Woody

Beautiul Rich, you are not going to sell that one are ya, you are going to keep it for yourself :)

What is commonly called "propane" seldom is pure propane. It is LPG, Liquified Petroleum Gas, which is mixture of varing amounts of propane and butane. So the temprature at which they boil to gas varies with the average weather conditions at the location. The farther south you go the warmer the ambient conditions, the more butane that can be added to the mixture. Also the warmer the temperature, the higher the pressure that will develop in the tank.

This might seem long winded and not relevant to the question but based on the above, what might be sufficent warming in one location to produce the desired flow of gas in another location might be enough warming to raise the pressure in the tank high enough to activate the pressure relief valve or if the pressure relief valve is missing or inoperable, cause the tank to rupture. Further, unless you purchased your propane tanks new, you have no idea of what they were subjected to previously.

It has already been recommended several times to place small tanks in a tub of water, that is very good advice, cold tap water will do nicely.

Forgive me for being such a picky old f*rt, Woody. I would like to slightly modify what you said: "It takes 60 points of carbon to be fully hardenable". I think what you meant was it takes 60 points of carbon for a steel to reach full hardness, which is about 64Rc. Hardness is the resistance to abrasion and penetration. Hardenability is the depth into a steel that the quench can transform to martensite (usually 50% martensite is considered hardened). High alloy, low carbon steel can be fully hardenable through a given section size, but it won't be to a high Rc hardness.

Outstanding Rich!

I don't get it, won't that area just get screwed up?

When hammering the sides of something where the hammer might hit the anvil face is that when a cutting place is also used? Or do people tend to use a stake for hitting on the edge of something?

Or you might just try using the step on the anvil, cutting and chisel work is what it was designed for

By braise, you mean to sear the workpiece, then cook it slowly in a liquid?

Oh, you must mean brazing!

Propane and other liquified gases are kept in liquid state by a combination of temperature and pressure. The release of pressure from the tank caused the temperature of the liquid to drop. Propane boils at -44 degrees F. By drawing on the tank too fast you can cool the temperature of the liquid down to below the boiling point and although there is still propane in the tank little if any gas will come out and it will appear that the tank is empty. The cooler the ambient temperature the easier it is to do this. In the winter time if I am welding up a Damascus Billet, I have to put my propane tank in a garbage can of water in order to keep the liquid propane warm enough to develop enough pressure to reach welding temperature.

I would braise it too.

for a stone they sell honing oil but any light oil will work. I have used 3 in 1 oil for years. I don't know about a grinder though never used oil on one of those

take a 3/4 inch drive socket drill a hole just big enough for it to fit very tightly then drive the socket into the hole. Tack weld in place

My prayers are with you and your brother. God Bless and Keep you all.

Woody

Glad she is back home, prayers continue. God Bless all of you

Woody

5140 is a low chrome alloy with 40 points of carbon. The general rule of thumb is it takes 60+ points of carbon for a steel to be fully hardenable. The addition of chrome will increase the hardness over what can be obtained with Nickel but with some loss of ductility.

Make a knife out of it, it don't have to be fancy, then heat treat it and temper it. Then sharpen it and see how it holds an edge. Keep careful records of what you do that way if it turns out good you can duplicate the process, if it turns out bad you can keep from duplicating the process.

From what you have said it is difficult to make an assumption but my guess is it just didn't get hot enough. This is information that I got from the Anvilfire Guru Den several years ago.

"You will need at least 450 BTUs per cubic inch of forge chamber volume if your forge is going to be able to forge-weld. Some would argue for a figure as high as 540 BTUs per cubic inch.

The "Reil Burner" will deliver about 135,000 BTUs at medium to higher gas pressures, and can be cranked up to almost 200,000 BTUs by raising the pressure to 20 psi or more. In the lower pressure range of from 1-6 psi, where I do most of my work, it will produce about 60,000 BTUs, or even a little less. Use the middle figure in any design calculations.

Shoot for a burner to volume ratio of 1:300 or less. Some smiths who are very
knowledgeable would say a more conservative ratio of 1:250 would be safer and insure that your forge will be able to weld. To calculate how many 3/4" burners you will need just divide the total chamber volume of your forge, in cubic inches, by 250 or 300, and then round up. If you come out to a burner requirement of 2-1/3 burners, then you will need 3 burners for your planned forge volume. Always plan conservatively or you may end up with a forge that is too cold to forge-weld."

