Pr3ssure

So I just emailed the closest steel supplier and asked about A36, they say they have it in 3/8 round and that's it. I asked about drops and scrap and he said " In terms of scrap and minimums; we do not have a minimum order but we do only sell full stock lengths of material." So I figure that means no, but I assume I may have better luck if I just asked when I went there. Also, you say you get 1/2 inch for $7? They just said they sell it for $40.66 for a 20' round 3/8" Sounds like I should look somewhere else.

Yeah, some things were saying as long as you can put the chop saw blade on it it works. After looking more into I found out that chop saws have things to prevent you from getting hurt if the blade brakes and that because of the high rpm's it will usually make the metal extremely hot. I was just wanting another opinion. I don't know why I wasn't thinking about an angle grinder. I don't have one here but my dad has one for me when he comes home. I'd say that's a much better option.

Yeah, when I was at lowes last week I wasn't able to find any. I wasn't exactly looking for it, just as I was looking for the stuff I needed I was keeping an eye out. I need to just go back and ask or call them and ask.

That's the one store I don't have near me, the closest Home Depot is about an hour or more away. Yeah, I'm just trying to see what everyone says about what steel and try the most popular out at first. My uncle has his own car shop, he recently closed it for business but he's never gonna stop doing work in it for friends and family. I'm going to go down there and try and find some nice sized pieces as well.

Cool, thank you. I don't think it would be that big of a deal to get a rusty or bent piece since the whole point of smithing is to manipulate metal. Do you know if it's a bad idea to put a chop saw blade on a miter saw to cut metal? Something else I've found mixed reviews on doing, I just don't want to buy a chop saw if I don't need one, they look basically the same to me but I'm not sure.

Alright, some things I've seen have been very varied about a36 but it seems to be the most consistent thing I'm finding. by the way, thanks Thomas for always giving me some good information and baring with me. I've been trying to research as much as possible before my dad comes home for thanksgiving, he's bringing me some tools and random things he's picked up out on the road since he was last home. By that I was meaning I was wondering any specific stores, but no that is what I was looking for. I figure most suppliers have anything that I would be looking for, are there certain kinds of steel that would be more likely to be in the scrap pile at certain times of year? I'm going to call the closest one to me and see what there policy is on coming by and asking questions about "drops". Also, am I getting that right, drops is basically just the scrap off of a big piece that got cut and they can't use it at the length it's at? I've checked out a few online sources. I'd like to avoid ordering online for now because of shipping costs but I'm not ruling it out as an option.

@Steve Sells I wasn't asking anyone to look anything up, I was just asking if there's any stores that sell stocks not being a warehouse. Like Lowes, TSC, Home Depot, etc. I'm not going to be able to goto a steel supplier and afford to buy a bunch, unless as JHCC said they would maybe sell "drops" which I think is just like the spare that they cut off and have no use for? Also, was wondering what a good kind of steel might be for a beginner to practice on. I tried looking that up and I'm not finding any consistent answers. That's more so the kind of answer I was hoping for as well, I know a lot of people say they go to auto shops to get coil spring and leaf spring for free/cheap. Also, trust me I know that's most things have been posted on here before but it's not exactly easy to search this site, easier to use google and add iforgeiron to the search, even then it's not always accurate. And I always try and google things before I post, unless it's something super specific. Even then when I google something like this, all I find is people saying the same thing as what people are saying here. I'm just trying to see if any stores sell stock by the piece, not by the pallet, while still have a specific carbon content. Also, I'd rather not have to order things offline if there's a possibility of buying it near by. Thanks, not exactly what I was looking for but I didn't know you could ask about "drops", so that may be helpful. Hopefully they would let me come buy $20-$50 worth of steel cause I can't go drop a bunch on a load. At least not until I know what kind I'm good at working and what I'm trying to make.

So I'm wondering where to get some square and round stock about half inch in diameter mild steel. I am sure I can go to the junk yard and find some but is there anywhere that they sell it with known carbon content. Also what kind of steel is good for a beginner smith? like 1018 or a36 or what? I don't know if those are good or whatever just using as an example

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I'm gonna try and get some bars to try this with. I'll post some pictures with the results when I do.

Yeah I see what you mean, so bending up and in, instead of up and out makes it more stable. Maybe even leave a small tong on both sides just don't make them overlap would probably make for a really good hold, so long as they don't dig into the wood

Alright, might be a good first actual project to try. I've just been beating hot metal to see how it reacts so far. So a few bends shouldn't be too difficult.

I saw this anvil and stand in the "Show me your anvil" section of the site. I was wondering what the ties on the anvil stand are called or if they are probably something that's custom made. I like the idea to use for a quick and easy stand. If anyone knows what they are and where to get them much appreciated.

Ok, I didn't know that was what was meant by laminating. I don't know what I thought. Makes since now. And I like the idea to use 2x3s for the lap joints so there is no complicated cutting. But I already made the bench top out of 2x3s, it's plenty sturdy and I'm happy with how heavy it is 'cause I know it's going to last and be heavy enough to stay on the ground with doing work on top of it.

I don't plan on laminating the top, I think someone just suggested it. It's already flat, just the small voids where the 2x3s come together and the corners are kind of rounded. I plan to either use nice plywood to go on top or get a piece of steel to go on top of it if it's not too expensive. I wouldn't get one that's super thick unless I got it for a really good deal but I'd want to get it thick enough that it's not going to bend because of the little voids between the boards. Probably gonna end up with ply wood but I want a nice metal top on one at some point. As for bracing, I'm probably going to make six legs for it and use the bottom shelf as bracing and use angle braces on the corners. I'm going going to try and do the half lap joint thing, I didn't know what it was called until you said that but I'm not sure how difficult it will be to notch the wood like that with the tools I have. I'm sure I can figure it out though. I really only plan on using the table to mount my bench grinder and bench vice and eventually put a belt sander or various other table top tools for now. By the time I have enough tools for more than one table I'll probably have my shop built and I plan on making a few more really nice workbenches. I just saw this video earlier and I'd love to do something like this eventually.

