teenylittlemetalguy

You may need to build one of these Jerry-

I have done similar and just split it. the way to do it is make "convenience bends". Bend the others out of the way so you can forge one side at a time. With 1/8" thick the biggest issue is keeping the edges from swelling more that the middle of the bar. I find using a heavy blow alternated by a flattening blow to be helpful. Nice to not end up with those swollen wrinkles that are easy to get. Photo to illustrate the need for convenience bends...

yep, all good here.

how too do what? I am not following. I was mentioning your tightening the bolts as a way to help weld is all.

The main point of holding all your pieces together is just to keep it organized while you weld so do that however works for you. The second and really important point is you need to be able to impart some force to the billet while in the process of welding. You can use wire, and yes it will cut the edges a little bit, but you will have a lot of clean up to do anyway and wires will be the least of your concerns (as long as you don't forge them into your billet). Do be aware that making a stronger clamp is advantageous though as most metals you would use expand more than mild steel so the mokum

I would get an old stethoscope and just replace the drum with a nice opener. then he could wear it at parties...

Locally we have a lot of potato farms and they use a machine like a conveyor to dig out the tubers. usually the belts are about 22" or so wide and are made from round stock which is kinked on the end to make a chain link. My point in explaining this is the bars are basically like a medium carbon and tempered to as a spring. They hold up well against the abrasion from the soils. If I were making a hand tool for digging in soil I would choose similar carbon content. Perhaps you could find some thin axle or CV shaft that you can source for free and see how that works for you.

I would recommend starting with a Frosty T burner. They are easy and work great. For $15 in parts you owe it to yourself to try. Plus it is not as big of a next step to a build a NARB. I love T burners and honestly I like lighting the forge without thinking about the burner and getting on with what I REALLY want to do, which is forge...

Someday, you will be wishing you had just a little longer reach.... You and me brother!

usually I make mine in backpack size and use garage door spring. It is really strong and lightweight. The whole tripod is laid down an used like the first picture as a grill by setting it on a rock and counterbalancing with another rock. When I do larger I like to use square stock and make the tops like photo 2 so they are solidly attached and pack flat.

Gas saver would be awesome. Thanks for the esab info!

Daniel Tokar has a video on Youtube where he straightens a square one in a single heat using just a hammer/anvil and vice grips. worth checking out.

Someday people will catch on Thomas... 90% of what I do fits in a two brick.

You made my day, thank you! I have to agree with everyone here, clean surfaces are really important. People do weld it without the powdered charcoal, I have it in mine to help insure a reducing environment at the joint. Having a poor atmosphere in a gas forge for welding is very common and it is very critical with leaf spring. Good luck with your project!

The Meco is a really cool old torch, they used them during the war with hydrogen to make airplanes. You can get propane tips. Look up TM Tech online. It is a really cool site with a lot of sheet metal tools and information available. He has the propane tips as well as the torch.