acoop101

I don't know if it will work for your purposes but if you have a welding shop around that uses oxy fuel cutting processes you ask them for some slag, that is basically iron oxide, you could also set a piece of steel wool (just the plain stuff with no chemicals in it)on fire with a lighter then make your die:) there is my two cents.

Most pretty weldments you see with zero penetration, usually on one side are made by inexperienced or poor weldors using GMAW or mig. They're known as the lawyer's welder for a reason.

Frosty

Aren't GMAW and MIG the same thing?:confused:
As fare as heat affected zones they wouldn't change the metal properties for forging since you are heating them up. I can't tell u guys the number of times I've seen welds blown to xxxx from using too much heat (i teach welding and this seems to be a common problem.)

what about abrasive water jet, anyone used that or industrial laser?

I would love to have an anvil that size, I'm working on a 90 pound shear blade right now which I belive is heat treated 1080 steel. Good for small stuff but no so much for bigger parts.:rolleyes:

Has anyone tried using this for making knives? Does it hold it's edge or does it not have enough carbon in it? I have a bunch of 1 inch round stock drop outs from school that I don't have any idea what to do with.

most hss drill bits have that stamped into them, good luck though if the size and other information has been mangled off of it.

I'm on the west coast so were getting decent deels on chineese steel. Or at least that is where my supplyers are getting their metal, in from china via the port of LA/Long Beach.:D

for simple mild steel bar stock I'm paying 70 cents a pound for hot rolled mild steel. But if I order from the place 30 minuets down the road I can get it for 35 cents a pound for bar stock, but since I don't have a car I loose that benefit with having to have it delivered. I don't do much with sheet metal so I don't know if it's sold by the pound. Speedymetals has what seems to be good prices with good selection. good luck

Bumping the random things you've caught on fire thread.
I was teaching Mig welding to some freshmen and one of the students had one not so new pants. The spatter from the duel shield welding caught the cotton fibers on fire. That was the first and only time I've had some one hurt them selves in my class.

CO2 is much cheaper than Argon so if you can weld with it do it. That's probably why the school uses it.:p

if you can scrounge a couple of pieces of steel that would fit in the webbing of the rail this will help make the anvil stiffer making it some what better as an anvil.

Welder19 are you one in the same as the welder19 over at backyardmetalcasting.com?

yes yes i do sorry, that's the problem with only sleeping once in two days

I was using waste motor oil when I caused my iron crucible to melt but it works really well for brass and aluminum with old fryer oil.

copper can be melted easily using a coating of charcoal ontop as a flux, scrape the slag back before you pour so that you don't get inclusions.

if you have an arc welder why not cut the hole larger with oxy fuel then weld in a piece of one inch tubing and built the plate back up then grinde flat.

most washing machines only run on 220 for the heating coils but the motors use 110.

I was wondering if anyone uses waste oil burners. I built one to run my casting foundry and was wondering if anyone has set up one of these burners in a black smith shop. I know it gets hot enough, (found that out when I melted my steel crucible full of metal what a mess:p) but wanted an opinon on practicality.