JPH

Howdy!! Ok..it took me two weeks to clean out the mess in my studio...I NEED a vacuum system..does anyone around here know anything about them and what it takes/needs to install one>??? ANY help/advise and or idea will be greatly appreciated.. Thanks all!! JPH

Tyler: Do you know anything about C content and how it affects steels as far as hardening?? If not here is a basic intro... The more C you have in a steel, the harder it gets (up to a point), but it also gets more brittle.. The less C you have, the brittleness comes down, but so does the hardness. Somewhere you have to make up your mind as to where you want to trade off...you can have a really hard and brittle blade or a really soft and tough one..or you can meet "somewhere in the middle"..It's a compromise... Now medium C steel, say steels like 1050 to 1070...these have enough C to harden fully, they don't get too brittle when drawn and they are pleanty hard when tempered to maintain a cutting edge. There is a lot of stress put on a edge of an axe, a lot of impact loading as well. Either can cause problems but together it's much "worse"... You can most certainly use a high C steel, and if you temper it properly you should be ok..Myself..knowing what I know about steels...I am staying with a medium C content steel for most applications that have to withstand the types of stresses that an axe or sword has to endure and use the higher C steels for shorter blades, or for edged tools that do not need to be as tough or to endure the stresses, impacts or flexing... Hope this helps.. JPH

Hello: Back about 20 years ago when Bob Engnath and I started to putter around with this we hit on AP Green High Alumina I think number 36 (??) furnace cement (Bob use to work for one of the larger ceramic companies out in Glendale, California before he started with HML later "Blades and Stuff"..). Works great. Bob and I must of run through several tons of 1084, 1060 and most anything else we cold think of until it hit me that most of the swords made "in the old days" were more like 1050 than anything else...1050 works quite well and it gives a very "active" temperline....especially if you use a hot brine/soap/lye mix that Bob came up with...Most of our earlier stuff was 1084 in an oil quench and we still had cracking problems until we dropped the temp at quench and heated the oil a bit...Boy it was frustrating. I have all our notes that we jotted down when we were doing this. Little hints and all like how to more or less control the amount of curve, how to get double lines..easy ways to put in ashi and all that...In fact i am actually sorting through these now for book 4... JPH

Howdy... Here's an even easier way......drill 1/2 round hole....drift in 1/2" round into the square tubing and butt these up against the top/bottom rail and weld in place...??? JPH

Howdy!! all depends upon what shape you want the holes to be...round or square...round is easier by a longshot... JPH

Sandpile: Yeah..he and I were as close as two men could get...we been through a lot..the accident that nearly killed his son, the tragic death of my first wife..we had some real "tests"..but what a great man he was. He and his wife Stevie are Godparents to my children.. we use to get into "trouble" alot at the various shows we'd do together. we have a great time.. He was probably the best traditional scrimshander in the world..the man had talent.. And grinding?/ He was a blade grinding deamon... That man could GRIND....I actually had him starting to swing a hammer before he passed...In fact he talked me into and helped me start up Julius..when he died, well I sorta lost interest..I just got tired of seeing Julius in parts in the back of the studio and I finished him up a few months back... Bob never got his due when he was alive as far as all the wiork and effort he put into the "temperline" stuff..this is why I am publishing out notes..I know he wouldn't want this information to get lost. I owe that to him to make sure it doesn't.. My only hope is when I kick off that someone compiles all my notes (if they can read them that is...!!my handwriting is well..I am theonly one who can read it usually).into something usefull. Paw-Paw said that it would be a great diea for me to start compiling now...I miss that olde fart too... JPH

