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I Forge Iron

Jon Kerr

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Everything posted by Jon Kerr

  1. Ok thanks Pnut. I'm confused too. Can anyone please recommend a procedure for normalizing (if necessary), hardening, and tempering a 4140 punch? (in laymans terms, please).
  2. Certainly in that region yes (I was agitating it).
  3. Hah- thanks Thomas. I'm definitely still getting used to the new forge (and new fuel!). Its much easier in many ways..... but perhaps a little too easy to overheat. As you say, I'm currently using an electric blower. Hand crank blowers- aren't these incredibly expensive everywhere? I've been looking on eBay in the UK and they seem very difficult to find and very expensive. Unless I'm looking in the wrong places?
  4. I tried to tidy up my square punch with a grinder this weekend, and discovered..... a big crack. Doh. I worked away at it a bit to see if it was just at the surface, but it goes deep enough to be problematic. Obviously the punch is scrap, then. I performed the heat treatment wrong, in hindsight. I forgot about "critical heat" when quenching, and I believe it might have been way too hot during the quench. Is this the likely cause of such a crack? If not the above, then any suggestions what could have caused this? (EN19 steel, aka 4140) Should I have used oil for the quench? Or perhaps the core wasn't hot enough when forging? Or a bad job when tempering? Also- any tips for NOT burning steel....!?
  5. I see. Thanks JHCC. I'll remember that next time. Given that I didnt do that this time- am I best to throw this in the kitchen oven for a couple of hours at the tempering temp to be safe? Or should I start the heat treat again and do as you say?
  6. Sorry, I should have been more specific in my terminology. This was hardened by bri ging up to critical heat and quenching in water (which is allowable for EN19 according to my research). I quenched only the last couple of inches on the working end, then polished quickly with a grinder and allowed the residual heat to temper the tip to straw colour. Hopefully this is a reasonable approach- its how I was taught during a lesson at Much Hadham forge. (Sorry JLP, I also typo'd your initials in my previous post!)
  7. I made my first square punch last night. The steel is EN19 which I believe is close to 4140. Nothing special but anyone else's standards but its progress for me. It turned out well, although its not perfectly square so I'll have to cheat with a grinder to finish it off. I took advice from one of JPL's comments somewhere here and went for 9" in length. I heat treated using a residual heat method. Do people sometimes use a punch as a drift in the same tool? I need to punch some square holes but slightly larger than this first punch I've made, and I don't have a square drift yet.
  8. Quick evening session tonight- just a couple of hours, but the first time I've ever been able to do so thanks to the dedicated indoor workshop. Everything is set up ready to go and it doesnt bother the neighbours. It was brilliant. I'm planning to forge a hammer rack using mortise and tenon joints for assembly. Perhaps a bit over ambitious but it will be a good way to learn. To start with, I need a square punch, so thats what I made tonight. The steel is EN19 which I believe is similar to 1040. It turned out well, although its not perfectly square so I'll have to cheat with a grinder to finish it off. I took advice from one of JPL's comments somewhere here and went for 9" in length. I heat treated using a residual heat method. Do people sometimes use a punch as a drift in the same tool?
  9. Finally finished installing my forge! Thanks again to The Iron Dwarf for the fantastic forge and hood. For anyone reading this in the future and considering doing anything similar..... (for what its worth, this was just what I deemed to be cheapest/easiest for me): The roof of the cabin is 12mm thick wood, with 50mm foam insulation and felt shingle tiles. The total cost of a 12" (300mm) flue (pipe, supports, flashing and rain cap) was approx. £400. To keep costs down, I decided to buy only the 12" pipe and flashing (£210 total) and make the rest from scrap. The wall support was made from a sheet of scrap steel and is way over the top (missing some bolts in the pictures but will be rectified). This is necessary, however, because the flashing provides no support. I've kept a 50mm air gap between the flue and any "combustible materials". This is not strictly to UK building regulations, as the flue would be required to be double wall and this is only single wall. However, I was assured that the flue pipe wouldn't get hot in the same way as a log burner would, and after a few hours forging I can confirm this to be true. The pipe is quite warm to touch but you can comfortably hold your hands against it without discomfort. As such I'm not concerned about safety, but I don't know what this means in terms of insurance etc. The building is many meters away from any other structures so no risk there. I can imagine a situation in future where the cabin burns down from some unrelated electrical fire, and the insurance company somehow worm their way out of it due to my flue clearance!!!!......... In the photo of the cabin below you can see the height of the flue- just over 1m above the highest point of the building. I want to keep my neighbours happy, so I remove this each time I forge in order to keep the chimney from being an eye-sore. The remaining stub by little chimney isn't likely to bother anyone. Unfortunately that means walking onto the roof before and after I forge every time! If I suddenly stop posting updates on IFI, I've probably fallen off and broken my neck. Nothing else I can do, unfortunately. I have a carbon monoxide detector in the cabin, and with the double doors open I had no issues with smoke or CO. The new hood draws beautifully. This officially means I can finally forge again at home! I only had a few hours this weekend but I managed to draw out and round off the reins on a pair of tongs which is a good start. The forge works beautifully, although I'm getting some air leakage out of the intake on my forge blower (essentially blowing back out of the fan the wrong way) which I assume is due to the resistance in the long hose. Planning to cut the hose shorter and see if this helps. The change from charcoal to coke is a dream- it seems so much easier. I think this is in large part due to the coke being smaller- its easier to rake around and fire management is generally so much easier. No more frustrations with the fire itself, I was able to work on two pieces of stock simultaneously, one in the anvil and one in the fire almost all the time.
