jumbojak

Get the TIG out!

Are the eyes just built up weld bead or is there something else there? Okay, now that I have my glasses on I can see something distinctly round. I'm still not used to these things.

Is this true? I mean, an oxy-propane torch can certainly reach a high enough temperature to melt steel. I read somewhere - and I really wish I could remember where - that the reason oxy-propane welds so poorly is because it doesn't produce a blanket of CO2 to shield the weld while acetelyne does. That's an honest question and I hope someone here can point me in the right direction to find out. There seems to be lots of argument on the subject with no definitive answer. Then there's the issue of highest temperature versus total BTU output. Yes, acetelyne produces a higher absolute temperature, but everything I've read indicates that propane in fact produces more BTUs, albeit in a different part of the flame than acetelyne. I've seen two ways of cutting with a torch; one involves holding the flame over the line until it melts and falls away in chunks leaving a very poor finish, the other involves heating along the line and then blasting the cut with oxy so the metal falls away leaving a very clean cut. It would seem that propane would be the ticket in regards to cutting, given its higher total BTU output. I don't know what to believe at this point. I've only ever seen and rarely used acetelyne.

I managed but started to drool a bit by number four. That's a really nice looking knife temple hound. It has rough yet finished look to me, if that makes any sense.

It's not dying young that should scare you so much. Go talk to an older welder who had that attitude and is now laid up in early "retirement" because they can't stop coughing up things that look like they landed here from outer space. It's not pretty and it's not fun. Dying doesn't scare me. Living like a shell of myself does and it's one of the things that can keep me up at night. Also, thirty minutes to get up to temp? It takes me five to ten minutes, tops, and I use that nasty, hard home heating coal thats tricky to get lit.

I think you need to work on the finish more than anything. The scratches from what I will assume was the final grinding are completely random and look very poor when the light reflects on it in the second photograph. The shape could work with a better handle design and a nicer finish on the blade. I'd give it a three seeing the potential for a seven with some basic refinements. Not sure if that particular shape would ever look particularly nice but I could be proven wrong.

I doubt too many pros would be quenching many blades in water and even fewer would quench with used motor oil. Many steels, especially in thin cross sections don't react nicely to a water quench. Even the ones that do in larger cross sections are prone to cracking when thin sections of stock need to be hardened - I learned this the hard way, having an old file that hardened perfectly well at its full thickness but was more or less destroyed when a thin blade blank was quenched. As to the motor oil, a pro would be likely to use a fit to purpose quenching oil, or at least an oil that's not as potentialy toxic as used motor oil. Smoke is never good to breathe in but used motor oil tends to have lots of other crud in it that could seriously hurt you if vaporized and inhaled. Different steels require different hardening procedures. Some are quite simple to get to their full austenizing temperature while others require high precision furnaces. Some are water hardening, some are oil hardening, some are air hardening, etc. You have to know your steel, either from the manufacturers spec or by testing it. Note that I'm not a pro either, just someone who reads a lot and experiments whenever I have the chance. The stickies spread throughout this forum are an excellent resource, and there are many books on the subject that are well worth checking out at the local library.

Aus, that's clearly an extremely rare, vintage, antique, heelless anvil, used by blacksmiths forced to work in cramped corners. Even rarer than the heelless anvil is one that also features a rear step face. The regular step faced anvils turn up from time to time, and fetch a pretty penny, but that... that might just be a real treasure.

I have a standard drop spot beside my anvil. It's much faster than trying to set them in a particular place. If I had tool holders on the anvil they'd probably go unused for that reason, unless of course it was a handy tray. Might add one but it'd be a bit low.

Have you tried paint stripper? Follow the directions and it'll take the worst of it off. A needle scaler works well for small sections too, if you have access to an air compressor. Wire wheels will work as well though I would STRONGLY recommend a full face shield in addition to your safety glasses for doing that job. That's at the very least.

I know that. Having to help my mom with her oxygen tanks, the oxygen concentrator, and make sure her pulse oximeter is in working order every time I stop by her house leaves me thinking hard by the time I leave. Boy, that oxygen is important stuff, isn't it? She's another one who quit smoking when she quit breathing. I still remember driving to the hospital the night she went down. Hospital floors suck to sleep on but I imagine she had a much tougher time than I did that night. She hasn't touched a cigarette since and really doesn't want to. Still has the unopened carton she bought earlier that day.

I need to quit. Been smoking since I was twelve and my goodness does it have a grip on me. I'm down a lot from my worst of about four packs a day and have switched to a cheaper brand but shortness of breath still gets me. Tried the gum and my mouth tasted like an ashtray all day. Tried the patches but shaving new application points was too much of a pain - I'm a freakishly hairy guy so shaving body hair leaves bloodstains in t-shirts when the hair starts to grow back! Vaping doesn't do anything for me, puffing on an ecig just makes me want the real thing even more. Saving the money I'd spend on a pack or two of cigarettes a day is a really attractive proposition. I just haven't found a way to stop smoking that leaves me a decent human being. Maybe I should move to a small island for a few months and break off all contact with other homo sapiens. You do NOT want to be around me when I need nicotine!

