woodwalker

Thanks for the fast reply! I just ran into a post on instrutables saying that one should mix the Paster of Paris with pure fine-grained sand, so I might have to try this. I've gotten pretty good at carving wax models by now, so I think that I can afford to experiment a little with methods of casting. I am interested in why you mean that copper can be fussy to cast, though. I am using scrap electrical wire and a small piece of copper pipe, and you might be able to tell that I am more or less jury-rigging this, so it will be a gravity cast. Another question just occurred to me. Do I need to flux the metal? If so, can I use 20 mule team borax? Also, I will be sure to post pictures of the results. And, as I am doing this for a woman that I am trying to steal from her current boyfriend (and have almost succeeded in), so I might post pics of that too. She is still wearing the ring he gave her to show that she is taken, so I hope that she might get rid of that ring (it is cheap, anyways), and wear mine instead.

I haven't been on the forums for years, but I recently got an idea to lost-wax cast a ring. I have tried searching various sites to find out more on this subject (I have found a good deal at instructables.com), but I have no idea what to use as investment. It doesn't tell you on any of the sites. Can someone help me out? I had thought about using Plaster of Paris, but I have no idea if it can withstand the heat (I'm going to be casting copper) I also decided to take a page out of the ancient's book, and use clay. No go. I am somewhat impatient, so I did not wait long enough for it to dry. So exploding mold. Funny, but unpleasant. So, to recap, what is the investment used to lost-wax cast copper? Can I use Plaster of Paris? Also, I'm not sure if this is where I should be posting, but it seemed to be the best fit.

Thanks, apparently my instincts aren't very good (but I have been suspicious of this for a while.) I suppose the only way to learn things is to screw up (or post on a forum)

Not to long ago I realized that my $20 bench grinder that I got at Freds was not going to last very much longer. So last night I went to lowes looking for a belt grinder. I found one that I liked, a Delta SA180. It has a one inch wide belt, and an eight inch diameter disk. Unfortunately, all the belt grinders where labeled as "Belt Sanders" I talked to a guy that worked there about it, and what I wanted to use it for (grinding bevels in knives) and asked him f doing so would choke the 1/3 Hp motor. He said that it probably would not, but agreed with me that if it didn't do what I got it for, I could just take it back. This is where the fun begins. We couldn't find a boxed one, so the guy literally runs to a computer terminal to see if they have any in a back room. Apparently, not only wat that the last one they had, but also the last one they would get. Both the guy I was talking to and the assistant manager offered to sell me the display grinder at around 10% off. that would have been a good deal, but the display was missing the belt, and the rest that you use when you use the belt. So I go to Home Depot. they had a Ryobi "belt sander" with an 8 inch wide belt, and a nine or ten inch diameter disk. after looking for a guy to ask, i finally found one, who I asked two or three times about it before he understud the question. he goes off to ask the manager. He then YELLS all the way down the isle to me that it is only for wood. My question is simple. Is there a difference between "belt sanders" and "belt grinders"? And does sears sell a good one?

As an ardent geek, I saw the trailer online as soon as they released it (linked from a webcomic on Final Fantasy I and Dnd, that's how big of a geek I am...) and the first thing I said was "Stupid Ozzy, he's so metal, yet Ironman is a stupid song." The second thing I said was "Sweet! The guy's forging something! I wonder what it is?"

I am curious as to how one makes the battle-mounting for nihonto. I could probably do the tsuba OK, but the fuchi, kashira, kurikata, saguri, and minuki will pose large problems. I am also curious as to how one mounts a tachi. I guess what I need is a website that tells you the process of making the afore-mentioned objects. Thanks.

GAH! i hate that so much! The guy trains for so many years with the sword, and some guy with a revolver shoots him. I mean, I would have done the same thing, but still, the gun put the power into the hands of someone who trains for a day to kill a man who has trained his whole life to fight with the sword, thereby displacing archers in the process. I mean come on, at least do what Miyamoto Musashi did to Shishido Baikin and trow a knife at the guy...

Yeah, I can see that as a giant scroll starter. Or a door stop. I want it no matter what it is...

ok, thanks.

Today I broke a BLUE ANGEL throwing knife when I threw it and it hit another of the same knives. My question is: can I forge weld this back together? It is made of A-1088 stainless, and apparently was handcrafted in China. My dad (a tool and die maker) said that it appears to have been heat-treated incorrectly (not far off from my guess of a stress point) and he also said that I wouldnt be able to weld it back. It all comes down to it not doing any good broken, and one never knows if I might get lucky. (also, if you are curious about the stupid rainbow finish, I got a set of 12 plus a knife roll for 40 bucks. beggers cant be choosers)

Heh, I guess I should have mentioned that I was doing a small test run, as I hate wasting my time grinding stuff that will not work. The ground fire idea does sound good, though.

BAH! I live in talbot county, georgia, and there are crack-XXX houses on the street that I live on. The sheriff has gotten in two or three alcohol-induced accidents. I doubt that a bit of thermite will matter. The angle iron is about half an inch thick, but is really long, so I cant hot cut it in my forge, nor transport it 20 miles to my friends house (he has a welder with cutting head). I followed a few safety procedures when I tried (my leather apron, gloves), and I put the piece in question in the yard. I might be 18, but I generally think things out (or over think them).

I need to cut a piece of angle iron, but do not have a big saw, so I though " Why not use thermite? I have iron oxide and aluminum, and Ill use magnesium from a fire lighter to light it." I got some iron oxide, put it in a pestle and mortar, and ground it up pretty fine. Then I got some aluminum and work hardened it, before filing it, then ground up the filings the best I could in the pestle and mortar. I then proceded to shave the magnesium off of the fire starter. I decided to do a test run, so I got about an eighth of a teaspoon of both aluminum filings and iron oxide and mixed it together. I put the mixture on what I wanted to cut, and dumped the magnesium on top of it. I threw a match onto the magnesium, which burned, but the thermite never ignited. Why didn't it work? Should I have measured the iron oxide and aluminum in terms of weight, not volume? Should I have mixed the magnesium in with the other two ingredients?

oooo, I just read about this in The Art of Blacksmithing. To make iron, one puts the ore in a really hot fire. after a while, put the fire out and dig out the iron collected at the bottom. Most of it will be cast iron, so build an even hotter fire, and put the cast iron in it. The fire will (or should, I guess would be a better way to put it) burn the carbon out of it, leaving you with wrought iron. Basically, dig a hole, direct the air from a few blowers into it, and light a fire in it. Tunr the blowers on full blast, and wait. I won't garintee results, but that's how I read it.

In my experience, coke is a matte grey substance, whilst clinker is shiny (and, in the case of the coal I am using now, smells strongly of sulfur.)