HWooldridge

Try judicious heat with a torch.

The Blacker I saw some years ago was on rails and moved across the anvil so the ram would hit the hardy or the face or the horn...very convenient for a one man shop.

Either too low in the fire, insufficent fuel around the work or too much blast. What you are experiencing is the same basic thing that an acetylene torch does to a piece of steel - heats it to melting and then introduces enough O2 to make it burn. If it starts burning and you catch it fast enough, you can plunge it in the slack tub and sometimes arrest the burn but you'll have to grind away the oxides before continuing.

I dig the machine tools - my shop is also a combination machine/blacksmith shop. Is the Grizzly a mill or a mill/drill? I see it has power feed on the table but can't see the collet setup.

Blackers are seen more often in Europe and once were fairly common. Not many made it across the pond - I think Gichner's used to have a couple.

You can case harden it but results may be erratic in the home shop especially if you haven't ever done that process before. I'd probably leave it alone - if it breaks again, make one out of 4140.

Kyboy, Don't work it below a dark yellow/light orange. I have most failures when I'm trying to forge it much below these temps - higher is better. I think it is because steel has a tendency to slide from the forging so welds often split instead of moving. A forge weld is something of a glue job until the pieces are driven together enough to make a completely homogenous bond (which does eventually happen - Damascus pattern welding is a good example). Once a weld takes completely, heavy forging at high temps only makes it better. All the more reason for large upsets before welding.

I am interested in the end result and have that in mind when I start (it doesn't always turn out like I initially thought but that's part of the fun). I like to finish things so try to push myself to achieve some level of completion every day. Part of that stems from the fact I have worked in manufacturing for almost 30 years so goals and production output are a natural part of the process. I get burnt out like anyone else but blacksmithing and metalworking has always kept my interest in the long term.

Agreed, Mark. The other problem with a full width scarf is that it can leave a small void, which creates a notch and can start a point of failure. I have hot twisted forge welded areas and seen them break from these small origins.

I have more trouble with forge welding than any other BS process so I have always tried to focus on fixing my mistakes. One thing I do for myself is thin the scarf to a point - not a feather edge across the whole joint but an actual point on the scarf tip. I find this blends better than other methods but like most things, practice is the best teacher - especially after you've seen it done successfully by someone else.

Thanks Jerry, I'll check it out.

Outstanding design and execution!

The drive gear is acting like a ring and pinion; similar to an automobile axle - so the fan shaft has a tendency to push out (as you have seen). I think the Loc-tite idea is a good one since the blower does not get all that hot; maybe too warm to touch with a bare hand but nothing high enough to make the adhesive fail. Some other ideas... Option 1 is to make a new bushing on a lathe - if you have access to one. Option 2 is to dimple the outside of the bushing so it will interfere with the housing. You could also wrap it with shim stock to get the same effect. Option 3 is to sweat solder the bushing into the housing. My first option is make a new one but that's because I have access to several lathes. In the absence of that, I would solder it into place. It will definitely stay put and is relatively easy to remove if replacement ever becomes an issue.

I used to run a dry cut saw on aluminum door and window frames; it did an outstanding job - accurate and fast. The coolant was a very light mist and only kept the blade damp but that was enough. The saw cost about $12,000 (sorry, but I can't remember the name - this was years ago, I do remember it was made in Germany). That particular saw was not designed to cut steel but I'm sure they built different models. I have used a 14" B&D Industrial chop saw for almost 30 years in my home shop and it will cut any piece of steel I can get under the blade. For my money, a 7x10 band saw, a 14" chop saw and an O/A cutting torch will handle 99% of your bar cutting needs. Add a plasma only if you need the capability to cut complex shapes in light gauge sheet metal.

This is for the architectural folks in our community. I have a customer who has commissioned me for an iron gate into their courtyard. In addition, they want an electric strike and intercom so guests can be granted entry from inside the house. The trouble is that the house is completely finished and the front wall has no way to get back to any sources of power without major renovation. I figured the easiest thing to do was install some sort of solar powered, wireless unit - but I have no idea about equipment. I have done low voltage, hardwired units in the past and am not the least bit concerned about the installation; I just don't know anything about reliable wireless or solar. I also posted this on Farwest so please chime in if you have any advice. Thanks, Hollis

I feel for you - southeast Texas near the coast is destroyed and it will take years to recover. By the grace of God, we dodged the bullet this time. When I was a kid, we had a broken shower for a while (my nickname at school was "Schtinky"...). Seriously, Dad bought a galvanized water tub that was about 5-1/2 feet long, like you would use for small animals and we filled it out of the bathroom sink. That was a nightly reality for a few years until we could afford to fix the shower stall. You might check out the local feed stores if the power stays out much longer - plus the tub makes a good slack tub when you don't need it any more.

H13 would be perfect but S7 is decent if you already have some. S1 is also good if you can get it - it has some tungsten content for hot hardness. However, H13 is generally available in most places.

That's pretty good - and you'll only get better with time.

Happens to us all. I made some custom trim plates for a client to cover some special electrical switches that required me to use a Uni-bit to drill the holes in the sheet metal. I laid out and drilled all the holes, cleaned them up and shipped to the customer. Fast forward a month and the customer calls to complain the plates don't fit - turns out the Uni-bit has a tendency to walk so all the holes drifted about 1/32, which is too much to allow the plate to fit over the knob after it's mounted in the box. That's what I get for assuming...

Three 5 gal buckets of charcoal yielded about 25% by bulk on a single 55 gal barrel (it wasn't level with the top so I fudged the percentage a hair). Of course, that yield is 13% if you started with TWO 55 gal barrels of wood. I'm in no way knocking your results - just trying to figure out the basic yield. BTW, I've heard pine makes a decent soft charcoal with a lot of carbon so I'm not surprised you can weld with it. Good job and thanks for posting.

There was a big anvil in the basement of a local hospital and since they could not remove it easily, there it remained long after the last smith worked there. I never saw it but a friend who worked in the hospital said it was around 300 lbs and virtually unmarked.

The coalers in most third world countries make a brick retort big enough that you can walk inside. I also recall seeing them placing the logs vertically. It looks like you lost quite a bit of material before covering it so you may not get more than a few pounds. Of course, it's a good learning experience and you'll only get better with time.

Mark, you are welcome anytime...Hollis

As you pointed out, you are more likely to find the equipment in rural areas but quite often, those are the folks who are less likely to sell. "I'll build a shop one day and use it", "That belonged to Grandpa", "Oh, these are rare antiques and you can't find them anymore" - are all things I have heard over the years. Still, you can find things now and again; you just have to keep looking. I have run ads in local papers and done pretty well; you get some losers but some winners too. I had a guy call and want to trade his old broken homemade forge for a tandem axle trailer - or $1800 (I politely turned that one down) but a lady also called to ask if I could haul off the old coal that was cluttering up her garage (turned out to be six 55 gallon barrels full of high quality smithing coal).

They've made them at Colonial Williamsburg but I don't know if plans are available.