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I Forge Iron

Bo T

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Everything posted by Bo T

  1. From the little bit of reading that I have done, a drop hammer suffers in that it is to slow for metalwork. I am thinking of a spring assist, leg powered hammer. I have no idea what such a hammer would be called even though I am confident that they have been around for centuries if not millennia. Any leads on current or past designs.
  2. I'm just starting out, I've put together a solid fuel forge and a pseudo (sledge head in concrete) stump anvil. Took a couple of classes and managed to make some tools. I volunteered to help out an experienced blacksmith with some demos this summer and am trying to find info on frontier/fur trade blacksmithing. I found a couple of pages on the web and a book and dissertation on a couple or digs around the great lakes. Thanks for any information that you can provide. Bo
  3. From what I have read well made ductile iron anvils are very serviceable. They are rated behind cast steel and forged steel for modern anvils.
  4. The tin/lead eutectic point is well below 400 F. What temperature do you believe a file should be tempered at?
  5. Thanks John B. You answered a lot of questions I had. Do you believe that a lead/tin alloy might have been used for tempering files?
  6. You're right. The book on Nicholson files noted that they tempered the TANGs in lead, I missed that during the first read.
  7. Thanks Chinobi, the historical perspective about filecutters in Sheffield was a great read.
  8. Or molten lead could have been used for both. I think a coating and a muffle oven was probably used for the hardening and the molten lead for the tempering. I maybe should look at Nicholsons book again.
  9. Sam, I am interested in what you figure out.
  10. Here is an address showing the Google book on NIcholson files; http://www.evenfallstudios.com/woodworks_library/a_treatise_on_files_and_rasps_nicholson1878.pdf . One gentleman posted about making a wood cutting float. He hand filed every tooth in that float. I think cutting them with a chisel would have made a better tooth and it would have been a lot faster. Anyway, I figured that anyone who learned how to cut and temper files would probably be the only one on the block who knew how to do it. Definitely worth the time acquiring the knowledge, making the tools, and developing the skill.
  11. Years ago, decades ago, in the 60's I was thinking about my future and I checked out a book about either blacksmithing or gunsmithing. The author had a short section on making files. He kind of said, no one else would teach this but I think it is important. Well, I didn't go into gunsmithing or blacksmithing but the idea of making files appeals to me. I have downloaded a book on Nicholson files that discusses how they are/were made and I found a video on the net of one being cut. I'd like to find out the title of the book I read years ago. If anyone knows of whence I speak please let me know. If there are other references on cutting files by hand and tempering them I'd be interested in that also. thanks in advance, Bo T
  12. Thanks Frosty. I hope you get to feeling better. I just needed to go back far enough to find the info I was looking for. So, I am going to build a washtub like forge. I am looking to put in a 2" liner made out of dolomite, vermiculite, and refractory cement. I will add an extra 2' of liner to the ends to add a little extra support. The fire pot will be 12" X 18". I'll make a soft brick tuyere block coated with the liner to cut the fire pot to 12" X 12". The up blast tuyere will be a simple schedule 40 or better 1" pipe with holes drilled in the top along the length of the fire pot. I am thinking of putting a 90 degree elbow at the end of the pipe with a section of capped pipe facing down. The tuyere could be cleaned by removing the cap and blowing the ashes into a bucket of water. I'll start pulling the extraneous pieces off of and out of the barbeque this weekend. It will be at least a couple of weeks before I start with the liner and tuyere. If there are any comments or suggestions please post them. If anyone is interested in the build let me know and I'll take some pictures.
  13. Whoops! The Nimba? anvils are made in Port Townsend NOT Anacortes.:(
  14. There are anvils cast up here in Airway Heights (near Spokane). The steel is an air hardening steel and one of the tougher compositions around. It is used in rock crusher jaws. And the HRc is @ 54. Because it is through hardened you can have it machined to take care of the dents and divots in it once you've banged on it for a couple of decades. Your RR track will make a decent enough cast anvil but it will be shallow hardened. There were other anvils being cast over in Anacortes. If you want to do it for fun and experience you should give it a try but as a (potentially) business enterprise (IMO) you're late to the game with an (from a manufacturing and maintenance standpoint) inferior steel.
  15. Thanks for the information Frosty. If I don't need to worry about burning up the tuyere pipe with the coke? And since I can block off part of the pipe to make a smaller fire box. I think I'll go with that longer design. Being able to put a couple of muffle pipes for longer pieces seems appealing. I'll remember the blast is for the air and the draft is for the smoke.
  16. I have an old Coleman barbeque that I am going to turn into a forge this summer. It is @ 14" x 26" by 8" with a stepped V side profile. I'm planning on burning coke almost exclusively. I plan on lining it. I've seen a couple of designs. One is placed in a small wash tub with pipe running horizonally along the bottom. Holes are cut every few inches to form the tuyere. I've read that the tuyere can be partially blocked off to make a smaller fire pot? The other is an up draft with an ash dump and a clinker breaker. And today, I read something about a side draft? What are the trade offs for these designs? I'm a little concerned about the coke laying right on top of the tuyere with the wash bucket design. Thanks in advance for the help. Bo T
  17. I've just become interested in blacksmithing and I am exploring it as a retirement hobby sometime in the future. I've been a member of bladeforums for a couple of years and a member of hypefreeblades for a couple of months. I recently completed my first forged blade at a local blacksmiths and discovered that I am somewhat artistically challenged. I will be starting a build on my first forge in the next few weeks. I'm looking foreward to learning more about blacksmithing. Bo T
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