Mark Aspery

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 am a student at university and am currently writing my dissertation on blacksmithing as i have recently started forging last year after working with my dad in his steel fabrication business for a few years. i am finding it difficult to find useful information on blacksmithing, such as the history of it and useful facts. I was wondering if anyone had written anything themselves they wouldn't ind sharing or pointing me in the right direction. My tutor has told me to look at the 'crafts council' but i cant seem to find any information to extract or find any of the old copies of the magazine.

Any help or information would be greatly appreciated.

Has anybody got any information about how to make a sun dial?

Mark, thanks for the info. I would be interested in your book when it is out. Could you send out a note when it is?

Mitch

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?

For those of us with overhanging belly syndrome (OBS), learn to work the powerhammer with your tongs at the side of your body, not the center. A hammer blow that isn't flat with the bottom die can launch the tongs into the OBS, causing great discomfort, painful death, etc

Mark, that is an excellent pdf, thanks, I have seen a tool used to hook the snub end on to make it easier to get the crotch correct, but do not have one, and can't remember the probable size to make my own, it looks a bit like a hot cut hardy but is curved over a bit to hook the penny on.

Mark,
You up to showing me how to do that next week? I've been thinking on this too.
ML

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.

Mr. Aspery,
Can you explain why the 45 degree cut and the jaws at the edge of the vise are important?
Thanks

Thanks again, Mark, for making us think.

I have a pending job for 22 pintle hinges, and I remember clearly battling the distortion on the last set... mainly just trying to beat the barrel edges true around a piece of round stock after they were rolled.

Thanks to all of the good instruction, I look for this next set to go much smoother.

I appreciate it,

Don

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.

This is mine. Die holders are on a 45* from the frame and it has a 3" throat which is probably a bit much.

Frosty

ZANG! That looks very nice Mark!
I'm definitely buying the one I posted and I have the plans for another one (English made) that I have to get around to making too.
So many tools, so little time...

Sorry Mark. The one I have my eye on one.

The assembled unit, that comes with one set of uncut dies, is $97.00. Not a bad price at all. You'd probably make that money back in the first few jobs.

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!

Worked in an axle forge shop. The big truck axles and pickup axles we made were from the industry standard materials. 4140 has not been use in about 20+ years according to the engineers there.
If the UNFORGED portion of the axle is 1.375 or smaller, the material is 1045H.
If bigger the material is 1541H.
Both are sensitive to grain growth, so do not hold above critical longer than neccesary to heat treat, and do not hold above critical without forge work or quench cracking will be a problem. The guys I supplied the cutoffs to loved them for hammers. Quench in OIL!

great thread mark!! much appreciated thanks, i think i understand this anvil effect also would i be right in thinking that if i am just drawing a bar out and dont beat the top and bottom equally that the sides will be angled due to this?, as the top or bottom will have spread more, requiring corrective blows to square it up on the sides,
thanks again

Borax and Boric acid: I'm still a bit confused, what has happened to the Borax after it's been turned into Boric Acid that mixing the two as a flux, is an improvement over using each alone.

Gerald,
Firstly let me say that I am answering well above my pay grade.

Borax is a mix of two salts. An Acid and an Alkaline.
The acid (already contained in borax) is Boric acid, the alkaline is Sodium Hydroxide (lye) -again, still contained within Borax as you buy it in the box.

When the two get to ducking it out the Sodium Hydroxide wins making borax slightly basic or alkaline. This alkaline is corrosive and will attack the oxides present on the surface of the steel-dissolving them.

Adding more acid will take away the alkalinity until there is no more corrosive ability within the mix-it is neutral. Adding then more acid at that point will make the mix acidic-back to being corrosive. I am presuming that there is no saturation point at that one becomes suspended in the other rather like anti freeze and water.

I don't know the action of Boric acid and what it likes to eat -oxides, parent metal or not fussy.

So why just not add the boric acid to the weld without using the borax - that is where I am at a loss?


Answers anyone?

Sorry to labor the point.
I had two fluxes -both worked very well. The container on one degraded and broke. I combined the two thinking I might be creating a 'super-flux' - a big flop. The combined flux didn't do half the job as either of the fluxes would individually.

Boric Acid H3BO3, Borax Na2B4O7.

Flux will not lower the melting temperature of metal as far as I know. It has been stated on another blacksmith forum that if the metal were perfectly clean it could be welded at room temperature so perhaps the cleaner the metal the lower temperature at which welding will take place.

NO clue where you got borax lowering the melt temp of iron.

Boric acid is added to the plain borax to make the flux more aggressive, I use it for higher alloys. I know many that prefer to use Sand, as using clean silica sand is common in many places. I don't know of any real proven reason to mix them.