eseemann

Mike, I don't really have an occasion to meet either type of tradesmen but I understand what you are talking about. I am going to see if the local pre-cut stock yard (scrap yard) will see the copper they buy from other people with the appropriate markup. 

Ernest  

Frosty, 

I do trust you and I will follow your advice. Is there any difference in the risk level between melting and silicon bronze or melting copper and adding tin if I can find enough scrap copper? 

I think this video cover what you are talking about with the dangers of steam 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=68&v=A796N_YZTm8

Frosty, you can't argue with the words "prophylactic barrier". 

I don't know that I MUST melt the brass but my Nephew has been asking me to help him with either a brass or bronze melt and I did not know where I might find copper that would not cost an arm + leg. I would assume that as long as I observed the safety information posted here and other places such as being outside, up wind and maintain situational awareness of where the fumes were going I would make it out w/o doing any damage to my lungs. And I have talked with Glenn about the events leading to the passing of  Paw-Paw Wilson so I have zinc and the fumes in the same category with carbon monoxide and other things you don't want to breath. 

Please let me know if I am incorrect about the residual risk of melting the brass out side, up wind and in my back yard (80 feet by 103 feet) then I will abandon this idea. I had thought it could be done without getting someone sick or dead. 

Respectfully yours

Ernest.

If I do go ahead with the melt I plan to cook the brass in a steel pot around the melting point of aluminum with Borax as a flux to make sure there is no live propellant in the spent primers. If anyone knows if that will or will not work please let me know. I would rather things cook off when the brass is not in the liquid state.

Dwarf, 

I have read up on the fever but thank you for the reminder. Nothing like a world class case of the flu you can not do anything about until the zinc oxide clears your system. I plan to do the melt outside with 2 fans for ventilation. Any thoughts on clearing any unused propellant in the brass? I wonder if the tarnish on the brass will revert to copper or become dross. 

Ernest    

Good Morning Folks, 

I have melted range brass using a O/A rosebud once (and only once) and the distressing part, other than the depressing amount of gas I used (from doing it wrong), was the left over charge in the spent brass cooking off in front of me. I was thinking I might put the brass in a steel pot and heat it up to aluminum melt temp to let anything that will cook off cook off and then charge the crucible. I figure this will make the brass oxidize but I can live with that. Do you think this will work to make the brass safer to work with? Should I cut the end off of center-fire shells that if I don't have the de-priming die for my reloading press? From Matt's post I am going to assume that I don't want to rely that a shot primer is a safe primer. 

Thanks  

This is the guy that has a hut with a terracotta roof using only a stone ax, clay pots he made on site and his digging stick. If this guy is not on your Zombie Apocalypse dream team you are missing out. This guy makes iron from orange goo to show it can be done.      

Bluesman7, thanks for the info. 

Good Morning Folks,

I was able to pick up a 12 pack of 2600 degree soft fire bricks from Harbison Walker on my way through Salem Va this week and I was thinking about a new 2 or 4 brick forge. I wanted to know if anyone has used fire clay to (for lack of a better term) plaster the outside of the brick so you would have steel box, plaster and then soft fire brick. I was wondering if that might help with the cracking that you get with soft fire brick forges. I think this may not add any value but I have a bag of clay right now so I thought I would ask. I know this will not add to the R value but I wondered about the cracking.

thanks

Good Morning, 

I am going to be in the Williamsburg area next week and I wanted to know if there any "must visit" blacksmith related stores, second hand or surplus places while we are in town. I have the 7 day "historic triangle" ticket so I am looking forward to lots of demos and such. Anyone have a shop or place outside of Colonial Williamsburg sites, Historic Jamestowne, Jamestown Settlement, American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, and Yorktown Battlefield? 

Thank you much in advance

Ernest

Good Morning All, 

If you want to see some different takes on how build things like a belt grinder, drill press or shop press go to YouTube and look up "Made in Poland". I did not want to post the direct link since there may be advertising (YouTube after all) and I know IFI would rather you not post a direct link to an ad. 

I want to say that PLEASE use PPE when welding. This person seems to arc weld w/o gloves and I hope his hands don't get skin cancer one day but he seems to be a grown man and that is his own choice. 

I like this type of video from other countries because I have seen people in SW Virginia and in Alabama do what this guy is doing, making something out of what may very well be junk. 

Have a good Weekend and please be safe. 

Ernest  

One thing I always have an eye out for is a hammer from a car shredder or other type of hammer mill. They make forklift tines look like chopsticks. 

All , 

I stand corrected and will cope to the miss-use of shorthand. I can tell you that the stuff they are using in PT lumber is more than corrosive it is a force of nature. I don't know how much it might corrode but I remember building a tree house shortly after the arsenic and chromium was phased out of PT lumber and I had a zinc (not hot dipped galvanized since it was what I had on hand) lag screw screwed in to a PT 4x4. I took it out about 3 weeks later and there were rust marks on the zinc plated non-threaded shaft where the part of the wood tapped by the screw was just touching the non-threaded shaft. This was not from rain leaching the chemical out this (And this is a wild guess on my part) might have been from the moisture in the wood.

