WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith

For a start read the attachments on the Forge Supplies page on my web-site www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com . This is not the only way to build a gas forge but it is the way I like to build a gas forge. Do plan to use ceramic blanket (Kaowool , Inswool) do plan to use a castable refractory such as Kast-0-Lite and over coat that with an infrared reflective product such as Plistix or Metrikote. This will build a good, long lasting, efficient forge.

It looks like you have all refractory and no insolating blanket. Ditto Frosty's query. Use a blanket such as Inswool, use an insolating refractory, such as Kast-0-Lite and over coat the refractory with an infrared reflective product such as Plistix or Metrikote. Check out the tutorials at the Forge Supplies page at www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com. Let me know if you have further questions or if I can help you.

I had a similar problem with PayPal, therefore, don't do business with them anymore. Ebay owns PayPal same mentality.

Apparently you missed the whole point of my post. Knife Rights has been battling federal, state and local governments to protect us from over zealous prosecutors and politicians. Knife Rights has been showing that knives are tools, not necessarily weapons that should be banned and that the possession of such should not be criminalized. The show could have shown knife making using knives for other purposes such as kitchen knives, skinners, hunters, folders, etc. The show does not need to add fuel to Cyrus Vance's ill advised crusade.

My biggest issue was all of the emphasis on killing. Cutting fish in two, cutting a dummy so as to show what it would do to a person. We have enough problems with the issue of knives as weapons rather than as tools. We must have organizations like Knife Rights to do battle with the state and federal government getting bad laws and bad prosecutors (Cyrus Vance, etc.) to accept that knives are valuable tools just like hammers and screwdrivers.

Here is the link to the article: http://www.kentuckymonthly.com/culture/arts-entertainment/blacksmithing/. I have been working for over 10 years to get more publicity for our art. There are a few mistakes in the article but nothing major. I don't find an issue with the smith being quoted that he arc welded the pieces together and then forged the weld so that it did not show. There is nothing deceptive in that. Yeah, we wish that we could all always do forge welds on all projects but there are times that you just can't do a forge weld and then there are times that the sales price of the object will just not justify the time involved. We all talk about traditional blacksmithing but I can guarantee you that had smiths 100 years ago had mig welders they would have used them. I am glad to see this article and wish that we could have many more.

Down here we call that a forged weld. Forged can have two very different meanings.

Except that Kast-0-Lite is a light weight, insulating castable refractory and it forms a hard surface so that every time you touch it with a piece of metal you don't poke a hole in it. The Plistix or Metrikote will reflect the IR back into the forge. I use the Plistix or Metrikote as a skim coat over the casting. If you don't want to cast the interior you can just paint over the blanket with the Plistix or Metrikote to contain the floating fibers and to reflect the IR, just expect to be doing frequent repairs. Let me know if I can help you.

Check out the two tutorials on my Forge supplies page on my web-site. I suggest that you build the forge according to the "Build a Gas Forge" attachment and build a Ribbon Burner for it. The Build a Gas Forge attachment was written before I had built a Ribbon Burner forge but will work just as well with a Ribbon Burner. I am welding billets in my forge with out flux and therefore no inclusions. Let me know if I can help you.

You don't want to melt out the crayons. That is a big mess. Use a drill bit the same size as the diameter of the crayons and drill them out.

It is time for all to back off on this issue.

I suggest that you check out the two attachments on my Forge Supplies page on my web-site at www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com. For what you describe I suggest a ribbon burner. For a forge that size a 12" burner should work well. You can get the blower at www.kayneandson.com. Get the smaller one at $125.00. Let me know if I can help you.

The biggest mistake blacksmiths/bladesmiths make is building their forges to large. You can not forge more that about 6" in a heat. Check out my tutorials on my web-site at the Forge Supplies page. The main thing that you will accomplish with a large forge is to burn lots of propane. As CRS said a heat treat oven is a different story.

I make saddles for my Big Blu. For the vining dies I welded a chunk of 4140 on each saddle then used a cut off blade on my 4.5 angle grinder to cut groves across the 4140. Be sure and round over the edges of each saddle die. They work better than any other vining dies I have seen or used. To make the vining really pop after the piece has been textured heat it again and twist it. I hate spring dies under the power hammer because of all the clacking noise.

Check out the tutorials on the Forge Supplies page of my web-site. Let me know if I can help you.

Send me an e-mail at waynecoe@highland,.net. I can probably help you on this. Or at least I'll try.

If you get a hornet's net in your forge you are not forging often enough. They don't build 'em overnight. Frosty, am I supposed to put in a few misspellings just to keep you on your toes? I'm leaving this morning for the Batson Blade Symposium and will be back Sunday evening. See you all there or we'll visit here when I get back. If you are there come by and visit. I will have IFI t-shirts and Steve Sells How to make knives.

I think that the added line is a BIG improvement. You probably want to keep some opening in the back. The forge needs to be able to breathe.

Well, I'll try to stir up the hornet's nest. You might want to paint the inside with Plistix or Metrikote Infrared Reflective to help reflect the heat back into the forge. I have noticed that sometimes my forge may get some discoloration so I just re-paint the interior which turns it back to white and so that it again has the reflective benefits.

I would be concerned about the close proximity off the hose to the corner of the forge.

The New England blacksmith group is active and a very good group. You would be welcome there. Go to www.abana.org, click on "Affiliates" then "Affiliates List" and look for the group and its contact info. Give 'em a call....or just show up at a meeting.

Several suggestions. 1. use weaker springs but more of them. You will find that it is easier to depress the treadle and that it will lift the ram better. 2. The skate wheels are just for a guide. Rather than compress the wheels 1/8" as Clay suggests just make them touch the ram in order to guide the ram. You will find that the hammer will work smoother and easier. 3. A treadle hammer is not a power hammer. If you want a power hammer build a Tire Hammer from Clay's Tire Hammer plans. Most of us use a treadle hammer for chasing. I do use my smithin' magician and some other tooling on it. I have both a treadle hammer and a power hammer. They do different jobs and do them well, however, the treadle hammer does not work well for a power hammer and the power hammer does not work well for a treadle hammer.

Look at my tutorial on the Forge Supplies page on my web-site, www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com. The Build a Gas Forge attachment was written when I was doing atmospheric forges. The Ribbon Burner attachment is John Emmerling's tutorial on building a Ribbon Burner for a forced air forge with other information that I collected from the forums and from Pine Ridge Burners. You can use the Build a Gas Forge attachment for the general instructions and adapt for the Ribbon Burner. I use a Ribbon Burner now and run the forge at about 1/2 pound pressure and get up to forge welding temperatures very easily. I have more trouble keeping it from getting to hot than not getting hot enough. Call or e-mail me if you would like to discuss this further.

Be sure and come to the SBA conference (http://www.sbaconference.org/) the 3rd weekend in May in Madison, Georgia. I will get there Wednesday as will lots of other folks. Best to get there early for the tail gate sales.

The compressor motor is probably not TEFC so the metal grindings would probably get inside and short the motor out pretty soon. Your issue is not the hp but the lack of TEFC and the speed of the motor. Using step pulleys will speed up the rotation of the drive wheel. I put a 3600 rpm motor on a step pulley ONCE for about 5 seconds. The amount of time that it took to hit the on switch, get my wits back and then turn the switch off. I did have it on the fastest speed when I turned it on, the same way that I had it set with the 1800 rpm motor. You don't want to be in the same room with a grinder running at those speeds. I agree that the 3/4 hp is not enough motor. 1.5 works well. That is what I have on my grinder with a VFD and I carry it to conferences and meetings and challenge others to bog it down.