Mark Aspery

A friend and I were making some hardy tools from Jack hammer bit today. The upset collar of the jack hammer bit did not sit flush on the anvil surface. We used a fuller to forge down the collar and get a better - more stable - fit of the tool in the hardy.;)

Two things, Non magnetic is not always the right temperature to get everything into solution. Certainly let it sit at that temperature for a little while. Any quench (oil or otherwise) is a hardening process. Try allowing the metal to cool down very slowly in a bucket of wood ash, vermiculite or lime. Be aware of the health risk associated with the latter two! At worst, allow the material to cool slowly be the side of the fire. I believe their are a couple of metallurgists that subscribe to IFI and I hope that they can offer better advice. Good luck

For me, they appear to be a cape chisel and a gouge chisel. Both for metalwork. The cape (the flat ended chisel) should have a working end that is slightly wider then the rest of the working end. The gouge is for heavy stock removal of metal. It has a 'D' shaped end ground at an angle. Both chisels appear to be for surface working of material. The end would be offset (off-center) for deep applications. I use both types of chisel on a regular basis.

You are going to need a bit more of a neck under the sphere to make the sphere. Trying to make a 5/8 sphere from 1/2 is going to be very frustrating. Using pi x (R squared) x h to calculate the volume of a cylinder and 4/3 x pi x (r cubed) to calculate the volume of a sphere a 5/8 diameter sphere =0.128 cubic inches and a 0.651 ( 11/16) of 1/2 inch diameter round = 0.128 cubic inches About the same So by the time you knock the corners of the 1/2 inch round and forge it to a sphere you will need 11/16 of 1/2 round per ball and 5 3/4 of 1/2 inch round between the balls for a total length of 7 1/2 inches. BUT...If you make a neck under the sphere (and I think you will have to) that measurement will have to change. I have attached some photos of a ball formed from 1/2 inch diameter round with no upset.

I aim to please!

I have been making side blast forges for the California market. The Tue and bosh assembly is a welded unit with no sea;ls - for ease of manufacture. The tue is made from a length of 6 inch Schedule 40 pipe which is pie sliced for 6 inches and welded closed. The internal pipe is made from 2 1/2 inch ID pipe (for use with hand blowers - less friction) It is also pie sliced to bring it down to 1 1/4 ID at the nozzle. A Donut (cur from the bosh plate) of 3 1/2 inches diameter is welded onto the end of the internal pipe. This is welded to the water carrying pipe. I find that anything bigger than 3 1/2 inches at the nozzle chills the fire. If you care to E-mail me at i'll let you have a PDF that describes the process a little better. The document is too big for posting on the thread (454KB)

Hollis, There is a step in the scarf, but a small one. There is no upset in this particular application -as this is a pair of leaves being welded to a branch and the weld area will be thinned to create a taper running up the branch. As you know, any upset put into a weld is there to help the area at the heel of the scarf to deal with the wasting (scaling) heat and the blows that come trying to blend the toe of the other scarf in. The actual area of the weld has plenty of material. A happy New Year to you!

Actually Jim, I was using: Two-out-of-three welding flux. "wouldn't you be happy with two out of three?" I think it comes from the same supplier as Magi-weld.

I was editing these frame from video photographs on forge welding for my book. I thought that they may be useful for someone just starting to weld. The arrows denote where I support the stock on the edge of the anvil prior to overlapping the two scarves. The 'Crusty' shot is what happens to a bar if it has been out of the fire for too long. It is no longer welding at this stage. The chilled by anvil shot is one where the smith has spent too long on one side before turning the bar over. The one side too cold shot is where the smith held the two pieces in different part or areas of the fire. They may not weld. 2 to bar (3) copy.psd 2 to bar (4) copy.psd 2 to bar (7) copy.psd Crusty copy.psd

I have used the wet method - but I can't say it made a great deal of difference. I have also used a course brush (butcher block) that I dip in the slack tub prior to use - that seemed to work a little better. I think the best course of action is to brush the work well - before it goes back into the fire and just as it comes out. And work hard. Bold hammer strokes that change the shape of the steel will pop off the scale - lighter blows tend not to work as well for that. Scale begets more scale - in my experience. Keep your work clean during the forging process - and yes, look to your fire it may indeed be heavily oxidizing.

I generally just wipe of the vinegar with a rag and give it a rinse with a baking soda/water mix -if I think it needs it. As stated, I'm very careful not to let the piece air dry in anything other than a California summers day. I wipe/spray the piece with alcohol if I use the baking soda/water mix (as an evaporative) and that seems to cure the instant rust issue. All scale is gone and you are down to a silvery-gray base metal which may need to be heated to get it a little darker.