So I'm gonna be buying everything I need to make a nice anvil stand this weekend and I'm wondering if there's any certain types of wood I should try and get. I'm probably going to use 4x4s or 2x12s and glue them and run an all thread rod through to keep it secure. I was wondering though about how to anchor the anvil to the stand. I was thinking about putting hooks on the stand and running chain around it from two sides and using something to tension it, I know some things to do it but don't remember what they are called. Also what are good ways to secure the stand to the floor/ground, I will have it on concrete. I think with my anvil being 161 pounds with a solid stand it shouldn't jump or move around but I'd like to secure it once I have a permanent spot for it. I was also wondering about using concrete as a stand, like making a wooden mold and casting a stand from concrete. I have read mixed things about doing that but no solid info on the rebound and how to make it hold up to beating the anvil on top of it.

I was actually thinking about that. Doing that with the frame around it should make it solid. Once I build my shop I plan on making probably 2 more and doing it with all thread bolts all the way through and making them from 4x4s and still gluing them together. For now though I just need something to mount my bench vise and a bench grinder to. It's my first workbench so I hope it lasts but if not I'm not gonna cry over it, I already have all the material I'm using to make it except for the 4x4s for the legs and the steel plate I want to put on top of it.

I was thinking about taking 2x6s and making a frame around it, other than that, no. I was just hoping the glue would be good and I'm going to put some kind of steel plating on top of it for the work surface.

Of Course I can.

I never thought about that. Probably not expensive either. I've got my second have glued and clamped right now but I ran out of glue so I need to get more glue so I can stick them together tomorrow. I really want to make the six legs out of 4x4s but I don't have any right now and probably can't make it to the store to get any until the weekend and I'm really gonna be anxious to finish it. Would it be a bad idea to put a few 2x3s together for the legs or should I just wait and do it right?

Yeah, that would probably work. It's a JET 5 ton arbor press. so I think it will be big enough for what i'd want to do.

So I've seen a few people ask this but not get any good answers other than using to put a makers mark, but I have a pretty big arbor press with a die for ball bearings. I'm just trying to think of what I could use it for, I could maybe use the die as some kind of swage type thing on top of my anvil. Would it be possible to make a die for bending sheet metal maybe? I'd like to get some use out of it but not sure how I would yet.

I didn't ever think about a solid door, but that would probably make a decent table on it's own. I'm using 8 foot 2x3's so I'm cutting 2 feet off each one, I'm thinning about making a little 2x2 or 2x3 corner table out of it as to not waste any wood. I just need to find out how much some sheet metal will be and get it precut to fit the entire table, I'll probably just use plywood for the bottom shelf since it will just be for storage. No need for it to be metal. I'm loving doing all this work in the last week. I'm just hoping my dad comes home soon (he's a truck driver and hasn't been home in like 4 months) so he can give me the angle grinder he got me. He also got me a nice 6 inch bench vise and some random steel and probably some other stuff he hasn't told me about. Now my goals are getting a bench grinder that I can change the wheels out on and a nice belt sander. If I can find a nice 2x36 for cheap I'll do that but I'll probably just make a 2x72 and go all out. Hopefully this coming spring I have money saved to pour a concrete slab to build a shop. I'm hoping to just have enough to pour a 14x18 slab, I'm just not sure how much it cost to have someone do that. Then I have friends to help me build the shop and one who's an electrician to run electric in it the right way.

So I've started making my workbench out of 2x3's, my dad has a surplus of them so that's why I'm using them. I'm gluing it together in 3 sections I cut 9 of them to 6 feet long and that is 14 inches, so I'm gonna make 3 sections and then glue them all together so that will make it 6 feet long by 3 and a half feet wide. Which is fine for me for right now. If anything more than I need. I really just need something to mount my vices to and to do some small work on top of. I'm probably gonna get 4x4s and notch them half way on the top so I can screw it from above and the side, then I want to make a shelf on the bottom, probably 6 or 8 inches from the floor and maybe another smaller shelf right under the top that's only half the length of the table. I'm trying to figure out what to use as a table top so I have a nice smooth surface because I don't have a planer, except a hand planer and I'm not efficient enough with it to want to do it. My dad got really thin sheet steel that he put behind our wall mounted gas heater in the basement, at least I think it's steel. I think it would work but I'd like to make it a little thicker for durability. If I need to I'll just get good smooth plywood for it but I'm not sure what to do yet. Any tips would be appreciated, I'm not much of a woodworker but I've made a few things. Also, for clamps I bought pipe clamps that you can just slip on any pipe that's the right diameter. So I've got some nice 5 foot clamps I paid about $15 for a piece instead of buying an irwin clamp from lowes for $50. Those things are nifty, need to just buy one every time I go to the hardware store.

Makes enough sense now. I keep seeing people say that linseed oil rags can spontaneously combust, I thought it was a joke and that it was just super flammable or something but I just looked it up and it just heats up as it evaporates and catches fire. That's wild, glad I found out it wasn't just a joke before I tried it. But you take basically a cookie sheet and fill it with linseed oil with the metal on the tray and handles up. So it soaks through the end of the handle basically? Then when it starts accumulating on the part of the metal not under the oil it's good and soaked? I think that's what you mean.

Yeah, I need to get some different wood to do it because I just want to do it right. I don't think the 2x3s I have would work well. I never understood why people used linseed oil but I see a lot of people do it.