SimonW

It's not zknives.com?

Where were the rings stored over those months, and what was the climate like at that time (if stored outside)?

Maybe there was a layer of scale on the bar that dulled the bit before you even got into the steel? Also, maybe check that the drill press wasn't running in reverse (it rare but possible to do with some presses), that really doesn't work! If your drilling such a big hole, do it in steps, it will save you a lot of time & be much cleaner. Try 1/4" to start, then up to 3/8" & finally 1/2". Always use cutting fluid (motor oil will do in a pinch), and as before, make sure your RPM isn't too fast. I'd suggest annealing the bar though, or at the very least the sections where you will be drilling. Once you are done drilling & all the edge beveling you will want to anneal & heat treat the blade anyways, so there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to anneal. Good luck!

The understanding I have is that galvanic action between steel (the anode) & copper (cathode) will erode the steel. The easy fix I'd think is to switch to copper rivets. So long as the copper awning protects any connection between dissimilar metals from water, you greatly reduce the effect of galvanic action. With copper rivets the connection between the two metals would be under the awning where the rivet pierces the steel bracket, and should be protected from rainfall. This would also give you a much larger anode to erode over time as your new anode would now be the bracket & not the much smaller steel rivet. As mentioned above, in a very humid or salty environment any reactions are magnified & accelerated, so if this is the case you may need to find a different solution. Any way to avoid galvanization is most likely best, its bloody expensive to hot dip steel! Simon

Nice to have some more people entering the world of architecture! I'll leave others more knowledgeable comment about shop setup & space needed for all the different equipment. I've found that a big work bench is very useful though, if you have the space that is. At the very least you can put your grinders, drill presses & all the other tools you pick up on one centralized location. In regards to heating the home with the forge, have you thought about using hydronic in-slab heating? You could loop heating lines in the bed of the coal forge, recycling heat from the forge when in use & storing it in a thermal tank tied to the hydronic system. The forge loops could be tied into a pump that switches on when the forge blower fan is in operation. Since you are already using a storage tank, you could even add solar hot water panels to the house for additional heat supply during the day. I'm not sure the climate in the UK can support solar hot water (since supposedly its rainy & overcast all the time over there!), but I'll let you be the judge of that. This will cut down on heating costs, in theory anyways. I'm tempted to separate the shop & home, not only for fire safety but also to keep sound transmission between the two spaces down too. I'd fire rate the shop walls & ceiling even if is not required by local Code, since blacksmithing has a greater risk of fire related incidents, may as well err on the side of caution. It would also be nice to choose construction materials and/or finishes to deaden sound in the shop. Maybe just some acoustic paneling on the walls will do the job. Sounds like a fun project, you should let us know how things go! Simon

I've always liked square anvils, so I'm eager & hopeful to see it fixed up!

Nice work on the handle! I really like the oak with those small knots, they give the wood some nice character,

I think your coworker meant areas on the handle that would cause irritation and eventually blisters. It quite literally feels like a hot spot on your hand, and you can usually find a red sore patch of skin to match. It's a warning, work any more like this and you are in trouble!

I'm thinking the idea of "edge packing" may have been a carry over from before the Iron Age. From what I understand copper and bronze were able to be work hardened, were the metal became more hard and brittle as smiths worked copper nuggets or bronze castings to shape. These techniques must have been tried on iron & steel over the ages with "apparent" success by smiths who had not yet discovered or realized how to heat treat steel. Work hardening or edge packing steel as an idea must have kept popping up throughout the years even to current times.

You could use W2 for the edge material, it contains a bit of tungsten as well as some vanadium, and is one of the steels bladesmith's like to use. You should be able to source some from one of the knife making suppliers online.

Wow, that was some terrible grammar! I'll blame the fact that I was posting on my phone, and not that I didn't proof-read!

Are you thinking of something like the habaki on Japanese blades? If so, here is a short Youtube video of a Japanese maker going through most of the process here: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HpR5N7T-Abo It unfortunately in Japanese, but the auto translate works will help you get through the video. You can see all the steps with just the video though.

Post some pictures please, your castings sound really interesting!

I know of at least two companies than make wooden bicycle frames, Renovo who make fames built up from various hardwood species & Monsoon which makes frames from sections of bamboo. Very cool bikes! http://www.renovobikes.com/ http://www.monsooncycles.com/ Once you get past the frames, you would still need energy instensive metal parts; pedals, chains, sprockets etc. From what I understand alot of steel & aluminum foundries use electricity to melt down their materials rather than coal. Where they ultimately get their electricity is the question then and largely depends on where they are located. Hydroelectric would be then best, but there are still alot of coal power plants around. On the plus side when the foundries creating steel 90% of the the starting material is recycled & the remaining 10% is newly mined. Aluminum is similar but I'm usure of the actual ratios of recycled to new materials. Titanium I have no idea about. If i was more of a bicycler & had some extra money around I'd probably get one of those Renovo bikes, they are something else!