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I Forge Iron

Albert A Rasch

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Everything posted by Albert A Rasch

  1. Trip, If you are not happy, then tear it down. It's tool like all others, albeit a very aesthetically appealing one! None-the-less, if you can't concentrate on the work being done, because it's the wrong, height, can't get to this o that, tools aren't handy, then your just getting aggravated instead of enjoying the task and creating things. I was contemplating building something similar, but with with wider gothic arches, and a removable top plate. Still in the planning stages. I am glad you mentioned height as i will have to look into that. Good post, and great ideas Trip! Regards, Albert
  2. Pulse, I'm telling you Sarasota is a hotbed of smithing activity! Who would have guessed! Nice score, and I am sure it will be "lively." Best regards, Albert
  3. DK, Thanks for the explanation. I was beginning to think I had missed something... And that's for power tools right? Albert
  4. Pugh, Then the answer is most certainly no. There are a ton of guys out there doing "smithing" with nothing more than a hunk of steel, visegrips, a and couple of sledges and ballpeen hammers, with forges made out of washtubs and clay dug out of a river bank, and making a living dong it! If we break it down though, and I do not have the answer to this, on a per capita basis, there might be fewer smiths now than there were 100 maybe even 50 years ago, but in absolute numbers, there have got to be more than ever if Youtube is any indication! Or if you look at the number of suburban farriers, their numbers are astronomical. I'm beginning to think that well heeled "hobby" smiths who build up well equipped "traditional" shops might outnumber traditional smiths of yesteryear! Interesting speculation; I'm going to keep my eyes open and see what is out there. Best regards, Albert
  5. Now there is a huge difference between the two examples! As you can see, It is still a hammer, but the finish has made a vast difference in the perception of your skills. And a stripper plate? That lends itself to way too much speculation.... best regards, Albert
  6. Mr Charlie, Thanks for the feature length post! I certainly enjoyed it! I too am less than, shall we say, conversant with any mathematics higher than say... addition...of single digits, but I do understand pictures and ideas. Your spiral pulley, reminds me of the linkage on weight machines to keep the line of pull and push the same. I'll have to study the drawings more carefully in order to appreciate the science and mechanics behind them. I appreciate the time and energy you put into the post, I really do! Thanks again! Albert
  7. Professor T, That makes sense in that the smith was probably doing the same operation repeatedly on two specialized tools that were rarely moved. And i suppose, even a smidgen of energy lost on a single blow would accumulate by the end of the day. Thank you for the input! Regards, Albert
  8. The cap if you don't mind! I've always liked flat caps so i was curious how it looked. thanks, Albert
  9. Interesting piece, I like the use of copper accents. Are the notches meant to be a key? Oh, and how about a picture of the back-end of the knife? Thanks for sharing! Albert
  10. You will do well with that attitude! Welcome aboard! Regards, Albert
  11. Big business that of raising old cypress logs out of the waterways and swamps. Beautiful old growth stuff that hasn't seen daylight in a hundred years or more. Albert PS: So I go to check on logs raised out of the swamp, and of course, they have a show about it...
  12. Mods. That's what they are. If we didn't spend our time modding (experiments) where would we be? I see absolutely no problem with Tex's modifications to make his work efficient and effective. As a horse owner, all I care about is that the shoe fits and fits properly. As a farrier all he would be concerned with is making the best shoe for his clients possible. If that meant modding his anvil, then I am all for it. i bet he has made his money back in efficiency and effectiveness. and in the end, it really is just a tool. best regards, Albert
  13. Ok, I was talking with my son last night, (This morning for you guys) and I told him we needed to look around for a bigger anvil. Not that we really need one, we have a very nice almost new london pattern that weighs between 90-100 lbs, but it would be nice to get something twice that weight or so. As I am talking to him, he is multitasking on the computer. (For those of you older than 28, do not try this at home. After age 28 Multitasking only leads to doing several things poorly at the same time.) Within moments, while I was chatting with him about the shop we are going to build, he says to me,"Dad, here's a 275 lbs Anvil and he wants $400 bucks, oh, and here is another one but it's only 160 lbs. and he doesn't say how much. Do you want me to call them?" He was checking through the computer while talking to me. We live in Sarasota Fl, obviously a hotbed of smithing activity, and in a couple of minutes he found a couple of anvils, and then hardys, tongs, and two, TWO, hand cranked blowers. I still am somewhat amazed and mystified. When I get back, I am going to apply the TPAAAT. May not have to go to the scrap yard after all! best regards, Albert
  14. I would not mind doing a few classes in NZ if there was interest...you guys have some good smiths and knifemakers. And soldiers too! Some of the best I've worked with! Best regards, Albert
