craftsman77

On Monday, August 07, 2017 at 4:54 PM, ThomasPowers said:

Normalizing is a heat treat used to remove stresses after machining or to refine the grain structure before hardening. It consists of heating a piece to critical temp and then letting cool in still air.  Some steels do not profit from normalizing; S-1 for instance.

Thank you, Sir!

On 6/10/2015 at 9:02 PM, ThomasPowers said:

You can cycle most steels numerous times with no issues.  Some alloys you should normalize between runs.  remember only the area you have  thinned down to test need to get up to austentizing temperature before quenching.

What is "normalize", mean?

I apologize for my ignorance. 

15 hours ago, Glenn said:

You can bend 3/8 inch diameter round bar cold with no problem, 1/2 inch can be bent cold but needs something to bend against and a little leverage. 

Look up JABOD (just a box of dirt) or the 55 forge for solid fuels. Much cheaper than mapp gas and a whole lot hotter.  Look at the flea markets for a 2 pound hammer and save the wear and tear on your body when starting out.

Do not worry about the vocabulary as it will build as you read more and more. The right words just make it easier to communicate, and cause less confusion.

The inside and outside curves on that engine can be used as a swage with hot metal. Use what you have available to make what you need.

Thank you so much for the advice. 

The 55 forge should be completed by the end of the week. I just need to finish the stand and air delivery system. 

And, what EXACTLY is a stage block and what is it used for? Lol

On 7/9/2016 at 11:17 PM, Fred Beagle said:

Here's what me and my father been working on for a few weeks now. We had to really add some counter weights to the tire hammer because it was really dancing around and I'm so afraid of the counter weight flying off and getting embedded in my skull so I'm gonna have to build a safety expanded metal guard around all the moving parts but still pretty cool. Yep we're poor folks now! I'm talking country church mice!

I guess I'm not as poor as the third world folks that do their forging on the ground but I don't have it no where as good as some you folks in your air conditioned shop but hey it's all good and I'm very grateful for what little I do have and thanks for checking out my work and hope you get some ideals

 

I'm a newbie, in this craft. I have no idea of a lot of the "vocabulary". Yet, I'm learning so much by the reading.

That being said, I've learned to be grateful for Anything I have. But, I've been without so much, for so long, I'm use to it. 

Im just grateful that I've got all I NEED. 

Btw, this is the first time I've Ever posted, on Any forum. 

Thanks for having me!

the pics are of my first equipment used to bend the rebar to fit the curve of a 55 gallon drum, that is gonna be my forge. 

I used a high heat torch with map gas, 3lb engeniring hammer and the head of a 302 engine. The head had a nice curved area. Took me several hours.