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I Forge Iron

son_of_bluegrass

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Everything posted by son_of_bluegrass

  1. My understanding (much cleared up from a science friday video podcast on fire), the yellow comes from the incandescence of unburned but hot carbon particles (soot). Since this is unburned it would seem to me that a yellow flame would create more CO than blue where all the fuel is burning. ron
  2. Charcoal doesn't have to radiate more heat than coal. That depends mostly on how the fire is set up and managed. Charcoal likes a deeper fire than is common with coal fireboxes. I've worked charcoal in a shallow and deep forge and the shallow forge radiated more than the deep forge. As to the "fire fleas", that seems to me to be mostly related to how well the wood was charred. If the wood is well charred through-out it doesn't throw sparks the way poorly charred wood does. ron
  3. Nice work. Personally, I prefer a guard without holes.
  4. Can you post a picture of the mark?
  5. I believe "De Re Metallica" is available from Project Gutenberg http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
  6. Whatever you coat the door with, coat all sides (6 total, including edges and top/bottom as well as the 2 faces). This will help with movement, although nothing with stop the movement completely. Before starting on the build, look up shrinkage rates for the wood you use and build in a manner to allow for that movement. Unless it's really humid, and has been for a couple of weeks, if you don't allow for movement, it will move and you won't be able to open the door (experience speaking). If it's been humid enough for long enough the wood will shrink. On a woodworking forum I read, there has been some discussion about using untinted paint base for a clear exterior finish. Supposedly it has the greatest UV resistance as well as really good resistance to water movement. I've never tried it so don't know how well it works. In woodwork, always test the finish as you'll apply it on a scrap prepared as the project is to know how it'll work. ron
  7. I'd like to address another aspect of the nails appearing to be on the diagonal. If there is a second ply running horizontal behind the vertical ply as seen in the picture and the nails lined up in a neat grid, there is a good chance that they would split the horizontal ply from being in line with the grain and too close together. As such it may be that the motivation behind the diagonal pattern originally had nothing to do with damaging any weapon swung against it but was there due to characteristics of the lumber used. ron
  8. The "non-toxic" antifreeze is propylene glycol. It's not as bad as ethylene glycol, but can cause problems with repeated exposure. ron
  9. I started blacksmithing to make woodworking tools I couldn't afford. I've made a couple of chisels, draw knives, etc. It can be done. And you can get a high end chisel for the cost of a cheap one. And you can adjust the temper to suit you. Your first ones will be ugly even if they cut better than cheap or mid-grade ones. And tangs will be easier than sockets. That being said, I'd avoid O1 to start. To get the most out of O1 you need to soak at temperature without that you won't have the best tool you can make. Start with 10XX where XX is > 75 (80 + would be better). If you need a source for materials, check out the New Jersey Steel Baron. (Even 1095, which would like a short soak, would get a better result without a soak than O1 without a soak.) You can forge or grind. I prefer forging but that is because I find grinding tedious. There are plenty of threads on heat treating you can peruse to get a handle on that. If you want a laminated blade, I'd buy 10XX where XX is < 20. Horse shoes are likely what ever is cheap and may harden with a heat treat, which would defeat the purpose of laminating. If you're willing to case harden, you may be able to fake laminating. If you harden the cutting surface of a low carbon steel it may act like a laminated blade.
  10. I can taste stainless. There are epoxies made for coating wood drinking vessels which could work. Wax would work but will need periodic replenishment, especially if the drink is alcoholic. I find beeswax to be rather pleasant. Treating it like cast iron cookware would work, but again will need periodic replenishment. ron
  11. Do you have a piece of the race left? If so then take it down to about knife thickness and see what will work for a quenchant. Do a search for testing for the correct quenchant for unknown steels. This has been covered before (and I don't feel like typing that much). If you don't have a piece left, good luck. ron
  12. Body heat is not high enough to make shellac sticky by itself. But the oils and other compounds in the skin can react with shellac. But I wouldn't recommend shellac for a razor handle. I would use a curing oil (like linseed or tung), knowing that it will need refreshed on occasion. The oil can also be used to fill the pores (test first it can dramatically change the look). You can use a modern finish but I'm not a big fan of those. Unless you get the finish soaked into the wood (not easy), any film finish will flake/wear off in time. How soon depends on the finish. Most modern finishes are film finishes. Walnut heartwood is resistant to rot, even without a finish, provided it is allowed to dry and not stay wet/damp for long periods of time, it should last a while.
