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Irondragon Forge ClayWorks

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Everything posted by Irondragon Forge ClayWorks

  1. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    You might think about joining the Blacksmith Organization of Arkansas (BOA). You are in the River Valley Chapter's area and not too far from our NW chapter. Great bunch of folks to learn from. Our last meeting there were two youngsters that got to beat on some hot metal. Our website is a little out of date but you can get the idea. http://blacksmithsofarkansas.org/
  2. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    I don't do anything in flip-flops. That being said don't forge or arc weld in tennis shoes for the same reason.
  3. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    I have used evaporust for years restoring old rusted muzzle loader firearms and Willys Jeeps. Works wonders on neglected "barn finds". Never thought of using it with blacksmithing. I'll have to try it.
  4. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    Not knowing where you are located, but $6.00 a pound is a little steep for my area.
  5. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    Great purchase, at today's exchange rate that would be $167.96 US dollars. It should serve you well for decades to come. Over here you couldn't purchase the blower for that amount.
  6. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    I would wager that "old blacksmith" has forgotten more than many of us know. I'm pushing 75 and hope I can still swing a hammer in the coming years.
  7. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    Depending on the piece, I use automotive clear coat in the spray can to protect it. Of course with food utensils it's bees wax or olive oil applied to warm steel.
  8. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    Around here we call them pinch bars. Great for digging in our rocky ground. My mentor Ike Doss made them from truck axles with one end like yours and pointed on the other end. He tempered the ends back to blue and they would keep their edge for a long time.
  9. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    My vote would also be on the mill pick. http://www.angelfire.com/journal/millrestoration/article.html#anchor276889
  10. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    You're welcome, it can be a little cumbersome to set up by oneself. I set the beam on the ground and put the two legs closest to the ground and lock the bolts then set the other two which point up at an angle. The fun part is getting it upright by yourself. No problem with a helper on the other leg, Luckily my wife is willing to help to make it easier.
  11. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    Hmmmm is right, I would pass and never look back.
  12. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    Not that I have found. I have used the A-frame about a dozen times, with the heaviest weight being the power hammer (1200lbs) and the beam didn't give at all. .
  13. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    Some of the best knives I have made were from old buggy springs. They are just about the right thickness for knives and the ones I have spark test as high carbon and harden well then temper back beautifully. A friend of mine gave me about 20 when he was cleaning up the back of his shop that were buried. Played havoc with his rotor-tiller.
  14. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    Had to go out and take a picture. Didn't want to dig the legs out of the resource pile but you can see the tops of two at the bottom of the picture which are tapped for bolts to lock them to the cross beam of two pieces of sucker rod arc welded together. I call it a poor mans a-frame.
  15. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    Sorry for not getting back to you, was past my bed time. JHCC pretty much covered it. Here is a good thread about claying the forge.
  16. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    Good find on your forge. You might want to clay it to form a deeper fire pot. Using coal you would just bank the coal for a deeper fire. Like JHCC said keep her well oiled and I would make a spare belt because they tend to break at the most inopportune times.
  17. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    When I bought my power hammer, I didn't have a way to get it out of my truck. I forged a cross beam out of two sucker rods and attached them to four ten foot lengths of 3/4 inch water pipe. Made a good a-frame to attach my chain-fall to and pick that heavy son of a gun up. It breaks down so if I need to get anything heavy I just throw it in the truck.
  18. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    One thing I've learned with thick leaf springs is to let the metal soak in the fire allowing the heat to get all the way through and yes orange heat is just barely adequate. Like Buzzkill says, closer to yellow works for me.
  19. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    The older I get, the more swear words I use. Been known to invent a few new one's too.
  20. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    Kaleb Do not use plaster. Pick up some cheap kitty litter, wet it and mix in some ashes and viola you have clay that will work.
  21. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    Glad you rescued the anvil from the bloke's. They definitely had dollar signs in their eyes.
  22. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    I would use... Go Ahead Push My Button.
  23. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    If I recall cone 10 in the kiln is 2381 degrees.
  24. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    When starting a project the first thing is to get your bearing.
  25. Irondragon Forge ClayWorks
    A tool designed to do everything does nothing well.~ Frosty
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