Joel OF

Is this on an hourly basis?

I've read through some old threads but couldn't find an answer to this... Is it common to charge for drawings? I mean invoicing separately for drawings/designs, I don't mean by factoring the time you spend drawing/designing into the overall quote. I'm not talking about back of a cigarette packet drawings, I'm talking about detailed 3D drawings.

The steel yard/fabricators I buy from don't have their stuff sandblasted, they just roll on red zinc phosphate primer. They reckon it lasts about 4-5 years. Obviously their stuff hasn't got forge scale & oxides on it though.

Cheers John. Forwarded this onto a mate in that neck of the woods.

So I take it that the life expectancy of the "all-in-one paint over rust" paints is much less than the traditional paints that go onto clean surfaces, or sandblasting companies would be out of business? Incase this sounds like I'm looking for a shortcut to cleaning the steel & wanting to paint my work on the cheap, I'm not! I'm just curious about the processes.

Cheers Peter. Now I'm curious to read the claims and ingredients on a tin of "paint straight over rust" metal paints DIY shops stock. Should be a good laugh!

How clean is clean? Cleaned back to a silvery finish?

Doh! I didn't see this was a bladesmithing section. I'll see a mod can shunt this thread over to a better area... Already has been...

I've just been reading quite an in depth leaflet about primers, it was geared towards fabrication but still a worthwhile read and it's raised a few questions in my mind. The leaflet subdivided primers into epoxies, silicates and acrylics by zinc and aluminum. It said lead based primers are the most tolerant of rust and scale however they are being phased out. Do you know of a modern primer type that can handle a bit of forge scale/oxide after manual cleaning? Are there primers that don't require industrial surface preparation? I.e sandblasting. Are primers needed for handrails? How reliable are the All-in-One primer and top coat paints? Ultimately I'm thinking ahead to exterior projects that'll need painting, probably by brush, after being cleaned by hand. Cheers

Hi Debbie, sent you a message with my mate's details.

I'll ask him. He's a busy family man though so I can't promise anything.

I know a builder turned blacksmith in Frome, are you thinking of employing someone to convert your space or just wanting to visit an up and running workshop?

Are you after blacksmithing advice or advice on how to build your workshop?

Cheers. The prevailing wind is from the south west and my forge/chimney is in the north east corner of the building. The ridge is very much on the south side of the building so going by what you said I'll be in the least ideal spot but hey-ho, it's worth a shot! I measured the building using Google Earth earlier, it's 21 metres long & my forge will be 14 metres from the ridge. The wind pressure coming down off the ridge will be strong especially as it's a steep roof with a 20 foot drop between the ridge & the forge. Fingers crossed!

Cheers Ian, didn't sound rude. Do you know if this applies regardless of how far you are away from the ridge? My issue is that there's only one position that I can occupy in his workshop and that's nowhere near the ridge, I'd say it's a good 30 feet away from the ridge, it's a very long building that's not equally split either side of the ridge. The ridge is 80% to one side of the building. If the roof line is 9 foot tall where I can position my forge and the ridge height is 30 feet, that's a chimney over 20 feet tall! It'd be such a shame if this can't work somehow.

I think a Hofi hood through the wall would be easier. Does the distance the hood extends out of the building affect how far it needs to go up?

Hi guys, I've got a few questions about chimneys.. An extremely generous fabricator near to me is giving me a 3 month trial sharing his huge workshop, if I don't drive him crazy in that time, I can stay! I don't know the building dimensions but off the top of my head the building is about the size of 2 tennis courts side by side, the roof at the highest point has got to be at least 30 foot and it slopes down to something around 8 feet tall. The area I can put my coke in would be up against a wall where the roof is about 9 or 10 feet tall. I know that chimneys need to go a few feet higher than the roof but do they need to extend beyond the roof at it's highest point or just where the chimney is? Also, are there any differences between how high an overhead chimney VS a Hofi chimney need to extend? There's many air gaps around the building as it's a steel farm barn so there should be plenty of air to replace what's going up the chimney. I don't currently have a chimney in my VERY humble workshop, hence why I'm lacking in knowledge. I know - it's a 3 month trial and putting in a chimney is going to involve cutting a hole somewhere in his building, he's happy for me to do it - he's one in a million.

Cheers for the replies folks. I just dug a little deeper on the manufacturer's website and found a section I missed before about the stainless steel blade. "Stainless Steel is the generic name given to a range of alloyed steels which are composed of steel, chromium and other materials. All Stainless Steels are extremely hard and notoriously difficult to cut. Evolution's tests indicate that our blade will make approximately 5/6 cuts through 42/48mm outdoor grade Stainless Steel handrail before performance reduces significantly. Performance and longevity of any Stainless Steel cutting blade will be directly related to the type of Stainless Steel being cut and the skill of the operator. The operator should allow the blade to do the work and not try to force the blade into the material by using excessive pressure. Gently does it is best!" 5 to 6 cuts from a £100 blade, no thanks. The hard stuff I cut is about 45mm solid round. I'll save my pennies for an abrasive chop saw for that and just use this for mild.

Rich, if I understand you you're asking if I could anneal before cutting? To cut a long story short that's not an avenue I want to pursue at the minute.

Hi folks, does anyone have experience of using various cut off saw blades? I want to get an Evolution Raptor 355mm (14 inch) cut off saw, (not an abrasive chop saw), my only concern is that I regularly cut hardened steel and I don't want to ruin an expensive TCT blade. The guy in the shop reckoned that the stainless steel blade Evolution make to fit the Raptor is suitable for cutting hardened steel, could that be true? I don't have any experience of working with stainless steel but the cynic in me is dubious. Cheers

Try your council's website, or better still call your council. When I researched grants/loans a little while ago I didn't get much joy looking down the national route so I started looking locally. I've now applied to a new business development + 0% loan scheme I found on my council's site. I get the impression that the council run ones are done annually so there's generally something on the horizon, it just depends on what kind of businesses they're wanting to develop in your area.

I've just upgraded from an Alcosa F20 hand cranked blower to a 380W bouncy castle blower which I got for £40 inc P&P on eBay. I knocked up a quick sliding gate which does the trick but I have also bought a 1000W dimmer switch (which was about £20 I think, I haven't fitted yet) but I know will drastically reduce the noise. I have no idea what dB of noise the bouncy castle blower creates but I don't find it O.T.T without the dimmer switch. This thread will definitely be worth a read:

Good point. Thinking about it now I have been noticing some weird chemically smells recently, smells like plastic burning.

Your lungs will last longer burning coke. There's false economies and then there's false economies.

Cheers John. Are Monkton a supplier to other coal dealers? I buy my "forge coke" from Corralls. Is that very recently then? I'll have a look into Chris Topp's coke, cheers.