HWooldridge

I make "blacksmith's" chili: The following for one lb of meat: Dry Red Chili Powder (Hatch Big Jim or equiv) 2 TBL Flour 2 TBL Cumin (comino) 1/2 TBL Salt 3/4 TBL Black Pepper 1/2 TBL Dried Onion Flakes 1 TBL Dried Minced Garlic 1 TBL Diced Rotel Tomatoes 1 - 10 oz can Chipotle Jalapenos in Adobo Sauce (San Marcos or Herdez) 7 oz can [see note]* Worcestershire 1 TSP Water ** 1 - 10 oz can Ranch Style Beans *** 1 - 8 oz can Notes: * Chipotle Jalapenos are the primary heat source in the mix but the brand and kind of chili powder makes a difference. I usually put one or two chipotles in the blender and puree them for one pound of meat. However, if the chili powder is already hot, this may be too spicy so I prefer a mild powder then add heat to taste. Cayenne powder may also be added for more kick. Measures are not linear and large quantities must be checked for taste. It’s easy to put in too much onion and garlic. ** Fill and reuse tomato cans for water. *** Beans are optional. The sweet onion style is good but cut back on the dried onions. May use ground beef, venison or venison/pork mix. All give a slightly different flavor. Straight venison should have a little bacon fat or cooking oil added. I also like to serve the above recipe over long grain rice.

300 series will not harden. 420, 440 and some of the high alloys like 52100 will harden. Austenitic stainless will not harden - martensitic will (guess which is which above... :-)

I had the devil's time learning to forge weld and went on for several years without much success - even though I did reasonably well at other blacksmithing processes. Although I watched other people and asked many questions, I continued to have trouble. One day, I was playing around in a different forge with some high quality coal and next thing I know, I'm hitting welds left and right. I tried to analyze what was different and came to the conclusion I was blowing too much air on previous attempts so the material was almost always burning on the surface but the core was too cool. Now, I bring the fire up quickly to a welding heat after the pieces are fluxed, then turn down the blast and let them soak until they are the color of the fire and a FEW bursting sparks are coming out of the top. A lot of it is practice but it has to be focused so as the others have said, lay it down and come back later if you start getting tired and frustrated.

Any carbon rich environment that surrounds the material when it is at elevated temps will transfer some carbon, while an oxidizing environment will do the opposite. A fuel rich gas forge will add a bit of carbon - an oxidizing atmosphere will remove it and cause excessive scaling. Case hardening adds carbon to steel on the surface so carried to extremes, the carbon will migrate farther into the bar and become more than a skin treatment. As Thomas said, heavy forging and/or welding will then distribute the carbon throughout the bar.

I have a Beaudry #4 Champion - this is a 100lb mechanical power hammer for those not familiar. Beaudry's came with built-in mechanical brakes, which is normally a real good thing to have. 15 or so years ago when I bought mine, it came with a cork like substance for the brake liner but the material was in bad shape and didn't last more than a few days after the hammer was up and going. I think whatever it had been was dry-rotted and just disappeared. At any rate, I replaced the brake shoe with a piece of cloth belting but the oil from the main bearing ran down onto the liner so the belting eventually got gummy and went to pieces. I then replaced it with some commercial truck, brake shoe liner. This works OK but oil still gets on the liner, which changes how the hammer runs and stops. I have to use oil in the main bearing as grease will bind and cause the hammer to stop running so there is always some oil leakage onto the brake. That being said, does anyone have experience with leather as brake material and will it work when oily? I have a source of heavy saddle leather (1/4" or more thick) so it would be no problem to make the shoe but I don't want to go thru the exercise if I already have the best material on there (the truck brake liner). What do you all use for mechanical brake liners for power hammers and do you have to fight oil?

Thomas, I have not eaten any of the last three items on your list (or cats and dogs) but I can add raccoon and possum. I have eaten horse and liked it - a great uncle of mine managed a very large horse ranch in the 1960's and they would occasionally butcher a horse just like a cow. He had a mare get wound up in barb wire while we were visiting one summer and had to put her down but she did not go to waste. My mother did not want to eat any but dad and I scarfed it down. We thought it was fine eatin'. Another of my great uncles lived on the farm his entire life. They are long dead now but as he and auntie got up in age, they got rid of the chickens, pigs and cows because he didn't want to take care of them. However, they lived on the Pedernales river near Stonewall, Texas and ate fish, rabbit and venison all year long - made no difference what month or "season" it was. They were similar to the American Indian in eating habits as he would only kill what they could eat in a short time - even though they did have a refrigerator. Deer were eaten fresh or made into dry sausage. Both he and auntie lived into their late 90's - uncle made 98 before he passed. If only we could harvest deer commercially and sell the meat, we might cut down on the heart disease so many seem to suffer from.

We have a horrible deer population problem in Central Texas. They aren't bruisers (not much over 150 lbs) but there are millions of them. Two of the primary issues are those who don't want any hunting and those that feed them (sometimes those are the same people).

