eseemann

Steve, The curved edge is called a "smiling edge" or "swept edge". Swept edge - sometimes known as a ‘smiling’ edge, especially in the USA, this is the reverse of the swept spine. In this layout the spine is straight and the edge curved convexly, as in the dreadnought blade above. http://straightrazorplace.com/srpwiki/index.php/The_straight_razor#Edge_Profiles http://straightrazorplace.com/razors/64806-smile-no-smile.html

I am thinking tire iron as well. That begs the question of if someone were to use this as a weapon and pommel strike a person would that be getting hit with the bunt end of a knife or the working end of a tire iron?

Rockstar, Thanks for reminding me about this guy, I have liked his videos but have not watched one in a while. What do you think of that post anvil, that is some mass right there,.

I picked up a box of 2600 degree IFB from HWR in Birmingham Al. It looks like they own the AP Green name. http://www.hwr.com/default ANH Refractories is one of the world’s largest and most respected suppliers of refractory materials. With lineage that dates back over 100 years, ANH Refractories is the leading provider of refractory solutions to the global industrial market. ANH Refractories operates more than 17 production facilities spread over 3 continents and manufactures materials under the world recognized brands of A.P. Green, North American Refractories Company, and Harbison-Walker Refractories Company. The local guy that sold me the bricks and his boss both sat and chewed the fat about how stupid it is for great big companies to think they are too good to sell small orders, and college football since we are in Alabama after all.

Dodge, Are you using a galvanized "T"? I have been having a hard time finding the right size black iron "T" and I have been staying away from all things zinc coated for the forge.

Zengineer, Did you use any coating on the wool blanket? The reason I ask is the fiber breakdown/safety thing has always kept me from wanting to dive in to using ceramic wool. Cancer runs in my family and my dad died of lung cancer and having been smoke free since 2007 (GO ME!!!) I have been playing it safe. Ernest

That reminds me of the time Alton Brown used a cardboard box (2 of them) to make a cold smoker for salmon.

Nobody Special brings up an interesting historical point when he said "patina (green or blue stuff) can be toxic on copper". The English used a hide glue to secure the arrow head and fetching for their arrows. Hide glues are made from "protein colloid glues are formed through hydrolysis of the collagen from skins, bones, tendons, and other tissues, similar to gelatin." In simple terms the glue is a good food source to all manners of pests. The way they kept the vermin from eating the arrows was to mix copper acetate (green patina) in to the hide glue. The copper acetate was a product of hanging some copper plate and wine or vinegar. The kicker was that hide glue is water (and blood) soluble. When someone gets an arrow in them some of the hide glue may leach in to the wound from the head. If you have to pull the arrow though then you get a dose from the fetching glue. The French said the English were using poisoned arrows and the English could never understand why the French would say such things.

When I watched Erin Brockovich with a veterinarian I know and they started talking about drinking water that was contaminated with hexavalent chromium she about jumped off the couch like she sat on a pin! The look on her face was horror and she then told us non-medical types this was very very bad.

Frosty is right about the Zinc fumes and from what I hear fume fever is not always deadly but even a light case feels like the flu bug has some personal resentment against you. Paw Paw Wilson was overcome by a fatal does of Zine fumes. Fun fact, Zinc Oxide is that white stuff people put on the nose to keep it from burning.

To be honest Thomas I have not. My knee jerk reaction was that trying to bring anything up to at least 1700 degree F in a microwave sounded crazy. I have been told since this posting that people on backyard casting have done something like this and survived so maybe I am not so smart as I thought i was.

There is an ad on Ebay saying with this setup you can "Gold (1948 f), Silver (1763 f) and (2800 f) Black Sands can be melted/smelted in a Microwave Oven with the Fireclay Assay Crucible provided". I am no expert but trying to melt any metal in a microwave sounds like a you really want to use that home owner's insurance you have been paying on for so long. This is the full add text. A Unique Combo Torch and Microwave Furnace/Kiln. Only 1 Piece Refractory Ceramic Fiber with a lid. No multiple pieces to assemble and not only for use in a Microwave. Refine/Melt Gold and Silver with Fluxes or Smelt Gold and Silver Ores and Placer Black Sand Concentrates. Includes a Crucible filled with Borax Flux. How to Use the Cyclone Furnace/Kiln Gold, Silver and Black Sands can be melted/smelted in a Microwave Oven with the Fireclay Assay Crucible provided. High temperature metals such as the Platinum Group Metals can only be melted/smelted using a torch and an appropriate fuel. Use the Furnace/Kiln in the Torch Mode with an appropriate fused silica crucible - ie WESCO 2H or 3H, etc. This is the uniqueness of this Torch/MW Furnace/Kiln - versatility! Refer to the list of metal melting temperatures provided with the Tips on Setup & Operation of the Furnace/Kiln CD.