  10. I meant the pivot bolt but it came free after a bit of effort. The scree and box is perfect. The only issue is the scewed in jaw plates which I cant decide what to do with...
  11. I've finished making up a flue wall support collar. This is the last piece I needed so I now have everything to install my new flue. Unfortunately.... I just need a clear day to do the job and unfortunately I can't see that happenening for at least another week! The suspense is killing me. I can't wait to be able to actually forge again. In the mean time, I've been working on the new vice. It took a bit of effort over a few days to get the thing to pieces as the bolt was badly siezed. I've been gently wire brushing the surface and is coming up beautiful. Should have it back together again and working perfectly soon. If anyone is interested.... from what I can tell, the removeable jaws plates ARE an original feature. I cant see any evidence of modification, cutting or grinding. Perhaps that means this wasnt originally a blacksmith vice and might have been intended for another trade? Either way I'll get it fixed up. Someone suggested I could, in future, make other plates to fit in like a "Step Vise" for specific jobs. Thats an interesting idea.
  12. That would be great Neal! Lets catch up via. PM.
  13. Thanks for the advice as always frosty. I think my telescoping/hinged flue idea was just too whacky. I'll have to see how it looks but I think I'll just have to get up a ladder to throw the top section on when I want to forge. No big deal. I've mounted the hood now with a 200mm air gap to the wall. I will look for some shielding also. (The bench in the photo will be moving away.) As for the leg vice, glad to hear others have removeabke jaws and its not a problem. I took it all apart last night and the jaws are almost definitely original from what I can tell. I'll clean it all up and get it nice then post photos.
  14. Picked up a new vice. It needs some work as its pretty rusty and almost seized. I'll get it cleaned up and back into service. Does anyone know if the jaws look to be original? I've havent seen a blacksmithing vice with removeable jaw plates like that before. Doesn't seem like a great feature for a heavy duty vice, and the bolts holding the jaws in are loose so the threads probably need recutting.
  15. Picked up a new leg vice today. It was a lucky eBay win.... £25. Turns out it has 5" jaws and must weight 30kg at least. Its almost seized up but the screw is well greased and looks perfect. The jaws have replaceable plates like a bench vice which seems to be unusual. Is this a problem? The screws holding these plates in place are dropping out so I assume the threqds are stripping. Is this likely to be original or a badly thought through modification??
  16. https://buffaloah.com/h/bfloforge/ Found from googling. I did a quick contrast increase on the image and made out "Hammelman" Looks like Charles Hammelman, 1878, and your horse is a buffalo.
  17. Good idea thanks Les. I'll have a think about whether thats possible. Quick update- balanced the forge hood in place to get an idea of where the flue will end up. I also bent up a very quick tong rack.
  18. Thanks Das! Yes, I did get some pointers from both Iron Dwarf and Copper Elf. Both really friendly blokes. I'm hoping to get back up there ASAP for a tool making lesson with the Elf. Need to focus the cash on getting up and running at home again first.
  19. It's been a long while since my last update...... Progress on the forge has been slow, but I've been busy doing lots of other building projects etc. The workshop is all stained, and electrics installed which makes me very happy! I've only been using it for woodworking etc at the moment as I've been waiting for a chance to visit The Iron Dwarf and Geldon Forge (Kettering) to collect a new forge and side sucker hood. I finally made it this weekend. Next step is to sort out the flue. The hood is made for 12" pipe, so I need to order a few more bits. I also need to make some bent sheet metal brackets to be able to wall mount the hood with an air gap behind so as not to cause a fire risk. I'm still concerned about the neighbours (in terms of chimney height). I can't think of a way to make a retractable/removeable chimney so it looks like I'll have to get up a ladder and take the top section of flue off after every forging session! Fortunately/Unfortunately (depening how you look at it) thats not too often. I intend to add some additional beams crosswise between the purlins in the cabin, which I can use as hard points to mount a roof-support for the flue. The flue will only be fixed at that point and where it slots onto the forge. I attached a bonus picture of a bird made of cultlery which I thought some of you might enjoy! This beautiful piece was made for me by my best friend from work. He retired at Christmas (very happy for him, but I miss him every day..... and I have around 40 years to go before I can join him in retirement!). He doesn't weld, so some sections are soldered, and others are drilled, tapped and screwed. He files the heads off every screw and polishes them to be almost invisible. Its a work of art. I would love to hear any thoughts/advice on the flue/hood/forge plans.
  20. Jon Kerr

