easilyconfused

I seem to recall someone using different rocks for texturing picture frames and such but I can't remember who or where I saw it. Somewhere on the wide internet.;)

I had to remove mine. Kept getting distracted by the handsomness. :D

Another thing would be to try and make sure that it is packed evenly into whatever you use to insulate and try to ensure there is no uneven heat source to ensure even cooling. I'm not a bladesmith though. Thinking out loud now but what do people think would happen if you packed the thinner part better than the thicker part or, say left if on the forge and had the thinner edge towards the bottom where it's retaining more heat, to try and equilibrate the heat retention issues of the different sizes of metal? Would probably take a lot of experimenting and practice to keep it from increasing the warping though.....

I've done the same thing for many years in our shop stove. I just pull out the embers and smother them in a barrel once they're down to good embers. Gets kind of smokey and you want to make sure it's clear of any flammables in the area, have a fire extinguisher handy, and watch it for a while to make sure the fire is in the barrel not the shop walls. Touch wood I haven't had any issues with fires. Not much more risk than the forge itself if the proper precautions are taken. Something I'd try if I had time would be to rig up a barrel with a wagon to roll it outside in the winter. Much faster cooling that way and a lot less smoke in the shop. I always have the doors open to suck the smoke out too when I'm smothering it. My furnace is large enough I can get half a 55 gallon drum per burn and 2 burns through the day. When it's just smothered I start another fire while watching to make sure it's out and then go for lunch or supper while the smoke clears from the shop. Full 55gal drum a day, which generally lasts the next day of forging when I'm on break. Shop stays warm too since the doors usually have to be open to keep it cool enough you're not sweating too much on a full furnace.

I can concur that you want it properly installed. Had a chimney fire one afternoon and it's a scary thing. Sounds like a jet engine roaring through. Proper installation kept it inside the chimney and nothing got burned because of the space between it and any wood. I'd like to say my throwing pails of water onto the roof outside to keep the wood wet helped but I'm sure i just got myself wetter than the wood for nothing. Another point, try to not leave any fire unatended, even if things are properly installed and maintained. Accidents can happen and it's better if you know what to do and are able to do it before it's out of hand. One last point, keep your head if something does happen. We deal with fires and dangerous situations as a normal happenstance so why panic? Stupid mistakes happen when you don't think.

Ditto on the flatter hoofpick rather than pointed. Just as easy to push into the stuff and easier to pry it out rather than just cutting a line. Think flat headed screwdriver.

One thing I've learned, don't let your significant other into the forge to help/ watch if you're doing something important. So easy to get distracted even with a hand-crank, let alone an electric.

When I was looking for mineral oil, I found that unscented baby oil is cheaper than the stuff sold as laxatives so, unless you're ingesting it for you know what, I went with the baby oil.

You could also just give them a quick soak on the quench tub to get some water into them. Once again, short fix and I'd worry about rot if left in there too long.

Finally got some pics. After twice as many failed attempts that will become other, smaller hooks, I have 3 out of 5 done. Here are the pics of my problems. The first two I started with the leaf, then the taper and then the hook end. The latest one I did the opposite way and got the same results. The first two are the ones with the leafs running off to the sides and the latest is the one with the leaf running along the hook. The neck on it wound up almost too thin but the girl friend told me it was good enough and I don't have enough time on the farm to work on them so it got passed for this set of hooks. Don't ask me how I got the bronze brown colour on it, I left it in vinegar and salt for a few days then wire brushed it with a hand brush, washed and dried off in the oven before applying a clear metal spray paint when cool.

The main differences between the two are angle and temper. Cold chisels, due to the increased impact and chance of chipping, generally have a wider angle on the edge, about 60 deg if I remember correctly. They are also tempered to be less brittle. Can't remember the color range so I usually look it up. Pretty much every book has a chart on it and there are many websites that have it too. I think it's around straw yellow or bronze but look it up to be safe. Hot cuts are usually thinner angled for easier cutting and can be tempered more leniently since the heat will draw some of the temper if your not careful and the metal you are hitting is softer than the chisel anyways. As for handles and length, I've see handles on both and they may be the same length too, depending on use.

I usually rinse it with water. I suppose I should be using baking soda, even when I use quench since the water is acidic?

I'm having issues with acid etching and the flash rust too. I redid a project's finish after only a few weeks (I can't seem to keep anything from rusting when I make in on the farm forge). I used muratic acid and had it down to grey metal, brushed it off and sprayed it down with clear metal enamal spray paint once dry, while still grey metal. The next morning, BAM, larger areas of rust and black under the paint. This has been an ongoing issue no matter what I do. It rusts under the finish no matter what I use, whether or not I quench it in our water which is slightly acidic, or clean it in acid or just use a straight from fire finish. Wire brushing sometimes works but it's hard to clean pieces that have lots of tight curves and hidden corners. Any hints on ways to combat this? On another note, Canola Oil is rape seed that has been bred to contain low leves of erucic acid and glucosinolates to make it safer as a food product. Canola Council FAQ

I would post pics but the family camera is on vacation with my sister for the summer. I'm thinking the same thing. I'm going to try making the hook end first and then either the leaf followed by tapering the stem completely or taper the stem further down the hook a bit followed by making the leaf and finishing the stem to maintain the width for longer.

Thanks guys, I'll try the hints. I've made many other hooks and leaf key chains too that haven't been like this. I think Mills may be onto something though about the neck just getting too cold at the transition during other parts. I'm also wondering, as I thought about when I make my keychains, maybe I'm thinning the transition down too soon before working the leaf, ie. veining and dishing.

So far I've had nothing by problems with leaf hooks I've been making. I've had 4 stems snap by either twisting too much and creating a cold shut or the neck getting too thin. However, both of the ones that were successful have cracks right at the transition from the stem and leaf that I assume are from working too cold. The metal is good mild steel from the local welding shop about 3/8-7/16 round. I'm trying to make wide leaves by upsetting the rod following necking the bar down. I then crosspeen the leaf out and thin out the stem. Once that's done, I have both tried dishing the leaf first followed by making the rest of the hook, and vise versa. Sometimes I notice the cracks and weakening from twisting before finishing the hook and other times it's at the point of bending the stem and adjusting the hook. I'm trying to figure out how I can avoid the neck snapping and the cracks forming. Any tips on order of operation or ways to avoid problems?

I do what LDW does and don't "usually" have issues. Of course there are the few pieces that slip out of the tongs because they didn't quite fit right.