Since we're talking about the hobbies of our significant others as well (blacksmithing is just about the only hobby I have) I'll take the opportunity to brag a little on my girlfriend's work. She recently got into dollhouses and her skills with clay and a craft knife put my skills with heat and hammer to shame! She buys unfinished houses and then makes everything to outfit them properly. Below is the tiled roof for a late 19th century London banker's house. Each tile was individually made and glued down. That's over 1500 tiles, not including the ridgecap! Now she has mover on to the interior and is trying to build a clock. Not sure if she's going for a replica or a working miniature at this point...

Saw an ad on craigslist recently that was very similar. Some guy had inherited a Kennedy top chest chock full of tools. From the pictures I could see a full set of mics, sine bars, dial indicators, parallels, and other assorted goodies. He figured it was all worth about $240 but he was willing to trade for just about any kind of firearm. Before I could get the barrel nut tightened on my Winchester 190 the ad was gone. So either someone else snapped it up before I had the chance or else he gained a better understanding of what he actually had and pulled the ad on his own. RATS!!! Then again, I suppose the tools and boxes that followed you home belonged to you to begin with, given the circumstances. Sorry to hear about you being laid off and best of luck to you going forward.

"Blacksmiths can't listen to other peoples' ideas about what's obsolete, or we'd have to throw out our power hammers, shapers and camel backs! Shucks, I'd be left with nothing but an anvil and a welder. Nope, scratch that--just a welder!" -- Sanderson Iron (I don't have a real name to credit)

Ah, I hadn't thought of using it similarly to a broach. And rounding corners and radii with round files would be very handy. For some reason the thought of using a round file didn't cross my mind. Thank you again! You too Thomas. This is a machine I'll have to keep an eye out for. Most of the information I found referred to its obsolescence, at least in the tool and die industry, but I can think of a lot of uses for a machine like that.

On a related but slightly different note, I'm curious about the use of a die filer. I looked them up and even saw a few examples of them running but am wondering if they can be used for more than just squaring up a piece and how that would be accomplished. I can't see the use of a square reciprocating file when a mill would almost certainly work more quickly for squaring up, but can't see how the filer would be used for more sophisticated work than that.

I had never seen a punch press before but now I think I understand its use, and why it would be powered. The only presses I was farmiliar with before reading this thread were the flypress and the hydraulic press. Hateful things those hydraulic presses - had a piece of metal fly out of one once! So the procedure would be to make the die, test the die using copper on the try press, make adjustments as necessary to the die, and then go into production with steel on the toggle press? That sounds like very satisfying work to me. What sort of production rates can you maintain on this sort of equipment? I recently watched a video put out by Cornwell outlining their wrench production and they had a rate of roughly one wrench every two minutes using multiple drop forging hammers and a continuous production line. I imagine that tooling changes would make a big difference using the type of equipment you have available.

So, the first press slowly ratchets down to test a die which will be used in another press for the production run, right? For that you use the toggle press, which I gather is a more rigid version of a standard flypress, though it seems to be powered and have a flywheel that's mounted vertically instead of horizontally overhead, like a flypress? And a flypress uses percussive force generated by the mass of the flywheel to form a part? Sorry if these seem like silly questions but I'm having a bit of trouble making out the images. It's not that they aren't clear, I'm just gradually going blind and attempting to look at them on a small screen.

Just one of those strange things that happens in a day. I would try to make them something but, given my poor smithing skills and their desire to remove clutter, I think I'll just take care of a meal or two for them. I must be losing my mental faculties... what's a nut roast? Bolting their food isn't such a problem, though the husband tends to turn one drink into another. Dang, I really am losing my mental faculties. That last pun is almost unrecognizable...

Never expected this. A couple who regularly eats at my restaurant came in yesterday and I got into a conversation with the husband about tools, since I need to replace my sockets that were either stolen or "borrowed" and never returned. His wife mentioned an old set they had in the garage and wanted gone to free up space. So this morning he showed up and passed these along to me! All made in USA with only a few missing. The next time they come in I plan on buying their meal. They wanted it to be a gift but I wouldn't feel right not offering something in trade at least.

That's fascinating. I like the pulley drive system in your shop too. Never knew there were different types of presses that operated in this way. Well, more research for me to do.... thanks for sharing!

I'm not familiar with Fiat but I do know camshafts are often made of cast iron. Not sure if a white iron shaft would ring or if that indicates a steel shaft. I were you I'd perform a spark test at the least.

You were sentenced to death by hanging for a crime you didn't commit and at the last second your trusty sidekick shot the rope off saving your life. Unfortunately, he grazed your neck, and the few sensible townfolk left had to rush in and cart you to safety in a hotrod Conestoga wagon. The real culprit was discovered when his partner broke down and confessed, having witnessed your ordeal. The partner is serving a life sentence in Yuma prison but Bruce Dern's whereabouts remain a mystery to this day...