  15. Ooooo.... Three speed leather belt flat gears, whale oil lubrication, I can't really make out the tool post, chuck, or tailpost, but is that a foot crank shaft across the bottom? Whatever, I can't wait to see the restoration! That's the kind of equipment that lends itself to not only a practical let's-make-it-work restoration, but an aesthetic one too! looking forward to seeing it reborn! Albert
  16. Large Rock!! LOL!!! Ummm... wait, I have a large piece of granite I've been saving... albert
  17. Fellows, there will always be a segment of the population that wants to do things "their" way. Folk and art schools always have some program or another that focuses on some archaic principle or trade. I read an article on Mukome Gane recently, which stated that there are more Mukome Gane artisans in the US alone today than in all of the history of Japanese craft society. So is Mukome a dying craft? Seems like it's growing gang busters! On the other hand, the days of the village blacksmith, shoeing horses, tireing a wheel, making a hinge, are, for the time being, gone. But don't even discount that idea. Who knows what this world has in store for us. All it will take is a small sustained dislocation of energy production or delivery, or some other calamity that we are ill prepared for, for the lot of us to be in high demand... Stop and think of this. Drilling a hole. How many people do you know are capable of designing and executing the equivalent of a Cole drill? If you don't know what a Cole drill is, all I would have to do is describe it to you and you could make a serviceable one without too much difficulty. But you take your average layman and he would be hard pressed to even figure out how to bend a piece of metal, much less attach it to another with nothing more than fire, brain, and brawn! Metamorphic. That's what blacksmithing is. From one incarnation it transforms itself into another. Best regards, Albert
  18. I'm wondering what his encore is going to be! swage block? Great job and stick-to-it-iveness! Best regards, Albert
  19. Fantastic thread idea Fuzzy! Images give rise to a world of imaginative ideas, in addition to the obvious emulation of the subject shown. That three reigned tong for example and the plow share tongs give rise to other ideas that can be executed, Just a great idea! Regards, Albert
  20. Fellows, i've watched a fair number of videos of smiths using their hardiies and bottom tools. In many cases, I've seen the tools jump and jive as they are being struck. I have frequently thought, while watching, why don't they punch a slot in that shank, and drive a wedge key through that, basically what in woodworking we would call a tusk and tenon. The post "Hardie tapered or Straight" got me thinking, and then Wayne commented that his have a "U" so he can drive a wedge through them and hold them tight. So at least one person does it... Any reason why that's not done often? Regards, Albert
  21. Jacob, Your tongs are very nicely done, I really like the way they flow around the rivet! Nice work! Albert
  22. Onetreeforge, Have you guys been Africanized? Because that's exactly what it sounds like. Only cure is to suit up and squish that nasty queen to death, and stay away for six or seven weeks. BTW, you Kiwis have been great allies! If I had my druthers, I would have more of you here, you know how to take the fight to the enemy! Best regards, Albert PS: Actually I would just as soon get all of us out of here. Except maybe the French... AAR
  23. Freeman, Link:http://www.mokume-gane.com/Papers/SantaFePaper.pdf "After thorough mechanical and chemical cleaning, the metal sheets are stacked and bound between iron plates that have been coated with a resist to prevent the laminate from sticking to them during the diffusion process. The stack is placed in a forge and heated until the metals in the stack begin to “sweat”. At this point some of the alloys in the stack have reached the temperature where some liquid phase is visible on the edges of the stack. The stack is quickly and carefully removed from the forge and “lightly tapped with a wooden mallet”. It is then hot forged to improve the bond strength and reduce its thickness." Notice the "lightly tapped' part there. It reminds me of forge welding, Every example of the process starts with modest striking, reheating, striking, reheating, ad nauseum, until it is complete. I would extrapolate that the "It is then Hot Forged .." Mean it is hot forged after several heat tap squeeze, heat, tap, squeeze, iterations to make sure the welds are complete. I'm reading up on the process now, and I don't see (yet) any mention of any kind of flux... I'm already contemplating a super-saturated solution of borax. I'm wondering if that might help in avoiding the delamination problem. I'm guessing there might be a reason for no flux, but I can't find any references. 13:18 hours: I stand corrected. Steve Sells sez, "Borax is not a flux for copper or its alloys, wrong temps for one thing. Sal Ammoniac is a good choice for copper, but it is not needed for this application." http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/10503-help-bad-bad-weld-on-my-first-mokume/ Anyhow, I hope this helps! Albert
  24. The nickel is made of a homogenous blend of 75% copper and 25% nickel, so you wouldn't see any elemental copper, unlike the clad coins. Guys, please forgive any misspellings the font used is so small (for my eyes) that I have hard time making out vertical letters that are adjacent to each other and it messes me up. thanks! Albert
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