double_edge2

Yep......what's the parent material, size, prep, size and type of rod, amps, . Tool steels and the like or high chrome 43xx, have the tendency to have a different cooling rates to the rod type, or partially blend with it to embrittle the bead, and crack with the differential cooling. Never seen it so uniform a crack though, try ripping more heat into it, and slow the cooling, with oxy. Some steels, you can't weld with stick alone, ive done some armour plating that just wouldnt play the game, only oxy or tig with the right tricks.

Too hard a decision to stress yourself over, Send it to me, ....

Well spent effort, nice work!

As already mentioned, Regardless of the square/round stock, by hand, its easier to draw steel square, then shape as required. and Starting with the bulk where required, for the reinforced bend, in lue of upsetting, makes sense. Maybe he just didnt think to upset for this bend, then move the steel into the corner required, or did, and thought it easier to come down to the size required, with the larger starting stock. Nice job regardless of method. To upset for this type of bend, heat the middle of a piece of bar as you would for an end upset, and upset the middle section by striking a cold end, to the required size bulge, start your bend, on a mandril to retain the inside radius, then strike/create the flats either side of the sharp outside corner. Saying it now, I would go the larger starting stock.

Sad for all those he left behind. Fare well on your new journey Grant. Ya gotta wonder what he's gonna do this time round? He only did it it so he wouldn't have to make me a set of tongs.....

The what!? Late!? When did this happen.,.!?!? That can't be right !

The can of worms is I suppose, comes down to the formal recognition, or piece of paper, for title, or hobbiests uses of the tag. To some people,... watch someone playing guitar, who studied successfully at a conservatorium for the years required, Then pick up guitar and learn "A" song well, are you a guitarist, musician? Artistic, yes. Same with steel, a few pretty shapes, hinges, a successfull artist?, a published one at that, with a blacksmith tag, yes? Now, a rated 20 ton hook, or a rated chain sling repair, or structural mod to a piece of equipment, where someone's life depends and relies on your work? Then the "title" "blacksmith" comes in to play. (I'd want to see the piece of paper) Titles and tags get thrown around a bit, ....if you earned the "title" at A school, or did your time under one and he said you are one, then you are one. No matter how badly you do it. ....and a boiler maker or enginneer who blacksmiths, might say so, as the blacksmithing used to be a part of boiler making here I think. Or vise versa.... if you are doing the job of one, successfully, with one to watch over you, then you "may" be considered as one, if he's around. Dictionary definitions and tags aside, Fact is, even if you can do, with the same understanding and practice, of ALL that a blacksmith practiced and learned in their formal training, and still have no issued certificate, though you may deserve the title and outdo a blacksmith, you are not considered qualified to be legaly responsible and accountable for your what may need to be "rated" structural work.....you are still just someone who practices blacksmithing, and uses the "tags" blacksmith, or artist blacksmith, to further difine how you play with steel. ( I've hired both, and would hire either) and I use the tag, but quite quickly correct in issues of structural consequence, that I am not a qualified blacksmith,.... and my work when needed to be, is subject to the approval of the engineer or titled blacksmith for structural work. Or something like that....yada yada

Nah it's just a plot, he wants to keep the pics for himself....lol

. Club and general invitation, Fixed dates for the weekend and week, to be sorted yet, although we will be there for the month. Half hour west of Dalby, Qld.. Hand crank or own powered forges, bring long leads to keep gen sets away from camp area. Byo everything.....caravan, tent, camper van, ok. Water will be avail, for showers, washing up etc, Camping, forging, bludging, eating, We will be doing the slaughtered beast again, Or the live skinning and cooking of fresh vegetables for non meat eating persons. (do the 5 klm bush walk, or 10klm if you want to get back) Making charcoal, live entertainment, with your own guitar. Everything is open air.... Freezer on site Kitchen Sink Baths/camp shower on site Toilet/thunder box Coke available on site Phone or txt, on +61 434993726 bus. Hrs. for Email invite, local and details, etc .I wil update As more detail is set. Mike.

Bit far for me too I think....less you wanna organise club bloke thing.

