Charles R. Stevens

The reason I use H13 is I learned to forge it in shoeing school. I have a pritchel that I'm going to compleatly reforde the next time I break the tip off. It's gotten aufly short in the last 10 years.

Nope, like RB I use H13 for critical tools, or experiment with older tools I'm reworking till I get it right. I've head good stuff about it and just keep forgetting to down load it. If nothing else it would help "calabrate the eyeball"

Might try the iPhone app. If you can get it 1200 + a tad and hold it their, say of to the side wile your working on other projects (assuming solid fuel) or throughtle back you're gasser, then bring it up to 1600.

I assume you are testing for hardes after quench to veraffy proper hardening? The data sheet sais to temper at 350-500 for R50-60. As you want to be on the High end heat treat on the cool end.

My oldest was 90 days premature, spent 120 in the hospital. She suffers a CVA at 3 says. That was just weeks before sedation became common practice. After all the worry and prayers your not done by a long shot. I've ethe next 20+ years you'll either be so proud you can't stand you're self (like you are now) or so agrivated you can't stand them. But it will all be worth it. Even the inevitable "I hate you". Being a grand parent now, I get to be friends with my daughters, and they actively seek my advice as they struggle with being "good" parents. Hug your wife, kiss your daughters and know that I'll still say a prayer for you now and then.

Glenn, I was wandering that, and smoking it for a week in the slacktub

I red an article by SAE (if I remember right) after testing several products they recommended ATF and naphtha (zippo fluid) it can take a wile and some times a trip to a warm spot and a cold spot will help. I've put things in the deap freeze and then gently heated the outside component to give me an edge.

The most common method for the last hundred years or so has been to take piece of stock about 1/4" (75 mm) and fold it around a mandrel and then forger weld it. With yout axe we have a thick pole, so we would normaly start out with a thicker piece of steal, say 1/2" (1.25 c) drawing down the " cheaks" then folding it in half and forge welding. In the case of your axe we have the added element of the claw. This can either be drawn out of the parent stock or forge welded to it. Depending on cost and availability of medium carbon steel it may have been forge welded to the pole. That and a welded bit would give you a harder hammer face (the pole) a blade that held its edge better and a claw that was stiffer.if as today, medium carbon and low carbon steels are reddy available and nearly the same price, one would just forge it from one piece. Excepting the labor of drawing down by hand.

That's a 2" drawbar, for a truck receiver. So you have a bit of forging to fit a 1 1/2" hardy, much less a 1". But it would make a heck of a anvil tool. This lifting eye is in my stash. Currently it's part of a cabled together wire roller (barbed is nasty stuff) but I know you can order them, might even be cheaper to find one with the right ID and a shank that will forge down conveniently, say 1 3/8 bolt. Tho I plan on forging this one to fit diagonally. Of corse larking hear we usually cheat and rivit a weld on fence cap to a handle to make ladles ;-)

Just guessing, but looks like your about the size of the pentle ring on a HD trailer. I've also used large cast lag eye bolts. Then again turning a peice of 1"

As its all one assembly, and it's on the pole of the axe I thaught it would be early in the process, like the bick on a fire axe. O gues one could forge weld the claws onto the pole over a bick.

Master Thomas has powerful "Google Foo" infact his ability to research a subject is enviable in general.

I think he's asking how to forge it. I see 3 ways of going about forging the axe. 1. Forge the claw on a 1x2" bar, slot punch, drift and finish the blad and claw. 2. forge a 1/2x3" bar,fuller and leave a 1x1/2 strip down the middle, draw out the to sides and the claw, fold the sides and weld. Finish forging about he blade and claw. 3. Take a 1/4x2" bar, forge weld a 1/4x1x3" bar down the middle. Fold over and weld the to halves together and finish the claw and blade. I see pros and cons to all three, I think #3 is more likely, as you could use mild steel for the body, and medium for the back/claw and blade. I'm hopeing some one more experienced will will tell me I'm wrong and have a slick method of doing it.

