HWooldridge

You basically brazed the surface of the blanks. The red would indicate that it oxidized but it won't "soak" into the blank so you will be able to eventually get below the coating. Unfortunately, you may have created a bad environment for further forging if the floor of the forge is covered in brass and it will probably need to be relined.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is that the scroll form functions at the negative space inside the scroll. In other words, make the form fit the inside of the chalk drawing so the finished scrolls follow it. I typically will make a form if I am producing more than 2 scroll ends alike - even if it's only to start the ends and finish the rest with forks.

Uncoated polycarbonate scratches easily so the infobabes may be thinking about warranty or liability. Acrylic won't scratch easily but is brittle. Coated polycarb is what you want since the base material is practically unbreakable under impact but the coating makes it more resistant to damage.

I let the piece cool and then sandblast it. Surefire way to remove scale...

What you are describing is feasible. The ladle is spread from the parent stock and a small tang left to weld to. You don't want to try and weld 18 ga to 1/4 but similar sizes will work. Place the tang downwards into the fire and the ladle body will be less likely to burn.

The short answer is that it's usually best not to layout all the holes ahead of time. I often make one or more test pieces (not only when splitting but for anything that is going to be made in multiples) and keep careful measurements so I know how much movement occurs from various processes. It's surprising how accurate forging can be once some repeatability is attained in the methods. For a bunch of splits in one bar, make a fixed gage to divide the holes and work from hole to hole rather than one big layout. For example, if the drifted hole is 1/2", make one side of the gage fit the hole with a scribe on the other side to mark center. Cut the stock long so there is extra material from the last hole to the end of the bar, e.g., you want 6 inch centers on all holes so start 7 inches from the first end, estimate the length for the whole bar and leave 8-9 inches from the last hole. If the gage is right and the splitting consistent, you'll have a bunch of holes on 6" centers with surplus material to remove at the ends for final fitting.

I don't know of any advantage that stone would provide in a blacksmith shop. Don't take this wrong but I'd be more concerned with the overall layout and utility of the shop than what the walls are made from. Without a really good foundation, stone will shift and settle, so some big piers/footings will be needed. I grew up in a house that was cinder block on a concrete slab and it sweated in the winter plus we had to repoint the mortar every 4-5 years or you would see daylight thru the walls. This was on a clay subsoil so moisture changes from winter to summer made a big difference. You will also want to sheath the interior so you can hang stuff on the walls. Natural light is important and window openings are more difficult to construct with a stone building - not impossible but a bit harder. Same with door openings. I'm thinking the biggest advantage to stone would be very little sound transmission out of the shop in comparison to a metal building. However, with all that said, it sure would be pretty to look at...

Dimitri Gerakaris (sp?) made a full size one in the 1970's for a park somewhere in New England. You might try to google that or look in the ABANA archives.

Gas v coal surprises me also as most production or professional shops use some form of fuel gas. I use propane more than coal for most things since it gets hot enough for efficient forging but I don't have to worry much about burning anything.

Try an Estwing. They are very good hammers but won't be cheap.

The 400 blower is one of the best hand types for coal forges. As others recommended, I would hang on to it just in case the propane forge does not get hot enough to do what is needed. It's pretty easy to build a decent forge if the proper blower is available. Although the vise is not a post type, it's better than nothing so would be fine until you can get something else. A vise is a must for most types of general work. The anvil will clean up enough to use and as you concluded, it won't be destroying a precious antique to do so.

Probably similar to what you see in color case hardening.

My "blacksmith's heat treat" for H13 is to either: Machine from annealed bar stock then heat to bright orange and let air cool - or - forge to shape and let air cool. Both of these have worked well enough that nothing has broken on me in use. S7 is quite good but has a tendency to heat check and/or crack from improper heat treat.

I use H13 exclusively for hot tools and never regretted it. Quite a few of my tools are machined from annealed stock but some were forged. I have one particular chisel that is about 2x2 inches wide at the cutting side (sort of paddle shaped below the struck shank) and about 3/32 thick at the top down to 1/32 or so at the edge. This will cut right thru 1" hot square stock without removing to cool and won't deform if I don't cut thru and hit the anvil. As Ed said, most plain steels would need removal for cooling and you'd risk embrittlement (and breakage on the next lick), while H13 will allow water cooling below about 1000 degrees without worrying if it will come to pieces when struck. Junkyard steel sometimes makes good tools and sometimes not but your labor is worth more - so why not buy the best material and use it as intended?

