tinbender

Hello, You don't have to give up on the solder if you still have some patience left Soft solder flows to very clean fluxed surfaces. As mentioned you can put a coat of masking oil to help stop the solder running and touch the solder on the handle side. Use very small diameter solder or cut what you have and use a very small flame if you can, small propane tip works fine. Solder follows heat so heat the brass first and apply very little solder when at the right heat, feather the torch so as not to overheat the brass and slowly feather the torch to the blade and back to the gaurd until the solder just flows the joint. You can always add a bit of solder but it's hard to take back. Not a Damascus guy but I hope this helps. Dave

Hi Maisch, I have not done Damascus but perhaps you are thinking of the acid etch to show the layers the best? Search etch and you will find alot here. Good luck with your presentation. Dave

There you go Avadon wrapped with a blue ribbon:) The oil is a good idea though not tried by me. I can tell you from seeing it used on commercial metal buildings where the steel sheets come with a very light oil coating of type unknown the sika still make quite a bond. If I could get the guys to do a quick wipe with acetone the bond is truely insane. Dave

Hi DC, Looks very good, is it OK if I swipe every good idea there? Funny that your burner looks like the twin (the better looking twin of the one I built and have no clue how the idea popped in my head. Dave

Sikaflex is a one part urethane caulk/adhesive that I have used for years but did not know it worked so well on hammer handles until reading here. I believe Mr. Hofi uses it for hammer handles and to bed anvil bases. I use 201 because I have it, there are a number of products. I think one is for sale here? This stuff is tough as we have had to disassemble a couple of times for changes/additions. UV stabile, water and everything else proof that we tried. Most epoxies lose alot of strenth at 250F and JB Weld states 500F. I have some gallons of marine epoxy that might be worth a try, at least heat would make it not to bad to get apart. Don't know if you would want to do that frequently though? Dave

Hello Folks, Glad to see I'm not the only one with some confusion about stands. Having read much information here, never found a point of total agreement. I worked with a structural engineer ( nice guy ) who walked throught a masonry/steel detail of multiple rebar cased in concrete columns. He showed how many PSI the combined cross section could support if[b the rebar could not deflect. He also noted that the top of each rod had to be in contact with the bearing plates. Not shock loads in this application but force still had to be transfered. I have read here that the weight of the base adds stability only and it seems counter intuitive to my little pea brain. My son has a physics degree so I asked him to mull it over. My plan for a permanent stand goes like this: Cut 2'x2' hole in slab and dig 3', "J" bend four 3/4 rebar and bed in 12" of concrete, bend a 16 ga square to fit the base and anvil height (you may have noticed the name fill with concrete. Burn oversize holes in A 3/4" plate for rebar and weld in. Grind flat and either Sikaflex or use another high performance adhesive to bed the anvil. I don't plan to move it often. Might just be a waste of good concrete? Dave

Hello Bender, I just finished a freon bottle forge and had sticker price shock when first looking for materials. Luckily the AABA site had a supplier listed in Phoenix and they were close enough to drive to. The amount needed was only $2.00 less than whole roll, no shipping charges and I still have plenty to use or swap. I could not imagine using something else. It would be handy if you could split the roll price with someone close. No plans on mine-#30 tank, 3 layers 1", 4" front opening 2" rear, coated with 3000F mortar and ITC. Good luck with yours. Dave

Perhaps a better question would be, Can a superquench type of fluid be slowed down with the addition of another benign substance? As to the WHY? To gain some of the benefits of oil quench without the drawbacks. Thanks Dave

No specific size piece in the original thought, could be a knife blade guard or something larger perhaps? In my mind it follows the hole drifted in say a steel hammer head which with a lot of work can be done by hand with good results or it can be done with a press to ease the workload. Just as I wouldn't drill a hole and file it to handle dimensions for a hammer it seemed a simple hand forming concept could be applied to a brass item. Nothing showed on a search so just thought I would ask. My first job long ago was at a silversmithing shop and I don't have trouble with filework. I like to forge my blades instead of stock removal and am just extending the concept to another part of the project. I'll play with it a little and see where it goes, thanks for looking. Dave

I did not mean to be confusing. The quenches are ones used alone not together. Dave

Hello Folks, Has anyone tried drilling or punching holes and using a square/rectangular drift in brass? Heated or annealed? The object is to make precision holes without filework. Thanks Dave