Tyler: As you said everyone works different. If your "teacher" says this is how he does it and that is how it is to be done..that's fine, that is "his way" to do it and it works for him. Not everyone works the same way. What irked me is the broad statements that you made in regards to welding mild steel which simply isn't the case. If there was that much of a "problem" as you say there is...I quote: "Mild steel will seperate and needs to be arc welded after forge welding" and "With mild steel you can't trust a forge weld." These are very sweeping statements that are basically, well...not exactly correct, and I took them as somewhat confrontational when I first read them. I am sure several others on this forum felt the same way..I hope that this was not the intent. Anyway back on track.. If these steps were needed as much as you insinuate they are by your statements then we would be doing it and/or we would find a "better way" to make an axe. There are thousands of smiths that forge weld mild steel every day with no problems what so ever and have no problems doing so again and again. Granted it does take some "practice" to do, this is why I suggest to folks to learn to forge weld mild steel first, simply because if you can do that 100% of the time, then just about anything else will be "easy"... As I have said earlier, to my knowledge I have never had a weld seperate in a tomahawk/small axe/axe or anything else along those lines. I do not know, or know of Mr. Grubbs, and he can say the same in regards to me. I have met Mr Winkler, that is about it. I tend to "keep to myself" for many reasons, and I tend to try to stay in the background, as they say. I do not relish "fame or notoriety"...but I have been doing this for a little while now and have achieved a level of success that few ever will. No brag..just fact.This doesn't mean I am any better or any worse than anyone else....I am just me..take me as I am.. I try to be as open and as honest as I can when helping folks, just like everyone else on this forum...(we do kid around a lot, but that's just good natured fun amongst folks with the same interests.)... If I can do this stuff..anyone can... Now you, being 16, young and impressionable, are grabbing up as much information as you can..and that is a good thing (I know I have "been there" myself..). But a word to the wise, learn all you can from as many different sources as you can. Yes there will be "conflicts" in the information you will get. YOU will have to decide for yourself what YOU want to "go with" and what you want to disregard. As I have said many times before, there is usually more than one way to do something, but if you use Occam's razor, the simplest is usually the best way, not always the case but usually. There is, quite often, more than one "right way" to do something. You have decided to "play with the big boys" now...Good for you..You have tapped into a very solid, no non-sense/no BS source of informastion.. There are professional smiths, serious hobbiests, artists and very skilled craftsmen/women on this forum. There are individuals who are "world famous" who post here, give advise, ideas and aid as well as those just starting out. Continue on learning..learn all you can and some day in the not so distant future you will be doing things with steel and iron that you hought you would never be able to do. I know.. I was there... JPH

Tenhammers: Get ye to your local library and look for "The Complete Bladesmith"..IF they don't have it (they might..they might not...doesn't hurt to look..) ask for an inter-library loan (and ILL..ask Thos. Powers about that as I understand he does this ona semi-regular basis...) and they will "get you the book" to check out. This one covers the basics.. "The Master Bladesmith" covers axes, spears and more "spiffy" stuff and my "The Pattern Welded Blade".. well..better read at least the first one first and get comfortable with your welding and working... Book four "The Custom Knife: Tools and Techniques for Craftsman" is NOT going to be a "starter" or a "beginner's" book. I am writing this (just about done...if Uncle Sugar will leave me alone to write...sheesh...) with the understanding that the reader already knows pretty much "journeymen level" work and is capable of same. There is all sorts of spffy stuff on finishing like hot blueing, rust bluing, slow rust browning, grip materials like "fossilizing" stag and bone, processing raw bone, grip fluting, a lot on die work for presses, and guillotine tooling, center ribs and mulitple fullers.. steel infomation..stone mounting..expanded info on the studies that my best friend, the late Bob Engnath and I did on refractory (yakiba) hardening using clays... just alot of "upgrade" stuff that is "fun to know" and helps a good, solid craftsmen "finish" a piece. More on pattern welding using powdered metals..a lot more on European composite patterns with the steeled edges... This is probably the last book I will write... So there ya go... Now if ya get a copy of the book and you have any questions...by all means ask me... If you want to buy the books..my publisher has a deal with amazon so you get a better price there than just about any place else... Take care JPH

Chris: I use PVC pipe...the heavy wall stuff....to seperate my cut offs. Being the frugal man that I am nothing much goes to waste around here... JPH

