Ben Hartley

Hey Brad, can you post a render from another angle that shows the spring mechanism a little better? Does each tumbler have its own spring? Is the bolt sprung too? Can you show how the key engages the bolt? I wouldn't mind a set of those drawings if you have them lying around.

I've often wished I could heat small rivets in-place, they just lose so much heat while I'm setting them and then split because I work them too cold. Resistance or induction heating would work pretty nicely I think. Seems like a bit of a waste to use such a machine to heat up rivets and then walk them over to the guy who sets them.

One thing I've always wondered about box joints is how the hinge works. Is there a pin hidden in there somewhere? It's kind of hard to make out in the video, but there doesn't seem to be any kind of pin or hole in either of the parts.

I can't help but think "why are all the photos of that amazing coffee table upside down?"

That's why they started archiving the internet: http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.livelyknives.com/ The latest archive of his site seems pretty complete.

It's not what it does to you stomach you should worry about. Think about what it does to your teeth. Every time you sip some cola it removes some of the calcium from your teeth. There is also some evidence that it may leech calcium from your bones and/or bind with dietary calcium, promoting osteoporosis.

Electrolytic rust removal is great because it removes all the rust without damaging any of the underlying iron, even if you leave it in for weeks. It can use quite a bit of electricity if you let the amperage get too high or leave it on for weeks at a time.

It sounds like your steel was a gauge block used to check the accuracy of 18" calipers. Gauge blocks are often used in the manufacture of measuring instruments to make sure they measure accurately. The name on the steel wasn't Mitutoyo by any chance was it?

Ok, the forum messenger says I'm banned from that conversation and it's gone from my list of conversations. Not sure what that's all about. Anyway, do you think the meeting on the 15th will be at the Indiantown Boyscout Camp like it says in the schedule, or is that just the default because Ralph lives near there?

Thanks for the offer Francis, I'll be in touch through PM. I'll definitely check out Bok Tower Gardens.

Hi all, I’m going to be in Orlando until May 17th and would really like to visit some smiths in the area. I looked on the FABA website, but the events are all pretty far from Orlando. I might be able to make it to The SE event on the 15th but if anyone closer to Orlando is open to visits that would be fun too. I’ve been smithing for several years in my spare time and I especially like making tools. I’ve never had the chance to work with coal or charcoal as both are far too expensive to get in Bermuda. I started on propane and then moved to waste vegetable oil which is working extremely well (and it’s free!). I’d be happy to meet people of any experience level, either just to watch or maybe we could make something that takes two people or a power hammer. Ben

I want to know too after seeing that video where they welded a face onto a hammer. Maybe it has clay in it? I'm not sure if the clay would help or hinder the flux though.

The trouble with using the step on the anvil is that it will eventually get chisel marks on it which will mar the underside of the work. The advantage of a plate is that it can easily be replaced.

I know this thread is pretty old, but I just wanted to clear up the description of FCC iron. The FCC and BCC diagrams show only atoms of one type, the atoms on the faces and the atom in the middle are still iron atoms. The FCC structure has more room between iron atoms, allowing the carbon to diffuse into the spaces between iron atoms. John D. Verhoeven's "Metallurgy of Steel for Bladesmiths & Others who Heat Treat and Forge Steel" explains it very well with nice diagrams, it may even be available online somewhere for free.

Check out Don Fogg’s bladesmith forum I found a thread on there discussing when you should put the bend into the kukri. Kukri - Bladesmith's Forum Board I haven’t made many blades, but I find that the forging is the easiest part, it’s the grinding and polishing that tests my patience. Of course, the better you are at forging the less grinding you have to do. A word of warning though: don’t thin the edge too much before you harden the blade or else it will warp and/or crack when you quench it.

Well, I will have to give it a try when I get my hands on some iron powder. I don’t think I’ll be able to find any rock wool though.

Maybe sintering is the wrong word as it implies that the powder is compressed into the final shape and then heated. I was thinking more of making a billet of the welded powders and then drawing it out and welding it a few times to develop the spherical inclusions into strands. I think with the right composition of powders and sufficient mechanical working you could make something similar to wrought iron. Electrical silicon steel has the silicon in solution with the iron, what I am proposing would have silicon dioxide inclusions. The only definition I can find for the Byers method is:

I've always wondered if you could make a material similar to wrought iron by sintering iron powder with silica powder. Various particle sizes and proportions could be used to make different grades. I've heard of people 'can welding' steel powders, has anyone tried adding some kind of powdered silicate? Would this work?

A Google search for his name turns up a bit. Seems he died in the 90's but his mill is being restored as a museum.

That was fascinating to watch. Those water driven machines sure are quiet without the horrible screech of brushed motors. It didn't really look like the shoe bolts had enough mass to them to fill the countersink, you cant really tell from the video though. It also bothered me that he never mentioned the huge crack in the front of one of the runners. What's the point of using wood with a curved grain if it's already cracked? You can still see the crack after he uses the chainsaw and it doesn't look like the cracked part ever gets removed. He must have built a lot of sleds to be able to discuss the customer's specifications in so few words and build the thing with no drawings or anything. Maybe they just didn't film that bit. Thanks for posting this, nice find.

I bought mine from Legend Mining Legend Inc. Sparks, Nevada USA . You can even get them in 6-packs!

A Lister is a good sturdy engine, I'd love to get my hands on one.

You said you used a high slump? The datasheet for Ultra Express 70 says it only needs 7.1% water for a self flowing mix and 4.5% for vibration casting. My experience with high alumina refractories is that if you go much over the recommended amount of water, the result will be weak, and the aggregate might even separate out. Also, the refractory will continue to cure and gain strength for weeks after casting, but only if it doesn

This probably isn't relevant to steel, unless you want to braze it, but the video is worth a watch anyway: YouTube - Forging a ring

I can't seem to take a picture that captures the warp. I went ahead and straightened it out with the hammer, and of course I got carried away and cracked the blade. I may be able to salvage it yet, but it isn't the knife I had in mind. Anyway, I learned a lot and was able to get the next knife in the pipeline up the same level as the warped one in no time. I left it thick before the quench and the warp was very slight.