HWooldridge

Anthracite typically has less volatiles so will go out easier. You may need a little bituminuous mixed in to keep the pile burning between heats (maybe 10% but experiment first before you do that). Usually higher in carbon so will burn closer to coke in characteristics - also may make more clinker, just depends on the seam. Anthr doesn't always form a coke button like bitum - again, you'll just have to experiment. No coal is created equally - even from the same mine...

Try here - this section devoted to SB. A 13" is a good size - I have a 10" Sheldon and a 15" Clausing. Welcome to the Manufacturing Forum: South Bend Lathes

What kind of lathe - got any pics?

You'll have to either straighten the gib or make a new one. I would probably try to get it close by eye and then either put it on a surface grinder or lap on a surface plate by hand.

In addition to my custom work, I have a line of standard products that I sell on-line, like coat racks and other simple stuff. When you do production work of any kind, no matter what it is, you will fall into a pattern at the anvil. I just finished a run of 50 coat hooks and I noticed toward the end of the run that I was using the same amount of licks per hook end (100 as these hooks are double ended). It began as a reflex but I had a tap stroke between the shoulder set and the beginning of the snub on the end of the hook. I believe this is where the tap started, as a natural transition while the smith either moved the material or made a decision where the next hit would be because it was easier than stopping, in other words, it is simply conservation of momentum. When you stand at the anvil for several hours in a row, anything that conserves energy is welcome. As others have stated. hitting the anvil when you enter the shop is a cute superstition but purposely hitting every second, third, fourth or whatever stroke is a waste of energy and accomplishes no work. Do it only if it makes sense.

I tap periodically when working to get a rebound stroke. It's not a strong hit - just a miss on the work while I decide on the next place to strike. My hammering is fairly regular in tempo but the strokes are hard or soft depending on the requirement.

I don't like too much ambient breeze when I demo outside so I made two wind screens from the end of a 55 gallon drum. I simply cut out the bottom and cut that piece in half, then bent those around the periphery of the hearth so there is a half-moon on each side. These not only hold fuel from falling out but also will warm up and act as smoke wicks to help keep smoke out of your face. Not a true chimney but better than nothing.

The days of $1/lb for anvils are about gone and I don't think you overpaid if that's what you are fishing for - especially for a good anvil that doesn't need a lot of restoral work. I haven't bought one in a while but the last anvil I did buy was a 100lb Hay Budden in pristine condition - I gave $140 for that one and started using it the same day. I used to pay $10 per inch of width for post vises and that still holds here in Central Texas but many of those are missing pieces. A complete 4 or 5 inch vise will easily bring $100 and like you said, there are not many heavy 6" ones floating around. Several years ago, I restored an old shop for the local historical conservation society and that place had a 7 inch leg vise that probably weighed between 150 and 200 lbs - it took two of us to move it around the shop and set it in place.

I can tell you from personal experience that I would recommend getting them professionally heat treated. I had a set of H13 dies made for a 100 lb hammer but they were too soft and were heavily damaged in just a few sessions. I had the faces recut and the dies sent out for heat treat. They came back around 50 Rc and have been in continuous service for about 15 years.

Most of them are not solid but a hollow tube with filling and caps on the ends. A solid one is probably mild steel - spark test it and try to determine if it has any carbon.

Our local group restored a 15th century Spanish blacksmith shop at Mission Espada in San Antonio. I was not directly involved in building but have seen their pair of single accordion-style bellows in operation. It takes two people to work this setup, with the helper pumping first one bellows and then the other while the smith does the forging. There is a simple valve in the back and another at the nozzle of each bellows - the rear closes on the pump stroke while the front one opens then vice-versa on the reverse stroke. The forge goes "chuff-chuff" while in operation so it is not a continuous blast but will get plenty hot to weld - the tuyere blows down from the side into a small duck's nest that holds the fuel. In accordance with the period, our members use lump charcoal at public demonstrations. I'll see if one of our members has any pictures - better than typing 1000 more words...;-)

You can buy them cheaply - try Texas Knifemaker's Supply: Texas Knifemaker's Supply: The Complete Source of Knife Making Supplies!

I started using the cheapest stainless bolts I could find just so I could take stuff apart later. Any carbon steel bolt/nut combo (even with zinc) will rust up tighter'n Dick's hatband after a few sessions of heat, coal and water and you'll probably have to cut them if you ever need to disassemble the forge. As the others stated, strength of the bolt is not an issue and plain old Home Depot fasteners will work.

That's an M35 chassis - right? The M37 was a 3/4 ton without tandem axles. Looks like 1950's vintage and a very cool truck...they are great for doing some real work.

Google Centaur Forge (or simply go to their website if you have the link) and search on "blunt". You will see a selection of blunt toe shoes. I'm not sure if you could see much technical difference on a coat of arms but I suppose someone could look at them side by side and make a determination.

