Curtis87

Hello everyone, I was wondering if anyone out there has built a 2x72 grinder out of one of these (see attached picture). I love blacksmithing but since I am a carpenter by trade, fabricating machines doesn't come naturally to me, so any advice would be awesome. Buying a belt grinder isn't in the budget right now.

Excellent, thank you.

Hello everyone. Today I had an extremely rare hour of free time so I decided to forge a knife. Once I got the shape roughed out I had to start supper so I shut off blower of my coal fore and sat the blade on top of the coal so that it could cool down slowly. I just removed it from the forge and it has a dark black spot on it, so should I be concerned that I burned it? Or is there no way it could have gotten hot enough?

Thank so much everyone, this is going to help a ton. I'll post some pictures when I get around to making something 

Well.... I guess I'll just look for pictures on Google.

Hey guys, I just got a bunch of rail spikes that I had intended to turn into bottle openers. But when I picked them up I saw they were tagged HC. So I'm just looking for ideas for cool things I could make with these now that I know the steel is a bit higher quality. As usual, any input if greatly appreciated. 

I use the spyderco sharpening system, so it gets extremely sharp..... In the middle. Because of the shape of the blade, it is difficult to get the tip sharp using that system. I picked up my wet stones from the inlaws today so I intend of giving that a try tomorrow. 

If you have any tips for "reworking" to remove the warp, I'm all ears. I don't mind refinishing, I've already done it many times, what's one more right? 

On that note, I've spend hours and hours, and many sheets of sand paper trying to make an even finish. but no matter how long I try it comes out blotchy or some scratches remain. I think the key here is just a proper belt sander. 

So this is the "final" product. The finish on the blade is severely uneven, the whole thing is warped, and I'm fairly certain there is a soft spot on there somewhere. But I love it. All of its imperfections will be a constant reminder of what not to do. 

For starters, a much smaller/straighter knife would make a world of difference.  Also I now have a better idea of the steps I should take for finishing. So many time with this knife (and I mean at least a dozen) I sanded it by hand up to a nearly mirror finish, only to end up grinding of filing it again later.

The phrase "biting off more than you can chew" definitely applies here. Although I didn't try to forge a sword right off the bat, I believe that might have been easier than a curved blade like this. It just makes everything twice as hard.

I'd like to thank everyone for their advice on this project, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas.

i managed to squeeze in a few minutes to rig up a makeshift heat treating forge. I plan on using charcoal. It's just junk I had in the garage so hopefull it doesn't fall apart on me

Yep that's exactly what happened. It took the curve when I roughly forged the bevel.

Ill do the Normalizing and HT soon. Just have to make up some kind of oven. I'm debating whether to use a long charcoal forge or a torch and fire bricks. I'm afraid to burn the edge in the coal forge. 

Might be some time until that happens though since I just had a baby boy last night.

Nothing really, it's just something to look at. It was a small curtain rod that I cut in half, then twisted the pieces together, the forge welded both ends

Started with the intention of making a bracelet for my wife. But during the process I saw it take a different shape so I just went with it and I think it turned out pretty cool.

Does anyone else have a project that turned into something completely different by the time it was finished?

On December 1, 2015 at 10:28:48 AM, Worshipdrummer said:

Maybe some 40 grit paper, a flat surface and a random orbital sander for the gross work?  I would switch to hand tools as soon as I got any where close to my goal. 

How close would that be? In terms of edge thickness?

i went up to 220 on the belt sander and have the shape I want, I think its ready for heat treating. Gotta Find some finer paper now

This is where I'm at now

2 hours ago, Frozenthunderbolt said:

You might like to do some filework first?

Yao started like that but I realized there was a curve so I had to flatten everything out first. Now that that it sorted out I think I should invest in a micrometer before going any further.

2 hours ago, JHCC said:

I've got no suggestions on this one, but this has definitely helped make up my mind to do some more forge straightening on my first knife project before I start flat grinding and beveling. Thanks!

Yup, you definitely should

Boy, I really wish I had flattened this thing out a bit more on the anvil. This is going to take forever. 

1 minute ago, flemish said:

Find something VERY flat and tape a sheet of sand paper to it. Lay your knife on it ans apply elbow grease.  Flemish

Sometimes I over think things, and the answer is usually the easiest thing. Thanks a lot, I'll go find a good flat surface

So I'm trying to make a chef's knife for my dad for Christmas. I'm at the rough grinding stage right now. Basically I'm looking for some help getting the two sides flat at parallel. I have a small 2"x28 stationary belt sander and a 4" x 24" hand held. 

This is where I'm at currently 

the curve in the spine was caused by forging the bevel, but I'm starting to like the look. Some tells me that it might make it a less effective kitchen knife though. Some opinions on that would also be greatly appreciated 

this is the blank I cut out and the original design I was going for

so is it more beneficial to break it up or just let it do its thing. I find when I mess around with it too much I get black smoke.

Ok, so I have the clinker problem under control ( sort of).  Now my next issue is huge chunks of coal/coke building up around the fire. I don't know if this is normal or not but it gets in the way when I try to slide the material into the fire. if I don't keep smacking it with my scoop it makes a hard shell all the way around the fire pot and even on top. 

Thanks a lot guys, the next attempt should go better I think

2 hours ago, Judson Yaggy said:

Coal or gas?  Steel type(s)?  Heavy drifting of the eye after the weld?  Flux?

If you are in coal, stuff the cutting edge thru the hot part of the fire and butt it into the side of the fire pot , the pot and cooler ashes just next to it will act as a heat sink and keep the cutting edge from burning.  Flip frequently.  Heat for longer than welding the edge because of extra mass and heat loss to either side of the weld. 

Coal forge, using grocery store borax as flux, and I didn't drift the hole, just wrapped it around a 1" round bar.

I recently started Blacksmithing in Vankleek Hill, Ontario. Glad to see there are some members nearby (relatively speaking of course)

i started with the blade end first, maybe I didn't set the weld near the eye properly. To be honest I was just so frustrated with trying to hold onto the piece. I only have 2 sets of tongs currently and they're definitely not made for this.  Anyway I tried for about an hour trying to weld that back piece. Guess I'll just have to try again, I got lots more leaf spring left to work with

Does anyone have any tips for welding the back end of the axe head without melting the tip?