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I Forge Iron

Coyotebait

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Everything posted by Coyotebait

  1. LOL, I should have known that, I've seen the references to Harbor Freight on this site many times. My brain just automatically assumed it was the materiel of the ASO and wouldn't consider another possibility such as retailer. Thank you for clearing that up.
  2. That sounds like a pretty crafty project to take on. Can I ask what you mean by HF? I'm unfamiliar with the abbreviation and can't figure out what you mean. Sorry to be a pain.
  3. Sorry Thomas, my experience when something is referred to as "cast" it has always been cast iron. Have to remember to be more descriptive in the future. That auction came and went and I took all your advice and passed on that anvil. Good thing I didn't have my heart set on it, my brother-in-law didn't make it there in time to see it sell any way. Asked him about it yesterday out of curiosity of how much it sold for. Oh well, I'll just be patient, keep growing my skill, and eventually I will get myself an anvil. It's been quite a few months since I've been able to fire up my forge any way so I will have to get back into the "swing" of things.
  4. BIGGUNDOCTOR - I have a couple of ASOs, one is a small 22 lb anvil I got when I first decided to try blacksmithing, the other is a 2 foot length of rail that I started shaping before I found this great forum and the thread about using the track on it's end instead so now it rings like crazy. Lesson learned, just a little too late. Chris - I read about the TPAAAT recently and actually used it awhile back, although it has yet to pay off for me yet. I had a friend tell me he found an anvil for me 6 hours away and it would be coming up here in a month. That was near the end of February and I have not seen it yet. I have been very patient about it because the price is right on it, but I have no idea what it actually is that I am getting. I have not seen pictures or had a description other then it's big, shaped like an anvil, and is supposed to weigh 165 lbs. I guess time will tell what I end up with from him. Thomas - I figured from the damage that is on it that it probably wasn't the greatest anvil, wasn't sure if that was what happened with cast anvils or not. Guess from scoping out this site almost everyday and seeing all the pictures of everyone else's anvils and machinery I got a small case of anvil envy and temporarily lost my patience for the anvil I'm waiting on. Again guys, thanks very much for your input and information. This truly is a great group of people and so much knowledge getting shared.
  5. OK, that's the impression I had too, just wanted the opinions of some more knowledgeable then myself. Thank you very much for the quick replies.
  6. Hey guys, I had this picture sent to me from my brother in law who is going to a farm auction in a few days and stopped by the place yesterday to check out what was there. He saw this anvil which he said had a "75" marked on the opposite side then what's in the picture. Just wondering if anyone could tell me if they think it would be worth the $50 I told him to bid on it for me or if it's too far gone even for that price. Also if anyone happens to know if there is someone in the central Alberta area that can repair an anvil properly. I've been checking it out on this site and it doesn't seem to be something I would want to attempt. Thanks in advance
  7. Yeah, the first is kind of a train wreck, but like I said, it was the first thing to come out of the forge. At that point all I had for gr4inding was a black and decker dragster belt grinder locked in a vice and the edge geometry was done by sight, and it was a poor estimation of angle. I now have a 4x36 belt sander and am currently building a 2x72 grinder. In regards to the heat treat, what kind of a thermometer can you use on a charcoal forge? I have been looking at infrareds but can't seem to find anything that goes high enough. What I did on them all was used a magnet to check and then once it was not magnetic I soaked in the heat for a couple minutes and then quenched. I am definitely open to more precise methods then the gamble with a magnet. Thanks for all the replies guys, sorry I was away for so long. Happy New Year!!
  8. Hey guys, I've been here lurking in the shadows learning for quite some time, decided to finally post some pictures of my first knife attempts. First a little backstory. I've always been interested in making knives and swords since I was young. My very first attempt was when I was 10 I hammered a piece of angle iron into the rough shape of a katana using a bonfire in the backyard. With a lack of information and no one to teach me the ways that's where it ended. I never lost my love of a beautiful sword or knife, I just didn't know how to make them so I started collecting replicas. Then Forged in Fire started and I saw the episode with the guy forging in a frying pan in his backyard and found my inspiration. After seeing how few tools you needed to get started I built a charcoal forge out of a BBQ filled with refractory cement and a bathroom fan. I don't get a whole lot of time for forging but every day I get to fire it up is a great day regardless of what I get done. I work at a car dealership so I have access to the odd bit of metal such as axle shafts and springs so to start I have been using these random bits to get a feel for things. This is the very first thing that came from my forge, hammered from the rear axle shaft of a truck. The hammer marks were pretty deep, it picked up a warp in the quench, and the most painful part about it was the "grinder" that I used to shape and sharpen was a Black and Decker Dragster locked upside down in a vise. I gave it as a tester to one of the mechanics I work with and he absolutely loves it and uses it every year as his hunting knife. The edge retention isn't the greatest and lasts long enough to get through a deer before needing to be sharpened. The sheath was also the first Kydex I had ever worked with. This next one was the second knife I made, also out of the same rear axle shaft, and also given as a test to one of my mechanics. The handle was oak but it cracked and separated from the tang so I replaced it with my first homemade micarta using old jeans and t-shirts. The finish is a little cleaner, still some hammer marks in the blade but not as bad as the first. Edge retention was also better then the first and this one managed to maintain a good edge after skinning three deer. It has since become a kitchen knife due to size. And the last knife I have made that went to a friend of a friend, forged from a rusty wrench my brother in law gave me. It was meant to be a rough, unfinished, apocalyptic style but I feel I took the grinding too far to really get that across, but not far enough to be a nice clean knife. That said, the rough look is what the guy loves about the knife. The sheath for it was a last minute addition as the guy who got it said he didn't want one but I didn't want it floating around a backpack all willy-nilly. This is also the sharpest knife I've made yet, shaved the side of my finger off without feeling it when I was cleaning the blade. I'm interested to hear the advice and critiques you guys have on these, and thank you all for the very, very informative posts on this site. There is so much knowledge and inspiration in this site it's unreal. And a quick note, after 4 today I will be gone for the Christmas holidays and won't be back until the new year, so if I don't reply I'm not ignoring the posts, I'm just not around. Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone.
  9. You're right Daswulf, that grate did burn out quickly when it was a bottom blast. It's long gone now. The dirt and clay will be my next step as I've been using it as a side blast the last couple times that I fired it up and the charcoal does go all over. I haven't been working a whole lot of longer stock in it so that hasn't been an issue, but I do see slotting the sides in the future. JHCC: The refractory cement is in there quite solid. I have a steel plate in the bottom that blocks a few holes and the cement wraps around it so I think trying to get it out would do more damage to the body of the forge then it's worth. Thank you guys for the replies, this site is awesome with some of the best guys you could find.
  10. Hey guys, finally decided to post a pic of my first forge. Built from an old barbecue and refractory cement, and using a bathroom fan with a dimmer switch for air about 2 years ago. I don't get a whole lot of time to work out of it, but it's always a good day when I do. The original design had an air pipe running down the entire length, but after finding this site and doing a lot of reading I recently converted it to work as a side blast design instead. I only have the one photo from it's first firing but I can get more in the next few weeks if anyone is interested. Looking for design suggestions for it if anyone has any. Thanks for looking
  11. Thanks for the input guys, you confirmed my suspicions. I'll set the cam aside for non-blacksmith projects and move on to my leaf and coil springs. Thank you all for the quick replies.
  12. 350 truck engine is all I know. A friend of mine gave me a few of them to play with, and my initial idea for it was to forge it into a sword, strictly for display, and leave an untouched section of lobes for the handle and to show where it started. I haven't noticed any markings on it, not sure they would mean much, but I can check it this weekend sometime.
  13. Hey guys, new smith here trying to solve a problem I'm having forging with a camshaft from a 350. The technique I thought would work best on it was to hammer all the lobes on the shaft down to a similar size as the shaft is itself and then work it to the desired shape from there. What has been happening is I'll get the lobe squared off, and about halfway between the size it is and the size I want and then it snaps off the shaft. I don't let it cool very much trying to prevent it from happening, but it doesn't seem to matter much. Does anyone have any experience using a camshaft? My forge is a homemade charcoal bottom blast that seems to get the steel up to some pretty good temps. Not sure what other info to provide to you guys. Oh, is it possible that there is a nitride coating on the lobes, and if so what's the best way to remove it? TIA.
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