When using treated plates I don't recommend concrete, traps moister to the post, I recommend either wrapping them in ice dam block/ flexible flashing. If you can't sorce it use rubberized asphalt and 6 mil. poly (that's all it is anyway) to just abou ethe ground. It will dramatically extend the life of a post. As to sealing the stack, the silicon can be reenforced with fiberglass. If you grab the small package at the automotive ile, as well as the small plastic squeegees for applying bondo, lay it on waxed paper and trowl it on, flip it over and repeat, now appy to the seam (tent boot trick) you can also let it set up, then cut out an opening, leaving tabs, and slide it over the pipe and glue it down with more silicon.

Mr.Bochanskie would be proud, like most kids in his shop class I wanted to play with the power tools. Now I much rather reach for the hand tools.

Oops, par timers!.

Then might I suggest cutting away much more of the drum? Rivit forges are a pain. Unless you cut a hole in the back you can't heat a bare linger than 22" (the width of most 55's) in the middle. If you cut the drum so it is more than 1/2 removed at the bottom, a d it slopes up to about a third left I think you'll like it more. Also, as your rotor is shown under the drum, just do as Glenn suggests and just cut a hole in the drum, the hat will fit in and the assembly will be supported on the rotor. Lastly, ditch the pipe cap for the ash dump. Get a exast pipe cap (like on a over the road tractor) and weld or rivet a counterweight to it. Unscrewing the cap is a pain to.

Good old adobe works well as well, 10-15 of solid earth has a way of quieting things. Look at "earth bags", "rammed earth" and "cob" as well. Not for every one, for certain but worth considering.

The most obvius (to me) is that commertial chisels (like hammers) are generally to soft, and the wrong shape. Generally to "fat" and to "square" I faily pas up a old cheisel at a swap meet or yard sale, but most generally I have to re work then. If they are hard and shaped right they're generally so abused I have to rework them anyway, but most generally ther just to fat and soft, (just about all the newer ones) so I end up drawing them out a bit more, giving most of them a convex profile, heat treating them and sharpening them. I've had occasion to cut frame rivets to remove the radius bushing brackets from a ford truck, I re worked a cheisel (as I have a forge and anvil on the truck) and cut 8 rivets faster than my budy did with an air cheisel (air cheisel has the same problems, (poor profile and to soft) infact I cut the last two for him by hand. Lately I've been cutting 1/8x1 1/4 peices to close up the ends on welding project out of square tubing, just as fast, if not faster than the chop saw and no clean up.

Lot of ways to skin this cat. Even tho people have used the brake drum (and hub) Sense Mr. Ford built the first modle "T" it's been regurgitated over and over. It works but its no the only way to go about it. If your going to the trouble of "claying" your forge you can go so many other ways. You can literally use a cardboard box. I always thought one of those big fancy flower pots would work.and look great.

Ahh, we have a failure to communicate. Maintain your current set up. Mount the milk jug behind the fire pot, cut a door in the jug so the smoke can get in. This is called a "side draft hood"l

Small rivet forges are a pain to work in, unless all you do is small stuff like rivets, shoes and such. That's what your talking about building. I would suggest cutting a slice in the bottom so you can slide it down over the back "wall" of your forge table so the front sits just about even with the edge of your fire pot, cutting a door in the side. Search "side draft" or "super sucker" It will alow you better access to the fire, keep the aluminum away from the hot fire pot and retain your table.

Lets see what we're working with. At first blush if hang it free floating. And slide the forge pot in up close.

Your welcome, you probably ow my grandmother the thanks, she gave me her love of the kitchen, and cast iron and steel cooking gear. Sence we're on the subject of thanks, over the last few years I've learned a lot from other members here, Glenn and the other members deserve a large measure of that thanks, if not the lions share.

I wouldn't think mild steel would be any more toxic than cast iron or stamped steel cook ware. As to the vinegar, heating would certainly make it work faster, but room temp works just fine. If the patina is to light heat the piece to get a dark oxide (temper) color and oil it hot. Won't save you much in time but I bet it will save you in labor.