Larzz

Now I am kinda short sighted so I guess I will just have to keep my nose to the grindstone in order to see what I am doing.

Akad, I was to a meeting the other day and was talking with another inspector. She is native american and mentioned that she was going up to Alaska to bid on moose and elk antlers and some ivory for her handles. You could check to see if anyone in your area has ties that way.

Sounds like you are in a good area. West of you all the hills are moving to the valleys! My area is high and dry. A little white right now though. I bet you are glad you don't live up in the Red River Valley. There are expecting major flooding again this sprig.

Another snipe here. Nuclear Machinest Mate, ELT 1970-78. USS Guardfish and the USS Memphis. They steered and we pushed! Also known as the "steelie eyed hunter killers of the deep". :rolleyes:

If you live in the country where the deer/elk/moose are present they will be dropping their antlers soon. Take a walk or two in the woods and you can probably find some "laying" around. Check with a local hunter or DNR to find out when they drop because they don't last long. Nature tends to recycle them very fast.

While you might be able to get the look of "brushed stainless" using mild steel, I think use in a fire place might take what ever finish you use off rapidly. Sounds like it would be better to use stainless for a long term look. The proper answer to the riddle is a Chrome plated rubber duck. Squeeze it hard and it goes "Quack, Quack". :rolleyes:

It's Minus four degrees in the smithy. Does that count?

Nope, I have number of visitors and select birthdate. I think you must have to be a senor member for that option to show up.

When you cool it, leave it a "little" hot so the water will evaporate off but you can still handle it. I wipe it down with an oil rag after cooling in water if I am not going to work it any more. If it the the last time in the forge I will cool it in peanut oil from a black heat for the final finish. When the weather gets warmer (the smithy is a mite cool this time of year) I will try out some of the laquer and spray finishs to see how they work. Beeswax while the part is still warm works good too. I remember reading a whole topic on finishs before the update. Search for it and you should find many good ideas. Keep hammering!

I must be blind, I can't find the "Member Title" option. Nice updates so far.

So far the only tools I seem to have too many of are round tuits. They keep showing up every time I turn around. :>

Very nice work. I like the ends, well done.

Welcome back! It just wasn't the same without you!

I have been using mine for a couple of years now. Works good, still breaking it in.

Not bad, not bad at all! Thanks for the pics. Looking good!

I am a National Board commissioned boiler inspector and have a Chief A Boiler Operators License from Minnesota. I have been in the profession since 1982. I read the information from the web site you referenced and it is indeed training to operate boilers and power plants. I received my primary training from Uncle Sam's Canoe Club, underwater division, in the 1970's. I have found it to be a very rewarding and stable profession. Low and High pressure boilers are in use the world over and are used for production, heating and power generation. I would recommend you take the training, it can lead to a good future.

Praise the Lord and pass Frosty the hammer!

Thanks for the info. I have a 4.5" angle grinder with several wheels and have axcess to a die grinder. The straight angles should be no problem. It was the half rounds I was mainly concerned with getting to the right diameters. It sounds like patience and a light touch are whats needed here. The light touch I have, patience is sometimes in short supply.

I obtained a new rough swage block recently and am wondering on the best way to polish it up. There is a lot of slag left in the groves. I don't have access to a milling machine. Is there a quicker way then hand filing? How smooth should the surfaces be?

Remember, to err is to be human. To really foul things up requires a computer. The first thing they do is issue everyone a computer! Does anyone see a pattern here????

It might be that if any copper was still in the coals/coke it would transfer to the work being heated and could cause problems. After the ash has been removed and fresh coal added I would not expect to see any problems. (ah, I see Glenn referenced a post on this) So far it sounds like part myth and part fact. Fresh copper pennies would cause problems in welding due impurities and copper oxides. Once the forge is cleaned there would be no further problems. So, did anyone go out and try it yet??? Of course I once accidentally moved the magnet on my forge and that changed the polarity of my fire. Couldn't get a good weld for week until I moved it back.:D

I use an old whiskey barrel also. Mine stopped leaking a couple of days after I filled it. I have noticed that if I let the water level get low it will leak a bit near the top the next time I fill it, as the wood drys out. In my case I think I need another iron ring (can't remember what they are called) near the top to hold the form when dry. In your case you might turn it upside down and tap on the iron rings to tighten them up a bit. You might also have some deterioration in the bottom stave's that would need replacing. Hoops that's what they are called!

This is from Metallurgical Consultants: Copper in significant amounts is detrimental to hot-working steels. Copper negatively affects forge welding, but does not seriously affect arc or oxyacetylene welding. Copper can be detrimental to surface quality. Copper is beneficial to atmospheric corrosion resistance when present in amounts exceeding 0.20%. Weathering steels are sold having greater than 0.20% Copper. It looks like there is a different effect between forge work and arc welding.

Some one refresh my memory here. I though copper was added to some steels to improve weldability? I am thinking of the various boiler plate steels here but it should apply to all steels.

When they fill my tank the vent is in the filling connection and not the tank. Maybe you can get a different fill connection from your supplier?