gearhartironwerks

Tropical rats...big fat ugly rats...2-6lbs...no kidding! I was in the Coast Guard stationed on Iwo Jima Is. from 7-69 t0 7-70, on a Loran station that guided our B-52's to Vietnam. Isolated duty for a yr...really sucked, as in Playboy pages stuck together. However,the nightly sport was who could kill the most rats in the cable trenches between the engine room and the electronics room, ie, engineers vs electronics. The engineers won hands down. They would cut the center out of a #10 food can and solder a 220v to the cut off bottom of the can and another to the center of the cutout( not attached to the perimeter) and place a dollup of peanut butter on the center. Wow...fried rats that made so much noise that there was no doubt as to who was winning. After awhile, the mgmt, as in all military operations, decided that the enlisted swabbies were having too much fun and nixed the festivities. Must have been a pre runner to PETA. As an enlisted CG Seaman, it was one of my few memories of isolated duty on Iwo Jima Island. Sad, but true. On Wed, I was in the machine room of the shop, and smelled something dead...I know that smell... a rat! The 3 rescue cats nailed another one. I love those guys...and feed them well. John

xxxx, with all that fine looking patina, are you sure you don't live on the Oregon coast? Nice job on the grinder. I love home made. JE

It seems to me that you've done a really nice job on the screen. My only artistic suggestion would be to do offset corners as the frame is forged/hammered and rivets (copper/steel) would look nice in the corners. Also, you can tig/mig weld behind the offset corners just to cover yourself...Ok, I cheat. If a hammered look is desired, (w/o rivets) then weld, grind and then use a coal forge to color/scale the face frame. I usually make two frames to hold the screen in. For example, if the face screen is 1/4 x 1 1/4", I would make the rear frame 3/16 x 3/4" centered on the face frame and would sandwich the screen btw and mig weld the sides/edges. Normally I work on the the corner of the work table and clamp two sides for alignment. After that, I rotate and complete the welding. I use 6 mesh/18 ga. screen from Western Wire...spendy, but, in 20 yrs, I've never had a call back for failure. Also, there is no stretching of the screen involved as they will roll the screen flat. I use black Guilders Paste to color the metal frame. The screen is painted flat black and the frame is wire wheeled, then done with Guilders Paste and clear coated w/satin lacquer. This is just a suggestion as there are many Guilders Paste colors. To me, black seems to be what most clients want. John http://www.gearhartironwerks.com

Hi, Our local welding shop does a lot of repair/rebuild of hydraulic cylinders for the logging industry. Loggers are notoriously famous for bending rods. Some can be straightened, but others, especially the Caterpillar rods seem to not respond well to straightening and are thrown away. So, luckily for me, they save them for me and I like to make hammers from them. I don't know how they're initially heat treated, but they are designed to bend and not destroy the cylinder. As others have mentioned, they're probably 1045-1050 and I have found they respond well to a water quench and a light temper, say an hour at 300 deg. I tried heating the steel to 1550 deg and quenching in heated oil as per specs for 4140, but it left the steel too soft for a hammer. I don't worry too much about burning the chrome off as I have a good ventilation system and always place a fan to the side of the forge to blow the smoke and fumes away from me and the work area. The burned chrome leaves a light greenish cast to the steel before quenching. John

Here's the followup video of the tong jig showing the treatment of the 'v' jaw using a power hammer. It's a simple jig that is easy to make, durable, is adaptable to either right or left handed smiths, and works well. Enjoy, John

Ric, Thanks for the kudos. Follow up is Power Hammer Tong Jig II on YouTube just posted. John

Some pics of a sculpture sent to Palm Desert, CA last wk. It will be mounted on the outside of a fireplace about 3.5' above the ground. Approx size is 4'x 8' and is forged from pieces of 1/2 x 1 3/4 to 1/2 x 3 1/2. The small piece is the maquette made to sell the art. The final finish is Baroque Art black wax. John

Yeah ...I love the power hammer and being able to sculpt steel. I find changing the section is fascinating and never fails to excite me. When visiting other shops, I always try to unobtrusively (ie, keeping my eyes in their sockets) look at their tooling and gander at the scrap pile. One mans junk... Some pics of the maquette and finished piece for a client and delivered to the shipper last Fri. Approx sz is 48 x 96 and will be mounted on the outside of a fireplace in Palm Desert, CA. John