Tyler: What do you mean by "many"?? I am curious about where you got this information from. I have well over 1100+ tomahawks and axes of all sorts and styles in "service" and while like I said I have had a few of these break from misuse I have never had a weld seperate, and 95% of them were composite construction. About 15% of these are "competition" axes used in various lumberjack contests. I am not going to argue with you over this I am just wondering where you got this information because in all the time I have been doing this, well this is the first time I ever heard anything like what you are saying. JPH

Fred: Thank you for the kind words...Now the way I do this stuff is the way I do it...everyone eorks differently so you have to find what works best for YOU. As the old saying goes there is more than one way to skin a cat and what works best for one person, might not be the best way for someone else. I have never been shy about helping folks out and showing them how I do something, but that is just a starting point for their own "style" to develoup if you know what I mean.... JPH

Tyler: In all the years I have been doing this I have never had a weld seperate in a 'hawk. I have had them break cause folks did stupid things (like try to chip out concrete...what a square nut......) but a weld seperate? Not that I know of. A forge weld is not really a "weld" as most folks understand welding. Instead of "casting" using a melted rod you are actually making one piece or material. Forge welding mild steel does take a bit more practice than say using wrought iron but if you put in your dues, you will be able to make it stick every time. Just my opinion... JPH

Irn: That is really spiffy.....I am working on a die/hardy/hammer/swage/tong stand/storage thingy that I am just finishing up..will try to post pics once it's finally done... as it is my hammers and tongs are up on one wall with my twisting tooling and some hardies on another wall. This stand will be mostly for hardy/die storage for Julius and Augustus, my treadle hammer as well as for my swage blocks and hammers I am using for a project and tongs.. Got it on 360 degree casters so I can move it about... Nothing fancy but it should be handy... Like that ring arrangement.... JPH

Tyler: Not a bad job..not a bad job at all....From the looks of it, as far as what I can tell in the photo you slit the stock for the the eye and opened it for a drift and then drifted it to shape...?? Wish the pic would come through better on my machine here... On the edge tempering...460 F is a little on the hard side for an axe if you ask me...I would go up to 500 to 525...still plenty hard to maintain a cutting edge but much less likely to chip out when thrown ...just a thought. I do mine the olde fashioned way, soft steel body, medium carbon steel edge inserted into the weld.....takes a little time but hey..it's fun... Nice job... JPH (oh to be young again...on scond thought...I am happy being on the downhill side of 100!!)

Fred: Ok so far as it standfs no one has sent anything in yet cause I haven't asked anyone to so not to fret there...I will let everyone know when and all that in the next two weeks once I get a better grp on my NG duties here. Doesn't look like it will be that bad this time... On the bar stock...What are YOU comfortable welding up? I suggest a 10XX series and L-6/15N20 as there is more than enough alloy differences in composition and the two steels work about the same under a hammer. This is the important part. I will be covering that in the class. Faggot size..well I am thinking 2 pieces of laminate say 5/16" to 3/8" thick or so (no thinner than 1/4") for the ladder and the multi bar twist. The ladder bar should be about 1 1/4" wide the multi bar piece say 1 1/2" wide. Both should be fully annealed. A third bar of 3/4" square say 12" long will also be needed for the Maiden's hair twist...But what ever folks bring I am sure we can come up with something fun to do with it..Might do different stuff for different folks. If there is time I will show how I steel a multi-cored composite. Will have two smallish (say 12 to 16" blades) ready to steel. It's not that hard to do..just takes being a little devious to get the tip "right".. In closing once I get the particulars set I will let everyone know.. Oh before I forget any word on how Ellen is??? JPH

I.I.: Thank you for the advise but I already have that part figured out..A press is pretty much a press die wise as far as I am concerned and having Julius around I pretty much made most of the mistakes I would make with Augustus on dies/hardies. Nice thing though my guillotine tooling fits under the ram quite nicely so that is another point in Augustus' favour...and using Augustus will sure beat swinging my 8# hammer on the Guillotine to cut tangs and make ricasso plunge cuts. I just spent the last little while re-arranging my little studio and making a die/hardy/hammer rack so now I am able to get down to making stuff again.... JPH

