NateDJ

Yep, and we are not going to stop till a full recovery is made! And even if the hair doesn't grow back, that doesn't change the person.

A friend of mine has just gone through a bought with cancer with his wife and her hardest thing was to lose the hair she hadn't cut in 30-40 years, the thing she said she appreciates the very most was the fact that my friend stood right by her and helped her brush the hair out and once it was all gone, he told her she was still beautiful, and that the hair changed nothing about the way he loved her.

to remove the bolt first question is there part of it sticking out if theres a little i would get a washer that fits tight around the bolt then weld the washer to the bolt then weld a nut to the washer then let it cool then heat the bracket and try to loosen the broken bolt thats if you have a welder or the ablity to weld i have removed alot broken bolts this way even a broken tap once

O.O Just the info I needed, simple but for some reason I just didn't think of this. Will give it a try on a blower bolt I broke. Thanks!

orgtwister
The Saltfork Craftsmen has swage blocks for $105 new cast for non guild member, can't cost $300 for shipping!

Do your new punches work as you hoped? What were the procedures you settled on to make / heat treat them?

It is particularly useful for a wearing surface.

This is the part I was wondering about most, case hardening is only a few thousands thick but a quench will be much deeper if not throughout the object. Will be an interesting test, as soon as I get time. I wonder how well combining the 2 would do?

OSHA requires that handrails be installed before anyone else is allowed on my back, you will have to get in line.

John B That sounds more like a type of super quench than case hardening. The use of salt in water will make it quench faster/harder so would attaching the salt directly to the blade with a flower glue make it even faster?

Will have to give it a try next time I need to get some a36 a little harder.

I wish there was someone like you over here in the UK

LOL nothing like stepping up to the plate. I am sure you could find a fab shop who would cut the blanks for you, quantity lowers the cost so just sell the excess!

really simple list:

Something to hit
Something to get it hot with
Something to hit it with
Something to hit it on

The rest is just details
Welcome to IFI! All kidding aside the getting started pages are the very best resources you will find on the web! Grab a lunch and a large "jug o drink" and a comfy spot, you will likely find your day passing before you know it!

arm and hammer forge is taken ... how about skull and hammer forge :)

I sure do around here, their only saving grace is that they all mostly sell to the place I buy scrap from. Cost me more but then I don't have to go hunt the stuff down ;)

Well, for what it is worth those pictures are truly inspirational!
I do understand the desire to '' quit the day job'' to pursue the hobbies and even if your day job and hobby is the same technically ... it just isn't the same thing. Perhaps you just need a good long vacation? (God knows I do! Though not from smithing.)

What about knocking off an hour per day to just do what you want to do as a break? Say the last hour before you shut the forge down for the night you work on Your Own Stuff. Divide your day up just like you would if you were punching a clock and set aside time to relax doing your hobby at the end of the day. You may not get other things done quite as fast but life is about the quality of your life not the money you make, though you do have to balance one against the other and each person is different and must find and attain that balance for themselves. The old saying goes ''All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy''?

Don't forget the value of helping a friend, the friend may only be able to afford the $200 but you both know the real value of the anvil is way higher. The friend may have been willing to pay more and just couldn't? ;)

I have thought about using Grey Iron Forge but it looks like Grey Iron is some king of term for cast/pig iron ... not really what I want my forge name to bring a visual of when mentioned.

My dad bought one just like that more than 35 ago, Me and my brothers finally burned the switch out of it and had to replace that @ 45$ a couple of years ago other than that it has worked flawlessly and has survived a tornado and a house fire. The things are extremely simple on the inside in terms of wiring and components and this leads to a product that... just works when you turn it on! The key to not burning out the switch is to NEVER switch the stupid thing while your brother is welding! Guess he thought it would be funny, but it just arced the switch to the last position he switched it to. still didn't stop the welder just made it so you could not switch it from 75A any more. Replacement was easy and the local welding supply had the switch in stock.

Use an aluminum hammer then, great use for the extra Al you have laying around
My Al hammer had a 1'' steal handle that adds extra weight and when the head is tore up I will just melt it down and recast it.

I have started making my own tongs, more for hammer and forging practice than anything else, but I find I like it. At least I find that now that I have found the correct stock to make them from, I use 1/4'' X 3/4'' X 18'' flat bar and start at the tip of the reign and fuller to 1/4'' square till about 3-4'' from the other end (This will be changed in my next set as I am going to taper the fuller from 1/4'' at the end to the full 3/4'' at the 3-4'' mark keeping the reign to one side of the flat bar (only fuller one side smashing it to square on the top side of the tong should look like this X,X****** . I make sure both pieces are the same and make a mark at 2-3'' from the end then set them over the side of the anvil and start the notch on the OPPOSITE side of the flat bar as the reign. Once I have the notch started I fuller it down to about 3/4 of the width of the bar and make sure to match the other tong side to this one. Once each tong is done like this I place them together the way they need to go and punch them and rivet them, then put the mouth in a vice and twist them. After this you can change them however you want for what ever stock you are using.