  13. I don't know what is in Bealer's book. I have melted glass from broken drinking glasses. If things don't cool slowly enough, the glass will crack. If there is too much shrinking of the iron, the glass will crack. If there is anything floating in the forge it can stick to the glass. The melted glass is really sticky. ron
  14. If you're using something like A36, it could be anything and not necessarily mild steel. A36 is a structural grade which means it need to meet certain criteria for strength not for composition so it may have alloying elements that make it air hardening or hot short or just completely unsuitable for forging. And that may just be a 6 inch section in 5 foot worth of bar or it may be most of a bar. Since there is a lot of recycle in structural grades they become a crap shoot, sometimes you get a lovely to forge piece, sometimes you get a section that falls apart no matter what you do. ron
  15. Modern candle wax is formulated to burn cleaner. Longer wicks can work (the burning fuel is cooler and doesn't burn as clean). Beeswax candles generally burn sootier if you can't find tallow. Oil lamps tend to be sootier than modern candle wax.
  16. I have never done this. But that won't stop me from offering ideas. Perhaps build a trench fire to cure the paint? Perhaps seasoning like cast iron (likely will work if the work doesn't get too hot)? Perhaps leave it unfinished and expect regular maintenance? ron
  17. If you strip the zinc with acid (anything stronger than house hold vinegar), there are precautions to take. Wear splash resistant goggles (even if you have a face shield on). Wear chemical gloves. A chemical apron is a good idea. Depending on the strength of the acid and ventilation, an appropriate respirator isn't out of line. Have a solution ready to neutralize the acid (baking soda works). When working with any chemicals, be prepared by studying up on the chemicals you plan on using so you know what to do if things go wrong. ron
  18. Somewhere I ran across 4000 F as the theoretical upper limit for a solid fuel carbon based fire. It's been so long I don't recall where I got that information, nor do I know if it's correct. Of course the smart-alek answer it "Hot enough". ron
  19. Are you worried about it wedging into the hardy hole? Or did you leave a shoulder?
  20. If you are familiar with black body radiation, you understand that all objects with a temperature above absolute zero emit some level of radiation. Exactly what and how much is dependent on the temperature, the higher the temperature, the more radiation and the higher energy of that radiation. This is why infrared cameras can detect body heat. Somewhere around 700 F, visible light starts to be emitted, below this there are IR emissions. The temperature where there starts to be UV emissions are hot enough for steel to melt, well above forging temperatures. If you are interested search for black body graphs, you'll find ones that correlate temperature to the emitted radiation with marks to indicate visible, IR and UV. (Generally the temperature is give in Kelvin, not Fahrenheit.)
  21. More or less we are talking about black body radiation, particularly with the hot metal. So above a certain temperature the steel emits visible and IR light (it tends to melt before much UV gets emitted). ron
  22. It is possible (even probably since it appears to be a factory hammer) that is got over heated somewhere and that is why it is soft. If you have a forge you can heat treat it again. It can be tempered in an oven after hardening. ron
  23. MY predictions are based on when I started I had little money and no skill, just desire. I started using slip-joint pliers, vice gripes and channel locks while I save pennies for tongs. After getting tongs I found I was doing less work to get more done and didn't hurt at the end of the day. You may be young enough now to not hurt after a while of using channel locks but you are hurting yourself. When I see someone doing something that isn't the best way I tell them so. Frequently I tell them why, but that is way to much typing for me. You can search and find the reasons. Once I've warned you, I feel I did what I needed. If you continue and get hurt I won't feel bad for you. You don't know half of what you think you do. ron
  24. It's not a problem of "does it work" or even "does it work better" - it's a question of "does it make you work more" or "will it lead to injuries long term". There is a reason, with all the vice grips, channel locks, various pliers, why smiths buy or make tongs. You are kidding yourself if you think the pliers work well or better than tongs. BUT if you want to continue using them I won't stop you. I will, however, when you injure yourself not using proper equipment, say "he earned it". As for rr spikes, no they don't make GOOD knives. It may make a few cuts but they don't hold an edge for long which means you'll sharpen it all away before you've made a dent in an appropriate knife steel. Again, if it's what you want to use I won't stop you. If you want the extra work then go for it, and should you get injured because you try forcing a dull spike through a cut that a sharp knife would handle with ease, again I'll say "he earned it". ron
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