natenaaron

Yep.

Yes. After some playing I think it was where I tossed the cardboard in. It was directly under the burner. The burner aims down the port side of the floor and I usually toss the card board in on the starboard. So, as Frosty said there was too little pressure when the gas hit the flame.

What Frosty said, Then put another layer of ceramic blanket in there and some liner. Without it and those big opened ends all of your heat will not be in the forge. As it is now it is a health hazard with the fiber not covered. I've been reading up on ceramic wool. You don't want that stuff in your lungs.

That's awesome

For the final test to be a Master Curmudgeon you have to totally crush the hopes and dreams of a budding smith who only wants you to tell them where to get their material, build them a forge, tell them how to forge that material into a +12 Elvin long sword and how to do it in less than an hour because that is how long the Forged In Fire show is. Now for a more serious response This site needs a serious cleaning up before you can really get frustrated with new folks. The Knife Making 101 thread is a perfect example: FInd the pics, redo the pics or redo the thread so it does not rely so heavily on the missing images and get rid of the dead links. If you want this place to be used like a library then make the information accessible. Right now it is a lot like my desk. The information is there somewhere but the chaos drives some people nuts. If I had a lot more experience I would happily volunteer to help organize and clean up. If there is something I can do to help (realizing I have very very little experience) just say so. This place has been very helpful to me but chaos does not drive me nuts.

I'll give it a shot.

My son, being a teenager, neglected to seek out items he needed for a science experiment until the night before the items needed to be in class. Then he was perturbed that I was MAKING him get off his butt, put down the computer and head for the shop. I suppose the items were just going to magically appear. Teenagers. One of the items he needed was a silver disk, which meant I needed to melt some sterling silver shot. I am out of fine silver. The below happened while he was gleefully cutting out brass and copper disks on the drill press. Funny how grumpiness disappears when power tools and fire are involved I fired the forge to heat the crucible up before melting the silver. It just works faster Nothing was in the forge when I fired it up except a piece of burning cardboard which I have used a lot with no issue. Here is what I did to start the forge exactly as I did it Put burning cardboard in the forge Maybe a 2x2 inch piece Opened the valve turned the regulator knob on not quickly but not slowly I heard the gas ignite and I turned up the regulator I heard a little wet sounding pop and the forge started sounding wet. Hard to explain it outside of that description. Not puffing, not chugging, like water spray from a hose I went to look in the forge and there was quite the flame vortex going inside the T, with pinkish, orange, and purple flames blowing into the forge. I quickly shut it down. got the kid to work warming the crucible with a propane torch and then restarted the forge in the exact same manner to see if it happened again. Nope. A perfect lighting. The tank is still a quarter full so I am not out of gas. Any idea what happened?

I was photographing some wild orchids at the top of wolf creek pass. I was prone on the ground in the bottom of a bowl when I heard a grunt, a large branch break and caught a not so pleasant smell. I looked up and there was a grizzly standing on his hind legs looking down into the bowl at me. He was maybe 20 feet away. I'm glad he was not hungry. He gruffed a couple times, then walked a way. Those things are REALLY big. Heck no I did not get a picture of the bear. I was shaking too much. I've seen moose down around Durango. A friend said he saw one North eastern Arizona, in the Chuska Mountain Range. Not sure I buy it though.

Store

Picture number 3 looks like dad has his lawyer on speed dial. I like the four day healing rule.

Never happen. No sex, no voting someone off, and most of all no commercials. Another mastercraft with 4 parts. Equally well done IMO.

2 pound, might end up a little more.

This is the type of craft show I like. No BS drama. No stupid soundtrack. Just them working and talking about what they are doing. Good job.

I work alone most of the summer. Being a super shy introvert this suits me fine, most days. The welder, who rents space from us, and I were talking the other day about working alone. When you got stuff to do and you are moving you don't notice being alone. When you got stuff to do and you are moving and someone comes in it really sucks, even if they are a client. They interrupted your flow. Then there are the slow times when you either go stir crazy or clean. Both of us agreed that cleaning is the order of the day then. If the cleaning is done you sit in the comfy shop chair kick your feet up and take a nap. Nothing wrong with this unless a customer comes in. Then you feel a little guilty. If I need human interaction I just go some place for lunch. When I go back to teaching at the end of the summer, it takes a long time to get used to being around people. You'll be fine.

yes you should ask him. MIG (wire feed) and TIG require a shielding gas. Stick does not. See if he will let you run a few beads. If I were you I would avoid buying a welder until you know what you will be using it for. Since you are just starting out IMO you should get a torch. Oxy/Propane or Oxy Acetylene. I know nothing about Oxy Propane but there are some good threads on it. You will use this a lot more with your smithing than you will a welding set up. Get some popcorn a soda and read the beginning welding forum. Why don't you focus on one of the activites for a while. Both welding and smithing have a lot of learning involved. By focusing on both you rob yourself of practice time. Good luck

Jumping in with both feet. Good for you. What are you planning on welding? How thick? MIG is the easiest to start with IMO, some folks say stick is. The thickness you plan on welding is the most important concern. Figure that out, go to a welding supply place and talk to them. Then purchase the next size up. Trust me, something thicker will always come up. I own Miller and Lincoln both. IMO you can't go wrong with either.

Happened across this on CNN today xxxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxxx

"But Doc Frosty Said......" I am going to give it a shot.

Whoa! Mother of all follow me home is right. 60lbs of Ti has got to be worth a LOT.

Civil war era iron clad, Frosty. Fiber glass, IO and OB. I have plenty of experience with chainsaws, but I was worried about the chain breaking and flying wild or losing teeth. I was using a carbide stone blade when a tooth came off and took a piece of my glasses off. Scared the poo out of me. Now I sort of hesitate when something says carbide teeth. That is were the kill me thing came from.

I have some old boats I need to chunk up and get rid of. It will cost me about 1000 dollars to take them to the dump. If I cut them up I will just put them into our dumpster a bit at a time. I was getting nowhere today with a Sawzall, when a friend came by. He told how a chainsaw with a carbide chain would get the job done faster. I know they have carbide chains but will they really cut anything that comes into their path, without killing me in the process? He said they used them when he worked for the fire department. Is this one of those too good to be true things? I figured someone here would be able to refute or support his claim. I would love to get this done faster. The first set of boats are blocking my blacksmithing area.

I've had the pleasure and displeasure of knowing and dealing with hundreds of teenage boys and girls, I am sure one just like your son has come through. I work in a middle school. AKA the puberty prison.

Daughters....Thank god everyday we have boys. A lot less worry.

Some one will have invented metallurgical Viagra by then.

Ahh. That is why I am seeing so many lengths. Making a drift for a 2# hammer to try and straighten the factory hole to begin with. Then make my own hammer soon. The factory cheap-o hammer is not aligned properly. It has about a 5 degree twist which is making it frustrating to use.