Ellen: Check the PW class discussion under the knife heading for my response.. JPH

Ellen: Yes you can weld in a press...but you'd be "better off" learning to weld with a hammer first..Presses present a whole different load of problems than hammer welding...Once you get welding using a hammer down, and comfortable with your abilities in doing that, then move to a press....That way when the problems arise you will know how to correct them.. Just my 2 cent's worth.. JPH

Ellen: Sounds like a cold shut to me....you need to soak the peice at heat for a bit so it penetrates all the way into the centre or else it doesn't weld as you have found out... Easy fix though..reheat, reflux, let the flux soak in for a bit and reweld...should stick... JPH

Ellen: On the rifles...well there's not much differnce really between a breechloader or a front stuffer...just a little more "inleting work" and some additional metalwork for the action. A falling block isn't that hard to do, very simple mechanics and the lock plate is a lock plate as far as the hammer throw goes. They are fun and that .45 120 puts the lead down range a fair ways too. I alos paper patch but I am using a 550 gr .450 hollow base projectile on top of 105 grs of Ffg (I load with a drop tube..makes a world of difference) and lately I am using teflon plumber's tape instead of paper for the patching and I managed to shrink my groups by 3/4" by doing so..I am almost to 1 MOA on this rifle... My particular rifle isn;t allowed in any formal matches as it exceeds the upper weight limite by about 3 1/2 lbs as the barrel length and weight is a bit more than anything else out there at 36 1/2" and a full octagon it is a bit hefty.. I don;t care I just like shooting the thing.. On the fly press..I am already building "toys and accessories" for it as I am finally getting around to making a die.swage "cart" as it's about time I get these off the floor anyway and well, a cart seems the best way to store it plus I can use it for my LG, the swages and anvil tools as well as the stuff I am making for Augustus...I have some excess angle iron laying out back (the blacksmith's best friend for making stuff out of...) and some swivel casters so I am all set. About an hour's worth of work and I will be done I think... Might even incorporate a tong rack on one side as well.. I get "creative" on things sometimes. I can see where a fly press can really come in handy. I can't wait to try slitting flatsock, that should really be quick..well quicker than doing it by hand or even under my treadle hammer like I do now..not as "cumbersome" as all I have to do is hold the stock and trun the wheel instead of holding the stock...holding the slitting chisel and kciking the pedal..talk about need coordination!! So I should be fullering this week...whahahahaaaa after that it's back to work and my grinder heads will be back from Utah and the refurb I have had done on them.. JPH

Geeze: Not that this is any help to you but I haven't been to a ABANA conference in like 12 years...at least. They keep holding them outside my "range" if you know what I mean... Well I am sure you will hook up with some like minded folks on here... Wish they'd hold them closer just once.. JPH

Ellen: You pretty much have the idea on the amounts. This is why I say "parts" rather than giving measurements, as everyone all over the world uses different measuring systems so if I give "part measures" then it "translates" easier. On hammer weights. You do not have to hit it hard at all te weld. All you need to do is "bump it" hard enough to bring the surfaces into contact and if they are clean and at the right temperature they will stick..(OK I am talking in general terms here). This is why I say use a heavier hammer and don't "power it down"...Let the weight of the hammer do the work. A slower, heavier blow, to me welds better than a faster "more shocking" strike from a lighter hammer. How thick of pieces are you starting with?? I usually start with 0.063" 10XX and 0.035" L-6.. I weld up like 30 to 40 layers to start off...cuts down on time by a good deal.. On the flourspar, yes I still use it but in very small amounts as not much is needed to really soup up the flux... Weld seperations?? You sure it wasn't a cold shut or inclusion?? All look pretty much the same until you take them apart. A cold shut would look simply like a black surface, an inclusion would have "crud and dirt" trapped in it and a weld speration, well the non welded surfaces woulds appear "silvery grey" in colour and clean and free of any oxidation. All are "repairable" with practice, but they are more readily preventable by using the right materails, keeping clean and at the right temperature. Like I said, this isn't all that hard to do..It is a fair bit of work but it's not that technically difficult... JPH

