Ken

Another way to mount a handle to a tang is to drill a 1/2 hole the length of the handle ( easy on a wood lathe ) Silver solder the guard on to the blade then put the tang through the wood handle and pour in molten lead. It sets up in less than a minute and works to counterbalance the blade. It can not be removed short of beating the wood off with a hammer. I Know from experience

I have a white gold band. A palate of steel parts landed on top of a welding table with my hand under it. The Ring is now egged but! my hand is fine. NOTHING will save you better than paying attention. and if you don't pay attention nothing will save you period.

I Have taped them they are 1/4 28 a national fine thread Ken

I have made three Titanium swords They are a pain. they have a limited forging window between orange and lemon can not be ground with power tools in air because they develop micro fractures due to poor heat dissipation. They can not be soldered or brazed to a guard outside of an inert atmosphere. I used lead to cast blade and guard together for a mechanical joint. Hardness is I think 48 RC not as hard as steel. Titanium is best suited to a super fast maneuverable sword where its light weight is an asset and not a liability as it would be in a hacking / chopping blade. A rapier is a good style for Titanium. It has a very high "oh WOW!" and weird factor and a poor functionality factor. I bought scrap Titanium at $6 a pound. New price is shudder.

some things are forever or a two week vacation away from my shop. Whitch is the time it takes foe my hands to get clean.That said TarKelp from harbor freight works better and cheaper than gojo

Steel melts well above copper but it oxidizes real well too. A steel ingot mold will work with copper but be sure to preheat it to remove **ALL** moisture or face an explosion of liquid copper all over your shop and yourself!!! real Crucibles are a must for melting copper.

At the risk of sounding too much like a treehugger Why? Every now and then I see a mouse crawling about the foundation. He just came in from the cold ( Minnesnowta ) He dosnt bother the kitchen or leave droppings so I leave him be.

Neighbors are seriously important to be on good terms with. I have the rule that if the work takes less than a half hour it is free for a neighbor. They like me so no trouble. Building inspectors are related to**** and are to be groveled to or else.

My melting furnace has similar problems but with only one burner. After an hour or two the fire pops back into the mouth of the flare. Breaking the gas flow with a piece of sheet metal passing in front of the jet works, but only for a few minutes. My current **answer** is that the pressure in the combustion chamber rises to more than the flow of the jet / gas mix allowing the flame to move back to the jet / orifice killing the venturi effect. ? can you make your exit hole opening larger? or move to a smaller burner tube?

I do bronze casting but I have a lot of small dirty pieces that are too much trouble to melt in my LNG gas furnace. I am wondering if a wood fired cupola furnace would get hot enough? I have lots of old pallets that can be reduced into walnut sized chunks. BB Ken

I have just signed on with IFI I