Scruffylookingnerfherder

3 hours ago, Frosty said:

Finding or making a good punch lube is another benefit that'll last a lifetime.

I keep a  range old coil springs for punches, drifts, etc. 

Frosty The Lucky.

I've heard that coal dust can be used as punch lube. Is that correct?

Scruffy

I am thinking of making a hot punch and slitter and was wondering if that requires high carbon or tool steel, or whether I could get by making them from mild steel. I figure hardening and tempering would be useless, as the hot metal would ruin a heat treat, but, if I'm not mistaken, high carbon tends to be more resilient than mild, even unhardened, so I'm not sure what to do with this.

Thanks!

Scruffy

Thanks!

Scruffy

I am trying to put a handle on a knife and maybe a chisel that I made, and I am looking for an inexpensive way to do that. In general, would oak from the local Home Depot work for handle scales? Thanks for your time!

Scruffy

15 hours ago, bluesman7 said:

There is an open forge in Berthoud tomorrow.

Who is it hosted by?

Thanks guys. I've had two fires now, so I have enough coke to get the fire going. Now I have to work on controlling my air too, a chunk fell out of my steel yesterday because I got it too hot I work outside though, so sometimes its hard to judge colors.

Thanks for your help!

Scruffy

The coal is from Kentucky. There is a historical farm/ reenactment place nearby with a blacksmith that offered to show me the ropes, and I'll hopefully be getting in touch with him soon. Thanks for your help!

Scruffy

Hello everyone,

I picked up some coal recently to use instead of charcoal, and I'm having a few problems. The store that I purchased from said that the coal is of very high quality, and that it should produce very little smoke and very few clinkers. I tried it out today, but it produced a copious amount of green tinged and white smoke, as well as lots of sticky green tinged stuff on the coal. I think those are the impurities, but it seemed like a lot. Some of the coals also stuck together in large chunks, but they weren't clinkers. Is there something that I'm doing to increase the smoke and chunks? See pictures of my forge here

Thanks for any help!

Scruffy

That's what the lady at the store said when I called. She couldn't say whether it was bituminous or not though. Thanks for the clarification!

Scruffy 

I doesn't say on their website, I'll have to call them. I seen someone using a forge similar to mine just heap coal over the blower outlet with decent results. Maybe I'll try that.

19 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

My local scrapyard was selling appx 4x8x8" chunks of steel for US$16  about 72 pounds; If you are ever down my way, let me know and I'll take you there.

Thanks for the offer! We do occasionally travel down to Albequerque, but that's not exactly close to El Paso.

The place sells 'high grade Kentucky coal.' Is that bituminous? For general forging, do I need to use bricks for the proper fire depth, or can I just pile it over the blower outlet? 

Alright, so I recently discovered a farrier supply store within driving distance that sells coal. I'll have to do some research on how to maintain a coal fire, but if I do pick some up, how does it change how I operate the forge? Do I still need to use bricks as a fire pot? Can I use more air than I do with charcoal? Thanks!

Scruffy

Unfortunately, the scrap yards around here only buy and recycle steel, they don't sell it to anyone. That's why I originally bought an anvil from harbor freight. There are a few steel shops I could call, however, to see if they sell scraps. Is there a specific type of steel I should ask for, or will any carbon or tool steel work? Does it need to be heat treated? Thanks,

Scruffy

Alright. Thanks everyone!

Scruffy

Hello again. I am currently using an Anvil Shaped Object to forge, and I am looking to upgrade. Does anyone have experience or know if the anvil in the link would be a good anvil? I am mostly forging smallish knives at the moment. Thanks! http://oldworldanvils.com/anvils/4x4-stake-anvil.html

Scruffy

Thanks ever so much, I really appreciate it.

Scruffy

How would one go about claying it? 

Also, forgive my ignorance, but from what the interwebs say, banking is for keeping a fire going for long periods without adding new fuel? What is the difference between the banking you mean and that? Are they the same?

Thanks for your assistance

Scruffy

This is my first forge that I picked up off of craigslist. I was wondering if anyone knows anything about this forge design and how to use it more effectively. I use the bricks in the middle as a makeshift fire pot, and the blower is powered by a handle that is just out of frame, connected to a system of wheels and leather belts.

Thanks!

Scruffy

Oh, one more thing. I am going to post pics of my forge, and I was wondering if anyone might know something about the design and if you all have suggestions on how to have a deeper fire or how to use the forge more effectively, I would certainly appreciate it.

Thanks!

Scruffy

1 hour ago, Frosty said:

Welcome aboard, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you might be surprised how many of the Iforge gang live within visiting distance. Are scruffy nerfs harder to herd than well groomed ones?

I see a few problems. Too long at heat. You're driving scale into the surface, keep it brushed off before you hit it with the hammer and drive it into the stock. The relatively parallel looking "defects" kind of look like you're burning your steel.

Brush the scale off. Heat your steel higher in the fire or turn the blower WAY down. Heck, both. You have to allow the fuel enough time and room to consume all the oxy before it gets to your project.

Those are pretty good pictures, well lit without glaring out the details. That's not easy to do without knowing what you're doing or just plain luck. I'll take both.

Frosty The Lucky.

Thanks for the warm welcome Mr. Frosty! As for your first question, all my nerfs are impeccably groomed, I tend to be the scruffy one. As for your suggestions, am I right in saying that I need to have more charcoal between the steel and the blower outlet? Approximately how much? If my pictures were any good, it was pure luck! 

Thanks!

Scruffy

1 hour ago, Buzzkill said:

What was your starting stock for these blades?  To me some of it looks to be from scale hammered into the work, but if you are starting with old rusty steel you may have some pitting that is deeper than you realize to begin with.

It may just be the lighting or camera angle, but that second pic makes me a little wary. Maybe it's just material in the grinds, but if those are cracks it could be a problem.  Most likely you'd find out for sure either during the quench or when you clean it up afterwards.

The second pic is from one of my first knives, and made from a fairly rusty old peice of metal. The first pic is from new stock. 

Here are two different pieces that I forged. Both are very rough. They also have quite a few high and low spots, but I think that is due to poor hammer control. Sorry for the poor image quality. Hope this helps!

41 minutes ago, Buzzkill said:

Are you wire brushing the scale off regularly?  If not you may be driving pieces of scale down into the steel that will leave pits/pockmarks when you clean up the blade for grinding.  And there's always the old adage of "forge thick and grind thin."

I try to brush the scale off every time I remove it from the fire. Not a lot seems to come off though, until I start hammering on it and it starts to fall off. 

Hello everyone! This is my first post, and I am a beginner bladesmith. I use a charcoal forge connected to a hand blower to forge my knives ( if you can call them that). The problem is, whenever I forge a knife it ends up having quite a few pockmarks in the surface, and sanding or grinding them out completely would, it seems, leave the blade too thin. I was wondering if this is normal, and if not, tips and/or techniques to minimize or completely prevent the flaws. Any nuggets of wisdom would forever be appreciated!

Thanks!