Woody

We meet every second Saturday of the month. Any time after 8 AM, I usually get there around 10 or so because I have another meeting that I must attend on the Second Saturday of the month. You can bring anything you want to work on. There are forges and anvils available but if you want to bring your own that's ok too. I won't be at the January meeting, I am having back surgery in Omaha the day before the meeting so I will be out of action for a bit. send me a message via this forum and I will give you my email address phone number etc and perhaps we can get together.

Nice job on the turners. You can get Blacksmith Coal in 40 lb bags from Eisenbraun Coal, they are on Anderson Lane of Hy 44 toward the Airport. I don't think they have much of the Blacksmith Coal left, last time I got some ( last summer) they only had a few bags left. Dakota Artist Blacksmith Association has coke for sale at $30 for 100 lbs you can get it from Fire Steel Forge in Piedmont. If you are in the Rapid City Area, I would like to invite you to attend DABA meetings and hammer-ins, they are the second Saturday of every month at Fire Steel Forge in Piedmont. The last price I paid for the blacksmith coal at Eisenbraun was $10 a bag. I like working with the coke although it takes a bit more air to keep it going.

Wow, excellent work for your first knife. I love the wood on the handle.

pigtail turners??? I have never had the inclination to turn a pigtail but in case I get the urge, perhaps you might post a picture so I could see what the appropriate tool looks like. As for the sweet smell in the shop, best you identify it for certain. Some really toxic things have a quite pleasant sweet smell.

Our Blacksmith Association as well as the local Blacksmith converted to coke due to the unavailabilityof a supply of good coal. The results have been very favorable, it does take more air to keep the fire going. It works equally as well with powered and hand crank blowers. I am out of coal and I purchased 100 lbs from the club for my forge at home. One nice thing, it produces a lot less smoke which I am sure my neighbors will be thankful for.

I have a fairly comprehensive list of the composition of various junkyard steels as well as a list of some of the more common blade steels along with heat treating information that I have gleened from various websites, ABANA publications and other reference materials such as Machinery's Handbook. Message me with your email address and I will send you a copy. It is about 20 pages in MS Word format.

see this link to the OSHA Noise Standard http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=standards&p_id=9735 it is not only the loudness of the noise, any noise, but also the amount of time one is exposed to it. The louder it is, the less exposure time it takes to damage hearing. Hearing protection should be worn any time the noise level is over 85 db. Remember to check the db level of the hearing protection. That is the amount of sound over the acceptable level that the device will protect you from. Surprisingly enough, cheap foam ear plugs usually have a higher rating than more expensive ear muffs.

Not the same thing Thomas, not even close but all of those who want to build your own respriators, please do so immediately that increased the possibility that you will remove your genes from the human gene pool before you have a chance to reproduce. A few years ago when Glenn started this site I had a discussion with him about possibility helping with questions regarding safety and environmental problems. At that time Glenn told me that everything would have to comply with all regulations concerning the subject. I guess that standard has been relaxed considerably ove time.

First, sit down and figure out just how much your life is worth in dollars and cents. Then if the cost of properly made respiratory protection equipment is more than that amount go ahead and kill yourself or others, if the cost of the equipment is less than the value of your life then buy the equpment. For the life of me I can't figure out why people are continually trying ot reinvent the wheel. The time and effort you spend in chasing down pieces, assembling them and making sure you have all the right parts could be better spent making things that can be sold to provide income. The fact that you have asked a question about the advisibility of constructing your own system indicates that you have some doubts and that you are looking for someone to reinforce your idea. That is the rational half of your brain telling DON'T DO THIS. Listen to that part of the brain. What I find apalling is that there are many people out there that will actually agree with you, encourage you and chide me for wanting to error on the side of safety. Now the question is will this prevent you from making your own system. The answer is NO. Why, because you will get immidiate positive results from constructing your own system. That is, you will save a few bucks and that is what you are after. The fact that you risk doing perment, irreversible possibly fatal damage to your lungs is something that is in the future. The effects may not show up for 20 years or so, there is a possibility that you may get lucky and nothing will happen. One last thing, if you have a commercial establishment and OSHA walks through the door and sees a home made system, expect a fine that will set you back many times more than what the cost of the proper system would be. But, there again, that is in the future and may not happen so it had little if any value as a deterant.