    Show me your vise

    Bril thanks! Love the dark look.
  21. Interested in the responses to this. I've just built a new shop with a plain concrete floor internally. I wanted this for fireproofing. The concrete was left rough so it wouldn't ever be slippy when wet. Only issue is the surface is always dusty/gritty as there is always a tiny amount of degredation occuring, especially when sweeping. Might be that my concrete contractors left too much surface water but whats done is done! Considering giving it a coat of epoxy resin paint to protect the surface. Anyone got any thoughts on that? I could leave the forging area without any paint if its likely to cause issues.
  22. Jon Kerr

    Show me your vise

    Hi Stephen, Any tips on what you used to clean and coat this vice? Looks great and I'd be tempted to try and copy the method.
  23. Indeed- I have approached them and been told they dont respond to enquiries. You either have to submit a planning application (not applicable since I'm trying to operate under permitted development), or consult a local 3rd party company for advice (again, hundreds of £). As I said I'm going to go with the hofi style 12" flue- at least it adheres to the guidance on places like anvilfire in terms of draw when conbined with a supersucker. The only concession I'm considering is whether I can use adjustable length flue so that I can raise and drop the chimney height whenever I use the forge, to keep my neighbours happy.
  24. My wife bought me this for Christmas- my first blacksmithing book. I personally found it absolutely excellent. Might be a bit basic for you JHCC, but for a beginner the descriptions and diagrams were fantastic, and there are loads of great ideas for early projects (including tools and tooling) to make. I'd recomment it to anyone.
  25. Thanks for the detailed post as always Frosty. Sorry to be a PITA with these threads. Its difficult without knowing anyone locally who has any experience. I'm trying to design and build a shop, forge, flue etc without around 3hrs total using a professional setup and its really difficult..... but I cant continue with the hobby till I resolve it. Everyone's advice is invaluable and greatly appreciated. I'm not trying to cut corners- I'm trying to do my research to improve my designs, ensure safety and yes, to an extent, save cash where possible. Your comments regarding the pictured design tell me everything I need to know. I'll go with the standard 12" flue and ensure I meet local building regulations. Thanks, Jon
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