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I Forge Iron

will52100

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Posts posted by will52100

  1. Thanks.  I'll look in Blueprints and see if I can find it.  I've been looking online and through Youtube, the one decent vid I found referenced using a 12"x12" flue liner, so I was thinking of going with that.  Also mentioned a shelf to help make it draw better?

    Main thing is I don't want to spend all that effort and then have to tear it down and re do it.

  2. I'm in the process of rearranging my smithy layout to be better ergonomically situated with anvil, forge, and equipment.  I'm wanting to move my coal forge to the center of the smithy, it's a drop shed closed on one side with a tin roof.  I'm wanting to build a brick forge and chimney, one purpose of the brick chimney will be to replace one of the roof support 4x4's.

    I've been looking for plans, but so far have come up empty.  I need inside dimensions, or what measurements does the inside of a brick side draft need to be?  I'm planning on extending the brick through the roof, and then transitioning to a stainless steel stove pipe to get the chimney above the peak of my shop roof.

    Thanks

  3. I was thinking I'd be able to reach critical with the gas forge, maybe, by working it back and forth.  Maybe not, will try an experiment with a mild steel bar and see if I can get an even temperature.  If I was to do very many I'd either build a dedicated forge or HT oven for this.  For a one off I may very well end up digging a trench charcoal forge, hadn't thought of that, thanks.

  4. I do have a BBQ, and might go that route, or I was thinking of putting a pipe in the gas forge and heating it up to act as an oven.  The other option that got me to thinking was putting say 3 toaster ovens in line with holes in the ends and doing it that way.

    I'll likely go with 5160 since I have it on hand.  I'd love to do one in damascus, but think I'll stick to a mono steel to start with and get the basics first.

  5. Been a blade smith for over 15 years or so, and have yet to make a sword.  I'm thinking of trying a Roman Gladius for the first attempt.  I've done a few largish brush blades out of leaf springs, but nothing quite as long or refined as a sword.

    My concern is heat treat.  For most knives I stick with 52100 or 1084/15&20 damascus, on occasion wire rope damascus, and sometimes 5160.  I'm thinking that since I don't have a large enough heat treat oven for a sword length blade I would use 1075 for the blade and do the old temper color method of tempering.  My reasoning on the 1075 is that it would be more forgiving than the other steels I use.  A possibility is 5160, but not sure which would be easiest to get rite.

    Thoughts?

    Thanks

  6. I've mostly made punches and drifts from 4140, 5160, a couple from 52100, and some from coil springs and sucker rods.

    A buddy is wanting me to make him a Brazil style hammer eye punch, and I got to thinking about using H13 for durability.  Then I ran up on Brent Bailey taking about Atlantic 33.

    Anybody used it before?  Thoughts?

    Thanks

  7. Small utility/hunter out of wire rope, stabilized Sheoak and Hawaiian Koi, brass guard, 3 3/4" blade, my new EDC.  

     

    Second is a custom order I'm still working on the sheath on, 7" blade, Turkish twist pattern, bronze guard and stacked leather and sambar crown. Rather pleased with this one, it fought me every step of the way, second blade, second handle and guard. 

    DSCF0049.jpg

    DSCF0055.jpg

    DSCF0057.jpg

  8. I went through the same thing.  I did roll the eye around a rod and drifted it to size and then normalized a couple of times.  Frankly, that was over kill.  If you use it and pay attention to the flex, it really isn't that much flex going on.  Mild steel would probably work just fine for a little while.

    The hardest part of the build for me was getting the head lined up straight and square with the anvil.  Took several tack it in place, back up and look at it, ect. to get everything rite.

    I thought I'd only use it once in a while since I've got a press and a hammer, but it's like having an extra set of hands in the shop.

  9. No, epoxy isn't necessary.  Only thing I use it for is a moister seal.  With few exceptions I always use a mechanical lock to hold the handle on.  That said, I normally use Acraglass and it last me a year or so and haven't had it go bad yet.  Am currently trying Gflex out so we'll see.

  10. I've been in the oil patch for about 17 years now and only witnessed a handful of incidents.  They have really tightened down on safety, to the point at times it seems like you can't get anything done.  Then again, at one point they were crippling and killing people left and right, so something had to be done.  One rig I was on went two years without a LTI.  Of course, this is mostly been ultra deep water, back in the jack up days we got away with more stupid stuff.

    I haven't used a rolling mill yet, but I seriously doubt there is any way you can "pull" a billet through the rollers if you have any reduction going on at all.  In the plans they do state that you can occasionally "help" pull the billet through, but it seems it's more about getting the rollers to bite and do the pulling than you physically pulling the billet through.  Hughe does state that you have to brush flux off damascus billets before rolling as it will act as a lubricant.  That tells me the rollers can't be too slick or they won't work.  That's one reason I don't want to leave the chrome on, another is that I figured it would burn off while rolling, if it would even roll as slick as it is.  I'll know more when I get it built, till then it's educated guess work.

  11. Thanks, that's a method I may explore, not sure if my lathe is heavy duty enough, but the worst that will happen is a broken bit or slip the belt, not sure if I can make a heavy enough cut or not.  More than likely I'll wind up just getting a couple feet of mild steel round stock and dressing it up.

    I've worked too long in the oil field and military before that to have very much of a cavalier attitude when it comes to safety.

  12. Good references and I have been reading up on them.

    I am actually more concerned with grinding the chrome off than with burning it off.  My gas forge is outside and well ventilated and I'm not dumb enough to be downwind of it.  And before you start harping on poisoning my neighbors, the closest neighbors are a half mile away.  The immediate grinding dust can be taken care of with a respirator, but the particulates that would remain everywhere is an issue I don't want in my shop.  Frankly from what I've been reading, I'll likely be looking for another source for the rollers as I don't want to grind the stuff in my shop.

    FYI, hexavalent chrome vapors are produced when welding stainless steel, and is found in some public water systems and drinking water.  It's nasty stuff for sure, but if precautions are taken it's a manageable risk.

  13. I'm gathering materials for a rolling mill build and am planning on using some of the hydraulic shafting I use for hammers and top tools as the rollers.  I need to get the chrome off, but how?  When forging hammers and such I simply leave it on and it comes off with the scale while working it.  The only thought I have for this application is to spin the shaft and use a hand grinder to grind it off then turn it down to a uniform thickness on the lathe.  I'm using titanium nitrite lathe bits, I'm assuming the chrome plating would not redly turn off.  Also, any idea how thick it is?  I'm thinking grind, check with ferric chloride, keep grinding till there is no sign of it then turn to diameter.

    Thanks

  14. Got the plans, haven't been able to get the video to work yet, but the PDF file has pretty much everything I need.  I have a couple of sets of pillow block bearings that are the right size I'm going to rob off an old spreader wagon.  I'm planning on using some hydraulic shafting that is about 2 1/4" or so.  What did everybody use for their rollers?  The plans say mild steel will work, but I don't think I have any that size.  I'm planning on grinding the chrome off the hydraulic shafting before truing it up in the lathe.

    Plans are nice, just wish they were in inches and not metric, but not a big deal.

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