Woody

Beacher: my thoughts and prayers are with your mom, you and your family. May God bless all of you Woody

Never put sodium hydroxide into acid solutions, you think the heat reaction you get by adding it to water is strong, just wait till you toss it into acid. You will have it and acid flying all over the place. Baking soda is a good neutralizing agent. If you want something that works a little faster, you can use soda ash (get it from a chemical supply store) or lime. Soda ash neutralizes acid on a 1:1 ratio. That is NOT a one cup to one cup ratio. It is one pound of soda ash will neutralize one pound of pure acid. Lime, available at any lumber yard, neutralized on a 2:1 ratio, that is one pound of lime will neutralize 2 lbs of pure acid. Pure nitric is if my memory serves me correctly about 13 lbs per gallon, so you would need 13 lbs of soda ash to neutralize one gallon of pure acid. If you have one gallon of 40% solution you would need only 40% of 13 lbs or 5.2 lbs that is assuming that my estimate of the weight of a gallon of pure acid is correct. You will need to check that. The hazards of using stronger alkalis like soda ash or especillay lime and sodium hydroxide is that you can easily add too much. Then you end up with an alkaline solution that is also a hazardous waste. Anything with a pH of less than 2.5 or more than 11 is a Hazardous Waste. If you generate a Hazardous Waste, you must register with the EPA as a Hazardous Waste Generator. In addition to the corrosive hazards of nitric acid, it is also a VERY strong oxidizer, stronger in fact than pure oxygen. If you look at the formul of it HNO3 and of pure oxygen O2 you can see this. If nitirc acid comes in contact with organic materials, it can cause them to decompose and ignite. Additionally, when mixed with other chemicals it can form explosive compounds. When nitric acid, over 40% in concentration is shipped, it is placarded and labeled as an Oxidizer not a Corrosive because the oxidizing potential is the greater of the hazards. I think you would be better served to continue your search for ferric chloride than to mess with nitric acid. Woody

8. He's so tight he squeezes a nickel till the buffalo passes gas.

Be very careful with Nitric Acid. It is extremely corrosive to carbon steel and also very corrosive to skin. When you dilute it add the acid to the water never water to the acid. Wear rubber gloves, goggles, a full face shield and a rubber or plastic full apron. Why do I say a rubber apron, because a lap full of nitric acid will have you singing a new verse of the old Jerry Lee Lewis hit. Also remember that acid reacting with metals evolves hydrogen gas. Very flammable stuff. Also the nitric acid when it is no longer usable will have to be neutralized before you can dispose of it. You cannot just pour it down the drain. Woody

Alan: Beautiful Work, can you tell us what the handle is made from and a bit more about the knife Woody

Rich: I think I saw that one under construction when I was down there, it turned out beautiful. Woody

Garey: Very nice Knife Woody

Jerry you and Carol are in my prayers. Woody

Beautiful Simply Beautiful Woody

Krstopher: First let me tell you that hardening and tempering are not one and the same. Tempering is actually the removal of a selective amount of hardness and brittleness. Second Case Hardening only imparts a hardness to a very thin layer at the surface of the metal usually a few thousandsths of an inch thick it is not what you want in this case. All steels are not created equal. The properties that make a steel hardenable are first the carbon content of the steel and second the alloy metals that are added to the steel. I assume that you are using mild steel from a local steel supplier. This may be suitable for your purpose but you may have to use a type of steel with a higher carbon content to get the desired results. I would recommend that you try the following if this steel is in fact mild steel: Heat the forked end of the shaft and check with a magnet. When the magnet will no longer stick to the metal it should be a cherry red color, quench the end in iced salt water. This will make the metal as hard as it will get. Now you need to temper the end, that is remove some of the hardness and brittleness without letting the metal get too soft. First sand the end to remove any scale and get the surface back to a bright condition. Then heat the end slowly with a propane torch or other burner watching the color of the steel. It will first turn a pale straw color, then a dark straw color at this point if it is mild steel, quench it in cool water. The temperature at which you temper this piece will be around 450 to 475 degrees F. If the piece is small enough you can simply put it in the oven and bake it at that temperature for an hour or so then take it out and let it air cool. Without knowing the exact type of steel used in your tool, it is almost impossible to give you exact instructions on the proper heat treating of the piece and it may take several attempts to get it right. If you are using a piece of junkyard steel or unknown composition, and you know what it's original application was, i.e. motor shaft, spring, etc. email me, I have quite a list of junkyard steels and their types I can help you identify the material and then recommend the proper heat treating and tempering process. Woody

In Memory of My Friends: SGT Robert Lee Dorsey KIA 8/16/66 SSG Ray Fordyce KIA 8/16/66 PFC Preston Polk KIA 11/20/66 CPT Richard C. Glidden died of a brain hemorage in Saigon 2/13/67 PFC Roger Eckstein KIA 4/10/67 PFC Bernhart W. Miller KIA 11/10/67 SP4 Larry Barger KIA 3/26/68 SGT Frederick M. Vickery KIA 8/18/68 SP4 John Petrie KIA 3/9/69 SP5 William M. Jodrey KIA 3/27/67 "If you are able, save for them a place inside of you and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go. Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not have always. Take what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own. And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind." The above was written by: Major Michael Davis O'Donnell 1 January 1970 Dak To, Vietnam Listed as KIA February 7, 1978 it was copied from the Viet Nam Veterans Memorial Wall Site:

meco3hp: You must never attempt to teach a pig to sing, it wastes your time and annoys the pig. Woody

Dawn: This is great news indeed. I will keep Ralph and you in my prayers Woody

I have had a Hobart Handler 135 for several years. It has served me well with no break downs of any kind. As long as you use a light duty machine within it's limitations it will serve you well. Woody

Quenchcrack: Logs split as they dry out so I don't think it would be unusual for a hammer handle to split due to the change in moisture content either. Could have been a small flaw that started it and as the wood dried out the crack became bigger. Woody

Bryan, you, your family and your brother's family are in my prayers. May God Bless all of you Woody

Brian: I will add you to the prayer list. Hope you have a complete and speedy recovery Woody

Ralph you and Dawn are still on my prayer list. I pray for your complete and speedy recovery. Hang in there my friend. Blessings upon you and Dawn Woody

I have been using the Grizzly Knife Maker Belt Sander for several years, I really like it, I have has no problems with it and it has served me very well Woody

Ralph: I will continue to pray for your complete recovery. Woody

To any Blacksmith friends in harms way from Huricane Rita: If you need a place of refuge before or after the strom, I have plenty of room in Rapid City, South Dakota and you and your family are welcome here for as long as you need to stay. Contact me at 605-721-8723 or email woody@rushmore.com. May God bless all of you that are in harms way and keep you and your families safe. Woody

Glad to hear everything went will, I will put you guys on the prayer list. Woody

Ralph: I will continue to pray for your complete recovery. Woody

If you put his brain in a thimble and shook it, it would rattle around like a BB in a box car.

1. Never attempt to teach a pig to sing, it wastes your time and annoys the pig. 2. Couple fries short of a happy meal. 3. Got one wheel out where the sand is soft. 4. Thinks Taco Bell is the Phone Company in Juarez. 5. Thinks Sherlock Holmes is a housing development.