blackleafforge

Hi, I want to drill in and then set the steel bars in it so they can hold fire tools.

I wanted to make some companion sets set in stone but don't have any experience with the stuff. After looking online I think I will go for limestone so I can carve a bit of detail on to it, but I am concerned about it cracking. Is limestone a good choice? if not does anyone have any experience or advice about the kind of stone to use? Thanks

Im trying to upgrade by punches and chisels as I am spending more and more time re dressing and sharpening. I started out wit EN9 which is nice to forge and forgiving but deformed easily. I then tried 01 and its much harder but I have had a few exiting instances of it shattering. I was looking over some farrier tools and they had a lot of S1 tools, they claimed to be very impact resistant, hard with good edge retention. A quick google didn't return any useful info about hand forging it and using it as a blacksmith. Does anyone have any experience with it?Is it the right steel to be using? Or i

I did try offering to build something myself but they have to go through a planning process because of the buildings protected status before anything can be changed. Using charcoal is a good idea, I may pay the extra myself if they won't go for it if its significantly better.

I know there are already a few posts about the dangers and solutions to a badly ventilated forge, I was wondering however if anyone has info about or access to any scientific study carried out in a forge or similar. I ask because I work in a 17th century forge owned by a charitable group that keeps it open to the public - the main draw is the water powered trip hammer, im just a sideshow. The problem is that it all collapsed a century ago and was then re built, they however ran out of money so the roof is just solid asbestos sheeting, There are 2 open forges both burning coke ( the

I let it temper to a light straw, It did stand up to a few uses before breaking so I have lost the tempering colours on the end.

Hi, Im having more problems with my chisels after moving from EN9 to 01 tool steel. Initially i got fractures at the business end that I was subsequently told due to the enlarged grain structure it was probably caused by me over heating during forging. So I forged a new set of punches and kept them at a lower heat and that seemed to solve the problem, but I now get large bits flaking off on the striking end. No enlarged grain structure and I had brought it up to critical, oil quenched the tip, let the temper run then re quenched the tip again and let the punch cool naturally under the forge as

I assumed the crack was formed at the same time as the break as i didn't notice it before. Thinking back I did get the top half hotter than I liked (white heat), i was taught to forge EN9 at a red heat, is this true of 01? Can I save the bottom of the punch by annealing and re forging? Does annexing require a long cool down or is it sufficient to bring the pice up to non magnetic and quench straight away? Thanks.

Can anyone diagnose what the problem here is? I use EN9 for punches but I found the smaller ones bend after a few uses. So I have tried 01 steel, I forged, brought up to non magnetic, quenched half in linseed oil, allowed temper colours to reach end, re quenched half and left to cool under the forge ash. The first time i tapped it it snapped. What did i do wrong? thanks!

I hadn't considered dust / grit build up being a problem, I had thought that using a cutting fluid might help but it seemed overkill for a hand held drill. I do put a bit too much pressure on sometimes, especially with a blunt drill I sometimes force it through with all my weight out of frustration! I also didn't consider cleaning the metal, I assume thats to stop grit and crap getting pushed in to the hole? Same with the speed, I usually just crank it all up to 11, I hadn't considered that may be another contributory factor. Are there any other machinist brands you would recommend? as a

I have been using a cheap set of drill bits that came with my drill for a while now and they are almost all broken or blunt. A fresh one only seems to last for about a minute of drilling through mild steel, is it worth investing in a very expensive set? I was looking at at 29 pice cobalt irwin set but it costs over £100. How much difference will I see? Does anyone else invest in expensive sets or is cheap and cheerful the way to go? Thanks

I have notice and heard smith make reference to the fact that working stock hard keeps the heat in. I find this mostly applicable when drawing down very small stock but I was wondering about what was going on. I assume that the impact of the hammer will generate a small about of heat through friction but I don't think that accounts for it. I thought it may have something to do with compression? I also noticed this video that i assume is working off the same principle. does anyone smarter than me know what exactly is going on?

what is the lump in the middle for? I will try playing around with a looser grip and see what i can achieve, hopefully without throwing my hammer at anyone! thanks

I have met a few older blacksmiths who have problems with their arms and in some cases can't fully open the hand. I have been forging full time for almost a year and have already noticed some aches and pains creeping in along with a bit of numbness on the tips of my fingers. I have seen a few hammers being sold with anti vibration handles, e.g.: http://www.buyhorseshoes.co.uk/double-s-shoe-turning-hammer-18lbs-2lbs-or-22lbs-10165-p.asp are they any good? Has anyone used them? thanks

very impressive. reviewing the design and looking at yours i suspect i may not have thinned the flexing section enough...