racer3j

Or a PM,Please. Links are tightening up- Glenn and I casually talked about it late last night. He wants to avoid direct links to business websites-Since he is the man, I plan to abide- it is a privilege to belong here and he invests $$ and real energy, so I don't think we should be offended.J. E., Mike Tobey, aka racer3j,aka Just Ole' Mike, aka Just Ole' Lefty, aka Big A_ _ Forge, home of the SkilletForge, {tm}- at this point meant as an ironic bit of humor.

Sorry-that unit won't even come close. It is a sheetmetal only torch- I don't care what the package says. For 1/4" steel, I often go to a 3 tip, depending on position. If I am using a smaller tip on stock that thick, then I am backhanding.mike

It is a different time. In 6th grade I took my birthday present-a S & W K-22 Masterpiece target revolver to "Show and Tell." Nobody even blinked. I agree on the shoulder. Heart shot a big doe once and she went pell mell down a steep hill/ravine. I had to track her. Field dressed her and dragged her half way up the wrong side of the ravine, figured that out and turned around and back up the right way. It was dark and steep and my pard could not figure out where I was. Would have been nothing except two days before a stress test had confirmed a bad valve in my personal "V-8." She was tasty- maybe that extra effort and bit of perceived risk sweetened her up on my palate.mike

Every set up instruction I have come across emphasizes a carburizing flame(reducing)- fuel rich- to avoid damaging the steel by oxidizing- also, overcooking can do it as well. In welding, new weldors are cautioned against that hissing needle sharp cone which is tempting as "hotter". "Just off feather" is essential there as well.mike

Thanks to Bruce who kindly sent me some sample pieces of cable. I used my aircraft safety wire pliers to bind at the ends. That was before I re-carbureted my generator so I could power up my mig. I did the reverse twist after wiring and dumped the flux in it. A couple of pieces went into an engine block cooker-speed shop relationship from the old days. Bruce sent me one honker with 4 strands of about 3/16 diameter- torch welded the ends on that devil.mike

Look at the bible- Joy of Cooking-( mine is an edition from the late 40's) that is where I got my spelling. Of course, "The Great Bard" spelled as he pleased.Wink-mike ( adding, thanks for the intellectual respect that led you to investigate my spelling of the term)

The culinary term for it is "barding." Yes, added moisture during cooking is the purpose.mike( I skip that- I cut the tenderloins and a few "sirloin-type" cuts. The rest is jerky and sticks.) If I get a second, doe only, late season tag, then that deer gets conventional butchering except my guy does not do the marginal "steaks-roasts."

A bit preachy here- handguns for big game are not for everyone. I have been shooting centerfire since I was 10. I shoot combat style qualification with several law enforcement agencies about 4-6 times annually. While those tests require a Sig P229, they nonetheless pressure me to stay competent.I have yet to shoot a perfect 250 score, regularly 248- the flyers are my first two rounds from run to down prone, 6 rounds from that position. When I was 10 and up, my Dad and I shot .45ACP 1911's in the basement into a trap. It is a wonder that I can hear at all. Mom and sis went shopping- can't say as I blame them. Unfortunately, since Iowa legalized handguns for deer, we have seen too many wounded, usually gut-shot. I have never lost a deer and all were one shot at the longest, 60 yards(once), with the gun sighted to 5" high at 40 yards. If I get a knife done, then I'll go traditional and use my .45 plains half-stock- the one partially seen in some knife pics I have posted. ( I will say no more non- smith related in this thread- the wrought iron furniture on the half-stock was forged)mike

For me, it would be enjoyable to have a field knife (rough as it will be) done by then. Otherwise, all I do is check the sights on my very old friend- a 1969 Ruger Super Blackhawk, .44 Mag. He has been a reliable meat getter, and I will be unlikely to go through the original box of 50 cartridges(remember when they sold 50's- nowadays you need a loan to buy the 20's- this one box is my hunting load) in my remaining lifetime unless the old feller takes some really hard knocks.mike

This is going to sound critical, especially from a rookie like me. Did you test the forgeweld? I only ask because the pictures show a partial weld- perhaps just the high spots on the scarf actually melded. Explain please, if I am being too critical. I need to learn how to do it.mike

"Of course its's hot, that's the whole idea!" Another, I think properly acknowledged from a Bruce Willis movie," That's gonna leave a mark."

