% martensite. (This measure is easy for the QA folk to test with an etch.)

Diffusion rate of carbon in steel is proportional to the difference in carbon levels. So a low-carbon piece in a carbon rich atmosphere will carburize at a higher rate than a medium-carbon piece. A high-carbon piece in a carbon free atmosphere will decarburize at a higher rate than a medium-carbon piece.

As noted earlier, temperature plays a geometric role.

The diffusion rate is a rate, so more time means more difference. Of course the rate changes over time because concentrations change over time.

What would work well for you is a 50AMP "spider" box like the construction guys use... It has one 50amp input (your 30 amp in this case with a 50 amp plug) and several outlets all with there own breakers.. Two 220V (one 50, on 30 amp ) and 6 120V all GFI.. You can by one on craigslist for less than $100 if you watch ( I have three bought that way)

50 amp plugs won't fit into 30 amp receptacles - the pin configurations are different. Of course, one could either change out the plug or buy an adapter.

The purpose of the green wire (sometimes a bare wire) is to keep the case of your equipment at ground potential - zero volts relative to ground. This is the same potential your body is usually at. As Glen wisely noted, the "neutral" wire is not always at ground potential and should never be connected to equipment case or conduit or anything else anyone might touch.

"Bend resistant" usually means "flexural yield strenght exceeds demand of application." In your case it means a flexural yield strength exceeding 23.6ksi. "Exceeds" usually means by a factor of two, for safety. Any plain-carbon cold-rolled steel would do the deed. So would most hot-rolled low-alloy steels.

What kind of steel are you using now?

Ya'all made me think on this one so I googled the msds sheets for ferric chloride: says it is an acid.

Now you've got my curiosity piqued. (Tit for tat, eh?) I browsed a few MSDS sheets myself as a result. Most did not contain the word "acid," but one did say "inorganic acidic salt."

Additional surfing turned up several kinds of Windex.

Ferric Chloride is not an acid*. It is a corrosive salt. Baking soda won't "neutralize" it. Niether will isopropanol* (aka Windex).

Instead of "dipping" the piece in water, try rinsing it off really well - even scrubbing with a soft cloth or brush.

Keep in mind: metal shrinks as it cools. If you drift a hole in a hot piece of steel to exactly 2.000" the hole will be less than 2" when cool.

One important thing has gone umnemtioned. Dave Lisch is a very good teacher in addition to being a good smith.

Shosen, go to the library and borrow a copy of "Tool Steel Simplified" by Palmer and Leurssen. They've got some of the best layman's explainations I've seen.

I have found, and use this often, that if I want more carbon in an end of a bar, I simply heat it in the coal forge to a welding heat.
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It's also a very deep penetration of carbon, not just on the surface.

The "secret" here is the very high temperature. Rate of carbon diffusion into (or out of) steel is proportional to the square of the Kelvin temperature. A 16 percent increase in temperature (from 1700F to 2000 F)gives almost 36 percent increase in diffusion rate.

Try either localizing your heat to the middle or cooling the ends.

That glass polyhedron one is similar to the picture in my old book. I think I'd go with the steel "wickless" one, though.

I've got an old book showing OA torches being lit from alcohol lamps. Don't know if it is safe or not, but it was once done in industry. The lamps were the kind we used to use in high-school chemistry class.

All steels go non-magnetic at essentially the same temperature, the Curie point, which is right around 1415 to 1420 F, depending on your reference.

I've seen a chart in one of the ASM books showing non-magnetic (which is indeed the "Curie point") decreasing as carbon content increases to eutectoid, and then holding steady thereafter. The nonmagnetic Curie point also depends on composition - for instance: enough nickel will push "nonmagnetic" down below room temperature. (This is why magnets don't stick to 300 series stainless.)

I would not use superquench for 1040. Too much carbon for that harsh a quench.

One word: POWELL's!

More titles than Amazon, more volumes in stock than Amazon, validated parking & a decent coffee shop (just TRY to eitehr from from Amazon) and a staff rated among the ten sexiest by Mercury Magazine.

I especially reccommend Powell's Technical Bookstore, a few bloks east of the main store.

Have a meal at Jakes, not far from Powell's.

In my bold opinion, the three most vital pieces of safety equipment are eyes, ears, and brain. Fail to use them properly and injury is guaranteed.

I think it was Paw Paw Wilson who said:

First mistake, slow down. Second Mistake, take a break. Third mistake, quit.

I count safety mistakes as two mistakes.

I do the least pleasant task first, then reward myself with something fun. Then repeat. :)

But does it show how to cut glowing hot glass with hammer and hardie?:D

I like what you've done with the interwoven spiral lamb's tongues. Very aesthetic!

If anyone near Potland Oregon follows this same procedure, plase contact me. I'll be happy to take those nasty fines off your hands.

They don't have sales tax in Oregon???? Time to move out there!

Yeah. Get here before the Californians take all the good spots.:rolleyes:

Arc and OA welding actually melt the steel - they make it liquid. Forge welding is solid state welding.

I just looked up the "vaporizing" bit. Copper boils at 4700 & some-odd degrees F. My coals don't even get to 3000 F.

The way I heard it told, it only keeps farriers from making a weld & has no effect on blacksmiths.