ironantlerforge

I have a 100lb Big Blue for sale. Damascus MD

I have been looking around at chop saws for a little while and was annoyed at the fact that so many have the stamped steel bases instead of the solid cast ones. I just got the Rigid chop saw from Home Depot which I am really happy with. I also have a Rigid drill press that I'm also happy with. It's heavy duty, has quick release bolts for turning the guide quickly without a wrench, the guides can do 45 degree angles in both directions, it has a really nice handle, it's quieter (relatively speaking) than my other chop saw. I have surprisingly found Rigid products to be very reliable and packed with features that show they put a lot of thought into their products. I did find that the Rigid chop saw cutting wheels are a little flimsy and prone to bending thus making a cut that is not straight. I took off that wheel and got the 14" cut off wheels that Home Depot sells and that took care of the problem. I am not a big fan of sharpening blades so the cut-off wheels are the choice for me. They are relatively cheap and last for a good number of cuts. The saw sells for under $200 at Home Depot. Here is a pic... ... and the pic ...

2 months... and can scream louder than my chop saw :D

Here is a pic of my shop that I just took last week. I also included a shot of my latest project :)

Time is money as they say and for me, when I was looking into coal, It seemed like it just took a lot more time to maintain. you have to find a good quality coal source for starters then start the fire and work it a bit, deal with the smoke issue, clean out the clinkers and impurities, watch to make sure you don't burn up your work, and so on. I went with gas because it's quick, If I'm only doing a small project I can get the forge started in seconds, the propane company delivers, I can tap into the propane to operate a hand torch as well as a heater for my shop, and I have found the gas forges to be pretty efficient. I think I like coal better for forge welding but my experience with that is limited. When I get a bigger shop some day I think I will have a coal forge just for grins but the gas I believe will always be the workhorse of my shop.

I like to use a stick wax myself. It's good for drilling and grinding (sanding) applications. I worked at a machine/sheet metal shop years ago and that was a much used product. It comes in a large tube and has a oily wax like consistency when it is cold. rub a little on the metal to be ground or on your drill bit and start working. As the steel heats up the wax starts to liquefy and absorbs the heat. Look up stick wax at Granger or Travers tools and you will find several varieties to choose from. Oh yea, the stuff lasts forever. I have been using the same tube for several years now and I do this work full time. I also use it to lube the ram on my Big Blue and has proven to be the longest lasting lube I have found. I like it...:)

I just re-joined the BGCM at the last meeting after a 7 or 8 year laps. The place looks good! I'm sure I'll see there sometime.

I have been working with metal for around 15 years or so. Blacksmithing for around 9 or 10 years. Found out about the guild in central MD from Dan and Judy Boone and jumped in. Took a few basic classes but mostly I learned just from playing around and not getting stuck into the "there is only one way to do it" trap.

I have several spring swages that I use under the power hammer that keep breaking where the weld is. It seems like the pressure of the hammer is too much for them. I re-weld them, heat the weld, and then allow it to cool slowly but they still break over time. I'm using the ones that Kain & Sons sells. Any ideas? IAF

after a week or two of trying to contact them a lady finally called. She sounded nice and promised to send me some information. I never got the information and she has yet to respond to e mail or phone messages. This was about a month and a half ago. Sense then I checked out the Iron Kiss hammer and have decided to go with one of those. They are very impressive and John, the builder, has great customer service. I'm glad now that Phoenix hammers have such lousy service because if they didn't I would have never bothered to check out the Iron Kiss and would have ended up spending a lot more money on something that probably is not as good. just my 2 cents... go Iron Kiss!...

