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brianbrazealblacksmith

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Everything posted by brianbrazealblacksmith

  1. I tried to, Jeremy, a long time ago with my other postings with pictures and every time I get around other smiths. I'm not trying to "slam" the associations, I'm just trying to talk about it and help out a little.
  2. Thanks , Alec! No one asked about alternatives. I posted this on another site from my I phone. I also posted another alternative on the same site, but I don't know how to transfer it to this site. There are more alternatives! Alec could you post the "blob weld"? I have more photos of the setup on my phone?
  3. Correct, Charles. I also agree that it has made many serviceable welds. I have made many welds that will hold up to stress also in several diffrent ways. Upsetting is one way. Whatever form of scarf you do, it must be adequate to make a truly sound weld that will hold up to stress.
  4. Iron smith, I don't know how to link the pictures. If you can, put the one I put on and Alec's too if you want. You can definitely make a poker that will poke with that method. I hope we all can see that, but I've been trying to address the requirements of a true weld that can pass X-ray and stress tests so that people will understand how to solve these issues. evfreek, the loop weld will be stronger than the other method, just like the basket weld, because it doesn't have the free piece kicking off the other. It is contained. But, yes, it cannot pass tests either. And, yes, you can make a poker that will poke with that method also.
  5. Iron smith, check out Facebook this morning. I put a picture on there to address this issue. I'll put some on here when Karen gets back.
  6. Are you trying to get me in trouble with my wife? She's barely better than me on a computer, and I'd have to sit there and do it with her:)
  7. I wouldn't consider myself a master. I haven't settled in one spot yet, still looking. I can show you a few things, but most likely you'll be watching someone else doing the very same class you're interested in. There is also a group of guys around here that get together and make hammers and the tools to make hammers and other handled tools. You should think about coming to the monthly meeting at the Ag. museum in Jackson, also. There are several people here around this area that can make all those tools.
  8. Thanks, Glen! I still have them myself. I just don't know how to work my wife's new computer, nor do I have the time to sort thru them and place them back where they were. I had never even taken pictures of my work before I got on IFI. Thank you for starting up this sight!
  9. I do day classes also but not for hammers and the tools to make hammers. If you're close,just come on by. Anyone is welcome to stop by and watch or get in the forge. That won't cost you a thing. Daniel Lea just posted a video on YouTube today showing how to make a drift for making hammers. I don't know how to link it here, but it's definitely worth watching.
  10. If you make another drift or punch in the future, forge the working end to a round taper and then forge to a capsule shape. Forge a square taper, go to octagonal, round, and then capsule, or hex to round to capsule. You also might want to have about 7 inches to hold with your hand while driving the drift or forging the hammer with the drift in it unless you're using tong. The drifts get pretty hot.
  11. All good points, everyone. Knowing what you can accomplish in any given heat also gives you a way of measuring what to charge just like keeping track of time. Finishing as you go and moving on to the next area will also reduce the scaling, as mentioned above, and produce a cleaner finish. You can see the difference in a hammer, for example, that took either one heat, ten heats, or twenty heats.
  12. Rein length is a consideration and/or preference for the job at hand, Dogsoldat. An "air curtain" can also help avoid the "dragons breath" when using a gas forge.
  13. Exactly, LastRonin, in fact I use this example a lot to explain forge welding and the need for more material to hammer to secure a weld before you get to the level of the other parts that you're joining together so you don't hammer them into each other and compromise their structure. I don't have any problem whatsoever with people making pokers this way. I do want to take some pictures or do a video on this subject, but my camera is in California with my wife. I'll be going there tomorrow and won't be back until the end of April. I have posted two of the methods that I mentioned earlier, but the pictures are gone. There are some elementary principles that are key to success. The need for enough material before reaching the point you should stop is just one. I also want to apologize for the insult. It won't happen again, and, by all means, slap me upside the head if it does. I'm sorry, Dan P. I do look forward to going to England to share what we can with each other in the short time we will have.
  14. Nothing as long as it's a forged spring. We're just talking about efficiency of forging now. The end result, I assume, was established earlier on.
