Jason Fry

6 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

Elegant lines; I'm glad you resisted the urge to put a wild handle on it as its the simple grace looks very nice together.

I don't have that urge very often, lol.  I have a nice piece of 160 layer random that's scheduled for a frame handle, Bump/Quesenberry/Hanson style.  Lines will be clean though. Stainless fittings and black camel bone, I'm thinking.

I was referring to a standard 15 amp circuit on #12 wire.  The numbers above match what I'd expect, about 12-13 amps for the 1.5 HP. 

That said, I've got a 2 HP 220v motor that I have never been able to stop with grinding pressure.

Over the years I've used other folks' Damascus steel quite a few times.  This blade is the first one from my own Damascus.  This is 21 layers of Aldo's original 1084 and some 15n20.  The guard is wrought iron wagon rim that belonged to my great great grandfather, George Kromer.  The handle is curly maple.  Overall length is around 12 inches.  It was built with a threaded rod through the handle, fastened with a corby head that was then covered with a Texas mosaic pin. I'll have it on my table for the Silver Spur show in Abilene Feb 24/25.  Although this is a regular "gun show", we've worked with Kim the promoter and will have around 10 knifemakers from the Texas Knifemakers' Guild there, as well as Terry Dunn with three tables of stabilized wood handle material of the highest grade.  We'll also have educational seminars at 1:00 both days. 

Agree, harbor freight or tractor supply can hook you up.  If you've only got 110, you can handle up to 1.5 HP.  Get a TEFC motor. 

Alright, so I'm making another run at the refractory guy to see if he can get the Plibrico products that are better suited to this task. 

Thanks for the endorsement of the 24/26 class material, Wayne.  

Google found this....  Looks like a heck of a technical manual of refractory products... Didn't read it diligently, but it's good science. 

http://mha-net.org/docs/Harbison Walker 2005 Handbook.pdf

Also found this... our friend Satan has 60% alumina and 34% silica and a 3200 degree rating.  

https://ssfbs.com/documents/SATANITE.pdf

I've got to try it, at least.  If I don't like it, I'll sell the forge and build another.  It may be like the time I upgraded from a 16 ft to a 19 ft boat, from 85 HP to 150.  The 150 got crap for gas mileage, but it was a better boat to fish out of.  The annoyance of the fuel use was overcome by other features.  

So I'll run the Plibrico 24 as my main insulator.  Throw a 1/8 or 3/16 of Satanite on top for added flux resistance and a bit better temp resistance.  Throw some reflective on top of that, and go for it.  This will be the horizontal forge.  

Then if it works well enough, I'll do the same in the vertical, although I may skip the Satanite since flux only hits the floor, which I plan to use kitty litter or crushed bricks or something else sacrificial.  

When all that bites, I'll sell these forges and build another vertical and switch back to wool, and follow your formula better.  

Just for fun, here's a shot of my current forge.  Wool was somewhat unknown, from a boiler in an oil refinery.  Clearly not rated high enough.  Satanite and ITC on top.  Melted into some green glass stuff.  Even that thin, the satanite coat held till I started breaking it on purpose.  I welded in this setup one time, and everything melted. 

I'm really not trying to be argumentative, just to learn... 

The Plicast LWI 24 is sold as a "lightweight" insulating refractory and comes in at 80 pounds per cubic foot.  Google says mizzou, for example, runs 141 pounds per cubic.

I should have listened to the forge building experts, not the guy who sells refractory for a living.  I would have thought that the rep would know his product better.

So back to my original question....  If I've got a 2500 degree "insulating" castable refractory that's 40% alumina and 40% silica, what do I lose by using it?  I mean, what are the tradeoffs?

I'm assuming a 2" wool/1/2" Kast o lite 30 forge as you guys have developed would be "more efficient" on fuel to some degree, which makes sense.  Any idea what kind of margin we're talking?  10% more propane use?  20%? 

Is a 40% alumina content high or low relative to the terms you've been using?  For example, "high carbon" steel has as little as .6 and as much as 1.2 percent carbon, which proportionally isn't very high relative to the other elements.  Help me understand the terms, please.  Again by comparison, google shows mizzou at 60% alumina and 32% silica.

I'm a hobby knifemaker.  Time is money, also, even though money is money as well.  I want a forge that I don't have to take a few days to rebuild once a year.  A day's work costs hundreds.  20% more propane in exchange for durability is a reasonable tradeoff to me. 

Thanks, Frosty, that's a good step in the right direction. 

Here's the SDS.... I don't know if these numbers are "high" alumina or not.

http://plibrico.com/uploads/MSDS/sds Plicast LWI 24.pdf

My inclination at the moment is to cast my shells in this stuff, then put in a coating layer or two of other things.  Maybe a layer of satanite, then a matrikote/plistix/itc/your veegum mix type infrared reflective. 

I'm glad I make knives and not forges....

Makes sense, but does that change its function as a forge liner?  Any ideas how the material reacts to flux?

I can tell you all about alloy elements in knife steel, but don't know how the different constituents of refractory products impact overall function.

Anyone with experience know the difference in function between Kast o lite 25 and Kast o lite 30?  Local refractory supplier recommended a Plibrico LWI 24 insulating refractory, which google fu says is more like the Kast o lite 25 than the 30 that's often recommended.  