Respiratory Protection Equipment, respirators, and self contained breathing aparatus, must be constructed to strict NIOSH Standards. There is a reason for that. Don't attempt to construct your own system. I cannot emphasize strongly enough the falicy of home made respiratory protection equipment. Would you go scuba diving with a home made system? You only have one pair of lungs and damage to them is not repairable. If you want to spend the last 10 or so years of your life on Oxygen 24/7 where you can't walk from the bedroom to the kitchen without stopping to rest and catch your breath then go ahead and cobble together some makeshift piece of junk because you can save a few bucks. You will need it later in life when you can't work and the medicines to keep your airways open cost hundreds of dollars a month. If you can't afford proper Respiratory Protection Equipment then find another job until you can. One last thing, the filter cartridges on respirators start degrading the minute the sealed package is opened. They need to be chaged regularly or you might as well not use a respirator. To prolong their life, store the respirator in a zip lock bag when not in use and clean the respirator after every use. Remove the filters, wash the respirator with mild soap and water, rinse and dry, then replace the filters and store in an air tight bag.

Well DUH most blacksmiths know that a "little project" isn't worth the time and effort because by the time you get the "little project" done you have so much time and effort into it that you have priced yourself out of the business. Since it is a "little project" why don't you take it on. You don't have to live in the Seattle area, you can mail the pieces to her for around $11 priority mail. Of course one could always check the ABANA Affiliates list for the Northwest Blacksmith Association and it lists a smith in Seattle but I guess that is too much trouble.

she can probably buy what she needs here cheaper than she can have it made http://www.vandykes.com/default.aspx

This might help you http://hansoncustomknives.com/newtools.html

There are no dumb questions, however, there are dumb answers. This young man asked a legitimate question and some have decided that he needs a thorough thrashing for his slothfulness. If the question offends you, then you have the option of ignoring it. A more helpful approach would have been to tell him that there are many posts on this site that will shed light on his problem and then perhaps give him a bit of instruction on how to use the search function to find the answer he seeks. Without knowing the particular type of tool steel it is impossible to give the correct heat treating instructions. I suggest you go back to your instructor and explain your situation and ask him again for the correct procedure. He will probably admonish you to pay more attention and to take notes but if he is an instructor worth his salt he will once again explain how to heat treat the punch. If he won't then you have learned a very valuable lesson, he may be a world class smith, but he isn't much of an instructor. I have trained many people in my career in a variety of subjects including Hazardous Material Emergency Response, Confined Space Entry and Rescue, and Rope Rescue, I was never concerned with the number of times I had to repeat instructions, I was very concerned that when they walked out the door they took the knowledge with them.

Most of the plated tools are chrome and the hazards of that have been explained above but please read this http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/8289-zinc-cadmium-hydrogen-fluoride-and-other-toxic-compounds/ which addresses the hazards of some of the other common materials found around the mechanical and blacksmith world.

Everybody used to ask me if I could make a sword and I used to answer yes but why would I want to? Finally I decided to make one of the blamed things. I broke the first two that I attempted to make. Neither broke on the first day, I had about 3 weeks into each one. It cause me to say unkind words in several languages. I finally had success with the third blade. Will I ever make another one? Never say never, when you see the devil ice fishing you will know I started another sword.

