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I Forge Iron

Trollhammer

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Everything posted by Trollhammer

  1. JWBIRONWORKS gave me an old rivet forge that had a crack through the entire pot; he brazed it back together. Its traveled from Indiana to Georgia and been kicked around a good bit and still holding together. I've also had pretty good luck using Rockmount's Jupiter rod., and once I even managed to get some Lincoln/Electric 7018 to work...only once though. Preheat, weld and inch or so, let it cool a bit, weld and inch on the other side, repeat ad nauseaum. It still might 'pop' on you though. Cast iron is a pain. Mickey
  2. There's definitely a right way and a wrong way! I knew a couple of fellows that wouldn't bother to check their lines but once a week...it always irritated me to no end, I checked mine daily. Thanks too, I'll do a google search for one of those supply houses tomorrow morning. That beaver is still around and still doing some serious damage. Mickey
  3. Might be cheaper to get a graphite or silicone carbide crucible. I've seen 'em under $50 for a crucible that will hold ten pounds of aluminum. For that matter, I've seen soup cans used(only a couple of goes before it burned up) and schedule 80 BLACK pipe(not galvanized) with a plate welded to the bottom. Check out melting metal in a home foundry, backyard metalcasting, metal casting. There's a heap of info about aluminum casting there, plus a bunch of other stuff. Mickey
  4. Is it just bear traps that are illegal in most states, or all leg traps? I know that they are kind of frowned upon, especially be animal rights groups, but I didn't think they were illegal. Where I grew up in Illinois, there was a bounty on muskrat and raccoons...good source of income for a kid that spent most of his time haunting the woods near a local lake. Never used bait, just looked for their holes in the water and put the traps nearby. I haven't trapped in over 15 years and recently tried to find some leg traps to get rid of a nuisance beaver; I couldn't find 'em locally and kept getting referred to a local 'live trap' business that traps 'em and removes 'em for a fee. I guess the legality might explain why I couldn't find 'em. Mickey
  5. Sweet! I got the answer to my question, and a bit extra too! I love this forum! Thanks! Mickey
  6. I seem to remember some one telling me that pearlite will work instead of ashes, vermiculite, or lime. Would that work, or am I mis-remembering? It tends to happen that way quite a bit...I need to take better notes. Mickey
  7. Yet another rabid musician/repair guy. I once had some POS Lotus Strat rip off that was given to me because the previous owner stripped the fine tuner on the locking tremelo. I can't remember if it was a Floyd Rose, but it was similar if it wasn't an actual Floyd Rose. I used JB-Weld to do the same thing. It work pretty good for a bit, but the JB-Weld eventually flaked out. Now, this might have have been my fault, I was 16 at the time and my backyard engineering skills were horrible at best. Well, they're still not that great, but provide hours of entertainment. I eventually scrapped the entire guitar due to that and other issues(crappy frets that flattened out, neck pulling out of the soft wood body, etc.) It seems to me, and this is completely from a failing memory, that each saddle and fine tuner was independent. If this is the case, would you be able to machine that whole bit and replace it with that? Hope this helps. Mickey
  8. Yeah, only 2 hours for me, I'm gonna have to give the guy a call as well...hopefully replace my HF cast steel ASO. Thanks for the info! Mickey
  9. I use both concrete and horseshoe nails, but I usually just braze them together...I like the contrast of shiny steel against the brass. I'm gonna have to try that though, looks good. Mickey
  10. I have one of the huge brown ceramic ones that I use as an ashtray/candle holder/ incense holder in the garage or on the porch...never inside. It did crack the inner rim when a candle burned too low, but the rest of it is still sound. I've never been able to find anymore like that one, just the smaller glass ones that are blue-ish green and clear. Anyone know where to find the bigger ones? Mickey
  11. I'm not entirely sure on this, but I've been told that using propane with acetylene hoses isn't a good idea, but using the same gauges would be ok. I wasn't given a reason, so hopefully someone can correct me and fill in the blanks on that. I'm pretty curious now myself. Mickey
  12. UnicornForge-I use the same mats, and they've done wonders for protecting this large animal on concrete floors. Mickey
  13. Sure did! It was definitely an early Christmas. I met John at the same store over a year ago, and have been picking his brain everytime I get back up that way. He is one of the greatest guys I've ever met. He has made me feel at home and welcome in his shop, at demos, and even his home. His generosity and knowledge never cease to bowl me over. Mickey
