BillyBones

When i was a teenager we would soak tennis balls in gas, light them on fire and throw them at each other while yelling "Fireball!". Our backyard sword fighting became interesting when we found a cheap source of machetes also. PVC and cardboard...maybe we should have thought of that instead. Amazingly none of us had a trip to the ER though, guess our luck roll was successful. Instead of building some fancy shmancy anti-matter forge, i would get Scotty to build me a transporter. Not only would it make the commute to work much easier, but i could transport the metal into the sun and back. That should get to welding heat rather quickly.

Stay away from burning treated wood also. Those are highly toxic. I am on my first cup of coffee and i cannot remember what it is, i think arsenic, but one of the chemicals they use that i know of for sure is not destroyed by fire and the levels are elevated in the ash and can be deadly. And that is just one of the chemicals they use. There are many localities and states that have laws in place that you can not even put treated lumber in the trash, must be taken to a disposal site becuase of the chemicals used to treat the wood. As far as those coil springs they should be powder coated. I do not think powder coating has lead in it but i cannot say for sure. Last time took an interest in it most of the "recipes" were proprietary to the manufacture. The EPA however says it is environmentally safe, that leads me to believe there is no lead in it. Do NOT take that as me saying it is safe to burn off in the forge. As P-nut said, on a weekend i build me a fire out in the back 40, safely away from people and pets, and put the springs or what not in, heap up some wood on top and let the fire do its thing. Then wait till the next day to take them out. They usually come out free of paint and annealed. I have had some paint that just laughs at stripper. I had some old railing that i soaked with aircraft stripper, wire brushed, then cleaned off and you could hardly tell i touched it. When i was a kid a common method of stripping paint was to heat it to bubbling with a propane torch and a putty knife would peel it right off to bare wood. Not a method i would suggest now a days though. Dang it Thomas, i am here being long winded and you beat me to pointing out that typo. That is a good one.

Ok, what the heck is this LARP thing i keep hearing about?

First, what is a Crescent end? Crescent is a company that makes tools. Seriously though, i would make them equal. That way you get the same leverage from both ends. Also, get a file and round the corners on the side of the jaws or they will bite into the hot metal when you use it. One more thing cut off that plasticy grippy stuff. Its going to melt. Not only possibly toxic but stinks to high heaven.

Why would you ask data or Jordy? Everyone knows it is Scotty that is the man to ask.

I think you may be right about the terms now that i think on it with oil on the brain. Usually when i quench something it comes out with a layer of what i assume is burnt oil, i use veg oil so that the mistress of the house does not kick me out when i temper in the oven. But there are times that when i pull it out a lot of that burnt oil has flaked off and what you can see is silvery, not real shiny just kind of dull silver, white i guess you could say. May have to play around this weekend with some different metals, quenchants, temps and the like to see what happens. Aint got no other plans anyway. Well i should say that the lady of the manor has not informed me of what my plans are yet.

JHCC, interesting. When i lived in BR i was told it was becuase of the red stick they used in the fields.

Thomas, do you use a tea ball? My daughter picked mine out of the drawer one day and had no clue as to what its use was. Espresso and Tabasco? I have had tequila with tobasco, that made for a painful morning and it was the morning i met the VPOTUS (Gore). I was looking and feeling my best that is for sure. I got woke up about 1/2 before we were to leave, in a latrine between the two stalls. Interesting note, the city of Baton Rouge, the name translates to red stick. A baton rouge is a red stick that is used in the tobasco fields to judge when a pepper is ripe.

Tried looking up worm water, nothing really, but i also did not look long, late and tired. But i did run across recipes for worm tea. Tea made from worm casting and a lot about the health benefits. I just wonder who was the first guy that said "hey, ya know what? I bet i could make tea outa that." While everyone else backed away slowly. Reading some of these brine recipes makes me so happy i live in an age that has discovered that oil works. I could not imagine that i plan the day to make a cutting tool and having to collect all those things and then sacrifice a goat. Should that be done at the new moon or full moon? I would also think a small red headed boy would be ok for a dagger or knife but you may need a teenager for a sword. So Thomas, did the urine quench or blood meal thing make the metal white as silver?

So more research if i try it. I do not even want to know what worm water is i think. I am just really wondering if anyone has tried these methods and what were the results? Curiosity mostly.

Explosive welding just sounds cool too. I have some bacon grease added to my tub o' oil. Mmmmmm bacon.

After you have been doing this for a while you will find that 3/4" is not that big. 1/2" is about the most common size i use but i have chucked a piece or 2 of 2+" in the forge and went to town on it. If it comes to hardy tooling 3/4" is to small to make the shank out of for me so i have to go bigger if i am making hardy tools. But yes there are many uses for 3/4".

Having been doing some reading lately i am just wondering something. I read "Modern Blacksmithing" and in it it mentions how to make steel and iron white as silver. The method uses 1# ashes of white ash bark dissolved in soft water, does not say how much water. When quenching at red heat the steel will come out white instead of black. Hs anyone tried this? And what are your thoughts on it? White ash is not a very common tree here so it is not something i am going to set out to do right away, but may try sometime down the road, just looking for thoughts on the subject.

Explosive welding sounds like something that would happen right after hearing "Here, hold my beer."