Try making the ends of the scarfs very thin - down to almost a knife edge. A thicker scarf sometimes cuts into the work rather than welds so you get a notch, which is where it starts to tear. In addition, make the scarf pointed on the end, not blunt and as short as possible so you are welding a relatively small area. Doing this will help blend the weld and close the edges. You should have only a few sparks from the fire when it's right but no "sparklers" from the fire or the work. It sounds like you are going back and forth between too cold and too hot, which may be from too shallow a fire.

Pumas have made a huge comeback over the last twenty years or so. My grandfather told me he saw them with some regularity growing up in Central Texas before WW1 but they were mostly killed off by ranchers. However, I have seen one in the past couple years and tracks more than once. A 200 lb tom was killed over in Tarpley about 5 years ago - he was a bruiser.

Can you post some pics? What size stock are you using? 3/8 diameter stock should weld in one heat so maybe we can help you with a bit more info.

Draft inducers are put into chimneys to induce draft - not designed for a forge blower. The Fasco will work but a cheap 50-80 cfm squirrel cage blower will work fine for a gas forge. You can also go to WW Grainger and get a bigger one if you want more air.

1 - No whistling, your flame is probably too lean. A neutral flame is pretty quiet compared to either extreme for a particular tip. If you are blowing material away, the tip is probably too close to the work. 2. Looks more like a TIG weld - or a row of dimes. The puddle is formed and the rod added then the bead is continued until complete. 3. You don't use flux to gas weld - just bare, copper coated rod. Brazing is completely different so you are either welding or brazing - not both at the same time.

AC burns differently from DC also. Some buzzboxes will support both versions and some are AC only. In general, AC is best used for high current applications (like iron powder - 7014, 7024) and DC for the rest. However, AC works well enough for 90% of most general purpose work. You didn't ask but I like 6011 and 7014 as good all purpose rods, although some will vote for 6013 and 7018. Each has its own best use and fan base depending on what you learned on.

Yah, and he was berried pointing yeast toward the rising scone...with his buns upward.

I have learned not to quote cheaply. There is a lot of work out there for a competent craftsman at the right price so don't sell yourself short. However, I will admit doing a few jobs early on at lower prices to get my name out there so take that into consideration as well. On this job, you will be quoting against fabricators so the trick is to pitch why you can do it better, cheaper, faster, prettier, etc. One advantage a blacksmith has over a fabricator is the ability to make details and fastening methods that can't be purchased over the counter so think along those lines. Do the best work possible in all areas - make it something you are proud to sign with your name. I always get 50% down with the balance due on completion. I take MC and Visa but so far (knock on wood) I haven't been stiffed on a check.

20 foot sticks going down one wall on a rack about 7 feet tall. Unfortunately, I have to lift over my lathe and the TIG to get pieces on or off the rack so I leave large stock on the floor or have one of my sons help me if the stick is too big.

Chain does not need an upset. This is really hard to describe - maybe someone can post a pic - but you make sort of a dog ear at a 45 degree angle on each end so they cross when the link is bent double. When the weld is made, the dog ears fuse into the thicker area on the opposing piece (because they are thin). The link is finished on the horn and the next one made. Hand welded links are relatively long compared to modern induction welded links.

The first metal trade skill I learned was welding with a gas torch - and it helped me a great deal when learning to TIG weld years later.

Some things to watch... 1. Correct size tip 2. Clean tip 3. Clean material - start with no forging slag or rust on the parent stock. 4. Use real welding rod - not coat hangers. 5. Watch the distance from tip to work - too close will pop and blow the material away. 6. As Ed said, the puddle is important - get both sides of the puddle formed and add the filler rod. 7. Use a neutral flame - it should not make a nasty mess.

The Filipinos etch their kris knives in fruit juice. Can't vouch for colors but it will raise the pattern.

Woody, No figga Charlie Chan is velly good bracksmith - velly good soorprize - makee rotsa dim sum.

I use a plain-jane, cheapo, 2-stage acetylene gauge. With the needle valve dumping into the manifold, I usually run 4 lbs on the secondary gage.

Safety first! You need at least a regulator and a valve between tank and forge. I have a simple setup which goes: tank > regulator > fuel hose > needle valve > intake and distribution manifold > forge. The manifold is nothing but black pipe split to distribute the gas. I use a 60 cfm blower to push air and let it blow full speed while tuning with the needle valve. The interior of this forge is 1150 cu in. This forge will weld up to about 3/4 material and forges anything you can get inside.

DME is a supplier to the injection molding business and they sell #1, #2 and #3 steel - which roughly equal 1018, 4140 and H13 (if I recall correctly). This comes in plates so that might be what you have.

A lot of finished work was filed - especially anything used in the house or in the hand, since texture was a bad thing 200 years ago. Horseshoes and other rough work was left as forged. I was recently fortunate enough to hold a set of log tongs that were made in at least 1850 - this date furnished by the owner whose great grandfather supposedly was the first owner (and he is nearly 80). All surfaces are smooth and although a couple of forge welds are evident, most of the piece is cleanly filed - especially the box joint, which is as tight as the day it was made, a testimony to the skill of the smith. The piece was uniformly brown -almost to the point of black, similar to an old gun that has been handled extensively but well cared for.