Off center products - run by Grant Sarver (sp?) offers an induction forge for about $2600. I believe that you have to also purchase a TIG water cooler system for about $500. Some of the nice things about with this forge is: 1.) a flexable wand coil. You can leave work clamped in the vice and 'wand' the coil over the work to take a heat. You could also 'wand' the center of large plate 2.) and open 'C' coil allowing the edge of large work to be put into a coil. I have used one of these forges at Darryl Nelson's school when I teach there. It runs on a 50 amp circuit. 1 inch bar for dead cold to yellow (not orange) about 45 to 60 seconds AND you can hold the bar with your bare fingers to within 4 inches of the heat. Punched holes, upset square corners, upsets... If I had a job that could justify the expense, I'd get one!

Have you looked at the diesel forges? They use an injector system to deliver the diesel.

I like to pickle my work in a very weak acid bath. I don't wire wheel or shot blast. I use white vinegar from the supermarket for the acid - I think it comes in at 5% acid - so fairly weak. A couple of days in there and it's as if it had been polished down to base metal. I have no problem leaving small or delicate bits in this bath because it is so weak.

The 'blacksmith' deals with the impurities by whatever means he/she has available to them. But the blacksmith makes the decisions! AWCB = Associate of the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths -nowhere near being a master blacksmith

metalmuncher, You made the weld - not the forge or the flux or anything else you may have had standing by. The blacksmith makes the weld - the rest is just supportive tooling. If you believe that the forge made the weld you will handicap yourself for future welds. Well done blacksmith!

Rog, Nice job, My shop anvil is a 183lb Soderfors anvil. I wouldn't be without it! You have a very nice anvil there.

Grant, I'm (hopefully) going to post a link to Paul Margetts of the UK. Paul undertakes large commission type work, but as you look at his website you will notice that he has a bread and butter line of small sculptural items, Fashionable candlesticks etc. Exciting sculpture and metal-work by Paul Margetts How do you go about designing such things? For one, I would take a tour of local galleries and have a chat with the proprietors and ask them "what sells." But most of all it's time with a pad and pencil.

It doesn't matter what it is! Don't heat or forge it again. Airborne metals or metal gases are not to be messed with.

I am a bit removed from that side of blacksmithing as my business is more in the teaching of blacksmithing. If I were to go down the road of producing products again I would go about it as a two fold venture. Commission and speculative! The speculative venture is a base product that I hock to galleries etc. It would be my hope that this will bring in commission work. It would be my hope that the base product would smooth out the ups and downs of commission work. I would also write some articles for the local magazines or such things as Sunset magazine. They would NOT be - "local smith sets up shop" - as I see so often. But more of the: "10 ways that an artist blacksmith can help embellish your home or hearth!" I wouldn't even have to feature all my own work - showing the work of other smiths would be just fine (so long as correct credits are given). I am trying to show a character and competence. .02

I use the same gauges on my set up. I use both types of fuel depending upon the application. I do have to change tips depending upon the fuel type. I use Propane for most of my work - utilizing a propane/natural gas specific smith 'gasaver' for quick start/stop work. I really encourage you to get a gasaver... I wouldn't be without one.

What is a Master? If I look to our craft, that of a blacksmith, a diligent student can acquire the skills of the craft in 2 to 3 years; but what then? Having the skills alone does not create the master. A group of musically competent individuals can form a band and cover other bands original songs

I think this question could be considered complex. If you care to specify your location, perhaps someone here can put you in touch with a smith in your area - with whom you could have a chat with.

Calling someone a blacksmith is akin to calling somebody a scientist. What type of scientist are they. Blacksmithing is a very broad subject and when you feel that you have one part of it 'licked' look around and survey the hoards of things that still await your attention. The Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths do offer an awards scheme. It is funny that they choose to use the term 'Fellow' of the company and then define that term as a 'Master Blacksmith'. They have three levels of Fellowship - Bronze, Silver and Gold. The requirements for Bronze are as follows. The Bronze Medal is intended for Blacksmiths who have evidence to show that they can produce articles significantly above the standard normally associated with decorative and general blacksmiths. In addition to the skills achieved at the Diploma level, the applicant should be able to show that he or she is conversant with all forging techniques. The commissions should include larger forgings than required for a Diploma and would be expected to include work in the public sector such as ecclesiastical commissions. These may have come from the private or public sectors and may include restoration work but a Bronze Medal would not be awarded on the basis of restoration work alone. The work should show individual influence on design with less input from external sources than required for a Diploma. A wide portfolio should be available to support the application and be representative of current projects. Often at this level an amount of team work may be encountered, especially with the larger commissions. If this is the case it must be demonstrated that the applicant is capable of performing all the skills and techniques used in _making_ the piece(s) examined. If the applicant's main function is to manage the team then only a Company Award (see below) will be considered. An applicant must supply photographs of his or her work and if satisfactory the work will be examined by two Master Blacksmiths. No fee is required from applicants for this award. Holders of a Bronze Medal are titled "Master Blacksmiths" and may use the letters FWCB (Fellow of the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths) You will notice that design plays a part in the qualification. I have no input as to what I think of the title of 'Master Smith' or the skills required to get it. I am glad the position exists as I feel it is something that we all can strive for - even though that may be like trying to find the gold at the bottom of the rainbow. Green you grow - ripe you rot!