Macbruce, I agree with you! I was talking to the dep. to the top scientist where I worked in Huntsville Al (any one that knows the Rocket City knows that dep. to the Sr scientist is not a small thing) and as a young man he needed some boiled linseed oil. When he went to the local hardware store (long before Lowes or Home Depot) he found a can marked linseed oil. When he got home he saw that the can did not saw "boiled" so he thought about what to do and took out a pot, emptied the can in to the pot and turned on the stove. A short time later, after the mad dash outside with the smoking pot of oil he sits down to the next task. How do I tell Mom or where am I going to spend the next 10 years of my life.

I am watching a thing on netflix called the re-inventors where two guys in Canada are taking some of the wackier stuff from the patent office and building them to see if they really could work. They were casting cannon balls from lead (not really accurate but its not like they would try casting iron) and one guy goes to drop a pickle sized slug of lead in to the pot and the lead flies. They are in Canada and the winter is well under way. Seems they tried dropping near zero or sub-zero lead in to a pot of liquid lead with out warming it up. The only PPE eye ware he had on were aviator style shades. That saved one or more eyes. This is why you need to be VERY careful when putting in cold lead in to a hot pot. The guy's parka looked like he had taken a 1/2 load of bird shot.

Broomhead, I sent you a PM and thank you. Let me know next time you come though Madison Co and I can fix you up with some black walnut or knife handles.

I think I was wrong about these. These are ceramic briquettes, not lava, still cool looking.

Frank, I agree 100%. thing is I was trying to get the back iron "t" fitting up to brazing temp and I should have taken the mig tip out before trying that. At this time I have a wide open 3/16 or 1/4" copper tube (think ice maker hook up) that is being feed at 1 or 2 PSI from the regulator and a small shop vac to get up to hot enough to make the lava get to almost flow temp. I wonder if the added speed of a higher pressure and lower volume propane jet is better than a very low pressure lower speed flow like I have now. I am going to give it another shot in the next day or so. On the topic of copper, brass and bronze I saw a bronze pour demo last week and it was a bit like setting up for a fireworks show. Lots of fuzting over things that need to be done and a short time that is the pour and cooling the casting. The guy doing the demo was using what looked like 8 or so strand or 6-8 gauge wire, like for a ground or a main trunk and lead free solder. Came out really neat looking. The melt was done in a round furnace (think the guy from back yard metal casting) and a Ron Reil SA burner.

Yup Frosty you sure are right about that!!!!. My daughter asked if it was petrified dog droppings. The briquettes were glowing with the same incandescence of steel that is sparking right before it melts.

Funny thing about t-burners and Oxy/Acetylene brazing. If you are trying to braze the mig tip in to the "T" because you drilled the hole to big you can cut the copper pipe off with very little effort. So I was left with a copper pipe and no more mig tips. I attached a small shop vac and made a forced air burner out of it. I got to tell you it get HOT. I was able to make beer bottle glass melt in t goo and last night I wanted to see what it would do to lava briquettes like you use in a gas grill. They started melting together after about 10 min. This sucker is hot!

I have held the device used to make a bull to a steer when my Grandpa was still keeping cows. Yup, it would make an impression.

Edison slept under his desk until his wife put a cot in his office and lab.

I am watching the youtube videos now, good stuff, 35# is a good pick up and go weight.

WoW, that is Neat-O with a capital "O"!!! how much does it weigh? I would like it just to put some steel under a hardy tool. What size are the hardy holes?

Rock, that razor is epic. I think that this is what I would find in H R Giger's save kit. I hope the person that gets this has a teen aged daughter. This would be a good thing to be stropping with a boy comes to pick up his date.

Looks really neat, what is the back, was that a tire iron in a past life?