DuEulear

Industrial salvage stores are a source i went looking for one and bought a pallet of 6 24” round stones for less than 50$

When in doubt get the paternity test !

never have intimate relations on fathers day or mothers-day unless you want the outcome the gods are jokers after all

That might be something different. But it sure looks mighty nice !!

Wow good tip on the camphor i never heard that one before 

my guess is the spacific temper requirements for maraging are defined somewhere in usfa or international fencing ruelbooks you can check with leon paul or other manufactures as to the actual process. 

You know you are a blacksmith when your only worry about the pandemic is “do i have enough coal to make it for two weeks? “

I am gonna go see if i caint kill old smog so i can afford to purchase one with his tresuer 

beautiful 

The principle is ok but the fulcrum should be in the middle and rigged so you lift the lever to do work at the other end. A small man can push many times his own weight against the earth to generate more force than a fat guy sitting. Now the question becomes what do you build it out of that is both rigid enough and light enough that you do not loose a great deal of force to the frame flexing. Or to lifting the mass of tge lever. 

By the time you solve all the inherant issues and design problems i bet you could have smithed up enough hooks hammers and blacksmith keychains to simply buy a press. Which will be cheaper than the machiene you are now building. 

Just my 2 cents

susan

Heat can be relitive you can skip the torch and just throw it in the temper oven at 350 for a cycle or two  oil after 

I pay . 30 cents or less if I purchase from scrap bin as i pay scrap price then.

I would say price will vary depending on shape and condition we sell 4140 as hot roalled anealed decarb free anealed, pre heattreated hot roll and decarb free all have a diffrent price per lb between 3 and 10 a pound 

thin bar costs more than thick per pound because making it costs tge same in tooling and time 

enjoy

I second the notion that large chunks of homgeneous steel is not difficult in the modern day 

i needed a show anvil for a viking themed fair  there where no rules  but i wanted to be a touch more authentic i grabbed a scrap end of 8” square bar of prehardened 4140  ended up with a 115 lb block without trying very hard spent 3 hrs putting a 1” hardy hole in and love the result 

ps if you are anywhere near me i can keep an eye open for you 

I would argue that black- smith means a smith that works in the black meaning iron and steel. A Modern welder welding steel is still working in steel. Is this a forging operation? The answer is unequivocally no. Neither are fileing,  grinding, polishing, coloring and waxing of metals but if you are executing these processes on steel or iron then they are part of blacksmithing. All be it modern blacksmithing. 

Susan 

Only a guess but it is possible the tape you are using is slightly acidic and reacted with part of tge steel etching a particular alloy element and none of the others? 

I know nothing of that alloy but is the only idea i can think of 

susan

Well my “crayon is 1.5” hex about 6 “ long lol

the lampblack and charcoal dust are pretty close to graphite moly is cheap and easy to buy on amazon so is pretty simple in the days of the interweb 

I have seen that texture in my own work after not brushing off scale during forging from the anvil or the part. Pickel in vinigar when done but be lazy and forget it in there for a week it will increase the pitting. 

Then finish after a wash and base neutralize with bakingsoda

susan 

So this weekend i had a chance to further experiment i mixed 50/50 graphite and moly roughly 60 grams of it with 300 grams of high grade beeswax melted in a double boiler stirred it up then poured into a tall thin glass bottle from my recycling  after cooling i broke the bottle giving myself a industrial sized crayon 

i applied wax to warm punch after each heat or so  before cooling in the slack tub

did a good job and my hands stayed clean 

left over wax on my punch should prevent rust i hope 

enjoy

Just my oppinion but the absolute best hammer to start with is the one in your hand.

after some practice and reflection you can form your own ideas as to weather you need one that is lighter or heavier or rounder or more square.... 

enjoy the discovery 

Susan 

Yup sounds right

9 hours ago, Anachronist58 said:

I am thinking of trying carbon fiber slurry, possibly a less pernicious stand-in for graphite.

I missed that one sorry 

i dont know anything about the microstructure of carbon fiber but if ya have it around you can certainly try it 

the moly is a major factor in this too so give it a whirl 

It really only seemes to take a thin film of the stuff to work so i assume the mess can be kept to a minimum by finding an application method that keeps overspray to a tolerable level 

Susan

I have no data to share just yet as this was the result of my first experiments which were spur of the moment. I did end up with filthy black hands but that is to be expected as i took a little lube and rubbed it into the face of my anvil and treadle hammer dies.

i did add some of tge same lube to a old unused quart of sae30 wt oil (unused) shake it up and used a rag to apply. As another  means of application.

i am also planning on making a beeswax and lube stick for hot work to keep the crud off my hands 

It dose not seem to take much and it lasts on your tool surfaces for about 5-10 heats 

more to come

susan 

So i had a job interview recently for a  forging press operator position. There was of course the obligatory plant tour included. Sa we progressed they mentioned that most of the mess in the forging department was from the graphite lubricant they sprayed on the dies so the metal would flow properly. Said otherwise it just sticks and wont move correctly. 

This got me thinking about the ye old slippery stuff i use as a punch lube and wondered if i lubricated the surface of my hammer and anvil horn id this would add an advantage when drawing out stock. So of course i had to try it 

i am pleased to inform this went something awesome !! It seems to allow drawing to be achieved with nearly half the effort simply by limiting friction  between the hammer and anvil or the drawing dies on my treadle hammer etc... every thing i tried it on it sure helped the metal move faster and with less effort. 

Give it a try next time you are in your shop i am certain you will be pleased.

Ye ole slippery stuff is half powered graphite and half powdered Molybdenumdiesulfide  with a bit of water and a drop of soap to make a thin paste 

enjoy 

susan 

True my mother is amasing 

If you have work hardend your steel it was to hot. If you cannot anneal it your only option is to continue cutting with something harder than what you are drilling 

it never hurts to have a few carbide bits in common ( to your work ) sizes for the occational drilling emergency. 

Save them for when you really need them and treat them well you will find they are really expensive. dont forget carbide can be used hot and dry or cold and flooded with coolant never inbetween if you tempature shock it you will shatter it!!!  And then you need a new one . 

Speeds and feeds for any material can be found in the bible of good shop practice ( machenery’s handbook)  surface foot per minute is how many feet the cutting edge must travel through the material in its given cutting path. 

Because of the circular path of a drill the smaller the drill the higher the rpm as the circumfrence of the cut is smaller. Bigger drill longer cut path per revaloution  to get the same surface foot per minute .

the material you are cutting and the material the tool is made from  will change your speed and feed.  as a general rule  high speed steal will need to run slower and be colder so you dont retemper your bit. Carbide will let you run faster and harder but you will pay $$$ so you can. However the tool will last long enough if used properly that the extra cost will pay for it in longer life. That is why we use carbide in about every modern metal shop. A good hss bit used properly should run 100 to 1000 holes in mild steel at least or you are probably doing something wrong. 

Machenerys handbook can be had at amazon you will find that new is expensive but older editions will have almost all the same info for a lower price which is more than you need for tge home shop. I just recieved a reproduction of the first edition 1912 for xmas it has all the blacksmithing info in it too!!!!

enjoy 

Susan

20’ bar is mill standard if you are purchasing a 10’ bar you are probably paying a small premium for the cut. 

I work for a steel supplier we make all our money on processing and delivery margins on steel are small believe it or not

susan 

Look like hammer tongs to me