Interesting demonstration but slightly less than scientific. Were the pieces heated to exactly the same temperature and were they held at temperature for exactly the same time. Every published document that I have been able to find says that normalizing is a function of time at temperature. That is the metal is heated to the correct temperature for the alloy, and the temperature varies considerable from one alloy to the next, and then the steel is soaked at that temperature for a given period of time. Then the steel is allowed to air cool. On page 69 of Metallurgy of Steel for Bladesmiths & Others who Heat Treat and Forge Steel John D. Verhoeven Emeritus Professor Iowa State University it shows how heating the steel to 1450 degrees F holding for 4 minutes and then quenched in rapidly stired oil 3 times reduced grain size in 1045, 1086 and 5150

You are right on the money, here is what wakipia says The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, it provided unskilled manual labor jobs related to the conservation and development of natural resources in rural lands owned by federal, state and local governments. The CCC was designed to provide employment for young men in relief families who had difficulty finding jobs during the Great Depression while at the same time implementing a general natural resource conservation program in every state and territory. Maximum enrollment at any one time was 300,000; in nine years 2.5 million young men participated. Reserve officers from the U.S. Army were in charge of the camps, but there was no military training or uniforms. The American public made the CCC the most popular of all the New Deal programs.[1] Principal benefits of an individual’s enrollment in the CCC included improved physical condition, heightened morale, and increased employability. Of their pay of $30 a month, $25 went to their parents.[2] Implicitly, the CCC also led to a greater public awareness and appreciation of the outdoors and the nation's natural resources; and the continued need for a carefully planned, comprehensive national program for the protection and development of natural resources.[3] During the time of the CCC, volunteers planted nearly 3 billion trees to help reforest America, constructed more than 800 parks nationwide and upgraded most state parks, updated forest fire fighting methods, and built a network of service buildings and public roadways in remote areas.[4] CCC workers constructing road, 1933. CCC camps in Michigan; the tents were soon replaced by barracks built by Army contractors for the enrollees.[5] The CCC operated separate programs for veterans and Indians. Despite its popular support, the CCC was never a permanent agency. It depended on emergency and temporary Congressional legislation for its existence. By 1942, with the war industries booming and the draft in operation, need declined and Congress voted to close the program.[6] you might try these people they may be able to help you with the cabinet hardware http://www.vandykes.com/default.aspx?gclid=CKuQytzVw6sCFY4KKgodPTIh0A

Making a sword? There is nothing to it. All you have to do is take a piece of steel, beat it till it looks like a sword and then quit. Here are several sets of instructions that will help anyone make the sword of their dreams. Word of caution, The following instructions are not politically correct or idiot proof. http://hansoncustomknives.com/magicsword.html http://hansoncustomknives.com/swordkit1.html http://hansoncustomknives.com/swordkit2.html http://hansoncustomknives.com/Sword.html

if the rivet is too tight take the tongs and swing them striking the rivet head smartly on the anvil. Do this several times and it should loosen up enough to allow the tongs to function. No need to normalize 54698 times, quench 33047540 times, anneal 34354507 times or have the anvil horn pointing North at exactly Midnight on the Vernal Equinox and you only need to worry about Grain Growth if you planted Wheat.

First try to determine what caused the sword to warp in the first place, correct that problem and you won't have to worry about straightening them. One of the biggest causes of warpage in knives and swords, I broke two swords before I got it right, is uneven grinding, that is the blade is ground flat on one side and rounded on the other side. The rounded side having more metal quenches slower than the flat side and the blade warps toward the flat side. Take a look at the broken ends and see if the grind is the same. If you have a blade that warps in heat treating, normalize the blade, then heat and straighten, normalize and then heat and quench, if the blade warps the same way the second time it is usually a problem in the grinding of the blade.

It looks like slag from a blast furnace or some operation like that. The high concentration of oxygen would come from the oxygen that is blown into the molten matt to burn off excess carbon and make steel.

Take a close look at he broken ends and the cause of the warp becomes quite obvious, the blade is unevenly ground. One side is ground flat and the other side is ground convex. When quenched the flat side cools more quickly than the convex side and the blade warps in the direction of the flat side. Straightening the blade and re-heat treating won't solve the problem the blade will just warp again.

I don't recall the correct name for this tool but my dad always called it an "Idiot Stick"

At the Giant Food Stores in Texas they still offer you your choice of paper or plastic bags. The last time I was in the Giant in Lubbock and the checker asked me "paper or plastic/" I replied "it don't matter I am bi-sacksual" You should have seen the look on her face.