Nice! The right frill for the job.......junk is good,

I made a couple for a woodworker. Post would kill from here though, If a bender was handy, You could simply bend them up and weld a foot on. Can't remember the optimal angle, 87? 82 deg or something, have to browse my book for the sketches and angles.

Sorry, and I would do the flat to flat, less chance of inclusion of any sort, .....the flux needs to be forced out to allow the sticky metal to meet, funny added surface shapes and area just help to compromise the weld, and need funny hammering to force out the flux. Flat to flat for simple shapes are easier to join.

Try again, randy is right. Deeper fire, and just enough air, always easier to shoof some off than to work with not enough...,,the to be, welded faces in the heat, two sets of tongs. I would brush off the flux you used and just use the borax, sprinkled on at a med orange after a hot brushing.( not too much that it scabs). Come to heat not so quick, ( boil the flux and you end up with the oxidisation you wanted to avoid) and allow the heat to soak,....if one comes to heat quicker than the other, just raise it till the other catches up... As it gets to heat (im no blacksmith, so i let it just hit sparkle, not full sparkle shower, just one or two from both bits, gives me a few second longer for a single operater)......join them in the fire and bring them across, drop tongs, or keep hold with one set, and gentle tapping. Hit too hard at the wrong time and you smudge your weld. Repeat the brush, re apply more flux, reheat again to further bed the weld side by side by side etc. works for me after a go or two for tools.

Rounding hammer for the horn, working smart, upset it a little before you round or square off, and you will have plenty. Easy on a power or air hammer, maybe a mate with sledge if by hand. Track does make good hammers. I normally use the 1045. Does me. Very tolerant stuff. The 52xxx, I think the 2 is out of 3 in chromium content , medium, so you had to watch your heat. That woulda been some hard hitting if by hand, the other thing is, even 5160, If It gets too hot, may crumble or fracture later, even if they don't look it now. Learnt that one quick....lol. Post the hammer pic when you're finished.

Club day, 8 all up, tongs, leaves, tinsmithing hammer, ripper of a day, BBQ, new member Andy, welcome and nice tongs.

Absent! XXXXXXX

Welcome to the forum And hello back from Brisbane QLD, good fun with your melting. Lots a smart cookies here to tap for info. Have a look a the various sections and search, you might find something you wanted to know.

If you are only looking to heat an inch or two of small stock, cut two through notches in a piece of say 3 or 4 inch pipe at about 5 inches long. .... Notches about inch wide or job size and inch or two down, drop it in your forge as a reducer for your fire pot and smaller localized heat, .... Save a bit of coke....... Maybe, It works for me.

As ThomasPowers said, The impurities in the charcoal that were not cooked out at the lower temp, will solidify and give you the glazy lumps you get at the bottom of the forge after forging. Different charcoals will give you varied results of a similar nature. That and that sometimes what looks like charcoal doesn't mean it is, I get a lot of small sandy rocks sometimes, depending on the batch

Thin and cold, when moving or bending, don't really mix, unless you want cracking. To my untrained eye that is, better to heat again than try to get the "just a little bit more...." Usually, with forging faults, they get bigger as you go on.

Fine to do so, .the think thing........ Don't let it stop you from doing stuff, if you haven't been making stuff long, you will get better, if you want to. The more you do the better you get ....normally. I just hack in, and see what happens. If I've got to sell one, I might have to make it a couple of times first, ....... It's half the fun I think.....

This may be a known, but how you suspend them and where on the piece, if done wrong, can null the vibration. Ie ... If your suspension method or chord is too thick, or badly placed. Tie a thin piece of cotton on one end, let it hang, then give it a hit with another piece of metal, if it rings as you think it should, retting the hanging method. It needs to be able to vibrate freely like the leg of a tuning fork, length and thickness play more in the tone vibration than hardening to a degree. Thin wire or very thin chord is good for not restricting the vibration and duration. Edited my me...... to say, And sorry, nice dinner bells.

How cool is that! Nice work.

Nice work, very universal shape of tong, I have some similar that are very easy to adapt to most jobs