son_of_bluegrass

I don't have the file on this machine, but I have a list of marks that Nicholson made for other sellers, This sounds like one on that list. When I get a chance I'll check the list I have. Ron

It transfers the force of a hammer blow to the ground instead of to the screw. This keeps the screw from becoming bent or broken when you hammer on something held in the vice. This is why you shouldn't hammer on something held in a machinist vice. ton

Here in central Kansas, the club I belong to bought in bulk some 25 tons or thereabouts. It came in from NE Ok. It worked out to a price of $150 a ton. I've picked up most of a ton, which at the rate I've been able to fire up the forge lately should last a few years. Hopefully I can get more hammer time soon. ron

Do they no longer sell to individuals, or below a certain tonnage? If they are not selling to the public as in individuals, have you thought of getting a business license if you don't have one or telling them if you do? If they don't want to sell below some tonnage can you go in with others to get the needed tonnage? ron

I remember reading about Boye's dendritic steel and believe he uses a specific alloy and I think it is relatively high in Cobalt. ron

DON"T use concrete or brick unless it is made for forge or fire. Regular bricks and concrete with decompose at forging temperatures and may spall or explode (believe me small or large chunks of sharp rock flying around isn't fun for normal people). There are many cheap sources of lining. I use wood ash in an old weber grill (one of the round ones). My air comes in from the side not 'neath. Search for the differences between side blast and bottom blast forges. Other linings include kitty litter (search lively style forge), dirt (clay type works best from what I hear). I'm sure others will chime in with other options. I've found charcoal works better in a side blast. Just my experience. I've used both side and bottom blast with both charcoal and coal. Coal works well in either, I just find it easier to control a charcoal fire in a side blast. Being able to but the steel straight into the heart of the fire is a good thing. Done it the other way and it becomes a hassle to control the heat in the piece properly. If you give us the area you live in, there may be someone close by, or a club local to you where you can get help in person. ron

Mix the dust with water to form a slurry. You can use the slurry to bank a fire or to create an "oven" of sorts by putting it on top of the fire after you get it going. The dust will adhere forming larger pieces as it cokes off. It doesn't work quite the same as coal chunks but a useable fire can be made with it. ron

If there is a local blacksmithing club they may buy coal in bulk and sell it at cost or a little more to members. That is where I get my coal, from the club I belong to. My cost $150 / ton When I don't have that on hand, I use charcoal I make for myself or I've gleaned from the woodburning stove. ron

If you don't know that it outside of the pipe will stay cool enough, you might want to consider a high-temp caulk. Of course for caulk, high-temp is somewhere around 600 F or so. ron

Super quench is a quenchant that was created to be very fast to harden mild steel as much as it can. You mix it up yourself. I don't know the recipe off hand but a search should find the recipe easy enough. I've heard some of the ingredients are becoming harder to find and there are a few variants of the recipe. ron

I am trying to do exactly that right now. My last boss fired me because I wouldn't put quantity over quality (trim carpentry, most houses built today are built fast and so long and it will last the warranty period it is good enough). A few years ago Dad died and I move states and back in with Mom to help her out around the house so I have very little in the way of living expenses. I spent several months creating inventory. This last weekend I went to my first fair. I made one sale and spent more for the entry fee than I made. All that being said, I know people who, after several years, have made it work. That means you need to be able to pay bills someway for a few years until you get established. I also see a lot of low quality wares that sell out fast. Since I won't put out something that poorly made I also have to educate consumers on how to spot quality and why my stuff has to be more expensive than theirs. And of course I have to do that with out insulting their work or leave myself open to legal problems. ron

Several years ago (long enough I no longer have the appropriate links saved) I looked into this very question. I went out and looked at physics pages and eye damage related pages to see what wavelengths were problematic. I looked up various optics and the transmittance and absorption data. I looked at OSHA regs. I spent a couple of weeks looking around. My conclusions are that a forge fire emits a lot of visible light which our eyes are designed to handle, some UV light most of it in near UV, which causes some damage but not real worry some, and enough IR in potentially damaging wavelengths to be a real concern. Furthermore, the standard polycarbonate lenses block sufficient UV so any polycarbonate lens or shield takes care of the UV part of the spectrum. IR then becomes the concern. That means you'll want to bind something that is rated to block IR. You'll also want something that will protect you against flying flux, scale and all of that. My solution was to get a shade 3 (and for when I was someplace brighter a shade 5) face shield available at my local welding shop for a bit under $40 each. Both are rated for IR and UV protection and flying debris. ron

