TASMITH

Well after all these years as an industrial Blacksmith making tools, I have slowed down enough to stop and "make" a rose. My daughters anniversary is this month and I wanted to give her something different this year and decided to try a rose. This is my first attempt and it turned out fairly well I think.

Well done. It is a tribute to someone who will be surely missed.Something made from the heart should never be open to criticism. Sorry for your loss.

I have had innumerable burns over the years. It kind of comes with the territory if you work with hot metal every day. One of the worst I got though was while wearing a heavy insulated welding glove. They were trying out the line-up of the dies in one of the hammers in the shop and didn't have the furnace up to heat yet. They were forging contact pins for the aluminum industry and the stock used for each pin was 3 inch round by 27 inches long.They way about 56# each.They brought a billet over to my work area to heat in my furnace to try the hammer out. We heated it to 2350 deg and to take it back to the hammer was about fifty feet away.The hammerman brought his tongs over and pulled the billet part way out of the furnace and I used a bar to support the othe end to carry it back to the hammer, We were most of the way back to the hammer when the billet slipped sideways on my support bar to within about six inches from my thumb! needless to say at that heat it didn't take long to work it's way through the glove. It literally baked the back of my thumb to just about a third degree burn. Blistered it from the base of the thumbnail to the back of the hand. Took about three months to fully heal but there is no permanent damage to the joints and very little scarring.

The second worst was a dumb move on my part. Welding under a vehichle in the overhead position without a leather apron on. Nice little blob of hot metal in the navel! that one hurt a long time!:o

I don't know how many of you have run into this little problem before, but if you have then this is formula is tops! i have run into the problem in the past of needing something, such as an acid solution, that needed a certain percentage or concentration of the chemical. Say for example you want to etch a pattern in a knife but the etching solution (we will say an acid solution for example purposes) is a 25% solution, but you want it a little more dilute to have better control over the etching rate. How do you calculate how much water do you mix with the acid you have to make it a 15% solution? This little formula works like a charm and gives you very accurate results.It is a simple little subtraction formula that anyone can do.

To begin with write down the following letters on a sheet of paper.


A
B
D
X
Y
(To make it simpler to use write the letters across the page rather than down as shown in this post.Keep a good separation between the letters)

To figure out a percentage dilution:

1.Place the percentage strength of the solution to be diluted at A
2.Put the percentage of the diluting solution at B (water should be entered as 0 )
3.Place the desired percentage at D
4.Subtract D from A and place the answer at Y
5.Subtract B from D and place the answer at X

Then mix X parts of A with Y parts of B to make the percent solution listed at D.

Example 1
Using the numbers from above ( 25% solution, needing 15% solution) using water to dilute:
A - 25
B - 0
D - 15
X - 15
Y - 10


Following steps 1 to 5 from above you would mix 15 parts of 25% acid solution with 10 parts water to get a 15% acid solution.


Example 2
You have a 25% solution of acid and a 10% solution of acid but you want an 18% solution of acid.In this case we will be using the weaker acid to dilute the stronger one down to the percentage req'd. Using this same formula:

A - 25.
B - 10
D - 18
X - 8
Y - 7

Again following steps 1 through 5 above you would mix 7 parts of 25% acid with 8 parts of 10% acid to make a 18% solution of acid.

This seems a little confusing when you first start to use it but after you have done it a couple of times it is really quite simple to do.Just use the numbers I provided in the examples and work it out yourselves a couple of times then work in your own numbers for practice. It is surprising how easy it becomes to use it.

Terry

Always add acid to water, or a stronger acid to a weaker, to prevent splashing

Steve has it right..... a 10inch minimum for the forge is best to get a proper draw off it. You could run the 10 inch right up from the forge thentie the 7 inch woodstove into it. I would run the forge pipe straight up... no elbow.

Nice work Aeneas. It is still smithing only silversmithing...LOL

By the way thanks for the comment on the knives. Like I said the steel is hard to work with but the benefits are tremendous. I use them to de-burr the inside of pipe after cutting and even trimming light gauge metal.Hold an edge forever.

