JME1149

Now that you have completed your practice piece, I have several questions that may help prevent other issues for the next attempt (questions listed for your benefit as well as for anyone else who may follow this thread). 

You said you used an "old" file. A files presumed age provides little assurance that you have a hardenable piece of steel. Did you first cut off a small piece, heat it and water quench then put it in the vise and whack it with a hammer? (If hardenable, it should break off, if just a case hardened file it should bend rather than break).

Did you grind off the file teeth before hammering, in order to remove any weak spots / cold shuts that could develop while you're shaping the draw knife?

Were you careful to not overheat the steel while you were working it? Did you normalize the piece after all the forging was done, before the quench? (My first thought was that it had cracked during the third quench, but looking again, it appears it may have burnt apart during that 10 seconds you took your eyes off it.) I've lost more steel to distractions than I care to admit. If your focus isn't on the steel/fire, pull the piece out of the heat, especially if not using a gas forge.

The failure is frustrating. It looks like you had a nice tool well under way. Use the opportunity to make slight changes to your process to make an even better part the next time. I look forward to seeing the pictures of the success.

Our local club has an open forge night once a week where the public is welcome to come in and try their hand at blacksmithing. We've recently changed the curriculum for the newbies and it seems to be working out very well. The first project is an S-hook with different ends, rat tail and beaver tail. The second project is a letter opener, made to specific sizes and design. It builds on the skills learned from the hook plus adds drawing out for the blade width. The third project is a keychain hanger; three small J-hooks, all different ends, riveted to a flat stock backer plate with multiple textures and end treatments.

We've found this to be very helpful in getting the new students exposed to many different techniques while building up their confidence and giving them usable completed projects. It usually takes them 3 to 4 evenings to complete all three projects, some a little less and some much longer.

I like it just the way it is. You really have the head shape worked out well.

Very impressive. 

Hay Budden

Just goes to prove that you can never have enough ratchet straps.

Nicely done, good use of a railraod spike. The drawn out taper is awesome as is the twist. What did the overall length work out to?

Shape looks a lot like a Hay Budden. If so, Black Frog's suggestions should confirm it. 

Beautiful chandelier, and the wall sconces really pull the whole room together.Nicely done.

They do grow em big down under. Nicely done, I'm always impressed with how you capture the lifelike attitude in your creations.

Out of curiosity, what makes you assume it's a swivel vise that is missing the base, rather than a solid mount?

Depending on how badly damaged your cap is, you might be able to buy the $33 tap off ebay and just run it in your part. I don't think there's a lot of force applied to those threads.

Scrapmascus (#7) is speaking to me. If she's still available, I'd be honored to receive the Precious.

That sword is really turning out to be an awesome piece. I really admire all your work.

Both are beautiful, but I really like your visit to the dark side. That thing has some sweet lines.

That looks like a nice layout, and you have some good ideas I will be borrowing. I like the hammer rack and the angled legs for the stock storage under the bench.

I'm curious about the hood over the gas forge. Is that a powered exhaust? For the fumes or the heat?

Very nice, I really like the handle texture effect on the first pic. How about some details on materials & finishes?

Interesting shape. Is the edge ground on both sides, or just the one side shown?

Jeremy, It's been a while since I tore mine apart, but as best as I can recall, the washer halves go into the groove and stick out beyond the shaft diameter. The shoulder they create pushes against the shoulder in the brass nut in order to connect the upper shaft to the lower threaded shaft. The upper shaft spins around as it raises/lowers and the lower shaft moves in a straight line. A little grease or never-seize on the two faces would be adequate, they aren't spinning fast enough to be concerned with galling, and the nut shouldn't be over-tightened. My guess is it was over tightened at some point which damaged the threads.

I agree that the washer halves don't look right. They may have been a previous attempt to repair or rebuild the post drill. If I remember to, I'll see if I can take mine apart and get some photos. Looks like the clean-up process is coming along nicely.

If you have friends/family/neighbors with cats, have them save the kitty litter buckets for you. Square-ish, around 5 gallon size, with lids and stack nicely. Could be a good, low priced solution for a cheap thrifty blacksmith.

First: Add your general location to your profile. You may discover that there are other people close to you that can offer guidance or their experiences with similar models.

Second: Read through the Bellows section of the Forges forum here. Narrow down your searches to Champion to refine the specific information and figure out which model you have (it is not a Champion 400).

Third: As stated above, don't force anything when trying to remove, clean, open, or operate it. Some of the Champion blowers (I don't know about this particular model) had special features built in that if you try to pry off the top cap, you would break the casting (as Thomas was suggesting above), those had to slide the cap off after removing the screws. A good soaking of a penetrating oil before you begin will definitely help.

3 hours ago, Beckydoc said:

What would the Forge and chimney be made of? Local sandstone or brick? 

Sandstone has a tendency to explode when subjected to heat, so would not make a durable forge or chimney. You could make and use it, but maybe only once.

Very nice. It's amazing what a difference a year can make when you keep at it.

Very nice, I like the way you went the extra step on the two on the left to make the mounting plate mimic the design of the handle.

Looks like a Hay Budden or Trenton shape to me.