rlarkin

Grade 8 refers to the highest standard strength
achieved in the manufacture of bolts and hex cap screws. Grade 8 bolts are
medium carbon alloy steel, quenched and tempered at a minimum temperature of
800

- one solid-fuel and 2 gassers.

You get smoke from your GASSERS?

"the water is pumped through by an air pump."

This is the part that I am curious about.
What type of air pump?

I see a couple possibilities.
1) Working it too cold. Keep it HOT, HOT, HOT.
2) Over working the metal.
3) Poor quality of steel.

This is the way mine look befor finishing.
1/4" cold rolled square. Necked down about 1" from the end, then rounded out for about 8". The smallest area at the base of the leaf is about 3/16.
These are BBQ tools, and get a lot of use. Have not had one break yet. (buy the customers anyway.)
The actual leaf is peened down and shaped last to about 3/32 thick.

Now I gotta figure out what to do with 12 pieces of steel, bent on one end, and with a cheap wood handle pressed on the other end.

They are forged from solid billets of stainless that I get from Walmart.
The billits have handles on them that I cut off.
The best part is that the billets were on closeout for 94 cents apiece.
I picked up about 15 of them.

Finished the the prototype last night.
Already have orders for 5 sets with spatula.

If you just want to patch it make it water tight, v it out and braze it up.
To weld properly you need to pre heat, weld with nickel rod, then bury it in sand for a day to cool REAL slow.
I have used a rod by Forney called NOMOCAST with fairly descent results and no pre heat.

If you plan on using it for a cooking vessel, or something that will see heat, forget it.

No shear marks on this stuff.
Covered in rolling lube.

They are made from 1/4 inch cold rolled.
For me, the edges and corners are to sharp to look right, but for some reason, my metal supplier has trouble gettin me hot rolled, which is a little easier on the edges.

This is what the leaf handles look like all finished.
Wire brushed, then hit with a torch to run some color.
I then lightly brush with a brass brush to add a little "ANTIQUE", and then brush on linseed oil while it is still to hot to touch and wipe down before it hardens.

Spatula and tongs are in the works. Trying to find a good (cheap) source of stainless.

For a plain set, I have been getting $40. Leaf sets, $50. Been told I am too cheap, but I don't have to haggle.

Started about 2 months making BBQ flippers. First weekend I made 5.
Sold every one from my office at work.
Next weekend I made 10. They took 5 days to sell.
Then I started making matched sets. Flipper and a fork. First weekend made 3 sets. Sold all three that monday.
Next thing I knew people were asking, "hey, can you make me a set that looks like-----".
Sold one set with leaf handles, and the guy came in 2 days later and wants 3 sets for xmas presents.
I currently only have about 8 hanging in my office. These are all to fill orders.
The first pic is the twisted blanks before the fire. I use a Harbor Freight picket twister.
The last pic, although not that good, is what they look like after I put a finish on them. Wire brushed, sharpened up with a die grinder, run the colors with my tourch, and brush on Linseed oil while they are still hot.

My kids call it Poppy's Playhouse. I call it home.
While (when ever I get around to it) I re-arrange the shop to get the forge in it's own little corner, It has no hood. At least the ceiling is 24' tall!

Man, my feet are in pain just looking at the images.

How about posting pics of the spike tongs. I need a pair & would like to see your design. Thanks!
Mitch

Here is the set I made. Simple rebar and some 5/8 chanel. Work great.

GARAGE SALES!

I have found that if you ask the home owner, they will most likely have something laying around that they thought too useless to sell.
Over the past years I have aquired at least 10 bed frames, car parts, trailer hitches, ect., that they, in their mind, thought, "nobody will buy these, just put them in the trash."
And it is ussually free.

Auto body shops. I showed up at one with a box of doughnuts and walked away with 2 complete springs packs.
One from a Toyota Tocoma that had one eye broke off, and one from a 3/4 ton Cheby that had to have the complete rear end replaced.

GUILT! I look out at 5.6 acres of pasture and landscaping that I am ignoring because I am standing in front of a fire!

I make a lot of BBQ flippers (pig tails) with a leaf on the handle, from 1/4" cold rolled.
the only way I can keep the leaf on is to neck it about 1" down, then round the stem for about 8" to form the handle, then point the 1" and peen out the leaf.
If I dont do the leaf last, it breaks off every time.

Electricity?

There is an auto body shop down the street from the lumber yard I work at.
Made real good friends with them.
So far I have complete packs from a Toyota Tacoma, and a 3/4 ton Cheby.
Both were wrecked and the rear ends were replaced.
The Cheby spring is going on the treadle hammer I am building.

They were free!

The Horseshoe Barn
1223 Blumenfeld Drive
Sacramento, CA 95815
Toll Free: (800) 338-BARN
Phone: (916) 925-6534
Fax: (916) 646-4096
http://www.thehorseshoebarn.com/

Elkhorn brand
Kentucky (small chunks)50 lb. Sack 28.25

Top notch service.
I order it over the phone, then send my daughter up, (about 60 miles).
They double bag it in black can liners to keep the Expedition clean, then load it for her.

The leg was broken with about 4 inches of stubb left.
I heated up a piece of 1 inch black iron and drove it on the stub.
There is about 100 lbs of concrete in the wheel.
It don't move.
Portable leg vise. - Blacksmith Photo Gallery

All I can tell you is that I make em and sell em. A LOT OF THEM.
I make singles, matched sets (flipper and fork), long ones, short ones, fancy ones, plain ones.
I have some hanging in my office at the lumber yard and manage to sell about 3 a week.
The hardware store in town wants to buy them to resell.

I make a lot of flippers out of 1/4 square bar.
First I do the twisting designs with my picket twister.
Next is the handle, the tip is last.
I taper down the last 3 inches to a nice even blunt point. Do not try to make it sharp here as it will burn every time you put in the fire.
I curl the taper on the horn until it is a half circle with about a 2 inch diameter.
Then depending on wether it is a right of left hander, re-heat and lay the stock on the anvil so the half circle hangs off and the point just touches, and lay it over to a 90 deg.
I do the pointing cold with a bench grinder and then I do the finish. I wire wheel them to clean the scale off, heat to color then brush with a brass brush.
Before it is totaly cool, I hit it with linseed oil and wipe down.

40 x 60, 2 12x16 and 1 8x8 roll-up.
MINE! ALL MINE!
Well, except for the 27' trailer, 18' boat, old VW project, 2 tractors, 14x20 tool room.

But it's still MINE!