Simple little thing for the ferrules. They are the light gauge brass ones that are used with rubber hoses to crimp on the hose after the nozzle or whatever has been inserted.
Makes a big difference in holding the tang of the knife in place without splitting out the wood when you are taking heavy cuts.
Terry

Good job on the carving knives Quenchcrack.
Although I don't normally make knives, I have done so in the past. I used to carve decorative decoys and made all my own carving knives. Like you, my carving knives are in a box somewhere as I haven't done any carving for a number of years now. The ones pictured in this post are some i use in the shop now. They are all made from High Speed Steel (Lathe turning bits). On the right side of the picture is a bit that I use for my stock. Next to that are the blanks that are made from the bit before stock removal and finishing.
It is challenging to make knives from this material due to the fact they have to be carefully preheated in steps to get them to forging temp. Also they have an extremely narrow range of heat to work in. Overheat and the bits just crumble, and it cannot be forged under 1500 deg. F as they are very red short!

After you get them made however they are outstanding for carving. They take a razor edge and will stand up for a very long time.Interesting little devils to try and forge though but well worth the effort.:o

Hey Guys,
I was wondering how many Blacksmith's there are here from Eastern Ont.
Maybe an opportunity to set up kind of a local chapter as part of OABA. It would be nice to maybe get a local hammer-in going in this area for those who can't make extensive travels to attend other hammer-ins.We only have to list a basic location and we can PM one another, but a central list would help:D. I am in Lyndhurst.

Terry

Welcome,
You picked the right spot to begin your journey. However you had best heed Rob's warning and pack a lunch. It could be a long one.

Welcome Akula,
Well you have made the proper first step in satisfying your curiosity about Blacksmithing. If you have even the slightest interest these guys on here will drag you into the fold pretty quick! Great bunch of people on here with all the patience in the world for newbies. As you will no doubt be told, grab a drink and pack a lunch, then start your research. You will be here a while!

Wecome to IFI Richard. This place is chuck full of ideas and the people willing to share them with you!

Welcome to IFI. There is no such thing as a stupid question, especially to someone who doesn't know the answer! Ask away!

My forge originally had an over head hood which was really not very effective at drawing off the smoke. Any breeze at all would blow the smoke around and fill the forge with smoke. The side draft hood I made is very simple in design.I followed a blueprint made by Lester Beckman and posted on anvilfire.com. The only modification I made was to use 10 in. stovepipe instead of the 12 in. he recommends. It works very well with the ten inch pipe though.

Super Sucker Hood: Super Sucker Side Draft Coal Forge Hood

Terry

Thanks for the nice comments guys.It is much appreciated.

Now all I need is a lesson on photography. My choice of backgrounds isn't always the greatest. Maybe someone with a photography background could do up a sticky on how to take pictures to best show off the work and reduce all the background distractions like I seem to always have,,,LOL:o

Well I finally completed the fireplace set.This is the twisted basket centre post I had made earlier and had to come up with an idea for a base and topper for it. I got it all done and delivered to my customer. They were quite pleased with it so now I get to go and try to be creative with something else!

Terry

I think it is a little on the high side even for us Wulfgar. I live in Ont. and I picked up a 150# Mousehole anvil and got a rusted but workable 5 in. Blacksmith vice thrown into the deal. But sometimes you have to pay a little extra to get what you want, especially if something is fairly hard to come by. These days finding a used anvil in near perfect shape is hard to do. You still did a lot better than buying new!

Well finally came up with an idea for a base and a topper for this centre post. All parts are completed and delivered to the customer.They were quite happy with it so now it's off to the next grand creation....LOL.

Terry

By the way, I didn't comment on your write up in that thread but will here. That was very well written and reflects a lot on how important it is to just sit back and reflect. Also the importance of passing on our life experiences to others. It is the essence of dreams.

Super pictures JW. I especially like the first one as it looks like a river of gold.This would be a good one to blow up and put in your shop along side your write up of "Why I like to sit in my shop". Looking at the picture would bring back good memories of a special moment in your life.
Terry