Good afternoon Folks, I have been using water and transmission fluid and there is a feed store close that has mineral oil. Yes these do work but part of the fun is finding what works best or what will do more than one job well. From reading superquench is good for mild steel to get that little bit extra from the material ( some say alot extra). It appears to be fast quenching and consistant, nonflammable, saline enough to retard some smelly beasties and inexpensive componants which could be adjusted if desired. Alot to recommend it. My question is has anyone thought about retarding the cooling rate or is this chemically not possible easily? I do realize that graded quenchant can be purchased like everything else that goes through the shop door. Like tuning the burner you built or admiring the forge you built which could have been purchased, home recipes with a little science are fun and interesting. Thanks Dave

Same here exept we had alot of mild steel and not much spring so we messed around with the mild until satisfied with a design and used it for a pattern. The mild held up really well for throwers but the tips kept bending on some throwing stars another fellow made.

Thanks for information, For what it is worth Turco appears to be a max. 1900F shielding product using Toluene/MEK as a carrier. Ceram-guard I believe so far to be a water based similar product. Used in industry to protect tool dies from oxidation pitting as well as HT applications. Thanks again for the research leads Dave

Thinking out load about oxidation in bladesmithing. Some have warned to forge in the least number of heats, not to allow scale to be forged into the surface ect. One gentleman would borax fine model pieces prior to forging heat to avoid oxidation problems. I do understand the methods to minimize the effect and clean-up of what occurs. Since many coatings are used in industry at these temperatures for a variaty of reasons it would make one wonder if there is a coating for this purpose? If not it was worth asking anyway. Thanks Dave

Howdy folks, I have been working on a drop point blade for a friend and the process got me wondering. Many have dealt with the effect of heating iron and the clean-up required to remove scale to the various desired end look of the project. After alot of reading I found mention of a coating or two as a barrier to free O2/iron. Metalbrite and one from Casenite that slips the mind. Further searching didn't produce and makes me wonder if these products are still made? With more general sorts of projects I suppose it didn't matter to me so much, but blades may have a mirror finish. It would also make sense to adjust burners for the cleanest burn if not for the oxidation problems? Any thoughts? Thanks Dave

Thanks for the suggestions, I do not know how many students they need have heard 12 minimum. The community collage is close, they are good folks and it is not expensive to take classes there. Also materials for the shop classes offered is said to be ridiculously inexpensive. Perhaps a good place to start for some in this economy? I take it there was only one class offered probably a beginners. The collage would't expand to a series unless they saw an interest. They have an equestrian smithing course but I don't ride'em and sure won't put their shoes on for'em Dave in chino Valley, Az.

Hey folks, I spoke with the Chino Valley, AZ extention of the Yavapai Collage today about smithing classes. It seems they have had a class or two in the past but generally have not seen enough interest. As I understand the instructor came from the Skull Valley area which is a good little drive so he must have had some interest. They said they still desired to provide classes if enough folks wanted to get involved. Question, should I contact ABANA about this or are there better ways to get others involved? Thanks Dave

Thanks Frosty, Very helpful. Dave

Let's see Frosty, the foundry was built a while ago from the burner/blower of a 100,000 btu LP boiler I replaced on an electrician buddies house. Size is 10" dia. x 18" internal with 6" home brew refractory. Running 11" water column it has reached brass and copper melting temperatures. I could add my name to the list of people that will buy commercial cast refractory mix next time. Thought about useing the furnace for a verticle forge for now....nah too much fun building new firebox. Tons of detailed burner information, not so much for the body. I'll poke around somemore and see if there is one that catches my eye. It doesn't help not having a good idea of how large to go but don't mind building another if too small. Thanks Dave

chicken one day, feathers the next. A chance to try something new might be a good thing. thanks Dave

Thanks william, It may be a good idea to see some of the smiths here and pickup some ideas. I need to have a go at some of the blueprints to have a notion of what to look for when watching someone that knows what they are doing. Dave

Having read allot of the different metal working sites for the past couple of years I find myself here for hours at a time. There must be some blacksmith in my blood to get so much enjoyment seeing things others' thought and effort produced background- 26 years commercial HVAC and 12 years as owner. Pretty well outfitted shop. Nonferrous small foundry construction and experience. Some back issues and an altercation with a poisonous reptile required that I close the business. I am fortunate that my wife works in ultrasound with the pay and benefits that go with it. Plans- The forced air LP burner setup on the foundry furnace is going on a forge to play with for now. I have 110 gallons of waste oil to build a burner for. Power hammer designs have caught my eye. General metalwork is my joy and blade smithing may soon be. I absolutely appreciate the effort you folks here have put toward sharing knowledge that is hard to come by unless you work with hot metal all day every day. I have not seen anything else close....good job. Dave