Being as I am still ignorant and inexperienced, I told Glen S. what I had for materials( lots of Starrett O1 in various thicknesses and widths, a whole bunch of HC RR spikes, and O1 round stock)- "'Please Glen, make me what I will need." The man makes such fine tools- I figure I cannot really go wrong.mike-- Anti-hijack comment--"Whoopee!!!"

I run teflon all of the time. Works fine for all wires, though marketed as for aluminum.mike

Excellent presentation.mike

Frosty- do you have plans, or in-progress picture on that treadle hammer?mike

I bought a two-burner from HM Ironworks. He, Jim Wahl, is on ebay too. Several folks here have Diamondbacks- I may be the only HM user here. And I am new to gas forges. The 2 burner I got, with 2" 2600* insulboard of one brand or another is well made, lining closely fitted; the burners are a good, simple and proven design. It hits welding temp quickly and even quicker since I added ITC 100. Mine was $300 plus shipping, but the model I got is now $325 plus shipping. I should make one thing quite clear- Diamondback makes good forges- from considerable study, I came to the conclusion that they are equal. The "poorboy" stuff is very basic and works-he makes it clear that he cannot guarantee forgewelding.He is great at using simple things to make smithing stuff that may be ugly, but, works-and he is right up front about it. If you have been smithing for a year, then I would want to know if you have learned to weld. If you can weld and braze, with that year under your belt, you could probably build a good forge. There are step by step plans all over the net and some in the blueprints here. Glenn is working on getting all of them up and usable. If you think you might want to build, I suggest that you look at Ellis' forges. I think he has one of the cleanest designs with some very good thinking in them. They are expensive, so I make the suggestion only because just looking at his design will give you some valuable ideas. Best regards,mike

If it is cast iron, and has no hardened plate on the face, then you could. It is likely homogenous but will always get beaten up. Can you tell us any more about the anvil? Is it Harbor Freight or one of the ebay ones? If it has a brand mark, the people here will know all, like the Great Karnak. To truly grind a typical real working anvil, you would need a 7" commercial angle grinder with a new fine grade medium cupped, large diameter wheel. Then you can flat grind. BUT, unless you have a quick and light touch, you can overheat the ferrous metal and wreck whatever heat-treat might be there. And, unless you have spent a fair amount of time with a grinder, you will likely add some ugly "eyebrows" to the face. So, then you would need to consider the same configuration of backer and abrasive discs- less likely to dig and somewhat less likely to overheat the metal. Don't do anything until a veteran smith chimes in- I have had to precision grind many surfaces and joints with an angle grinder, but not anvils.mike

If you are not forgewelding, I have a good, NC Baby. New,with warranty-only fired to cure a coating of ITC-100-if you are moving toward forgewelding, then it would be marginal.PM,if interested.mike

1 layer and ITC 100 would match most good commercial forges.mike

No, I was asking about the tongs sculptured to portray a wolf. I am a rookie, but I know quality. That Glen feller is making some tongs based on what he believes I will need and enjoy.mike

I am going to do some renting of DVD's. Mr. Epps has a great series available from them. I hope I can watch the rented ones and then buy for long term study. I appreciate the input here. It is good to see the interest in the artistic side of smithing. I think it would be great fun to make these and actually use them- would bring a grin to my face.mike

Nice detective work- I went to anvilfire to re-check but I was too focused on the wolf. I do believe that there is a literal wolf head tutorial out there. Thanks, mike

Thanks- thought maybe those late 60's had finally caught up with me.mike