Iron Poet

 

I'd be guessiny harness rivets for the Little Giant tool!

Very likely. They sold quite a few leather working tools, harnesses, and saddles. I really only bought it because of the name.

 

What happens after 2 minutes? 

It probably exceeds it's duty cycle and either shuts-off or starts to melt.

All of these were saved from the scrap bin, I was at a small amish auction and no one was bidding on these so I managed to get all of it for about $20

Personally, the most interesting thing here is the "Little Giant" (rivet setter?) Considering I never really thought about what else they made.

It hungers. Also the dies are 1/2" thick and 4" wide. Both are made of mild steel and will more than likely be completely fine, going to test out some square and round ones later.

 

Currently working on getting the local metal shop to order me some nickel steel for it. I'll definitely be posting once I start.

No offense but that seems like pretty expensive candy canes. Just be cheap like me and twist some angle iron, or champher two mild steel bars, forge weld them together and then twist, that way you still have that nice dividing mark.

Zinc isn't a huge problem otherwise literally thousands of welders would be dying like flies it's really only an issue if you have other lung issues that can be exacerbated like COPD, the metal fume fever isn't good either. The other stuff like beryllium, cadmium and lead are NOT on friendly terms with the human body and so you really don't want to be huffing the fumes those coating put off.

A36 is fine for pretty much anything you want to do that isn't a knife or an axe (the sharp bits) the only significant problem over something like 1018 is that the consistency is awful, a friend of mine found a tap as in a "tap and die" in a bar from where they didn't bother to properly mix it. Needless to say you can run into a few hard spots if you plan on drilling.

I posted this in the other thread but I thought I might as well post it here too.

This thread convinced me to make my own variation that has ideas stolen from a few different sources. The weights work, but I think a foot pedal provides superior clamping force. The chain can easily be kicked off the peg welded to the pedal, and the pedal and chain can be removed entirely with just two pins.

I primarily use sound and sight to determine if a weld is good. Typically if there isn't any demarcation  between the two pieces then it's probably good, because if it's welded at the surface it's probably welded inside. Sound is also very important because if the weld is bad the metal will sound dead, if you correctly weld 1/4" rod together for instance, it should sound exactly the same as a normal length of the same material.

I forge weld a ton of 20 gauge sheet and 1/8" and smaller for flowers and such, just practice and you'll get it eventually.

Most Swageblocks have holes that you can put hardies in or even attach vices.

You may wish to check out the blademithing subforum

 

Iron Poet do you live in Canada or US because if the insurance came out to my place and seen that set up which to me looks like duck work they would cancel my insurance on the spot .They made alot of people around here take out there coal furnaces because of fire risk and they can do whatever they want its there money and policies.If you can get away with it in your area give'er lol

My workshop isn't considered a permanent building where I live so building codes don't apply to it. There are some pretty good benefits to living in a rural area.

It works very well, the only time I even get a whiff of smoke is when I first light the fire.

I find that vinegar helps loosen seized tongs, I have a 5 gallon bucket that I use for popping the scale off small delicate stuff, I leave the tongs in there overnight.

Militant, I prescribe to the theory that it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission. I use a plain jane 10" 28g ducting, From my forge hood it goes up 4' to a 2' horizontal section (it goes directly through a wooden wall) which connects to a 6' vertical. While running the forge for hours I can safely place my hands on the hood without the slightest fear of burning myself, the ducting itself is barely warm. I personally believe that the danger of coal fires are VASTLY overstated at least from a fire hazard point of view.

If you're safety conscious and a stickler for building codes you can easily make a portable coal forge and set it up outside.

I recently got some rather nice goodies for $250 total. The rusty vice is... useable, it can open about 2" before the broken screw disengages, other than that it just needs a handle and a spring. The other guy is much nicer and is in practically pristine condition, the jaws perfectly mate, it opens up, it doesn't jiggle. It's also quite old, as the leg has been forge welded on and it's been stamped with "H.G.M". The other stuff is a slot punch, the hammer head is a half-round swage, and there is a bolt tong and one for half-round.

The rusty one is probably going into iron-in-the-hat at the next meeting, I'm sure someone will appreciate that as a project.

Determine how wide the slit you need to make and mark on the bar the correct length and length. Then take a file and file the area flat to give your punch enough purchase. Placing the bar in a V swage if square or a halfmoon swage if round to stop the bar from flattening.

On March 27, 2017 at 3:57 PM, Jim Coke said:

Greetings Cedarghost,

           Big springs make great anvil tools for cupping and dishing.. That much less to unwind. 

Forge on and make beautiful things

xxxx, that's a pretty good idea. Why didn't I think of that?

8 hours ago, VaughnT said:

Thank you.  I'm glad you're finding value in it and look forward to seeing examples of designs you try.

Have you ever tried printing something off and gluing it to the steel to use as a stencil? I suck at drawing anything that isn't a squiggle.

Grinder and sander. I firmly believe that most people overlook the danger that particulates are able to do to your lungs. It doesn't matter if I'm doing metal or wood or even just forging, I make sure to wear proper PPE. I however run a fairly low tech shop, so the next closest would probably be an cut-off hardie, followed by my welding machine

4 hours ago, chimmike said:

OK Maybe I need to qualify. I'm a newbie. haha. My skill level (and tool collection) is limited.

Practice forge welding sheet. It's a useful decorative skill.

On 3/25/2017 at 7:12 AM, Bearded Guy said:

I like the pattern in it. Could be a nice little finishing hammer or leather working hammer. I havent tried chainsaw chains yet, even though i got a pile of em. 

Did you do it in a canister, or just tack welded together then formed the billet?

I wrapped them up with galvinized electric fence wire, fluxed it really heavily, and then went at it. The chains I used are Stihl, I don't know what they're made of, but I suspect that some of the pins or links have a lot of nickel in it. They weld extremely easily, so you shouldn't have a problem.

Just make sure you start with enough material because this stuff works down into almost nothing.

Pretty sure it's the chromium.

Totally original idea that I came up with by myself with no inspiration from anything else on this subforum. This is made from chainsaw chain, how many? Couldn't tell you, but this is made out of 4 stacks forge welded together, cut apart, and then forge welded back together to make it a bit thicker. The face is about an 1" square while the peen is roughly 1/2", the head weighs a little over 1lb.

Needless to say, this was a lot of work, especially by hand.