Warren Nakkela

Sand or media blasting through rubber stencils. Waterjet cutting. EDM. Electrolytic etching. Mechanical removal. Chemical dissolving? But why? Why would one need to etch amorphous carbon? Warren

Well you see the double hinge. This is so you can flop it either way to have a wide selection of sizes to match your wire that you are wrepping that is , winding up around the standing (straight) leg. Just open the tool and close it around the wire using the appropriate size and hole and start wrapping the wire around itself. This is for making a splice. I don't believe that this type of splice is used anymore in the utility trades. It looks that the too has double grooves (holes) for a double wrap. Perhaps for making a Western Union splice. Warren

Well, If you need to wind up wire to make a splice, there are many grooves you can use for different sizes of wire. There is this loop on the ends of the reins to keep the jaws closed as you wind up the splice and keep the right amount of drag on the wire. I have one of them around the farm. (if I could find it) Warren

Hey, Brian Brazeal: Tell more about petcoke. I have tried to burn it but it just blows all over the place. What are your methods? I understand that if you are near an oil refinery the stuff is dirt cheap. Warren

Thank you, Frosty, For the part that gets hot enought to fire I have the makin's to make grog. But for the rest I will need to use something else. Fireplace concrete seems to be the right stuff. Warren

So I want a product to line this forge. The depth may be up to four inches in places. If I use clay the clay in the fire pot it will "fire" and become hard but the rest will remain soft and will become wet from me keeping the coal wet. I don't know much about castables but these products may be what's needed. Anyone with experience along this line that can steer me to a good product? Warren

Well Frosty, If you look at picture number ten in the first group you will see this gear under the guard with the missing teeth. My friend has a drill press like this one and I have used it. You see the broken handle? That is to run the quill up or down while you have the pawl on the other side of that shaft disengaged. I would just vee it out and braze it up. It does not have any load on it. BTW, brazing is often stronger than arc welding on castings as it is softer and will yield rather than crack as weld often are wont to do. Warren

I have made tools from the web of railroad rail. I just cut it out with a torch and making an"S" curved piece to be straightened and forged into a tool. I made nail headers. One could make tongs. Just don't quench above the transition. The steel is medium carbon and the steel I had forged well. Warren

Steve, I just wish you were closer. Working on this project sure would be a fun challenge. About the stuffed animal--- Uh, Don't you think that the heat will cause unpleasant odors? Like burning plastic foam. That may not be good for business. If this comes together please post photos. Warren

Steve, It would look great if you could make the gears and escapement wheel out of wood. On the reduction pinion you could make a lantern wheel to engage with the wooden teeth on the gear. These could be as simple as hardwood dowels inserted in the gear wheel. Indexing the teeth around the gear will take some planning. What are you cooking on your spit? Mine was made for chickens and critters that size. I have made a spit for roasting pigs, but was power driven. (another story) If the spit is to be weight driven and regulated through an escapement the spit will have to be balanced. Movable counterweights will likely be needed . Expect to rewind the drive weights often. Light running bearings will be important. Lubrication? You could use the drippings to grease the cog wheels and escapement. How much meat will be on the spit? This will determine the design. Sounds like fun. Don't be pressured by any DEADlines. Warren

Here are some clock mechanisms that may be of some help. I like the three toothed escapement for this purpose. This type will likely require a gear or other type reduction to the spit as it will turn one revolution with three swings of the pendulum. Warren

Steve, When I was 18 years old I made such a device. Got me a starter ring gear from a flywheel and welded spokes to a hub. Then I brought it to a machine shop and had the hub drilled and tapped. I threaded in a half inch shaft. Made an upright out of 3/8 x 1 1/2 flat bar with a sleeve bearing for the shaft. Turned a wooden hub to wind on a cord for the weight. Then I filed the gear teeth to a bevel to work with an escapement that engaged with the modified teeth and was mounted on the flat bar above the gear. Then i made a pendulum with an attaching link to the escapement. My escapement was of the rocker type, but if I were to do it again I would use another style of escapement. I have books showing different escapements. You may also have books showing these but if you will PM me I may be able to scan those that I have and send them to you. Warren I have post the two pages from this book showing clock works.

Is the hammer guided by the slide? And how does your design compare with the grasshopper linkage? Warren

Does this mean that steel is stronger when the load is applied parallel to the direction of grain flow rather than perpendicular? And Does grain always exist in steel when in the solid state (not molten)? Or is it the other way around? If one forges a hook eg. does one wand the deformed grain to follow the bends of the hook? Warren

What does that mean?--macroscopic grain flow lines. Doesn't all that go away when the carbon goes into solution at forging temperatures? Grain flow lines have been depicted as though steel is like wrought iron with grain like wood. Now this is confusing. Warren

I built a take-down gantry using two A-frames made with boiler tubing and a 4x12 wood beam. Warren

Frosty: Most great ideas are spur of the moment!! Warren

I would make a set up to twist them cold as Glenn suggests. Shouldn't be too hard. Warren

Controlling grain size? Grain growth occurs when steel is heated and more so when overheated. Grain refinement occurs when steel is forged. What are the the temperatures when grain growth occurs and what are the forging temperatures to cause grain refinement? And are these temperatures different for different steels. Or in other words, "where on the chart are these points?" Am I asking the right questions? Another thought, typically hoisting hooks are left in an annealed condition for safety sake. Warren

The reason that I started this thread was that I believe that there is a lot of misunderstanding or no understanding at all about grain or grain growth in steel. The discussion here is worthwhile and I will continue to ask questions. Until I run out!! Warren So is a hook that is forged and bent stronger than one cut out of plate all other things being equal? Warren

Sure it makes sense, have done it. But how about tensile strength? Will samples taken from hot rolled plate in different directions test the same? How about compression? Warren

Dodge, Bending with the grain or rolling direction? You mean like forming angles/channels on a press brake? And forming the long way? Warren

Steve, That's what logic tells me. But I understand that there is grain (iron crystal) deformation in the direction that steel is worked, i.e. rolled or forged. So does it matter which direction that a hook, for example, is flame cut from a hot rolled plate assuming there is no subsequent forging? Warren

Hello all you Metallurgists: I have heard of grain in steel (not wrought iron) so what does that mean? Like grain in wood? Or like grain in sand? Does it matter what direction steel is forged? Say I have a lump of tool steel and wish to form a cutting edge. Can it be forged in any direction with equal success? What about cutting or forming parts from, say, hot rolled A36? Will cutting parts be different than when steel is worked and compressed by forging?:confused: Supposed the steel is 4140?:confused: Warren

AR500--Isn't that the steel that is used on Dredge buckets and other digging buckets? If so, there is this build up rod that is used to repair worn spots to be used under the hard facing. This build up rod may be what the Doctor ordered. Warren