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I Forge Iron

thingmaker3

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Posts posted by thingmaker3

  1. There were at least two kinds of trade secrets.

     

    First were those kept within the trade. Things like using swages to get repeated shapes were not talked about outside the shop or the guild hall.

     

    Second were those secrets of need. If you could make better crossbow springs or armor than the folk across the border, you did not advertise the specifics of your technique.

     

    But secrets within a guild or a shop? I concur with others here - that would indeed be counterproductive. Near the end of the 19th century, the more literate smiths began writing books and articles for all other smiths. (Some of the debates in the trade journals were identical to those we hold today on the internet. Trade secrets may have changed, but people have not.)

  2. Emery cloth and emery flour are specified in The Mechanician published 1879

     

    From The Smith's Pocket Companion published 1893: A very useful polishing powder for metals and glass is  made of very finely  ground glass mixed with a small proportion of dried soda ash.

     

    So get out to the shop and start making some historically accurate glass to grind up! :lol:

    Optionally, you can get silica in differing grits from a pottery supply house. You can get soda ash from some art supply houses.

     

    The Companion lists two other polishing formulas, but you don't want those ingredients anywhere near food.

     

    Wear a respirator or you'll have historically accurate silicosis.

  3. Rbig, you did not give your location. If you are in North America, you'll need two hot leads and a ground lead and a two-pole breaker. If you're not in North America, consult some electrician other than me. North America uses a single split phase. Other places do not.

     

    And, yes, fifty amps. (Wiring should accommodate 120% of anticipated load.)

  4. In the 18th and 19th centuries, a good many a smith used what they called "lotions" for quenching. These were formulae containing anything from sal amoniac to yellow prussiate of potash. (Don't try this at home - it involves cyanide compounds.)

     

    To get back to the original question - look at the specific heat capacity of steel and the specific heat capacity of the quenchant. This is where the gallon per pound rule of thumb originates.

  5. When I think something is bogus, the very best thing I can do is go into the smithy and TRY IT. Nothing separates BS from fact like TRYING IT. Often I prove I am right and that what is being claimed is BS. Sometimes I prove I am wrong and that what is being claimed is what I should be learning.

     

    So...

     

    Brian: THANK YOU.

     

    Everybody else: meh... whatever... maybe you should actually try it.

  6. It is a flat file with single-cut curved teeth. Type "dreadnaught file" into your favorite search engine and select "images."

    They also seem to be called "panzer" files if they are without tang. I've seen them specified for aluminum work in some books.

    I would love to know how they hold up - how long they last in hot-work. I can them locally for about $15.


  7. It's not really what you're talking about, Frank, but I love me a dreadnought, hot or cold! I'm a recent convert and never considered them before about a year ago.
    I've not heard of them before. Google image search shows what I had thought was a file for aluminum. Is there a difference between the two?

    How well to thes last as hot-rasps?
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