Rosewood is generally oily enough it needs no other finish. If you want to do something, generally you have to wipe it down with something like acetone to get rid of the natural oil. Furthermore if it is stabilized, all you need to do is buff it to the level of finish you want. Unless of course the stabilization method or materials used was something inferior in which case it probably isn't worth using. ron

Is there a local blacksmithing club near you? Check the ABANA website for an affailate. Here the local chapter has a shop set up that members can use. ron

Pecan makes beautiful handles. If you can get some air dried or dry it yourself, it makes better handles than kiln dried (just take longer, waiting for the wood to dry). I have 2 half logs waiting to dry for shaping into handles at the moment. ron

I thought I had already replace this handle in the last round of handle making. Since I didn't (I meant to) I tried to take pictures of why I like the grain as I do. Hopefully you can see what I'm getting at. As you may be able to tell in the one picture the grain is mostly as Bendik shows. It is angles a bit off the axis but mostly runs as he drew. In the other picture there is a small split started. It runs across the growth rings not along as some of you seem to think it will. I have never seen a hammer handle with a split that follows the growth rings. I have seen several that split across the growth rings. I still stand by my statement. And if any of you are wondering, this was one of the last batch of handles I bought before I started making my own. Sometimes I shave with a drawknife sometimes I turn oval. I normally wouldn't have bought this one but the handle bin had only limited handles that the grain ran from one end of the handle to the other. ron

I am speaking from my experience in carpentry and woodwork as well as lots of firewood splitting. As a carpenter I've worked with spruce/pine/fir (SPF two by material), cedar, redwood, alder, red oak, white oak, hard maple, poplar. In my woodworking I've used black walnut, mulberry, apricot, hickory, pecan, apple, soft maple, grapevine big enough to resaw, multiple species that were given to me that I never bothered to positively ID. Some of these I've dried myself. In addition to some of those I've split cottonwood and elm for fire wood. There are probably several I've forgotten to mention. Through all of that, the only one that didn't show a strong preference for splitting perpendicular to the growth rings was the elm. And elm has so much interlocking grain, it doesn't want to split in any direction. And I've looked at the checking that develops as ash dries, it also shows a preference to split perpendicular the growth rings. I stand by my statement. I think either a thread or blueprint or link somewhere showed Mr. Hofi demonstrating how he does his handles and if memory serves, he doesn't make any special effort to orient his handles. Ron

Yes I understood you. And I agree that what you show on the right is a bad way for grain to be oriented. If I had the computer skills I would draw what I mean. If you take the picture on the left you show the grain 90 degrees to what I prefer. If you've worked wood enough you may notice how the wood tends to split, which is generally at right angles to the growth rings. I prefer the natural splitting plane to be in the long axis of the handle. ron

I have to disagree with the grain direction you prefer. With the grain oriented as you suggest the primary splitting plain of the wood is along the short axis of the handle. Which puts more splitting stress on the handle when you strike with the hammer than if you orient the grain 90 degrees to the long axis of the hammer. In my experience any bounce is mostly poor hammer technique. If any comes from a lateral flex in the handle it would likely be due to the grain oriented at some other angle. ron

It probably won't. I regularly wait over night or a few days between quenching and tempering without problems. Some people think I've been lucky or that my methods (being very primitive) may not get to full hardness. ron

I didn't see your general location listed anywhere. If you put a city and start up there may be someone close to you willing to give you some first hand experience or let you watch him work. ron

I've used it. It works fine. It does throw more "forge fleas" than some other brands, and less than some. If you're used to coal or coke there are some differences, if you're use to real charcoal you won't have any problems. If you're just starting you can learn fine on it then if you change to coal or coke sometime later you'll have to learn fire management all over again. ron

You'll do better with something that insulates. A charcoal fire won't use as much fuel if the fire pot is well insulated. If you use firebricks then you can reshape the pot to suit the work better. ron

The fuel you use can make a difference. I've used both and find that charcoal works better in a side blast. ron

What are the particulars of your forge. While both are solid fuels there are some forge particulars that may make your forge better for one than the other. Charcoal likes a side blast better. Coal works fine in a bottom blast. Charcoal also likes a well insulated forge. There are differences in the fuels themselves. Charcoal, I find easier to start, not as much smoke, the ash tends to be fine enough to fly out of the forge, less clinker and it requires less air. Coal is denser therefore less feeding of the fire, you'll use about the same weight but less volume with coal. You can get hot enough with either to melt steel. Then there are neighbor issues (or not), personal preference, which is the better deal. ron