  14. After a quick trip north, and finally having internet access, I'm happy to say that I came home with a pile of treasures. While on holiday in Indiana, visiting family, I ran into none other than JWBIRONWORKS doing a demo at the Bridgeton General Store. He told me I should come by the house later that night, seeing as he had a post vice. Upon arriving at his house, I didn't even get out of the car before I was instructed to back it up into the shop, where he promptly began piling tools up on me. He hooked me up with a pile of hammers, some re-forged by himself, a couple of sets of tongs, a twisting wrench (made by himself), a rivet forge with attached blower, a wagon tongue post vise, a pipe vise, and an old, empty propane tank for a new gasser. I was floored! Even more, he didn't charge me! I was stupid giddy by the time I made it back to my folk's house. I'll definitely be throwing some free labour your way over this next summer, John! Thanks again! Mickey
  15. Jayco-I've always heard the pop can thing too. Never could get an explanation on why it supposedly worked, so I use a brush. Anyone else hear this and maybe got an explanation for it? Mickey
  16. I get regular email notifications from IRS Auctions. The IRS is 'Industrial Recovery Services'...not Internal Revenue Service. Anyways, they take all the crap from closing plants/factories, and put it into lots. It takes some time to sift through all their stuff, but they do get some great deals. I'll post a link when I find it. Mickey
  17. I'm down near Augusta, and we have Dixie Coal and Ice. I think they're somewhat of a chain, but not sure. I seem to remember them having one near Athens, Southside ATL, and Savannah. Again, that could be a completely false memory. I haven't dealt with them myself, I've been using Royal Oak charcoal for the time being. As far as Borax, any Bi-Lo carries it. If you go to the borax website, they have a search option for vendors of their products...that's how I found it at Bi-Lo. Other than that, hit up Tractor Supply, Home Depot, and your local industrial supply house. It always surprises me the random stuff that our local supply houses manage to scrounge up. Mickey
  18. You could use Corian or one of the other brands of solid surface counter top material. I use that for anything I make that will come into contact with food. Its anti-microbial, and it doesn't crack or split. Its really easy to work with and you can get some pretty neet colours/patterns. It also goes together almost seamlessly with the epoxy stuff that comes with it. I build cabinets and countertops on the side, so I have a relatively endless supply of the stuff. If you want to pay for the shipping, I could ship you some. You might even be able to find a cabinet shop in your area that would let you dumpster dive for their scraps. Huge chunks of usable stuff get tossed on each project, cuz they're not big enough for a counter top. I hate waste! Mickey
  19. How I never thought of using it as an anvil for a powered hammer is beyond me! Thanks guys! Although, I've been trying to get rid of a bunch of projects on "the list" due to time and finances, this is one that I'll definitely have to get started on. Mickey
  20. My first "anvil" was a 316 SS drive shaft from the Amoco plant here in town. My dad got it for some reason and it sat under his house for 7 or 8 years before I caught him hauling it to the scrap yard. Its about 5-1/4" in diameter and about 4 feet tall. Completely solid. I figured its weight mathematically, and it came out around 232 lbs. The top that I hammered on is pretty dinged and dented. I later got a HF 110 lb cast steel Russian anvil, and it seems to me that its face is harder than the chunk of 316. I'm not sure what to do with it now, other than sell it for scrap and use that cash to buy a real anvil. Any suggestions as to what to do with it? Mickey
  21. I got the same set a couple of months ago. The handles were pretty rough, but serviceable. I had to dress both of the heads quite a bit, as they both had some pretty sharp edges. Other than that though, I've not had any issues with 'em. I haven't dinged either of them up while still learning hammer control. I will say though, I pretty much stopped using both of them when I got my Hofi Hammer. Overall, I consider both of them usable, but in the future, I'll definitely save my nickels and dimes for better hammers. Mickey
  22. Most hardware stores have little buckets of fireplace patch. Use that with a stick for hard to reach spots maybe? I think Ace Hardware carries the Rutland High Heat stuff in a tube for caulk guns. That might be a better option than just plain old caulking. Mickey
  23. My travel bag for tools is one of those heavy duty green canvas duffel bags from an army surplus store. The first one I found was huge and completely immovable when full, but I found a smaller sized one that works pretty good. I think I paid $5 for it. The big one, I filled with gravel and sand, hung it in the garage, and used it as a heavy bag for a long time. The bottom eventually dropped out on it. Mickey
  24. Bentiron, Yeah, after finding it and rereading it, I saw that it wasn't really applicable. I seemed to remember it saying more about dealing with difficulties using an oxy/propane rig. I'm still looking for the site, cuz I'm not so sure that's the right one. I'm gonna try my rig again, after cleaning the tip and all. And adjusting the regulators appropriately. I'm thinking now, after reading this thread, that my problems were operator error, not the bottle of propane. Much to my dismay, I sometimes find myself blaming the tool rather than myself for poor operation. I'll give it a try again this afternoon hopefully. Mickey
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