The tricks to remember:
Keep both sides as exactly the same as possible.
Only work at a good heat!
Make sure your reign is on one side of the flat bar at the joint and the mouth is on the other side of the flat bar at the joint ( X,X****** )!
(I always end up having to move the reign to the other side because I forget this!)

LOL YEP the sweating is part of the ''Work out'' anyway! (And the Good Lord knows I need all the work out I can get!)

I'm really starting to burn out on spending all my time doing what sells and no time working on my creative ideas.

Perhaps there are other things that will sell which you have not yet found. Your creative ideas are worth a try even if you only do 2-3 of each to see if they will sell. From looking around and talking to other smiths about what sells and to people about what they would buy I find that most of my ''artsy'' things do not have enough ''function'' to be a selling item. I am now thinking about ways to add some function, perhaps turning one of my standing flowers into a candle holder, a key ring stand, or a soap dish.
I am going to give drawer pulls a try, seems like there is almost infinite designs one could put on the ends of a knob for a drawer, will they sell? For how much? To what crowd? I try not to compete with the other blacksmiths who are at the same demo so I have to diversify and use my imagination, once my skill set is developed I hope to have a better selection than the 3-4 items most smiths take to demos, but I may find that is the only selling items and that I have no choice. If I don't try I will never know!

To avoid burnout let off the breaks while applying the gas...
Try finding a student you can teach a little to, this will motivate you to go to the shop and will help keep the art alive. As the student progresses it will also help you to try harder just to keep ahead of the student.
Find a history teacher that can work with you on doing a little living history demo at a school, the teacher can help you with the research so your historical accuracy is as good as you can get and build a demo setup for that purpose. This type of setup doesn't have to be too complicated just make sure you are showing it as the teacher wants it done and you should be about right, you will learn a lot as you go as well.
Personally my motivation has kept me from burnout so-far. I am doing this as a way to relieve stress and spend time with my boys. I was going to the gym and found it to be more stressful than just letting it build into a hart attack! Now I go out to the forge and get as much or more exercise and at the end of the day I find I have created something to show for the effort.

Just my $0.02

Now just think of the really sweet hardware you can forge for the boats! You are no-longer limited to the imagination of the local hardware store owner or the designs of who ever you order the metal fastenings from!

Welcome to IFI!

The hat is mild steel.

I would really like to see a BP on those hats. I have seen a really neat little spring swage used to stamp out a quarter or dime into a hat but it had no where near the detail of that one.

Thanks for the help, the tip chart comes from a supplier that is just a few blocks from where I work and has been bookmarked and sent to the printer! Looks like I still need a lot of practice, I have been angling the tip into the cut but I likely have been going way too slow and keeping the tip too close. Most likely due to cutting WAY too thick material with a small tip. Was trying to cut 2.5'' with a #1 until I switched to a #3 then most likely overworked the #3 by cutting ~60'' of 2.5'' steel only stopping to clean out the tip and change O-Rings.

I suppose if you only wanted to heat treat you might be able to get by, but I think I'd have to agree with everyone else, In the long run u'd be a lot better off with a descent O/A rig.

I would love to be able to drop $300+ on a new torch, believe me I would but my wife would throw a fit! You see... she too was a McCraw so you might be able to understand. She did let me buy a really nice Marquette 300A AC/DC welder because it was on-sale for 1/2 off! (Marquette is made by Lincoln for those who care.) She also tells me she had a relative named Sade but she thought they lived in New Mexico, small world!

Wow, I really appreciate the time and effort put into solving problems in this site! Not just mine but those of others as well because I learn a LOT form them.

I apologize for hijacking the thread but hopefully this will also help some others down the road as well.

The problem started when I was cutting apart some steal which kept running back together after the cut. At first I suspected I had the pressure set too low and the gas was just not forcing the metal out of the cut. I turned it up a bit and then found if I held the tip quite close (~1/16'')to the work it would do a much better job. So it sounds like a combination of the 2, too close and incorrect pressure.
I tried a welding tip this weekend and it did not pop so I think the damage is limited to the cutting head or tips.

I will clean the thing up as best as I can and see if I can get it to quit, if so then where would I find a pressure setting chart and about how far should I hold the tip from the work? At what thickness of metal should I move to a larger tip? I currently have a #1 and a #3 tip for the cutting head.

Thanks again for the help!

Yep You will want a prichel and hardy hole, but they don't have to be exactly like a regular anvil either, They just have to be able to take a tool and hold it like a die and take the pounding. A hardy tool could even be a bolt on type die if necessary but you would be happier with one you can change quickly. A prichel hole is just a ~1/2'' round hole drilled through and I have a 1''x2''x12'' bar that mounts to the hardy hole that has several holes drilled of different sizes (5/16'' - 1'') for the purpose. So-far it serves the purpose.

Your local propane dealer can change out the valve. No idea what it would cost but should be less than the cost of another tank.