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I Forge Iron

Crunch

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Posts posted by Crunch

  1. Hello, all. I have some wheel lugs from my brother's truck (he chowed some rotors). Anyone know what type of steel is typically used for wheel lugs?

    I'm wondering if they might be alloyed for shock resistance or some other characteristic that would make them useful for making any particular type of tools.

    Thanks in advance for any replies.

  2. the hard part will be getting a screw that is big enaf.


    Use-Enco.com sells Acme screws. In fact I just bought a 1-1/8"-5 screw that was on sale for less than half price. I think I got one that was 3' long for $20.
  3. Total new guy here. Thanks for the great forum. I've learned a lot just reading the various posts.

    Building my first forge/firepot and getting ready to buy some coal.

    I had always assumed that anthracite would be the way to go because (as I understand it) anthracite has less impurities and is closer to pure carbon.

    But I just read something (somewhere) that said bituminous was the way to go.

    I occasionally travel to parts of PA where anthracite is available, and the next time I'm there, I plan to buy a few hundred pounds of coal. If you were me, would you buy anthracite or bituminous?

    Thank you for any help or advice.

  4. Old thread, rank amateur newbie question:

    I'm in the process of making my first firepot/forge (using a modified truck wheel rim for the firepot) and I need to rig up a blower.

    I found a blower on ebay that looks interesting. I don't have the specs but by looking online I found an owner's manual for the furnace that it came out of, and the owner's manual says:

    The Combustion Air Blower is a high head centrifugal blower.
    It is designed to provide about 2" w.c. of suction at 30 CFM. ...
    It is powered by a 120 volt motor which draws about 1.3 amps
    at rated load.

    The ebay listing is here.

    Can anyone advise me on whether this blower might be suitable for an average-sized coal forge?

    Thanks in advance for any advice.

  5. Is it important (and if so, how and why) to have an anvil that's forged rather than cast?

    Also, I'm interested in the distinction between cast iron and cast steel on anvils.

    Iron and steel have so many strange and wild and "art-more-than-science" properties, it seems....

    I looked around and although I suspect it's been hashed to death, I can't find the discussion of forged versus cast anvils here.

    Thanks in advance for any help. Total n00b here who likes woodworking and edged tools, bought an AC/DC arc welder last year, started reading Roy Underhill's stuff, and now want an anvil and forge (after the O/A rig, of course)...

    It never ends, does it? :D Or it does, but I want to try it all first!

    Best to all. Jeff

  6. Thanks for the replies, everyone.

    Hey, Crunch, please don't take this wrong, but these guys are correct, this is a very bad idea. Just the fact that you want to weld high alloy steel with 6010 or 6011 is more than enough info for me to know that you shouldn't be doing this. Nothing personal, but your neibors have a right to stay alive, even if you don't care about your legs and feet.


    Thanks, aftist, didn't know lawnmower blades were "high alloy steel." Doesn't 601X penetrate well enough to weld it? Or is 60kpsi tensile strength not enough (but 70 or 80kpsi is)? Oh, and I don't have neighbors and it's a riding mower (feet above deck) so not to worry. :D
  7. OK, this discussion probably belongs in the heat treating sub-forum, and if so, I apologize, but it didn't look like there was a whole lot of traffic there.

    Here's my question.

    I have a 54" cut riding mower that uses 3 blades. Buying three blades from Sears will put you back $75 or more. To a person like me, who throws around quarters like manhole covers, this price is absurd.

    I am a decent SMAW weldor and have the welder and rods and grinders and belt sanders etc etc, and I was thinking of cutting some small "strips" out of some old lawnmower blades and welding them in to replace the steel that has been worn, ground and eroded away, and then grinding on a new bevel and mowing grass.

    Here are my concerns:

    1. Are lawnmower blades (especially the edges) heat treated, and if so, will SMAW welding new metal in wipe out the temper? (I suspect not, judging from the obviously overheated grind jobs I've gotten from "pros" in the past, but if so...)

    2. If so, how would one go about restoring the temper, if it's possible? Allow the weldment to fully cool, then heat the whole edge area until it's non-magnetic, then quench, then temper in an oven?

    3. If so, what temperature(s) and techniques would I want to use? I'm sure I wouldn't want the entire blade to be too hard, lest it break and kill the neighborhood like a nail bomb...but I suspect the edge portion of the blade should be at least marginally hardened.

    There are other issues that I'd want to discuss beyond this, but I'll throw this out there as a starter.

    FWIW, I would be using 6010 or 6011 rod to do the weldment.

    Thank you in advance for any replies. And please no "Just spend the stupid $75 and be done with it!" flames...I'm poor but have lots of rod and love to weld and am dying to learn about heat treating.

    Best to all,

    Jeff

  8. Hello, all,

    I'm not sure if this is the right sub-forum to post my question, but it looked like the best choice so here goes:

    I want to make a 5.7mm spoke wrench for my motorcycle. I originally made one out of some 7/64" mild steel with a cutoff wheel and a file but I would like to use something thicker so that there would be less chance of "digging in" to the aluminum spoke heads.

    I don't have any steel lying around that's thick enough, so I was wondering about using a piece of rebar and then heating/quenching and tempering it in the oven.

    Does anyone know whether the steel used in rebar will harden well enough for this application?

    Thanks,

    Jeff

  9. I recently saw in an issue of WoodenBoat magazine how a guy made a slick (big shipwright's chisel) out of an old truck leaf spring.

    I have seen quite a number of references to using old leaf springs for making wood-cutting tools, and I have had a lot of people on other forums suggest that I "hold out" for a piece of old leaf spring, rather than using other types of steel, for making wood-cutting tools.

    My question is, why? What is so special about spring steel for wood-cutting tools?

    Thanks for any insights.

  10. I agree with the previous posters. I am also a new weldor and I really like the 6010/6011 rod.

    If you have an AC-only welder, I'd recommend some 6011 rod. It digs deep and is not hard to work with in my very limited experience and expertise.

    6010 is basically the same rod, but it's only for DC.

    If you have an AC/DC welding machine, 6011 is probably a better choice since you can switch to AC with it if you get problems with arc blow.

    Good luck.

    Edit: If you want an auto-dark helmet, check out the $50 model at Northern Tool and Equipment. I have one and like it a lot.

  11. Hello, all, this is my first post.

    I'm a woodworker and I've been getting into more and more of the "Neanderthal-type" woodworking (i.e., with very sharp hand tools), and the more I learn about it, the more it looks like I'm going to need/want to get into metalworking.

    So, I'm looking at anvils on ebay and elsewhere.

    Can any of you folks who know what you're talking about advise me on what to look for, what to look OUT for, etc., on buying an anvil?

    Does the anvil below look OK?

    Blacksmith Forge Anvil 150 lbs "PETER WRIGHT" - eBay (item 200227428781 end time Jun-08-08 18:30:00 PDT)

    Thank you in advance for any insights.

    Jeff

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