Dodge

If you want to get dead on, get one of these: This is a high dollar one but they make less expensive ones but either one will make a center punch mark on the same line along the length of any round stock provided you keep the stock stationary throughout the marking sequence.

I don't mean to open a can of worms about stands adding mass to the anvil and support etc to the works, but I know a gentleman that is a long time member here and a third generation working blacksmith that made a travel stand for a 150# anvil, that was basically like a milking stool. It had 2 x 2 oak legs with a 2 x oak anvil pad. The legs pivoted for travel and he used twisted bailing wire between them for support, with a loop at each end that hooked on a bolt head on each leg. Once the anvil was in place it was rock solid. Very simple and you could lift it with one finger. Anvils stands don't need to weigh a ton or be rigid while unloaded. Scott

Welcome back, Jim. You've been missed! Great blades, btw :)

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Very nice! I especially like the SteamPunk type clock. Welcome to the site!

I agree Scott

My gas shut off is at the end of my gas tube. (Basically, at the burner) only gets hot if I leave the burner in the forge after shut off (chimney affect) So, I made my burner attachment to simply telescope into the forge via a close fitting collar. When I shut it down, I can simply slide the burner out. The burner is cool to the touch except the very end that sits in the forge. I.E. the business end ;) This is academic on a multi-burner forge as it probably isn't practical to remove all the burners on shut down or even remove the ones not in use, but both my forges are single burner and share the same gas tube (Not at the same time of course). I know this might not seem practical to some, even on a single burner, but it works for me quite well as I have to stow the forge in a place that makes leaving the burner attached impractical (I would post a pic but that doesn't seem to be allowed currently) :( Scott

"....the smaller I get." The title of this thread mad me think of the movie "The Incredible Shrinking Man" I kept envisioning a blacksmith that was getting smaller and smaller :D Sorry, I got nothin' else :ph34r: Scott :)

Ok, Watched first episode of BGS last night. 27 minutes of my life I will never get back :mellow:

for cheap, there's always banding and band saw. (It makes nice blade material but no law says you gotta make blades...

Big fire in deed! :) That would really heat up the institutional-size-bean-can forge I want to make. :ph34r: Scott

This reminds me of an image I found on FB recently As unpleasant as these current weather patterns are, they are actually more normal for us in Nebraska. The comparatively balmy winters of the past few years have spoiled us and given support to those that believe the global warming myth. LOL Scott

Slippers. Warm fuzzy ones!

I get a cool spot adjacent to the burner on my blown for too but only when I turn blower up too high (open air flow gate) As if the blower over powers the fuel burn. Otherwise at a more tame mix, I can melt steel if I don't pay attention...

Other errors? The welding machine manufacturers are wrong? Valmont Industries, a world leader in lighting and power transmission structure manufacturing is wrong? Its interesting when some folks are used to doing something for a given length of time they begin to feel as though they are doing it the only correct way. "You are wrong because that's not the way I do it!" Atfist, I have never said you are wrong. You may indeed have more experience than I. That only means you did it the way you were taught longer than I. I would be welding professionally still had my body not worn out before my mind (and that is debatable ;) ) but I will never regret any weld I put down or may put down in the future nor will I believe I did it incorrectly. I have given evidence to support my claim. Not simply my opinion. If you can give concrete evidence to support yours, then I will certainly take it with more of an open mind than I have seen displayed by you Scott

Nice work, ausfire! Yep. Francis, I remember seeing them in my mother's button box. It was when I was very young and asked what they were for. Mom (92) said she was too young to ever use one but my grandmother (who died when Mom was a child) had several. I wonder if she (or my sister) still has them... Scott

