easilyconfused

Does he have a pear?

But you can always use a beer

The blueprint I pulled up uses the same technique you would use on your anvil. The only difference was that they manufactured an anvil that they could use a heavier hammer to make it go faster. If you have a larger anvil that will stand upto a striker with a sledge, you can use a sledge. I've made hardies using the same technique on my anvil and my regular 3 pound hand hammer. Just takes longer is all. Same technique, just less metal moved per heat. By butchering and fullering, you can get it closer to square than the blueprint and will save you time setting the shoulder. A butcher is essentially a hot cut with the edge bevelled so that one side is flat and the other has the bevel, kind of like a wood chisel edge is set up.

Is there a bird in this tale?

At least you won't be eating only curd

Are you missing a body part?

Here's a blueprint on what you're looking for. BP0369

I've done some more thinking and am leaning to a square urtuze, or however you spell it, style burner so that I could use the whole hard fire bricks. I was just wondering if they would protect a layer of the recipe on melting metal in a home foundry, backyard metalcasting, metal casting if I used it as a thick layer of mortar behind the bricks, for support and insulation? I'd like to use the stuff up since it's been sitting in the shed taking up room for a long while but don't want it burning out after the first couple runs. Cheap is definately good since I'm a student and, since I'm learning, don't feel the need to spend money on high-end refractory during my learning curve. That being said, I also don't want to waste my time with really poor stuff that won't last a burn or too. Another question that I haven't found the answer in the search button yet, is the approximate fluxing/melting temp of benotite.

The beauty of art is that it is all in the eye of the beholder. Good artists can convey the emotion. Unfortunately, like any "high class society" thing, art has become a thing of big names and marketing. Lots of the best art is in universities and the likes because there are some people that don't have a name but are trying.

We're taking over the world!!!!!

Could you elaborate why you shouldn't use portland? Everyone seems to use it but is there a safety issue? Or just that it doesn't work well? I was planning on using the fire brick as insulation for the forge but for the burner, they would be too big and awkward to fit into a small space.

I've been reading about used oil burners for casting and trying to come up with a recipe for some homemade refractory for the burner. I have portland cement and perlite kicking around the farm and some hard firebrick. I was wondering if, while it will be a fair bit of work, crushing up the firebrick would work for the refractory or will I still need new fireclay or benntonite clay?

More than likely. Charcoal is bad for throwing those sparks around when it's going. This is about what you should see: Charcoal fire Another fire Charcoal "fleas"

Depending on how big the little pieces at the end were, this may or may not be normal. I have a average size canadian forge and blower hand crank and it lifts pieces about the diameter of a few toothpicks out of my forge bed. Doesn't sound like it's a fuel problem. I think it may be not enough air since you don't have many flames. What did the embers look like in the fire? Was there a lot of white light or more of an orange/red? White means you have air, red like a campfire means you don't have enough for your size of fire. Also, when you find that white core, that's where you want to be with your metal, or just above it.

What did you have for an air supply? I have yet to blow the air too hard and still have a fire in the pot. Also, what type of charcoal, and what size of pieces?

Did you maintain a bed of charcoal beneath the metal? That's a major problem with charcoal. It burns faster than coal so your fire bottoms out faster. Always remember that heat rises so if your fire is above the metal, it won't heat up too much. You need to be in the heart of it, where it is the closest to white for maximum heat. Also, is it true charcoal or charcoal briquettes because the briquettes don't get as hot, or so I've read. I've never used them to compare though. I know that true charcoal though will get up to welding heat and fast. You just need a bigger fire than with coal.

It is a very good technique. I use it all the time to reclaim parts and tools on the farm. Fast, cheap, reusable and easy to do.

All I seem to need, when the charcoal is dry, is at tops a couple of pieces of newspaper. Sometimes it doesn't even take air to get it going, although it speeds it up. Just make sure you don't smother the newspaper with the charcoal.

Electrolysis uses positive and negative electrodes to create current. That current is unidirectional from one to the other. I use a battery charger and attach the negative clamp to the object, and the positive to a sacrificial piece of iron. If the sacrificial piece of metal cleans rather than the object, reverse the clamps. If you don't used a piece of metal, your clamp will become the sacrificial metal and disintegrate. If I need to surround a piece of metal, I would rig up a stand or something to hold the item upright in the water and then make a loop of wire or pipe to place around the piece attached to the postive clamp. That way all sides of the piece wich is essentially a negative electrode has a line of sight to the Positive electrode, aka:the sacraficial metal. Jeez, I'm confusing myself....so much easier to show than explain. If all else fails, just flip the object you want to clean and wait a little longer. As a safety note, this will give off hydrogen gas DO NOT USE NEAR OPEN FLAMES. The amount is fairly minimal for most tool cleanings but better safe than sorry.

From my experiences in 4-h Beef, always point out the good things about the project too. Never just say "you did this, this and this wrong". Try to put more like "The people placed above did this a bit better, but this entry has this quality over the ones below it." So often judges just explain why they didn't put the person higher and forget to reinforce the positives. Since it is 4-H, it is kids and easily discouraged. And since it is a beginer level, I'd suggest participation for the ones that didn't place rather than ranking them right down to the last kid, cause if the kid that got discouraged at being last and drops out every year, soon there will only be one left. Also, try and do a group explanation of points if you can rather than singleing people out that did it. Sometimes that seems to help because they know they did it and don't need to be embarassed. And ALWAYS, ALWAYS judge the project, don't try and make it a personal judgment. God knows I've had good projects and poor ones and so do most others and that may just be one of the bad ones that they entered.

I remember somebody either leaving a copper/brass rod in vinegar, or another acid, or reusing the same acid that had been used on some copper/brass, and getting a patina like that on a knife.

I make charcoal in our shed's woodstove which generally yields about half of a 55 gallon drum once it's smothered out. All the wood I use it from the farm's scrap pile which includes lots of spruce which makes really light softwood charcoal. You just go through more of it, but it will weld. For lighter stuff it isn't a big deal but you just need to keep a close eye on your fire and add more fuel and make sure the bottom of your fire doesn't burn out when you're working thicker stuff. And it does make it hard to finish anything when you go to a demo and they're using coal. On the brighter side, the kids love, what I like to call, the blacksmith sparklers you make!

Bottle openers and steak turners are quick and easy to do and usually sell pretty good.

How's that block's hardness? Any clue as to what steel it is either?

One thing I think helped my hammer control was building houses and swinging a hammer on the farm. It'd try hammering some nails into a board approximately anvil hight. That might give you an idea of which way you're hammer is hitting depending on which way the nail bends consistently. Is your anvil height an issue? It can affect your swing if it is too high or low. There are preferences but about the height of your knuckles when you close your fist is a good place to start.