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Charles R. Stevens

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Everything posted by Charles R. Stevens

  1. Charles R. Stevens
    Happy birthday Frosty. I lift a adult beverage in your honor!
  2. Charles R. Stevens
    Safe to assume the "no" was directed at me? The blades I showed didnt have a "riccasso" as I feel a chef' knife should not.
  3. Charles R. Stevens
    Sorry, they're dirty, awaiting after dinner clean up.
  4. Charles R. Stevens
    Not being a knife maker, but being a chef knife user, running the egde the full length if the blad is a good thing. If you stop short, then as time goes by, the edge is sharpend so that, unless grount off, the small bit of material that looks so nice, acts as a stop preventing the blade from cutting all the way to the cutting board. I believe that's the riccasso your referring to Rich?
  5. Charles R. Stevens
    Not at all, you can build a sand table, and move the yard up to waist high. Be it a 1/2 a drum or a wooden box. No need to weld.
  6. Charles R. Stevens
    Yahoo2, if we're looking for wise cracks, this group could fill volumes. This forum is chocked full of experrianced posteriors!
  7. Charles R. Stevens
    "I've learned enugh to be ignorant" Glenn
  8. Charles R. Stevens
    Don't forget to cover all 5 sides exposed to to wear, if you only cover the bottom, as pointed out the rest of the serface will wear and the hard facing will break off. One might also consider converting to replaceable cultivator tines, you have the investment in building the attachment points, but they are relitivly inexpensive and with the time and money your already investing, it's probably a wash. Then replacement is relatively cheap and easy. I'm not talking about the whole sprin tine, just the points bolted to an aproriatly shaped bar. Another point to consider, unless your using a packer on your arena drag you shouldn't be going all that deep, as its hard on the horses joints, especially there hocks.
  9. Charles R. Stevens
    If you look at the downloads section, Andrew has uploaded some blacksmithing manuals, that I know have the information you are looking for. The first piece, is a shouldered eye, the second piece, is a punched plate with wings, after riveting the end of the eye, into the plate, the wings are drawn to gather and forge welded to form the second eye. Clear as mud.
  10. Charles R. Stevens
    Adman, I I gets us in the ball park as to what grade of steel it is, as apposed to specific type of steel. It's useful to know. When you consider that there is a narrow range of steels that will meet the needs of a particular application, wile keeping, cost, reliability and weight considerations in mind. For most general smithing its plenty close enough. .
  11. Charles R. Stevens
    Spring steel will last longer, especially the dome. As your using the header as an anvil/die its subject to wear. One of the smiths around here uses grader blade and I've heard of using rail. I've seen 1" sucker rod cut of and a handle welded on, and then the disk punched. I think anvil fire has an article using a grade 8 bolt, and some one on here forge welded a steal face on a mild steal body. Lots of ways to skin that cat, but the higher carbon and/or die steels will certainly last longer.
  12. Charles R. Stevens
    Most folks just but the round forge up against the square brick wall. Kind if like the square store front In an old western movie.
  13. Charles R. Stevens
    If, after you get it brazed and assembled, you find it a bit rough, go get some valve lapping compound from you aiutomotive parts house and grease the treads with it. It's abrasive in grease, after you have lapped the treads washit out with salvent and reassemble with a good grease, or a dry lube (it's a grafite paint, doesn't attract dust) dri-slide is one brand, tractor supply caries it.
  14. Charles R. Stevens
    OSB is less expensive than ply.
  15. Charles R. Stevens
    OSB is a lot less expensive than ply.
  16. Charles R. Stevens
    Use google to search IFI, the IFI search engine is a bit... ... Cranky
  17. Charles R. Stevens
    Might be better of installing a fire place or a charcoal grill ;-) in a weld shop. Not sure about finding any approved forges, exept big $$ industrial units. My thoughts in facing fire and environment safty is that a forge is no diferant than a commertial grill or a fire place. The work space itself a weld shop. As tbuilding codes for blacksmith shops are about 75 years out if date, those are the comparisans it make, and as it sounds like you have an alie in the inspector (tho he needs to protect his job) you might try that aproch. A charcoal forge might be a lot easer to get threw.
  18. Charles R. Stevens
    Foam is nasty stuf when in burns, 1/2 drywall is cheap, just do it, then either cover the botom half with tin or ply. Wood shops and smithies are fire hazards on a good day, combined more so. I would hate for you to loose your home or a loved one due to a bit of good old American stubbornness. Our shop is drywalled, and then we went with roofing tin over that, stops sparks and flying things, and most importantly my own clumsiness
  19. Charles R. Stevens
    If it was in association with break pads and shoes I'd hazard that the wher serfasing clutch flywheels and pressure plates. I would agree that high speed operation would not be recommended. But mounted on an old potters wheal it might make a handy sharpening tool for chisels and such.
  20. Charles R. Stevens
    Gas forges require diffent tactics to use, it's real hard to isolate heat and you end up resorting to a torch. They also cost more to build and operate. Now that said I use one in my day job. I'd have to agree with the side blast if your going for simple/ inexpensive. 2" of clay soil packed in all the way around should do the trick. Then ash, or lose sand will alow you to make your ducks nest for your fire. But for a small coal or charcoal forge, other things come to mind, as well. A Christmas cookie tin as Tommas has suggested, bolt some handles on it, pack it with clay soil... Or anything else you can scrounge up. There is even a guy on the net using a plastic pickle bucket.
  21. Charles R. Stevens
    Multiple, large doors. Forge on the windward side of the space. Here in oklihoma I would places the forge in the NE corner, as we face north, west and south winds. Southern, and eastern doors. This lets you open up the doors, and heat a 20' stick in the middle. Wile keeping cold north . western storm winds, of of you. We also face south winds that can be unpleasantly strong, especially in winter, so south doors are desirable.for ventilation in somer and wind protection in winter. One also might consider getting an old utility trailer and building a 8' wide shop on it. Might be able to side step code if your shop is on wheels.
  22. Charles R. Stevens
    Your most certainly welcome. We all have to adapt and overcome.
  23. Charles R. Stevens
    As to foot peddles, to paraphrase Linda "were blacksmiths, right?" Momentary switches arnt hard to sorce, and they are made for just these kinds of applications. Sorce the swttch, build the foot pedal.
  24. Charles R. Stevens
    I'm far from a gas burner expert. And the only time I have the problem your describing is when I don't get the door open wide enough when I ligh the burners. things that come to mind, First have you experimented with how much you close up your openings? Second most commertial forges have the burners closer to gether Lastly my commertial forge runs on 5-15 psi wile many folks report their home built a working at 5 psi or less. Again as I don't have a lot of experience building gassers I may be just posting to see myself type ;-)
  25. Charles R. Stevens
    All the weapons you describe have been forged on anvils with faces of 2-4". And forges with fires about 6".
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