IMHO, coal is still the best for relatively small hot fires. The amount of trash you put in the air is neglible but I respect your decision if you go green - however, any burning fuel is somewhat deleterious to the environment. I don't care for charcoal but it is traditional and will get hot enough to weld. I cannot comment on corn. Propane is very good for a multitude of tasks in the right forge and easy to find most anywhere, which is probably why it is so popular. Your fuel is fine - propane does not deteriorate in any reasonable time. There may be a bit of condensation in the bottom but the gas volatizes off the top of the liquid so that shouldn't pose a problem. I also use 25 gal tanks and am quite happy with their performance - the little 5 gallon tanks often won't feed a decent sized forge without freezing.

Mine is in the middle of one end of the shop about 10 feet from three walls on that end. That way, I can get all around it as necessary.

If you don't lose too much in the punch and drift op, it should weigh around 36 lbs. I don't think even Arnold S. can wield that so it would have to be Thor... PS - One of the shops I work in has a 25 lb sledge and it will surely kick your butt to swing very long.

I have seen an adjustable trammel setup where you punch the first hole in a bar, then place a properly sized dummy in that hole (one end of the trammel) the other end is a scribe to give you the proper line across the bar, which is then punched with a conventional center punch. The scribe is held in a small block that will slide along the trammel and lock in the proper place. Similar to blacksmith's dividers but a bit more precise. If done hot with proper top and bottom tools, rivets will hold very tightly because they shrink and pull the pieces together. This assumes the pieces are relatively cool (room temp or only slightly hotter) and the rivet is somewhere in the orange to low yellow range. This is one of the reasons they are still used in some structural work and were once the standard for boilers and other plate structure, like ships. If I want a rivet tight, I typically set up the whole thing cold and heat the rivet with an O/A torch, then set it. The mating pieces seldom get so hot as to compromise the fit. If you want the rivet to move - as in tongs - you put it all together then heat the assembly. Once riveted, the tongs can be worked for a good fit as they cool.

Depends on how fancy you want to get. Of course, a plain flat piece is the simplest but it is relatively easy to buy a sheet of copper and cut out polygonal panels to make a radius, then bend and solder/rivet the seams. This can be done without a brake to make the bends (using angle iron clamped to a stout table) or you could have them fabbed at an HVAC or sheet metal shop to your plans then assemble at home.

There are a couple ways to do this. I actually prefer to do a glut weld by cutting the stock partway through and bending hot to get a sharp inside corner then sticking a piece in the remaining void and forge welding it to make the outside corner. I started using this method because I find it to be less work, more accurate and faster. The other, more traditional way is to bend as normal and start upsetting in two different directions so each leg pushes material into the outside corner. You don't work on the corner as much as working on the legs to get the material to upset. Hope this makes sense.

Hard maple works fine for bearings that have low loading and as mentioned, will function for a long while if oiled. That is what Little Giant clutch blocks are made from and they will last for many years if kept lubed. You can also use hard wood for the bearing block and pour or press a babbitt center piece to have contact with the shaft. The shaft is tapered to match the now missing bearings so you can adjust the blocks inward to get a running clearance but as mentioned, they need to be polished because the rust will act as an abrasive and cause problems in short order.

Some years ago, I was fortunate enough to examine a variety of medieval weapons from both Europe and Japan in a private collection. Something to keep in mind is that arrows and other projectiles were considered throwaway weapons so were made relatively cheaply and quickly. I obviously haven't seen everything but cannot recall having seen any disposable weapon that appeared to be made of anything besides wrought iron. Axes, swords, knives and other things were intended for a lifetime of use but a single arrow shot in wartime would seldom be recovered - economics dictated the method of manufacture and forge welding was probably the fastest way in many cases. A couple of the Japanese arrows in the collection I referenced were "frog-legs", which are inverted V's facing forward with the inside edges sharpened. I'm told these were used to cut down flags and standards so the battle commands of the enemy would be compromised. These arrowheads appeared to be two piece as were some conventional broadhead styles we looked at. I think you'd be completely safe using mild steel and making heads in separate pieces. As a side note, most of the Japanese arrows I've seen were one piece bamboo but one was footed with some type of wood so maybe that was done for extra performance against armor. IIRC, the head was a bodkin or willow leaf style.

I have a fully enclosed but damp shop when the air gets humid, so my anvil rusts if I use it and don't protect the work surfaces. I spray WD40 and wipe it on all the machinery in the place with regularity, occasionally wipe off the resulting residue where it accumulates, then reapply (I also buy WD40 in bulk so I use it liberally). You can also let the anvil rust lightly and uniformly then use a right angle grinder with wire wheel to knock off the crust. A light oxide will be left that won't let heavy rust get started. Rust is actually a great protective coating for steel...

If you mean a 400 series then yes, the fan blade assembly is threaded on the shaft so you can adjust it and lock it down. I usually take the front fan housing off and adjust the fan until it starts hitting the back of the case. I then move the fan away from the case until it just clears at all speeds. Put the front of the fan case back in place and see if anything makes contact. Hopefully, you are done and can go back to work. If not, you can sometimes bend the blades a little if necessary and I have also used a right angle grinder to remove areas that are making contact. Only take off enough to clear spots that are hitting.