Thomas: Actually I was going to relieve onlyu one end..leaving the other end pretty much "squared", well not a real "sharp" square but a bit more abrupt than the other to get that nice "sharp" terminus on the fuller and once the terminus is in, reverse the fullers and work it down the blade to the other terminus, reverse again to get a nice "sharp" end..This is what I do when I put them in by hand now. This is followed up by a few minutes with my flex shaft machine to smooth everything out and I am good to go... On your idea as far as the quoin adjustment..I'd be a bit worried about it being "spit out" by pressure of the press but I don't see why it shouldn't work in theory as long as the quoin matches the taper on the blade.. This whole thing is going to involve a serious learning curve I think. I will, if all goes well be able to start to putter around with this next week as my studio is just about cleaned up...I still have to blow off all the grit and crud off the rafters and well..I look like Al Jolson singing "Mammy" by the time I get done. I really need a vacuum system... Still Augustus has some serious potential..much more versatile that his uncle Julius, which is shear power and well, sometimes you can have too much of that as I have recently found out.. Ellen: Yeah making firearms is a lot of fun...takes a while to do it right though and alot of folks simply don't have the patience to do it...I built a few...the piece I am most "proud of" is my Sharps in .45 120 3 1/4" Sharps Straight (aka .45 3 1/4" Lyman) I was going to do a pattern welded barrel for it but that was too big a faggot to handle..now that I have Julius and Augustus I might just make one. I do have PW pistol grip cap on it, upgrades can be fun.. Now I didn't do the wood work on it..my wood working abilities are well..below minimal.. I keep asking why do they call it iron wood when you can't forge it?? I mean talk about red short...Sorta along the reasoning why they call it rattuoie when there's no rats in it either?? JPH

Ellen: On the boric acid...I would go 1 part boric acid to 5 parts anhydrous borax as a start..on the powdered iron oxide ..I get mine from the same place I get my anhydrous from..my local ceramics supplier. Make sure you get the REAl stuff and not the "concrete dye" synthetic crud.... and 1/2 part red iron oxide to the mix ands you should weld like a dream...this is for the most part the majopr ingredients in my "Steel Glue" flux by the way... I had no ideas you were going under the knife...nothing too serious I hope...SWMBO went in a year ago last Sunday for major surgery and I almost lost her..she is doing much better now, and the problems that have plagued her for the last 18 years have gone so the surgery was a total success...I burried one wife already...I do NOT want to do that again...Please let us all know that you are ok when you are able??? I do have to say that if I wasn't happily married....hummmmmmm..a woman who likes guns...swings a hammer and all that..Spank me MOMMA!!! Anyway...back on track....I like O-1 for some things...then again I am crazy enough to hand forge 440C or ATS34/154 CM too so don't go by me...all in all O-1 is a fine steel but not as "forgiving" as a 10xx series is, especially for beginners...Plus the richer alloy can be a PITA welding....and if you aren;t careful....weld shears can happen if you don't work hot enough...work too hot and well.....crumble city... Well I am back at work... JPH

Hey Tommy Joe Jim-Bob Boy!! I had noi idea you were an old farm boy!?? I was raised on a farm in Western Pennsylvania...right in the middle of the Amish Germans...in fact the man who got me started in blacksmithing, Herr Hauffmann was Amish and man could Frau Hoffmann ever cook...she was amazing.... Anyway on the bi-metals..my "sources" say it's 1045 on the backing for tensile strength.. This is for the Sandvick blades that I use in my little saw...Other manufacturers I have no idea but I would venture a SWAG that the materials are pretty much the same from factory to factory, but I cannot say for sure... I have been playing with M-2 saw blades every now and then when I feel like a masochist....I just run these through my bench shear which pretty much munches anything I put in it... Well I am back to work.. JPH