Johnny99, Thanks for the input. I tried S. Willis' formula on a test piece and got a nice dark brown (like an old gun barrel) in three applications of the vinegar/salt/peroxide mix followed by the bleach. The bleach really makes it fire off quickly so I'm thinking Clorox over your acid mix would also speed up the rust process. I'm due to finish this piece in about 4 weeks and the customer wants a "500 year old" look so I'm going to rust and card it until the finish has an aged patina.

Torin, This is the letter I wrote to them after the episode. To date, I have not received a response. I hope you have better luck in person... < January 1, 2007 Attn: Producers - Discovery Mythbusters Dear Adam and Jamie, Let me preface this letter by stating that I thoroughly enjoy your show and find it a refreshing change to some of the pabulum found on TV. Unfortunately, tonight

It looks better than the coal I bought there in 1986 - that was in Stigler, OK, which I recall was also near AR. Mine cokes well and is very hot but makes a nasty clinker. I am used to it by now but have also had several smiths demo at my shop over the years and they could use it but the fire has to be cleaned at least once an hour - more if you are welding. Twenty years ago, I recall it was $35 a ton at the mine but with gas and other expenses, my 4 tons cost about $120 a ton to get it back to San Antonio.

You didn't say but this sounds like an atmospheric forge. Some types can get to welding temps but it's usually easier to tune if a small blower is there to provide extra air. I have a homemade two burner and noticed that the two flames do have different colors at times. I have seen color ranges from blue to turquoise but orange is not right for the flame because that would mean you have too much gas in the mix. You should also hear a good roar when it's right - something like an O/A torch when the mix is correct. One thing I have found to be very important on smaller forges is that you need to to seal all the holes where heat can leak to atmosphere. It doesn't sound like your forge is reaching forging temps and that may be partly due to the brick acting as a heat sink and/or heat leaks. Reflectivity (like your boiler example) is also critical so the radiant heat is contained. A good gas forge should be hard to look at when at proper temp, almost an incandescent yellow-white. The best ones will melt a piece of steel.

Aaron, To answer your question, a properly designed press can be a boon to the smith but it is important that it moves quickly until kick over to high tonnage so you don't lose excessive heat in the cycle. IIRC, Batson recognized this and has it in his design and I think a two speed pump was the solution. I have a 50 ton Dake manual press but you can't do much with it on stock under an inch because it's slow and smaller material cools too quickly. This basic requirement is the reason fly presses work well in blacksmith shops - fast approach to the work combined with good squeezing ability.

I'll take a SWAG...for short periods of time, a trained person can hammer 120-180 bpm (this is somewhat dependent on the rebound speed from the anvil and weight of the hammer - a 1-1/2 lb hammer will obviously cycle much faster than a 3 lb). I have actually timed this on a couple of experienced smiths so it's a good estimate. The other variable is length of the stroke but 18-24" is probably safe. BTW, I have chipped hammer faces on more than one occasion and another smith spalled a piece from my anvil during a demo so I guarantee that it happens occasionally.

Buy, rent or borrow a trailer. I bought 4 tons of coal in OK about 20 years ago and pulled a trailer with my (at the time) new 85 Ford and its 302. A buddy and I loaded all of it in a few hours but we took a jig to hold bean sacks and had plenty of them for the purpose. Each sack held between 80 and 100 lbs. I still have some of that coal left but it was not very high quality.

They make a trailer screw designed exactly for that job. They are 1/4" fine thread with a self-tapping tip and a large, Torx-type, countersunk head (can't recall what size bit). You drill a 3/16 pilot hole thru both 2x4 and frame then drive the screw in - I use a low rpm Milwaukee Hole Hawg. Go to a trailer manufacturer and tell them what you are doing. These screws won't get loose with time like bolts will and are easy to break off if you ever have to replace the wood (although it's best to use pressure treated).

My fan housing had paper about like thin poster board with something similar to old Permatex gluing it together. Was a real b@#$% getting it apart the first time.

I am right handed and have the horn to the right. I started that way early on based on an old man's comment that horseshoers normally had the horn opposite the hammer hand side but ornamental smiths had it on the strong side. I once almost cut off my little finger on the hammer hand on a hardy so that was another benefit. I knew no different so now it's a habit. Not sure either way is "right".

All coal is not created equal...better burn some first to see what it is. I was given some stuff that looked great but was actually close to lignite so it did not coke and had no heat for forging. Would hate to see you haul a few truckloads and not be able to use it.