Nice forge! NJ has a point about an additional burner, however I have found merit in having a single burner in a long forge. Properly lined the whole forge gets hot enough, but you rarely need to heat the entire length of a piece as you can only beat so much steel before it needs reheating. Heat treating would benefit with 2 or more burners evenly spaced but with the one, you have a good hot focal point to get steel up to heat quickly and the rest of the forge for soaking. There are pros and cons for about any forge. My suggestion would be to coat the wool with some sort of rigidizer such as refractory mortar or similar coating to contain the ceramic fibers that will indeed get blasted out of the forge and into your personal space. You usually can't see them as they are so small but they are crafty little devils that can, in time wreak havoc on your (or innocent bystander's) respiratory system. YMMV Scott

I found the thread,"Words of Caution for Budding Swordsmiths". It has some good advice about not starting to run before one can walk or crawl. Sword making is a serious undertaking not to be attempted by the unskilled. However, in my humble opinion, I think the thread should by no means be taken as warning to not ask questions. If the innocent question about how something works or is assembled raises hackles, simply because the poster is curious, the problem isn't with the poster. Curiosity is human nature. Stronger in some than others. Here, its often helpful to have a thick skin to embrace that curiosity, however if that annoys those with the knowledge, maybe it is also they that should toughen their skin. If the question offends thee, don't answer :) But berating them for asking isn't beneficial to anyone. Scott

You are correct Robert. My apologies to the OP. Semper Fi Scott

Your mileage may vary. My very first web search for "Pull or push for best weld penetration" gave me this from Yahoo Answers (Not scientific but...) "Best AnswerAsker's Choice: For better penetration always pull. When you push, molten metal from the weld pool flows ahead of the welding arc acting as a barrier between the arc and the solid metal thus the arc is not in direct contact with the solid metal. When you pull, the dynamic force of the arc pushes the molten metal in the back of the arc thus allowing the arc to burn directly on the metal improving the heat transfer from the arc to the metal so the penetration increases. I hope this helps" And from the makers.... From Miller: http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/articles/MIG-Welding-The-Basics-for-Mild-Steel/ "Push or Pull? The push or forehand technique involves pushing the gun away from (ahead of) the weld puddle. Pushing usually produces lower penetration and a wider, flatter bead because the arc force is directed away from the weld puddle. With the drag or backhand technique (also called the, pull or trailing technique), the welding gun is pointed back at the weld puddle and dragged away from the deposited metal. Dragging typically produces deeper penetration and a narrower bead with more buildup." From Hobart: http://www.hobartwelders.com/elearning/ "15. A drag or pull gun technique will give you a bit more penetration and a narrower bead. A push gun technique will give you a bit less penetration, and a wider bead. (Refer to Diagram 3. Effect of Electrode Position and Welding Technique)" I couldn't find anything definitive from AWS other than "Done properly, they both work and either could pass the test" As I said, much is up to the individual. YMMV Unless they changed vendors, all of light poles in any Walmart/Sams and K Mart parking lot in the US and (this is a guess) over half of the traffic and street lighting poles (as well as thousands more shipped over seas) were made at the company I worked for. Most of those have pulled welds on the base plate and all but the largest poles were welded one by one by an individual person. Pulling the weld was the preferred method for the reasons stated previously. I personally probably burned in the range of conservatively 150,000 pounds of mig wire on those poles. Be careful where you park ;) Now, I too am done. On to whirled peas ;)

All of the sudden, I am thirsty ^_^

Artfist, I believe what the good Brother Robert is saying, is that its as perfect as it could be under the circumstances. (Of course we live in an imperfect world so this is what we have to work with) As I understand it, Its sprung in a manner that there would be as strong of contact of the two surfaces that is physically possible without an actual forged weld. One might think my power hammer with nineteen 1.25" stacked discs as the anvil would be dead as a doornail but there are processes to ensure as good a "bond" (albeit not as perfect as a solid mass) as 19 stacked discs can get. If it was dead, I should not have been able to feel the shock on my hand at one end while tapping on the other. It actually rang :) I am happy with what I had available to me. I bet Woodweavil's is much more solid than this. We could continue to split hairs or we could accept that he is satisfied with his endeavour. The horse is dead and I, for one am going to get another Christmas cookie before they are all gone and sit back and envision whirled peas for the New Year :) Scott