Mark Aspery

I'm not sure about the above statement. I see that Pearlite changes to Austenite in the range of AC1 regardless of the %. At Hyper-eutectiod, then the excess Carbon (cementite) now takes longer to go into solution. At the Eutectiod, there is no more free ferrite, so no 'Austenite / Free Ferrite' range or phase.

You might try Alfred McClure out of Griffin GA. He sits on the Ocmulgee blacksmith guild board. His E-mail is below. ironstash@comcast.net

Take a look at a Analemma sundial. It looks like a figure 8 sketched on the floor or other surface. It reflects the march of the sun on a rotating (inclined) sphere in elliptical orbit They are a little easier to build and you can have a lot of fun with the numerals as you can really spread this sundial out to cover some square footage. The gnomon is usually vertical

I enjoy "The Village Blacksmith" by Ronald Webber -150+ pages It talks about the UK smiths, some anecdotal as well as formal history, guild halls, folk lore and even a song or two. The ability to work metal took us out of the stone age. Perhaps we are the second oldest profession!

The book I like is 'Sundials" by Mayall and Mayall. Originally published in 1938 and republished in 1973. It covers all the formulas for Horizontal, vertical and inclined sundials.

I'll get Gerald Boggs to write a review of the book as he has been helping to edit the book. He can post it on this site. I'm nearing the end of the tunnel - I'm almost at the stage where the light is casting a shadow.

Why does the Upper transformation temp (AC3) slope down to meet the AC1 line? I see that AC1 (pearlite) remains at a constant temperature across the diagram. Why is the free ferrite line not the same- set at a constant until it reaches the Eutectoid? I want to say that the pearlite when it changes to Austenite is acting as a catalyst upon the free Ferrite - but I know that is not correct. What is happening? Any thoughts?

Which is a good rule of thumb anyway. Working in the center of the body prompts the user to lift up on the tongs to draw the bar under the pallets. This creates a bend in the stock. Working at the side of the body allows the user to draw long and straight tapers under the hammer. The secondary benefit is that the continued twisting action helps with the OBS problem!

Mike, I don't use a tool to shape the snub end as it is a square, octagon, round progression. I do sometimes use a tool to start a scroll with if the scroll is a bit tight.

No problem. See you in Weaverville.

Mike, This is how I go about it when I have squared the mass at the end of the bar to a square. This is a page from my next book. PDF attached. The solid snub end.pdf

I think this is a reasonable route to take. Remember that if you do not want any gap at the base of your cone when you round it up, you must spread the base of the fan shape to your cone to the circumference that you desire. This is generally the same as the shaft at that point. For example. If you would like a 3/8 shaft at the transition point, then you will have to spread the base of the cone out to at least pi x 3/8 = 3 x 3/8 = 1 1/8 wide.

See your hammer and raise you one! This is in Blanavon in wales

1/4 inch per foot shrinkage from liquid---roughly Make that 3/16 from a yellow heat.

First, I meant to type anvil and not vice - sorry. But having the jaws of the guillotine at or near to the edge of whatever they are resting upon allows the user to rotate what might be a complex and unwieldily piece around the face of the guillotine while whatever they need worked on by the guillotine is being completed. The 45 degree (or whatever) allows the user some clearance when using the guillotine. As I stated I would build mine differently next time, using one side instead of two and maybe setting that at a 45 degree angle to the jaws. This would allow me to work both from the front and side - pretty much a full circle before I hit the side. Let's say you have made a wide spatula and that you want to neck in very close to the spatula end to do some fine work on the handle. Having two sides on your guillotine, may prevent you from turning the spatula in the guillotine. Having one side, offset to 45 degrees, may allow you sufficient clearance to rotate the piece and get the job done.

I would take a bar the same size as the bar you intend to use in your hinges and bend it to the same radius. Look at the cupping that takes place and try to match it with a fuller or bar-stock. That is how much you have to bend the material the other way to offset the lipping/cupping effect taking place during bending. It's usually not much, a cheese fuller in a 3.5 inch bottom swage (or piece of pipe) is a good place to start.

I wanted to look at some of the ways metal moves on its own accord as we work. The first example is a collar. So often a collar is a bar tack welded to the bits that need collaring and then pulled around the group with the use of a torch. I wanted to show the distortion of the metal as it goes around a bend without any correction by the smith. Photos 1 - 3 A bar was bent in a tight radius and then cut in half to examine the results of the bend. The last photo shows a collar where and the lipping and cupping has been addressed through forging over a mandrel. Photo 4 This same problem exists when we make hinges. If you remember Gerald Boggs's "Butterfly hinges" thread and photos, he mention a pre-cupping of the bar in the opposite direction to offset the cupping effect caused by bending.

Nice design Frosty. I like the single arm and the 45 degree cut. Very clever! Having the jaws at the edge of the vice has been very handy for me.

Isn't that the truth!!

That looks very nice. I'd get one. But know that it won't be your last one. Some jobs require different designs. I don't know of an all purpose one. I did see one made from Angle iron that allowed the dies to be turned 90 degrees if you needed... Some clever people around! Here is a partial photo of mine. If I were to make it again I would only have one 'leg' or side and beef up the other. That way I have almost 360 clearance around the tool.

I'm not sure which company is selling this. Any guillotine tool will be beneficial. The problem is for what jobs. Some jobs you will want to feed from the front of the guillotine others from the side and yet others will require that the 'jaws' sit level with the edge of the anvil for clearance as you rotate a piece between the jaws. I am doing a job now that falls into such a category. I'll try and get some photos later today. I make my own guillotine - if you have access to a welder, it is not hard to do. I think ABANA even have plans for it. But as for worth the money? - yes, whatever they are charging!

That's good to know!

In essence yes, nice use of the information. - although I start to call this something else at this stage. I call it penetration of your hammer blow and the work done. Have you ever missed the steel and hit the anvil directly?? No -me neither! But I have heard of it being done! Apparently the hammer comes back at a great rate of knots... So, stating the obvious, the only difference between hitting the hot steel and missing it ---is the hot steel. That's how much energy the hot steel absorbs. Let's say the you start your hammer swing with 10 units of energy - whatever that is. Your blow hits the steel and the steel changes shape... you are loosing some of your energy. Let's say, for example, that 5 units of energy make it to the anvil. The anvil makes noise, maybe bounces a little or the scale bounces - all using your energy. But the anvil has its 'moment' and throws back as much of the energy as it can back at you - let's say 4.5 units at this stage. The steel is changing shape again and you get 3 units of energy make it back to the hammer and lift your hammer off the work. The re-bound. So I hope that it can be seen that the hammer and the anvil both do different amounts of work. If you want something to be centered or equal then you have to work from ALL appropriate sides - sometimes two sometime four or more.

This has been my experience. Not necessarily how clean but how smooth and clean on a microscopic level. In a machine shop, if you have a highly polished (smooth) leveling plate made of steel and place a calibrating block (again polished) for a micrometer on it, removing all the surface oil first (clean), they will stick - maybe not well - but they will tack if given sufficient time. Pressure and time.... isn't that geology? Re boric acid. Will the boric acid alone melt into a glass or does it need to be suspended in something -such as borax- to be held in place?:confused: