Mills

Clean steel with Muriatic then apply Hydrogen Peroxide. it goes pretty quick.

Welcome to IForgeIron.

Charcoal will do anything that coal will do. It takes more volume and creates more radiant heat than coal.

Metallurgical grade coal is what you need to find. Power plants don't use it, generally. Because it comes from WV does not make it good coal. There are some Coal suppliers in your area that have a good grade to use.

Coal will smoke a lot, like green wood does, until it drives off the volatiles in it. It then is coke and doesn't smoke very much at all, but probably more than charcoal. Low grades of coal may be used up before the volatiles are gone.

Thomas Powers and His magical aquisition powers were honed to a fine art in Ohio. Do a search for him on this subject and you will have a hard time believing all the marvalous deals he found in your backyard.

Good Hammering

How deep is your coal bed? Having 4 inches under the steel and a couple or 3 over it with low air is how I bring mine up to temp. When the steel disappears in the fire That is pretty close to right.

I had cracks develop doing a bunch of snub end scrolls, kinda the same description as yours. I was letting the necked area get too cold as I was drawing the rest of the taper. may be something similar?

I got into blacksmithing because of wagons. There is some good literature for wagons and wheels on the internet. Fitting the tire onto the wheel is a lot of fun especially the first time. tools are straightforward and easy to make or learn the techniques that don't require store bought tools. Shrinking a tire look to be the most difficult but that is only a guess as I never have. making spokes is the most technically challenging as you need a lathe and a good hand. Next is the hub and boring it. Afterwards it goes pretty quick.

It is more difficult to find a wainwright or wheel wright, but basic smithing and wood work skills will carry you through most of it. The geometry of the wheels is as involved as a modern vehicle.

A good resource person is Jymm Hoffman. He has posted here as well as at forgemagic and farwest forum. He has a lot of work on display at Ft Ligonier. He doesn't do wood but he knows the info and can point you in the correct historically accurate directions. So a little research on him and his work and that will probably give new information as well.

I googled perforated metals and got several decent hits. Look at McNichols They have an LA office.

Doing this by hand would be a labor of love, if you only need one.

You do sound very tired. Is selling a passing thought? Will you shake loose some time to breath? I just finished a tough job that went waay over budget in time and money and my help didn't seem to be. I reached your point and my wife talked me down (helped me get through it).

Now I have had a couple of days recovery and am ready to get at it again. I planned for recovery time. Just like maintenace on equipment. It is a part of the cost of business. Do you allow for that?

As well when two people are dedicated to the same goal as you and your father were the details are handled readily and gladly. When some one is hired to weld they do NOT want to dig a hole and set a post. That irritates me no end. I have adapted the idea that like an orchestra those who work for me do one thing only and I point the way and train them to do what *I* want so that when the music is made it was there labor and my brains. and We All take a bow.

If you would rather be somewhere else then see HWooldridges advice, especially since how to value and sell a business in Romania may be some different than US, Canada or Great Britain.

I like your work and think you simply need a rest and a restructuring.

Steve Parker, Clifton Ralph and Kurt Fahrenback used one in a demo, which can be obtained through UMBA. You could ask about it over on Forgemagic or farwestforge.com. That is where John Larson hangs out as well as Steve Parker, there are is at least one person there who owns one and several have used them.

I was umable to care for my tools when younger. Too many moves too many stars to chase. Now I have assembled a fairly decent shop and it is growing rapidly.
My youngest and I had this conversation a couple of days ago. I was surprised to learn that she and her future husband value what I do and the tools that I use. However neither of them plan to follow along.

I will most likely look for an aspiring young man with stability, to get what I have started. I keep hoping for an interested daughter or Son in Law. Too soon for Grandkids yet.

Depends on the alloy, but yes i'd say when you got it to that hi heat, especially if stayed there any length of time, the damage was done and irreversible.

"From Thought to Fire, In Steel"

Red Green For Prez

Amen, Preach it, Ten

I fabricated an 'Off road' mount to put my Miller 35 on. This enabled me to wheel it down the sidewalk and into the grass where I needed to weld. The heart of it was a pair of front wheel bearings for a standard front spindle. This allows for a lot of bearing surface and SMOOTH operation. I believe you could fabricate one out of your experience in racing to make a well balanced three point stand.

I suggest this since you have trouble with 100 lbs or less, seems you'd need to back off to a 20 lb anvil in order to transport. Marines stole the blacksmith creed "adapt improvise Overcome" :)

Since you are using a torch to join the socket to the chisel I would make a cone by rolling the sheet then torch weld the seam. or MIG/TIG if you have it.

I have a set up for flowers as you describe and I think you won't get what you envision. The sheet will wrinkle and need to be smoothed in several intermediate steps. as well the steel will be stretched and thinned where it really needs to be thickest.

For an example of what you are looking at doing see the Rafi Rose in the blueprints
BP1005 Rafi Rose. Yes the effect is intentional But that is the effect that you wil;l get even without trying for it. This blueprint technique capitalizes on the wrinkiling that does occur. Also when I try to form my flowers and get impatient I usually punch through the center.

Good luck

:) yeah I'm welding 14ga tubing for fences. Usually 1 inch and finials overhead and flat, then I install a gate from time to time. Lotsa practice for the day when I can kick it up a notch.

By golly, I'll bet that is gonna be a slick little setup. I'd like to see how it works when you get it set up. Not real sure what you are trying to form though. Sheet? Put a disc over the cone and drive in? Or drop in a slug and push a mandrel in to form the socket?

Inquiring minds want to know.

LOL I wish I had asked about flux core when I gave it a whirl the first time. Larry holding it farther away produces a better weld and less spatter. Starting with a clean tip weld a little to warm things up then dip the tip about an inch MOL and back to welding. I may go 10 or 15 min welding steady NOW that I discovered what Irnsrgn said, with minimal trouble. The closer you get the more spatter and since the tip is closer it builds up faster and thicker.

Also I have been having greater success dragging the wire, rather than pushing. With MIG I had pretty good success either way. I definitely need to work on uphill with FCAW It really stinks. Downhill of course looks better already.

Nice looking scrolls. Please show the gate as you make it, it should be lovely.

I have made tongs to hold a bundle together while I bring it to temperature. It worked well and was much quicker than wire or weld. That said I was making enough that it was worthwhile to do that and then the tongs with a little rework became something else.

True path was coined by R Smith to defend John C's comments IIRC. I miss those spirited discussions mainly cause RRRrrrah is as funny as John Fe. sniff Thanks for the memories Herr Rubberbush. ;)

Usually nothing but when I am doing anvil work I'll either sing cadence or break out 'run with the rangers' or 'march with the infantry' or some others i have. I can get a strong routine going and hammer longer.

I also favor outlaw country along with CCR and sprinkled with george and conway and southern gospel some delta blues, kinda an eclectic mix like the rest of ya'll

I have a piece of rebar hanging in the middle of the frame on my pickup. I run the sticks underneath hook them over the middle piece then use bungees or rope to tie to the bumper front and rear. I tie to the middle of the bumper on the rear which causes the bundle to bend. This assists in keeping the stock under MY truck. so even if it gets loose you are only likely to puncture a tire.

Lest you think thats fine if you have a pickup, it was really fun to do the same thing in an 83 BMW 320i. The new hands at the steelyards are always amazed.

Coal needs some time with the flame to get caught itself. I have traditionally used kindling as if to start a campfire. Never had a lot of success with kerosene or charcoal lighters. Gasoline isn't even on my list of things to use.

Just recently I was shown how to use newspaper and it is very effective when done right. I haven't done it right til now. Crumple 2,3, 4 sheets of newspaper into a large softball size and leave a pigtail twisted as if a fuse. Put that into the firepot with the pigtail coming out of the bottom and up the side. Heap coal onto it leaving the pigtail sticking out. Light the pigtail and let it catch for a bit then start some air slowly then increase as much as you can.

You caught a piece that did what you wanted, it might happen again or not. I'd use a piece to do a quick tool but if I am tool making I'll select a steel that I know what it will do.

veg oil is faster than brine? I had thought it was the other way. I seek enlightenment.

Where are you? that has a LOT to do with it. What type of railing? fabricated with welded cast iron from King? all forged with traditional joinery? How will it be mounted?

da devil is in da details.