Blacksmith Jim

I picked it up at the conference I was just at. They were using a lot of 4140 for a bunch of the demos. A bunch of people had brought in steel for folks to use. I picked up a random piece and was forging it for a while, then went to bed. In hind sight it seemed harder to forge then normal, and looked more like a cold rolled or alloy. A few people noticed me forging it and asked if it was some of the 4140 that was around.

I'm guessing it is, but I'll try quench and spark tests to check for carbon content. I guess I really don't care what kind of steel it is. If it has high carbon I'll just plan on making tools out of it.

The only problem I see with this, is that sometimes artists are overly critical about their work. The might see a single problem and think it shows something bad about there skill. However, someone else might easily view there work as amazing, and not even notice the flaw.

My sister can draw and paint beautiful works of art. But she used to throw them away because she didn't like them. My family would pull them out of the trash to frame and keep.

Howdy folks,

I picked up a piece of metal that I think is likely 4140. Is there a good way that I can tell? Are there spark test photos that show 4140 being ground? I don't have any known pieces, so I can't really compare it against anything I have..

I did a basket weave for the first time last night. I forge welded the ends, one piece at a time, building them up. Then did the twist. It was a lot of fun. I've been working on this for a while, but was actually somewhat successful last night. The pictures are a little grainy (cell phone camera). The basket isn't perfect. One of the bars is bent oddly in comparison to the others, but I don't think it's too bad for a first try I wanted to try and show the flaw in the pictures, but I don't think it is very prominent.

You can try wrapping a chain around the base and slapping some magnets on the side of it. Those are some common recommendations to reduce the ring.

My Dad worked as a tool and die maker for most of his professional career. He's been very pleased to see me pick up a hammer and some hot metal. Though I don't know that he ever worked metal that way. One of my favorite hammers is a very light ballpein that he machined as a gift for my grandfather years and years ago.

If you weld a piece of angle to the bottom of a jig you can just clamp it in a vise.

My forge blower is from an inflatable, kids play structure. It kicks out a lot of air!

... I hear they make GREAT lockpicks!

They do! I haven't played around with them like that for years though. When I was a teenager my friend and I made a set from them. They worked great. I used to carry them around in my wallet with me till I realized that police would probably frown on it.

... One of the best are not so much wire as lots of little strips of steel on a rectangular brush. Those strike me as being easily somthing that could have been made back then, ...

That's what I thought about when I read this post too. I saw a brush like that a few weeks back, and instantly it made me think of the little steel tines that get left behind from large industrial street cleaning machines here in the US. Every once in a while I pick those up when I see them, and throw them in a jar at home. I always figured I'd find some use for them eventually...

I'm working on making a scroll jig now. Timely bump :)

There was a DNS snafu a few weeks back. That might have caused mail relay problems with folks. But it currently seems to be as lively as always.

I think I end up working both sides pretty regularly... I usually forge in somewhat full shop. Can be as many as 5 smiths poking around in the fire at the same time and timing heats to snag anvils as they free up.. Then you just gotta fit in where there is room :)

I have a 120+ lb Peter Wright. I love it :)

Welcome from a fellow Oregonian! :)

One thing I want to make for my gal is a trivet. We use them a lot for our dinners, so a hand forged one would likely see a lot of use.

The book? I'd be interested in looking at that.

He is most likely referring to "Anvils in America" by Neil Postman. It's a great book. I poured over a copy for a few months after I picked up my anvil. I snagged it through Inter Library Loan. It's really great reading with some very interesting stories to boot.

Thanks for the info guys!

One of my buddies has a decent chop saw that I could use to cut a pipe like that. I'll keep my eye out.

Can Aluminum give off bad fumes if it gets hot? Not that it should that close to the fan I guess... Ordering one might be just as easy as scrounging a pipe though :)

How does a log dog get used?

If it says 'patent' on it, then it was made after 1915 (or 1918) or something. I snagged the Postman book through inter-library loan and did a little research a while back. That book really is awesome. I plan to purchase a copy in the future. I have a very similar anvil, but without the horn clip. Mine looks a bit less used though. All in all I think that anvil looks fine to forge on for now. I wouldn't try to repair it at all.

Is there a blue print for an air gate out there? Or are their cheap ones out and about that I haven't seen? I have a strong fan and am thinking I'm gonna need a good air gate to control it...

I think they might be sold as welders pliers/tongs.. I noticed a similar set recently. I've forged with tongs shaped like that before and found it handy for the particular piece I was working on.

Thats one nice looking anvil! Congrats :)

Ron, your gonna lose some electricity due to resistance of the wire. The longer the wire, the more you lose. As far as I know, the gauge is really only relative to size of amps you are trying to move. The bigger the gauge the safer the higher amperages..

I think there is a big difference between buying a new anvil and buying a used anvil. I'm not saying that one is better then the other, just that its a different experience. If you want to buy a new one, I'd recommend 150+ lbs and the best quality you can afford. Get a good pattern from a good distributer. On the other hand, I think it's fun to look for used anvils, though time consuming. But there is more variation, more style, more life, and more history to be had..