Hello all, I have been tooling around this site for a month or two but never bothered to post a thread to the "Introduce Yourself" section so, here it goes. I am a professional metal sculptor and have been doing this work full time for 3 years. I probably picked the wrong time to get into the art business with the economy the way it is but that being said I would have to say things are going well and I seem to have a steady flow of back-orders. I Love using old tools in new ways as well as designing tools from scratch. My current project is a gas brick-pile forge big enough to put a 24" x 24" piece of sheet metal in. It's actually done and I'll be posting photos soon. Anyway I love sharing ideas and hold no secrets so this site is a good match. Here is my website if anyone wants to check it out. ironantlerforge.com - Home Thanks for having me! IAF

Here is mine. I designed it and had Centour Forge make it for me. I have been using it for years on both hot and cold metal and it still works great. http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=7860&stc=1&d=1219028106

I was once using a bench mounted belt sander to debur a big pile of thin steel squares. After a while of doing this I started getting complacent with the whole process and for some reason that I don't recall now I decided to angle one of the squares in an upward direction instead of the safe down direction. Well, the sanding belt grabbed the steel and shot toward my belly! I head a ting and then heard it bounce off the floor. After looking at my apron for any holes or blood I went back to the monotony. when finished I turned and started to walk out of the sanding room when I thought to myself " my pants feel loose" then I heard a cling. Looking down I saw half my belt buckle bounce across the floor. At the time I wore those rather large pewter belt buckles and that thin steel square had struck it and broke it clean in half! Just a little lower and... well, you know...

After taking the steel out of the vinigar I hose it off with the garden hose which usually removes all the rust down to the bare metal if it has been in the vinigar for a couple of days. I then use an air hose or torch to dry it off. I never really have any problems with flash rust after that. Without waiting too long though, I spray "Deft" lacquer on my pieces which after a lot testing works better than many other products and is affordable. Walmart is the cheapest place I have found.

I am interested in constructing a small table using 4 standard hand pump jacks as the legs only I want to connect them all together so that they all work off of only one hand pump. Any ideas of how or if I can do this? Thanks, IAF

First I would like to say that I agree with the above statements however if weapons training is really your aim there are schools that bring that to the forefront early on. Kendo is a good workout but very one dimensional. They use only the sword, no staff. There are also many forms of Kali or Escrima (Modern Arnis, Sayoc) which have a heavy focus on stick and knife fighting. Again no staff but I would highly recommend it as a very practical art both with weapons and without. There are others but I have a heavy involvement the two mentioned above and would recommend them. IAF

I use a short, wide, & long plastic bin with wheels to keep vinegar in. the kind you get at Walmart to put cloths in and then slide under the bed. This works well for me because it's wide instead of deep. I also find that vinigar not only takes away rust but also puts rust on if you clean the steel, sand blasting is best, and then spray it with vinegar over several days. I attached a couple of photos below of projects where I used this technique. Does anyone know of a cheap, better, or faster way to rust steel?

I am in the process of building a brick-pile forge and have been surprised at the high price of the hard fiberboard. After a long while of looking and making calls I stumbled on Albertus Engineering in Baltimore, MD. They sell the 2' x 3' x 2" pieces of the hard, dense (not sure of the weight) 2600 degree fiber-board for $58.98 each. I saw similar board on-line selling in the hundreds so I thought I would pass this info. along for anyone else looking for fiberboard. Here is the info. Albertus Engineering 410-388-1304 VEClarkAElbalto@verizon.net Hopefully this info. is not in violation of any forum rules. I'm not trying to sell anything just pass on info. on what I think is a good deal. Thanks, IAF

I am currently building a new gas forge and after looking at a lot of custom forges I am wondering why I have not seen any soldered copper piping on them? All the connections are threaded elbows and tees. I would think that every threaded point is a potential leak hazard and soldering would prevent that but I must be missing something. Maybe the soldered areas would get to hot next to the forge and melt? any thoughts? Thanks, IAF

I would also recommend the torch method as the easer way for a controlled even twist. but, what ever works IAF

For some of my projects I do a lot of twisting which can be very time consuming if done with a twisting wrench. To solve this I took an old drill press, stripped off some of the components that I didn't need, and laid it back side down. I then made a special chuck (very easy) to hold 1/2 square stock. I built a stand for the drill press so that the chuck will be level with my vise so I can can put one end of the bar in the drill press and the other end in the vise. Now heat and twist. Quick and easy to use. If your twisting a tapered piece of steel then the drill press can be easily adjusted in and out to without moving the cart. Here are some photos.

I just checked out the Iron Kiss and was impressed. Very well built hammer. Easy to use with good adjustable features. This may be my next hammer. Definitely worth the look.