Jump to content
I Forge Iron

arkie

2021 Donor
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    2,679

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by arkie

  1. arkie
    Nice and neat job, Hannes One suggestion...you might consider replacing the hex bolts with regular hex head bolts, the kind you work with an end wrence or socket. Reason I mention that, the hex heads will fill with coal and crud and might be a problem cleaning out. Also, the high protrusion will be a nuisance when you are moving coal around on the plate. I used regular hex bolts on my portable brake drum forge and even with the lower profile, I am bumping into them all the time. Since it's semi-portable, I didn't weld my plate down.
  2. arkie
    OK, thanks. That's a lot simpler than a bunch of numbers and letters.
  3. arkie
    Is there a way to identify Mexican rebar? Stampings...codes...etc. ? I seldom use rebar, mostly for campfire pokers, birdfeeder poles and similar low impact stuff.
  4. arkie
    So that's how it works??? Darn, I cut mine twice, and it's still too short!!!!!
  5. arkie
    I'm sure you have a wheel size in mind, I strongly recommend using wheels as large as you can. I have a forge very similar to yours that I have to wheel around on gravel. I started out with 6" diameter wheels...too darn small and drag heavily, but am soon changing to either 8" or 10" wheels. Don't use plastic wheels either; they will either wallow out or break.
  6. arkie
    Really nice, clean website! The black and white format suits it very well, and the graphics come across as clean, sharp and dignified. Pages load fast, as mentioned earlier and the site loads just fine on an Android tablet as well as PC. Good luck with the new venture. Association with an antique shop should be good for you.
  7. arkie
    Welcome to the group! :-) Don't belittle your experience or abilities. We all started somewhere and learned by doing. Heat your iron, grab up a hammer and start forging! You'll be surprised at how much progress you will make, particularly when you look back at your earlier work. It just takes practice and a lot of forge time. You have shown that you have confidence in yourself, now apply it to smithing :-)
  8. arkie
    That's pretty innovative! Hardie hole and a good striking face. Have fun with it!
  9. arkie
    Been that route with those guys. They usually use insurance as a cop-out. Most of them have a contract with some salvage companies that gives them exclusive rights to the scrap...no outside sales. :-(
  10. arkie
    Interesting that you mentioned that. I always thought it was my cutoff wheels. The other day, I was cutting some 1" square stock for hardie tools using an angle grinder and cutoff wheels. One cut went fast, then further down the bar, the cuts took nearly twice as long.
  11. arkie
    WOW!! Fantastic find. Free?? Unbelievable luck. The anvil looks to be in great shape. If you do decide to sell, it won't last long. Hay-Buddens are a great anvil. I just bought a 168# one about a month ago and really like it. What is your location?
  12. arkie

    new hammer..

    arkie replied to KYBOY's topic in Hand Hammers

    Beautiful hammer! I would hope to be able to make one like that someday.
  13. arkie
    Vaughn, I got my replies mixed in with your quote, so you'll have to read through it to get the reply....sorry.
  14. arkie
    jeremy, That's just what I needed. Thanks very much for the info!. It gives me a threshold between buying and making. I really should make one for the experience, but if I barf one up, then get out the checkbook!!! :)
  15. arkie
    Vaughn, As DSW pointed out, the welds probably won't be an issue. Any significant force on the block will mostly be downward on the block and anvil face surfaces, not on the welds. Also, it's possible that your bevels were too deep and the rod flux contacted the block and square stock leaving a gap in the bevel, and that might have contributed to a type of long-arcing, hence bad bead. Just a WAG. I've been looking for a piece of steel like your block, 'cause I need to make one like that also.
  16. arkie
    I was just curious about a quick, ball-park price range. I don't know just what I might want in the form of a touchmark design, and that may be too vague for them to give a price quote by phone or email. Some have (1) set up fees, which are variable, (2) possible design fees, which are variable and (3) fabrication costs, which are again variable. If the touchmark is way too expensive, I'll probably take another approach.
  17. arkie
    Thors, if you're like me, I seem to spend more time making the tools to work with than the project! One day for tools, then maybe 30 min. to an hour for the project...maybe; if I don't get sidetracked making more tools!!!! Glad you got some OJT. There's no substitute for hands-on learning. You just can't get it all from youtube.
  18. arkie
    Good luck. My son, in Atlanta, was coming over for a visit and I asked him if he could round up some scrap for me. He went to a few large welding shops (might have cutoffs), steel yards (for drops) and even a couple of blacksmiths. They all basically ran him off and told him not to come back. I can well understand why a blacksmith would say no, since we work with scrap and ain't gonna part with any!! I think the metal salvage people are being such a nuisance to those shops that it's getting harder to get scrap. The metal scrap yards are reluctant to let you in to poke around for liability insurance reasons. :(
  19. arkie
    Just curious... I realize that custom touchmarks can run the gamut on complexity, but for a simple letter inside a geometric surround, about what price range would one be looking at from makers like Columbia, CER, Universal, etc.?
  20. arkie
    Yep..."shortfuse" over on Welding Web. :) We've been talking about your forge over there...
  21. arkie
    I was reading up on using spray finishes such as laquer and varnish on bare metal. Heat before treatment is one deterrent, but the article described why the sprays don't always work. Seems as though when the propellant in a spray can (air, nitrogen, butane/propane, etc.) sprays the liquid out, the sudden cooling of the gas due to expansion leaves a molecular layer of condensation moisture as the finish is applied. This does not always yield a rust-proof finish. Slight heating of the metal surface beforehand can help, but not always.
  22. arkie
    Nice area! When you get up here, check out the BOA, Blacksmith Organization of Arkansas. They have members scattered across NW AR and S. MO. Some members are in the Mountain Home, Flippin area near where you will be. Great group of smiths. I just got started in trying to learn about blacksmithing a couple of months ago; finally finished my forge, got an anvil, have tools, eager to learn!
  23. arkie
    This may seem like a trivial item, but if you use or get the plastic 5-gallon buckets....get the white ones! I ran across some dark blue ones and put a lot of small pieces in them. Being dark colored, you can't see most of what's in them and end up dumping them to see what's there. :-(
  24. arkie
    I like the pipe flange idea instead of something welded or tacked onto the side and end of a pipe. I have to wheel my brake drum forge outside my wooden shop, and that looks more stable. BTW, "soon to be Arkansas location"...you're gonna love Arkansas :)
  25. arkie
    X2 on the shims/angle iron. I had an undersized shank on a cutoff hardie and just welded a piece of angle iron on one corner to fit my 1" hardie hole...fit perfectly!
×
×
  • Create New...