Chemical sensitivity is a very vague area of toxicology. In some respects it is dependent on an individuals make up. There are however, chemicals that are known to be sensitizers. Amoug them are the hardeners for two stage paints like DuPont Imron.

Like an allergy to bee stings, sensitivity to a chemical can come with repeated exposures or from a single exposure and like a bee sting, there are no symptoms from the first exposure or repeated exposures until the body becomes sensitized to the toxic substance. Once sensitized, any further exposure will result in a reaction, this can run the gamet from a simple allergic reaction to anaphalactic shock resulting in death if prompt medical treatment is not available.

A person's reaction to a toxic insult is relative to a lot of things, Age, Gender, Weight, Physical Condition, general health and in some cases what other chemical exposure that person has had recently. Toxicity data is based on the average person, but remember just as there is only one middle of a line no matter how long, there is only one average person in the world. Everyone else is either above average or below average.

In the case of Paw Paw Wilson, his health was already compromised by COPD. Subsequently the inhalation of zinc fumes that may have cause someone else only transient effects and limited discomfort caused medical complications that resulted in his death.

Remember: Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first,
the lesson afterward. If you fail the test chances are you won't be around for the lesson.

Foreword: It seems every few weeks someone addresses a question to the Forums about the hazards of welding, forging or otherwise heating galvanized (Zinc) or Cadmium coated steel. Whenever this happens there is one or more suggestions to

Most "mild steel" is A-36. It is the most widely used structural steel around. It is not what ever they happen to throw in the remelt pot that day. A-36 stands for ASTM Standard A-36. There is a specific compositon for this steel. You can look here Guide to Buying Steel Online | Online Metals Guide to Selecting Metals for Your Project and find information on it. The compositon is C .26, Mn .75, Cu.2, P .04, S.05. As Thomas Powers pointed out a couple weeks ago you can get a much higher grade of refinement using remelted steel than starting from scratch with iron ore because scrap steel is already a much more pure product.

yes Cadmium coating is usually a yellow/gold color like what you see on some grade 8 bolts.

The people posting on this site have a responsibility to pass along FACTS not rumor and folklore when it comes to health and safety issues. Milk is not an antidote for exposure to zinc fumes. Never has been and never will be. Yet, every time someone mentions exposure to zinc fumes several of these ill informed individuals pass on what "some old welder told them years ago". I think it is time for this site to make a "sticky" out of welding galvanized etc. It seems this subject comes up every couple weeks.

Metal Fume Fever and Heavy Metal Poisoning are nothing to mess with. If you think you have the symptoms SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY. Drink the milk if you must but all it will do is quench your thirst. If you have been exposed to the fumes you are poisoned and no amount of milk will change that.

The people posting on this site have a responsibility to pass along FACTS not rumor and folklore when it comes to health and safety issues. Milk is not an antidote for exposure to zinc fumes. Never has been and never will be. Yet, every time someone mentions exposure to zinc fumes several of these ill informed individuals pass on what "some old welder told them years ago". I think it is time for this site to make a "sticky" out of welding galvanized etc. It seems this subject comes up every couple weeks.

Metal Fume Fever and Heavy Metal Poisoning are nothing to mess with. If you think you have the symptoms SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY. Drink the milk if you must but all it will do is quench your thirst. If you have been exposed to the fumes you are poisoned and no amount of milk will change that.

Chainsaw, you and Ashley are on my list, God Bless and Keep you both.

Woody

BEWARE of Cadmium it is much more dangerous than metal galvanized with zinc. When heated Cadmium gives off extremely toxic fumes. 29CFR1910.146 OSHA Confined Space Regulations have a special cavaet about welding with cadmium containing rods in confined spaces that states:

"Note: Some materials – hydrogen fluoride gas and cadmium vapor, for example – may produce immediate transient effects that, even if severe, may pass without medical attention, but are followed by sudden, possibly fatal collapse 12-72 hours after exposure. The victim "feels normal" from recovery from transient effects until collapse. Such materials in hazardous quantities are considered to be "immediately" dangerous to life or health."

look under "coal" in the yellow pages