double_edge2

lol....like a virus...

my prefered method is, table spoon of salt per litre of water, a lead or stainless st. electrode ( i use s/s), a car batt charger, and a resistive coating or blocker and some time, for name etching or stensil cutting, but for damascus no blocker. it will eat the softer materials quicker. and i have an adhd kid so didnt want the hcl around. need the current so i use the biggest peice of electrode i can fit in the bucket.
ive sent you some links for the process and what you can do with it. althogh you dont need to chemicaly etch tiny machine arts some of the photos and the depths acheivable with salt water and a battery, sold me.

its not quick, and hydroxy is the byproduct so a ventilated area for safety. the lower flow makes it not so dangerous but just be aware of a closed room, 100 projects overnight, and walking in lighting a smoke the next morning!

its not the chemical answer you wanted but this may help if you get ....no other solution.

Mick, I can probably lug your stuff down & bring it back, if you can manage without it for a few days. Was also thinking it's time to make myself a gasser - my one brick has seen better days. Guess who I know who knows where to get kawool. I'll give you a ring.

what kawool?......got nuthin sez that on it....:)

you are more than welcome to borrow and pick up the stump for your anvil, and some of the gear on the weekend if you are wanting to take your anvil, but not wanting to come up early on the day.:D

thanks ratel10mm for the offer but i cant, do without all my primary forging tools for a few days.

also have a couple bags of charcoal and a couple of anvils. it should be noted, bush bugger (ifi member from mt isa) has offered me a $50.00 fuel card to help with my fuel, cos he cant be here in person, which i will accept with thanks.

cool , i need parking for 2 cars, ill have the gear in two vehicles on the day at the moment. and need some power for the other forge. im prettying the plough disc hand crank forge, and steel leaves are no prob.

hi and welcome to the collective, im in brisbane queensland. drop me a message or email if you make it to this side of oz.

what stock do you need ?

go the bucket of salty water, 1 stainless electrode and a battery charger?

awesome, nice to hear success.
i agree , even if you only did the mod and repair of brackets, it makes a forge an almost essential tool. apart from 5 or 8mm steel (using an ally back plate, fill weld redrill and tap or similar with a rivet and forge weld to fill), ive only ever done the deep chaser thread thing with ally, and only once, didnt want to test it just left it and sneak away.....lol.
did try the ally fill thing to fix up a thread gone wrong, i was trying to repair my imatience...re drilled, patiently cleaned and drilled the little holes so the new slug would bite and hold, poured, redrilled, tapped, then it let go..:mad:

you ...you...lost..what?

when he finnishes kickin himself...
somebody slapim:D

oi, dont knock the plough disk....i got one too.

good work, well done, nice setup.

Hey Grant Double edge comes from queensland where they have to spell beer like this XXXX cause they arent too good at spelling, (but at the moment they seem to be good at playing football)

Phil

actually, im not a queenslander, but i understand that you cant read the symbols or string them together vocally:D

Just had to read it didn't you, Frosty. Well, my question is this, seeing as how this is my 300'th post, does it really count as 300 if all I'm doing is asking if it counts?

nah, youve wasted it. it will now appear as as a scar, maring a shiny line of posts. unrecoverable.

me again, those near brisbane, eagle farm wanting a look or a bit of a learn,(forging mainly, but, fabrication, casting, stick mig tig oxy yada yada) or stop for a coffee, only a bit of a backyard setup., drop your number in a message or email to organize a time.

awesome response, thanks to all for the info. nice share.

good advice from frosty, just do it and have a go, ( safely ) you will learn more from the doing.

yep as rmcpb, said cut your slots to get the job down to the fire, is what i used to do,or use more coal, and shape a fire with water. i use charcoal now so have a shallow pot for that exact reason.

worst comes to worst, hire a new helper?:)

yes, good on you, learn what you can.

Thanks to both of you guys - between the two of you it looks like we will have a genuine leaf making demo for the Tree Project on the Gold Coast:)

yeh....all we need now is a couple of blacksmiths and youre away!:o

i agree with Beth, and type in a search for pictures on the internet for ideas for not just forges either. and a small gas forge can be made to run very efficiently. i have a hand crank and an electric blower for forge wind sources.
look at all options. and enjoy!

and my apologies james leland, for allowing myself to be ....distracted into,... not your thread.....nice forge bloke, awesome from what you had available, however you run it.

I'm liking your forge Double Edge, looks to be very versatile! I'm not saying you're wrong, we all work differently and if you're happy and it works that's all that matters..

and please, to all, that i would consider to be blacksmiths, i consider myself, at most, a pretend blacksmith and have never tried to over honor myself with the title "Blacksmith" i just muck around alot.

and yes i agree. when i started money and availability was the issue, i liked coal, when the cheap coal stopped i had to change. its a habbit developed from not wanting to waste any more than i had to with charcoal. now i think its impatience, used to have to light then quench as forging, and quench when finnished to conserve. spent weeks over winter making it and didnt like wasting it. so a smaller fire became the norm unless soaking bigger jobs.
scale is at times plentiful with the higher heat and scarce at a lower heat. best invention i think was the cordless angle grinder with a wire brush on it.:D