Thanks, Mikey. I may post a few pics for feedback as I build.  I've built this forge twice now over 4 years or so, and also have a vertical in progress as well.  Used Mike's book for burner design, and have a 1/2 and a 3/4 that work well. I'm likely to stick with the 3/4 for the horizontal, and build a blown burner for the vertical welding forge.  I have welded in the horizontal with the 3/4, but want a dedicated welding forge. FWIW, I'm a knifemaker with 10 years experience.

We have a local refractory place that sells Pilbrico products.  The guy there suggested a light castable for the whole thing, with a reflective coating, hence my search for the zircopax ITC alternative.  He suggested that the wool products are less suited for the task.  Given that I melted the wool on my last two attempts, although it was from an oil refinery and I didn't know the rating, and given that I don't have time to constantly rebuild things, I figured I'd give the castable a try this time.  Not having to pay shipping on a 55# bag makes it economically worth the effort. 

Well dang, one more page back.  I didn't see the molochite grog in the pages after that, with all the rest of the references to just the V/Z.  Would a regular castable refractory work in its place?

I read back through the pages 15-20something where there was discussion about Veegum and Zircopax as a reflecting replacement for the ITC-100 type products.  I found these materials at Seattle Pottery Supply, as indicated.  What I haven't yet understood is the mixing proportions.  What ratio of Veegum:Zircopax is recommended?  I assume you just paint it on a bit thinner than toothpaste thick, on top of your castable?

Exactly two pounds at this point.  Will lose some more after finish grinding, lose a little off the tang, and gain a bit from the D guard.  

Sort of like this...

http://www.historicalarms.com/confederate-and-union-civil-war-swords-for-sale/confederate-bowie-knife-for-sale.html

Great, now I need another book, lol...

When I build, I'll look at as many pictures and examples as I can find, then build in that ballpark. I don't usually do direct copies.

Found a guy who authoritatively spoke like they were riveting hammers from the ship building industry.  Kind of like a mega-ball-peen. 

Because why not   I read several of the threads here directed toward sword newbs, but they're directed toward newbs in general.  I've not done a sword, but I've made knives for nearly 10 years and have the right equipment for the grind work.

Forged this out at a friend's house the other day, because he has a power hammer. It's like when you have a friend with a bulldozer, you dig a new tank.  

Started with a leaf spring off a wrecked Dodge truck. 

Hammered a while, till it looked like this. 

Spent some time grinding today.   Blade is 20 3/8. 

Finish ground and ready for heat treat.

Ask silly questions, get silly answers, lol.  The one on the left has some wear on the face, but neither has any wear at all on the mushroom/ball end. 

I picked up these two unusual shaped hammerheads the other day. Not a shape I'd seen before.  Any idea what they are for? About two or 2 1/2 pounds.  Neither is marked.

 

Thanks, Lee.  That's about what I concluded as well.  Just figure out a way to tie the axle to the sleeve and call it good.  Weld the crap out of everything

Ok, so I have a buddy with everything in the world, metal.  I am building an Appalachian hammer.

He has some kind of solid axle, 4.5" round, by 60" or so long.  Math says that a 36" piece weighs 162 pounds.  This by itself isn't enough for a 25 pound head, correct?

Next, he has a mud pump sleeve, easily 150 pounds, about 20" long with a 5 or 5.5" bore down the middle.  We're thinking we could use some pipe to shim the gap, weld it all together, and get close to 300 pounds.  The solid axle would go straight from the dies to the base plate, with the sleeve on the bottom for extra mass. 

Is this a good idea?  The 4.5" solid round is the biggest solid we could find.  

He also has 2" or 2.5" (eyeballed) square solid stock.  18" of 2" is 20 pounds.  12" of 2.5" is 20 pounds.  Along with that would be the roller assembly, the die plate, and the dies, to calculate the head weight, correct?

OK, so I went to my friend's epic scrap pile and he has 98% of everything I'll need for an Appalachian style hammer.  I may shoot for build-along pics as I go, but for now I have some specific questions about materials selection.  He's got so much to choose from!

First question...  Let's say I have the choice between a dozen different sizes of leaf springs.  Shooting for a 300 pound anvil and 25-30 pound head.  

Should I look for a shorter set, 36-40" or so, to minimize the footprint?  Or, would a longer set, 60" or so, have better performance?  

Next, should I look for a heavier set, so they functioned more like a solid bar, or for a softer set, so that I get more whip?

What would your ideal set be?

Went to a buddy's house this afternoon to visit his epic pile of cool stuff. Came home with a lot of goodies. 

Couple of kerosene lanterns. 

Jackhammer bits and a Kelly brand axe. 

A bucket full of future tomahawks, aka hammer heads and handles. 

This big old axe. This is one of the single bevel kind for squaring timbers. 

Some leaf springs. Some will become part of my power hammer. The ones in the right are from an International Scout and will become knife blades. 

He also has 98% of what I need to build an Appalachian power hammer, including a 4.5" solid axle and a mud pump sleeve that together can make an anvil in the 300 pound range.  That'll be a thread for another day, as we just spotted everything today.  I think we'll end up going down there and fabbing everything in the next month or so.
 

Lol, good catch... Still don't know what year it is.  

Checkering file is a Grobet 20 LPI.  I've had it a few years, don't remember where it came from.