  15. D2 won't be moving very much at the lower temps. Also take a piece of junk steel and heat it up. Check it often and see the color change and go until you see sparks and keep going until you burn it in half. Then you'll know too hot. The magnet will not help you for forging the metal. That would be for hardening certain things after you have forged the piece.
  16. Let's see if I can explain this. Say you are going to draw out a rein with nice spring to it, and not just a "dead" stiff bar, and you want a 12 inch rein plus your jaw and start of your stronger taper start of your rein. You only need 2 1/2 inches of 3/4 round to make a 10 inch round rod that is 3/8 in diameter, but since your making a gradual taper, you don't need quite that much material. You probably only need 2 inches to make the springy rein with 3/8 being the max at the start of this taper which you will turn to oval in the end. You will need 8 inches of 3/8" round to start with to do it with the welded on rein. It is easier and faster to forge the 3/4 stock than the 3/8 because of the surface area contact with the atmospheric conditions and the contact with your anvil and anvil. The heat loss will be greater with the longer thinner piece than with the shorter thicker piece. I did a thread a long time ago on this very thing. I titled it "starting with something farther than you want to end up with". I don't know if the pics are still there. It may not sound right, but I learned a long time ago not to trust what I thought or assumed when it comes to moving steel. You should try it out, no matter what techniques you use or hammer(hand or power hammer). Oh,I forgot,I wouldn't need to scarf and weld, also.
  17. Because it's too hit and miss, and they don't understand why. If it were taught with the knowledge of what is happening and why, that would be a good thing, but people actually think they welded pieces together, when all they did was tack them. Welders, knife makers and farriers understand this very well, but the blacksmith associations don't seem to be aware of it.
  18. Basher, I'm trying to explain that without enough material to hammer to make a good weld, you cannot make a good weld, and the faggot weld as is being taught to "beginners" is confusing people as to what a proper forge weld it all about. You make knives, correct, and you have probably done faggot welds to make pattern welded steel. Knife makers weld the whole billet, but what would happen if you didn't, and only weld part of it then keep going on and on? I'm not saying you can't make a serviceable poker at all. I'm just saying it confuses a lot of people about one of the most basic principles on forge welding.
  19. The type of lighting you're working under can also influence the way you see it. If you're in the direct sun, it won't look as hot as it is, and vice-versa. If you're in a dark shop, it will look hotter, and then there is everything in between.
  20. Chinobi, that is probably won of the better examples of that approach out there, by the way. Using round stock helps, and also working it on the horn. I glad you can see its limitations. Now, Dan P, I don't get you. xxxxxxxxxxxxxx edit xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Can you read and comprehend what someone else is trying to communicate? I don't mean this to be insulting, more as a joke actually. I've got to meet you. I think we would hit it off just great. I do enjoy debate. I just don't think you understand what I'm saying.
  21. That's the real point I'm trying to make. People are teaching people how not to do things, and it causes a lot of confusion. Understanding fundamental principals of forging is not being taught very much, so people don't even see what is right before their eyes. The weld is stuck, but it is not sound. It will pop if put under stress, and it will also kink where the material has been reduced at the base of the handle and hook. And, yes, a lot of "hit and miss" occurs. It is a disservice to anyone who wants to learn this craft to teach this method as though it gives a good result. Enabling someone to make a poker does not teach them much, and it blinds people to the facts.
  22. Thank you, Chinobi! There's nothing wrong with showing this weld to others to help them understand forge welding as you are aware of its limitations and know that it cannot work. I usually just draw it and explain why, or do it with clay, and then show other ways that do work, like mentioned before.
  23. JimsShip, I'm simply saying if you don't have enough material to work with, you cannot secur a weld and because they are the same starting size, you end up hitting where you don't weld. That causes the pieces to hit into each other and that makes your starting pieces thinner at that point which makes it weaker than it was to start with in that plane. That is why it needs to be held to shape it, otherwise it will kink and or spring your weld. You can only weld the point, and the other pieces are fighting you at the crotch of the weld. Withou beefing the original pieces up somehow (scarfing), it is impossible to secure a weld. This is a fundamental principal in forging that should be known before attempting a weld. You can use clay to prove this. It is predictable, observable, and knowable. That type of weld that is taught here in the states is a perfect way of proving the need for the scarf.
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