If Mr. Powers (who knows more about this things than I do) does not see this as a big I will not worry about it. I do plan on getting him something to cover the steel when he is not using it. After I posted this I thought about just using a few coats of good outdoor spray paint to block the PT chemicals.

Any who, I think I have the info I need. 

Thanks 

Good Morning All, 

I hope everyone in the path of the storms is well. I am going to be making a stand to hold a chunk of fork lift tine upright for my nephew who does not have a covered place to work and would be exposed to rain. I was thinking about using treated 4x4 lumber but I did not want to place treated lumber so it would be touching the tine 100% of the time. I was thinking about wrapping the steel layers of duck tape so any chemicals that would be leached out of the lumber would not have an direct path to the steel. I figure that if many layers of tape or the like were protected from the sun by the lumber it would take a long time to rot. I was also thinking about using flashing (aluminum or stainless steel) to wrap the tine if that would work better. I know that nothing short of a covered work space and non-PT lumber will keep the treating chemicals off of the tine steel but I am just trying to work with what I have right now.  

Thanks in advance.  

Ernest

Thanks Arftist, we start the tornado season here in North Alabama right around (looking at date) NOW. 

CMS and Biggun, 

thanks for the advice and I will take it to the local shop and ask them about it. There is an autoshop on the Army Post where I work (as a contractor) that might have TIG equipment and someone to help with the weld. 

CMS3900,

Thank you for the advice but sadly I don't have access to a TIG welder. I should have said the rivets I was thinking about were pop-rivets. If you were on the spot what would be the least worst for flux core or stick. The steel is VERY thin around 25 gauge. The pop rivets would be near the top of the pot so the did leak it would be around 1/4 to  3/8 inch from the water line when used to boil water  

thanks 

Good Morning, 

I want to make some Individual survival Kits that are about the size of the Individual First Aid Kits (IFAK) that are in use currently by the DoD. The size would be around 7 to 10 inches long by 3+ inches tall by 4+ inches wide. I am looking to take small steam tray pans (7x4x4.5) and cut them down to take off the lip that hangs on the steam table and some type of latch. The goal of the container is to have a storage box that can be worn on a belt that can double as a pot to cook or (more importantly) boil water if needed. 

My current kit uses a stainless steel water bottle but the size of the mouth and neck on the bottle limits what you can put in the kit. These kits try to provide a way to bring the 3 items I see as mandatory for any short term situation where to are one your own away from help. I use the rule or 3 as my guide.

You can survive for 3 Minutes without air (oxygen) or in icy water. You can survive for 3 Hours without shelter in a harsh environment (unless in icy water) You can survive for 3 Days without water (if sheltered from a harsh environment) You can survive for 3 Weeks without food (if you have water and shelter).

So back to the question, I have a 110 and a 220 buzz box and a flux core welder to work with as well as a small O/A kit. Would I be better off using stainless steel rivets or welding to modify these containers?  

Renaissance Man, 

If you ever get to Athens Alabama you need to talk to Travis Fleming at Artistic Anvil blacksmith shop. He uses the foot powered treadle hammer to do Chasing and Repousse work that is amazing

Good information. thanks

Ben, 

Thanks for the information. I need to go looking in the store so I can put hands on tool. 

On 6/28/2016 at 5:06 PM, jmccustomknives said:

Probably, but it would be slow going.  Better to use a metabo style slicer wheel on a grinder.  If you can get a real Metabo (they aren't cheap) it's well worth the investment.  Otherwise a good grinder and slicer wheel will be a lot faster.  Wear your safety gear.

All, 

I am looking at some chop saws on Amazon and I wanted to see what people thought about the best saw to get. As a hobbyist I will never "use up" one of these saws but some I have found are better than others. One is a Rage cold cut saw and I worry that I will mess up a $85+ blade on hard or thick steel. Any how, please let me know if going on band name alone because model number will be too much information let me know you thoughts. 

Thanks in advance.

Hitachi $159
DeWalt $165
Makita $168
Bosch $185
Evolution RAGE2 $188
Milwaukee $212
Metabo $219 

Thanks Daswulf!

This may be a silly question but can a drag tip be added to a cheap plasma cutter?

JHCC,

I scan all my paperwork and save the email HF sends me when I buy something.

I have the HF portable band saw and one Frosty told me what I was doing wrong in my blade suggestion I have had not problem cutting hard steel such as forklift forks. That having been said the HF cheapo saw with a good blade NOT from HF can cut BUT and this is a big but:

They took off the trigger locking button so you need to keep your finger on the trigger at all times. In the past people have mounted them to a bench to use as a small mounted saw. The took off the plate covering the band so you and your clothing is always a few inches away from reliving one of the "shop safety and You" videos.A good tool has more copper such as thicker wires and winding on the motor, better bearings and will last longer. 

Any time you get a HF or other cheap tool you need to know this $100 (something) is not the same as the $500 (something). That being said as a hobbyist I have not managed to use that many HF tools to the point the magic blue smoke escapes and the tool stops working. If you get a HF tool that has moving parts I would get the 2 year warranty because with the exception of the change they made to the generator warranties they mean the tool WILL last two years or you will get a new one.      

My 2/100 of $1.00.