My dad traded that car in back during the oil embargo becuase gas was getting so high. He bought a Dodge Duster with a 390, yeah some savings. So it is not a good thing that my truck gets 16 MPG? Anyway to topic at hand, i have not turned that hair dryer on high. I actually cannot get to it very easy and have it wired to a switch on the front of my forge to turn it on and off with. I turn it off when not using the fire, kind of like not turning the hand crank. One thing i did do, the dryer does not blow hot. In my jumbled brain it seems that cold air being denser, is better than hot. Provides more oxygen.

I run a hair dryer on mine. It goes into a 2 1/2" pipe to my turryer (?spelling?) it is closed down to about a 1/8" slit and behind the airdam is five 1/2" holes. I cover 2 of the 5 and i can get welding heat. But regardless, what you are asking is a fire maintenance question and like Thomas points out each forge is different. These are also questions asked and answered a thousand times. Like was suggested to me when i first started, grab a cold beverage and some lunch and sit down and start reading these threads. Be warned, they sometimes drift into strange waters and we love puns. Anyway welcome, be safe and keep it fun. Thomas, my dad once had a 70' Chevelle SS, 396 with a 4 on the floor. He bought it used from a drivers ed school back in the mid 70's.

Little tip about site edict. You can quote just the pertinent part of a post by placing the cursor on the first word, left click and drag (i am sure you now how to copy and paste right?) but a little box will show up that says "quote selection" click on the box and it will automatically place the quoted part in the reply box. The mods do not like entire posts quoted, especially the long ones. It takes up band width and there are people from all over the world using this site and some are on dial up. Slows everything down. Anyway, i will be the first to admit you are asking the wrong person here. I quit using propane a couple years ago, like i said in another post my propane forge and burner are a home for spiders now. I also may have been a little vague, i did not mean buy the supplies from the local potter but ask where he gets his supplies from then contact the supplier to see if they carry what you need. Thanks Frosty, was not sure what you meant. My grandad used to make concrete castings and would add perlite to the mix to lighten it up.

Alright Frosty, what is "bubble refractory"? Hawkbox, Have you tried a place that makes ceramics or pottery? Or a local college or even a high school that offers pottery classes? They also deal with high heats in their kilns so they may know where to obtain the materials you need. Maybe even a large scale glass producer. I know some people who blow glass but on a small scale they use an oxy-propane torch, not sure what they would use on a large scale.

I would not use one of the standard hose clamps like at the car parts store. I think like Das says they just will not hold up under welding heat. I would either look at the local scrap yard, lift some hood on cars, or contact the local GM* or Toyota* dealer to get the spring type clamps. You know the ones that need the special pair of pliers to open. They are much thicker than the band style, do not rely on a screw to secure, and being springy may just be made of a decent steel that can be hardened. Frosty, you are not entirely wrong. They do make chrome plated hose clamps. They are usually stamped "chrome" on them. You will also find them in these engine dress up kits. *Not advocating for GM or Toyota, those are the only 2 makes that use that style i can think of off the top of my head before my first cup of coffee.

Never quit giving free tooth hugs. I use my clinkers to fill the mud holes next to my to small of a drive way for my truck. I did keep a few around that were more eye catching than most. A friend who does wood working and resin casting took a bunch to try and use. I need to find out if he has done anything with them and how it turned out.

Did nothing in the shop today but did get some reading done. I was reading some old blacksmiths books on-line and it kind of struck me how they would, like many things today, contradict each other. Like one book i read said you can not weld cast iron, while another told how to do it. I guess it kind of shows there is no right or wrong way just what works for you. A couple things that i read made me chortle a little. One described how to build a JABOD, did not call it that though. And one said do not use cast iron anvils. Not that i think any of that is new but just kind of made me smile seeing it having heard both here so much. Learned a lot today really though. Even how to tie a bridle. Big thanks to the Missouri Blacksmiths Association that provided much of the info i read free on-line.

My ex-wifes step father owned a garage and behind it was a small junk yard. He kept a huge mongrel of a beast to guard it, one of those dogs missing half an ear, huge scar across one eye, and built like a brick... He was quite a good natured lovable beast once you got to know him. He would come over and lean on my legs to get scratches behind his ears, but he weighed every bit of 100# and he would lean all his weight into you. Thomas, look on the bright side at least it was not a junkyard Komodo Dragon. Seriously though, hope it heals soon with out complications.

I have found a fresh pair of socks are even nice in hot places also. We used to hang our britches in front of the stove in the winter also. Twigg, i wooden knock it. It's knot that bad. So the lady of the estate told me that she needed some doors hung in the manor. I contacted the local crafts guild to do them. The head of the carpenters guild knows where in the dungeons below the estate are the original hardwood doors that guarded the manor, which will need some nice hardware from the smiths guild. Today i got a good start on a thumb latch. Started as 1/2" square, not enough for the top, so i bent it around, twice, welded it all up for enough mass. Roughed out the lever part, it will be a trial and error fit, and the locking bar. It will contact with another that goes horizontal on the door and locks in at the top in the frame, more towards the middle of the door. Still a lot of clean up work to do and the like.

Crows can remember you. If you hurt one they will show their dislike for you for a long time. We have turkey vultures here, i do not know about others, but they can judge speed, time and distance. If they are in the middle of the road have a tasty well tenderized racoon and a car comes, they can tell the speed of the car then judge how long they have to get out of the way before they become a tasty well tenderized snack themselves.

Question about the bolt. My vice was my great grandfathers that was built some time in the late 1800's, yours being your great great grandfather's most likely would make it somewhat older. It being that old wouldn't that bolt be an ASE bolt and not metric? The reason i ask is that it could be a 3/4" which is slightly different size than 18mm.