Hi, I wrote the article for the HB a long time ago. The blower you need can be purchased from Centaur, or BS Depot. Get the highest cfm you can get from them. Run the blower at full speed/pressure and regulate the air with a gate valve btw the blower and the gas inlet. Whatever you do, do not try to regulate the air with a rheostat on the motor. That will ultimately reduce the air pressure. You want to keep the pressure constant and reduce/increase the volume. The ribbon burners can be used with either nat gas or propane. Nat gas needs a larger orifice...say 3/16+. The key is to simply get the fuel into the line. The air pressure will take care of the rest. Regulate the forge flame by inc/dec the gas/air to a neutral flame within the forge, much like adjusting a torch. Also, keep in mind that residential natural gas pressure is in inches of water column, not lbs. My commercial rating is about 2 lbs. of pressure. That's more than I can use. With propane, you may want to start w/a .045 welding tip, and maybe increase the size from there if necessary. The advantage of higher pressure in propane is that it gives you somewhat more fuel control. One thing I've noticed about forging with propane is that it burns hotter and uses less air, resulting in less scaling on the steel. Nat gas requires more air and a longer time/space to mix the fuel prior to entering the burner. Rule of thumb is that nat gas should enter the pipe 9 times the diameter of the pipe, ie, a 2" pipe x 9 equals 18" ahead of the ribbon burner. Propane mixes readily and the inlet can be much closer. Good luck, John

The specs for this steel suggest an oil quench, as with 4140 and 1045. However, I've found that an oil quench did not get hammer heads hard enough and have successfully used water as a quench. I think the key is to normalize, then anneal following forging. Then, immediately after hardening in water, temper for 2 hrs at 400 degrees. I have a heat treating kiln and heat the pieces to 1550 deg prior to quenching in water. Used kilns are inexpensive and readily available. If you're serious about metallurgy/tool making, it's a good investment. Heat treating info for most of the materials we use is readily available on the net. I keep a heat treating notebook of formulas, and of failures and successes...mainly because I can't remember anything. John

My best advice: Whatever the quote/estimate that you decide upon, do not rush to give the client a price. Sleep on it and review it in the morning. I can almost guarantee that the price you quote will go up. Two, never give an estimate off the top of your head as the client will always remember that price. Think before answering if you're put on the spot. Make an excuse that you need to price the materials etc. Take your time. John

This is a really good thread with life experiences that future smiths should take into consideration despite the current state of the economy. For those of us who come through these times, life, and work will get better. I am an optimist. I believe the key to success is to challenge yourself, and to pass that intensity for the the love of the craft on to your potential clients. Be playful in your work, take your business seriously, and above all, take classes and study the basics of art education,i.e. why things work and why they don't. The more foundation that one can bring to the table when dealing with a potential client, the greater the chances of success in closing the deal, and more importantly, doing it your way at your price. That's artistic freedom! JE

I'd repair it. Since it's in fairly good shape, it wouldn't take much to bring it back, and the process is simple. Just takes a little time, and you'll be happy with your results. If you want repair suggestions,just ask. Many can help. Nice find! John

Sounds like a good excuse for a road trip north. Maybe Keane and I can pull it off this week. The boss, she-who-writes-the-checks, is going out of town... I'll give you a buzz. Thanks, John

I read that Rob Gunter says one can quench 4140 in his Super Quench. I made some hammer heads and quenched them in 150 deg oil as per specs. The heads did not get hard enough to skate a file across, as in, I could file it. So, the next heat (1550) I quenched them in water. They were brick hard with no cracking. I immediately tempered them at 400 deg. f/2 hrs. So far, so good. JE

Ok, So if I wanted to buy a 50 hz 3 ph induction forge rated at 380 v, (as found on Ebay) what is needed to convert it to 60 hz 240v 3 ph? I have that power coming in the shop. thanks, John

Yo, MM, send me some 4340 and I'll make you one... Waddyayawant? JE

sandbagged again! Actually, I have two feet of concrete beneath mine...

I think there are too many variables for this test to be accurate or descriptive of a particular hammer. If all the hammers were in the same shop, the steel was heated to the same temp, and the same knowledgable person was operating each hammer, then a somewhat reasonable, though still not accurate conclusion might be reached. john

Larrys Saymak 60 is no different than mine or numerous others around the country. How do you account for the differences? It seems to me that any variable is more likely in the operator rather than the hammer. JE

Glenn, I think it was 4 mesh/18 ga, but will have to check my notes. Thanks for the compliment.I have always admired the artistic craftsmanship of your work. John

Thanks for the much appreciated compliments. Liver of sulfur can be obtained at most chemical supply houses, and comes in stinky chunks that need to be broken up and dissolved in warm water. I used a spray bottle to mist the screens. The color change is almost immediate depending upon the solution concentration. I found it best to start with a weak solution, simply a guesstimation so to speak. The bronze finish was not clear coated as it is considered a "living finish" and will continue to age. The bronze screen was purchased from Howard Wire in San Francisco. It is about $10/sq ft. They also carry copper screen. John

These screens were finished and delivered in December. They are made from 655 silicon bronze, and the patina is liver of sulfur lightly rubbed with 3M pads. John Emmerling http://www.gearhartironwerks.com

Does anyone have the Mark Linn valving schematic using a 5 way valve for the Kinyon air hammer? It used to be posted on the Alabama Forge Council website. Thanks, John