RobbieG

Yep those are some really nice work, I may have to borrow that framed design if that's OK? Very creative

5 hours ago, Andres Bello said:

 

This is what the cylinder  "head" looks like (note that the protection is still on):

 

 

That looks pretty similar to the clip on connections on UK patio gas/butane bottles - I have never seen an adjustable reg for those as the appliances that use them have needle valves fitted (they are usually 28 or 37 mbar fixed regulators)

That type of clip on regulator is usually non-adjustable (in the UK at least) so that could be a problem. Where are you located?

6 hours ago, RogueGeek said:

 They are the glass filled nylon material. I haven't really read anything  good or bad regarding their durability, I guess time will tell.  

 

I have used glass filled nylon (Nylon PA66 GF30) sheaves for running wire ropes with good success (1/2" dia wires - several ton loads)- I would be surprised if they wear too quickly here.

That's a great looking hammer! Did you forge by hand/with striker/power hammer?

You might struggle with forge welding the spring steel to itself. I have seen posts from some others about forging the hammer body from mild then forge welding a spring steel face on but not sure how effective it has been.

I love that they form it up using hydraulic pressure - must be a massively beefed up version of a blow mould for drinks bottles.

Cheers guys, gives me a reference point to start with!

Hi what mixture ratio do you use when making up rigidiser from fumed silica and water? I have previously bought premixed but its expensive so just wondering how much dry powder I need to buy, thanks!

16 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

Folks it may be legal to own them in your country but do you *KNOW* the laws in the OP's country?

As the problem seems to be with the oxy bottle other fuel gas suggestions to work with Oxy don't seem to be germaine.

So gasoline/air torches get to high temps as they have been used to melt metals; but in reality going Oxy-Propane is probably your best bet.  A plus is that Oxy-Propane is great for cutting steel as well.

As Thomas has pointed out things are different here; whilst it is not illegal to own bottles, you will not be able to get them refilled easily by any reputable source. Since I run a few propane tanks for gas forge/home cooking/BBQ etc the oxy propane may be the way to go - the gas cutting could come in handy too I guess.

14 hours ago, BIGGUNDOCTOR said:

Look into electric options. A friend had a small arc welder that also did carbon arc brazing with what he called a dragon tooth. You brought the two carbon rods together to create an arc then used that for brazing. But, what he would do for stuck bolts was to have the welder off, clasp the bolt between the rods tightly, then turn the welder on. When the bolt was hot enough he would shut the welder off. 

There are also heating units for soldering that clamp onto the copper pipe.

An induction unit would be great, but they are out of reach for most folks. 

I will definitely look into this as well, sounds interesting!

Cleaning it up with a grinder is highly unlikely to take it anywhere near a  temperature where annealing would occur, even if you controlled the cooling phase. Clean up one end for use, mount it with that end up and use if for a while. If that end gets bashed up beyond use, clean it up again or flip it over and clean up the other end.

I have built one of Frostys burners and have been using it for a while now, its a great design. I'm more interested in something that would allow me to apply heat to a very small area quickly. If the only option is Oxy-propane or Oxy acetylene then I'll just have to start saving and make sure I use it enough to justify the running cost!

Hi there, can anybody recommend suitable torch alternatives to oxy acetylene for isolating heats for the likes of riveting and some scrollwork? Set-up costs for oxy acetylene are very high here because bottles have to be taken on a lease basis. I have a small butane torch but it doesn't have the heat required for anything larger than a 6mm (1/4") rivet. Up to now I have been heating in the forge and cooling with water where required but it would be nice to be able to get really accurate heats at times. I don't have much interest in gas welding so oxy propane was a consideration, but the oxy bottles still need to be hired. Are there any propane torches with enough power for this type of thing? Thanks

3D printing technologies are moving so fast these days. I would like to see the heat shielding they would require to create steel droplets instead of aluminium!