Okay, well I guess I have to drag the soapbox that jayco was using in the Forum Feedback over here to the Blacksmith forum and make a little use of it. I had written a note to Glenn asking about how to post a blueprint. Richard (rthibeau) was kind enough to post a quick response on how to do so.
HOWEVER, the reason for the soapbox speech isn't to complain about an excellent response, but having to do with what he told me after his instructions. It would seem that they are in dire need of a LOT more submissions for blueprints.It seems that only about 1% of the members (please check out the appropriate posts) registered to this forum are actually submitting material for prints. I,m sure that the number of members who view these prints is closer to 100%.Maybe it,s time for more of us to step up and make our own submissions. In the short time that I have been a member on this site I have seen plenty of different projects shown in the different forums just as regular postings. There are many enquiries from other members asking how such and such was done in the project. That makes the project a perfect candidate for a blueprint!
I am sure many of us feel that we are not good enough at our work to present it as a blueprint but from what I have seen in the forums that is far from the truth.There was a fellow who used to come in to the plant were I worked to check all the instrumentation for our forging furnaces, and the heat treat furnaces that I used. Every time he came in he would stop by my work area and watch me work.One time when I had just finished drawing out the reins on a pair of tongs I was making he walked up to me and said," I love to watch what you do.It is really interesting the way you make something out of nothing." And that I think, sums up what we do very nicely.
It is what we all do, from novice to master. We take a piece of plain metal and turn it into something in our own way and THAT is the basic idea of the blueprint.It gives beginners a starting point,and maybe a new way of doing something for others. It is a chance for all of us to share what we do and to learn from others.
There are thousands of pictures in the member galleries which means there are thousands of potential blueprints. Pictures are great, but pictures with how to instructions are even better. I, for one am going to try and practise what I have just preached, and hope that many more of you will also. This is probably the best forum on the net right now and the people that bring it to us need our help, so come on guys... LETS ALL PITCH IN:D.
Ok...nuff said. I humbly step down off the soapbox and pass it on.

Terry

Learned welding as part of my apprenticeship as a Blacksmith back in the 80's.Worked the day shift and took evening classes at the local College. Took courses in welding, Fabrication and layout, blueprint reading, math, metrics and mechanics. Courses were three hours a night, two nights a week, and took three years to complete them all. Had to pass them all to get my ticket, as well as complete 7,280 hrs of work. All that to make a level one Blacksmith. Then another two years of work to become a journeyman. Almost thirty years later and still Learning......LOL

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Well I got an order for another set of fireplace tools the other day. Got all the tools made and went to make the stand.Of course I thought I had just what I needed for the centre post, that is until I looked at my stock!
Well as usual the old memory ain't what she used to be as I found that the nice long piece of 1/2 in sq. is now just some left over pieces, none of which was long enough by itself to make the post I needed.Time to get the thinking cap on and look and see what I did have on hand.Had some 1/4 in. round stock and two pieces of 1/2in sq about twenty in. long.
Took the two pieces of 1/2 in and ground down about an inch of one end to about 1/4 in rd. Took four lengths of 1/4 in round stock, about 7 in. long, and welded them in between the ends of the 1/2 in sq. Now I have a centre post long enough and a nice deorative basket twist in the middle!
The other two thumbs are showing the hanger for the tools. It is made from a scrap piece of 1/4 in plate. The pattern is laid out on the plate and then cut with a torch by hand. A little grinding to fine tune a bit, the twist the hooks 90 degrees, punch a half in sq hole in the middle to fit the centre post and it's almost done.Just have to come up with a suitable idea for the base and some type of handle for the top and it will be done!
Still have about seven weeks till Christmas so I should be able to have SOMETHING figured out by then....LOL

Terry

Case hardening or, carburizing as some of you call it , is generally reserved for a specific application.It is used when you need something with a very high wear surface but a tough interior that is shock resistant. A good example is for a pin in a draw bar or coupler pin on the old railroad coupling knuckles. This is a very old method used many,many years ago before the higher alloy steels were created.
They used mild steel pins that are very shock resistant and placed them into clay or steel containers along with a carbonizing compound, and yes old animal hoofs were sometimes used as was leather and lamp black, or charcoal and heated the containers up to 1500 to 1600 degrees for several hours. The outer skin of the mild steel would absorb carbon from the compound raising the overall carbon content quite significantly. However, this skin was perhaps only about thirty Thousandths of an inch deep after about eight hours of soaking. The piece was removed from the container and quenched in water. This gave the outer surface of the steel a very hard surface yet left the inner core of the steel relatively un-affected.
This made the outer skin Very Resistant to wear and greatly extended its useful life and at the same time still retained its ability to withstand sudden shock loads and shear strength in its normal use. The pieces were not tempered after hardening as there was no need, and no machining was done to the piece due to the fact the hardened outer skin was so shallow in depth.
With todays modern alloys you can now heat treat the steel to get the hard wear surface you require and still retain the toughness in the steel to prevent breakage so the use of case hardening is somewhat redundant .