Looking good! Some guys position their anvil as a rest (forge would need to be close in height) or fabricate a stand - there are many ways to skin that one! In the the last photo you appear to have the steel angled down into the firepot, this isn't ideal; you really want the metal going straight across the top of the firepot through the reducing section of the fire. Glenn has posted many times (sticky here:

) about the shape your fire should be and the reasons for not angling into the firepot. Also the bucket under the ash dump appears to be plastic, there is the possibility that the material coming out of there would be hot enough to set a plastic bucket on fire so perhaps change that out. Otherwise, happy forging!

Well its definitely sturdy looking! I like the little sliding fence you have there, is there any reason you didn't include a matching one on the other side? It might be useful to have if you are heating the middle of a long piece.

I'm a manufacturing engineer for a lifesaving equipment manufacturer (Lifejackets and Liferafts). 

On 1/3/2017 at 4:38 PM, JHCC said:

UPDATE: I haven't taken any action on this since our earlier discussion (mostly because of lack of funds for materials), but I've come to realize that going gas probably isn't going to be the best thing for me, at least at present. In a nutshell, the "Where do you put your Propane tank?" thread has more or less convinced me that figuring out the safety issues is more than I want to handle right now. So, I guess the helium tank is going to become an oil-quench tank rather than a forge.

Thanks for all your help.

Whilst safety is an obvious concern when using flammable gases, provided you use a common sense approach and avoid obvious risks, gas forges are as safe as any other piece of equipment outputting in excess of 1000 degrees celcius! One thing I have seen frosty recommend is to use copper hosing for all the connections within range of the forge - this is something I have not been able to do due to availability of parts locally but is something worth looking at. I wouldn't shelve the project just yet, gas forges are so convenient to use - especially if you have only short periods of time in which to forge.

For positioning of the propane tank, I keep mine just outside the garage roller door with the hose coming in under the semi open door (which also provides good air exchange). The forge is perpendicular to the hose so that the flames at exhaust cannot impact directly, and I have shut-off valves at tank end and forge end of the hose. Also have a CO monitor in the garage for safety.

Hi Uinseann, if you are just starting out have you considered taking some lessons? I was in Sligo in September for a one-to-one day with Michael Budd in Castlebaldwin and can thoroughly recommend.

8 hours ago, Quench. said:

Exactly.  And I use it to displace the condensation that collects when humid weather comes in after the metal has gotten cold.  Oil is no good then--it doesn't displace the condensation and makes a mess.  But you have to go back with the oil later, because the WD40 evaporates pretty quickly.  But sometimes I just and spray after the weather and then forget to go back with the oil.

Its an easy thing to forget - luckily for me changes in humidity are not a common concern in Ireland, we tend to stay between 70 and 90% all year round!

3 hours ago, Gergely said:

Just found Claudio Bottero's FB page. There is some advanced bowl making stuff around dec.8-9. Worth to look at his other works, too.

Merry Christmas!

Gergely

I found his page recently also but missed the bowls - some of his work is just unbelievable! Definitely worth checking out

45 minutes ago, tonyw said:

That is really cool Vaughn!

And I forgot to say earlier that like Gergely, I also forged my dishes hot, mainly because I didn't have a SPoA to use as a dishing tool.

And RobbieG, I dished my pieces freehand on the anvil. I am fairly new to blacksmithing and the freehand dishing was way easier than I thought it might be.

That's good to know, I dug a couple of 2mm thick discs out of a scrap bin recently so that will give me something to use them for

9 hours ago, Quench. said:

Drat, I used grease.  Oh well, guess I'll clean it out and squirt some oil in there.  Have more oiling to do on various tools.  Screwy weather over here is rusting everything in a flash.  WD40 is easy to spray but just doesn't last worth diddly.    -Q

WD40 isn't really designed to be an oil - its a water displacer (WD!) 

16 hours ago, NFLIFe said:

 I've read articles and seen videos where you wrap the axe head band directly on to the wood handle, then weld where the metal meets.

 

 

Can you provide any links to the articles? It simply woodn't work

Are you all using a version of your SPoA or freehanding these on the anvil? I guess a gouged out stump would work ok - maybe a little smoky if the steel is hot!