George N. M.

Multi Level Marketing, one of the classic scams.

FMM, you have just pointed out the problem I have had with investing or keeping precious metals as a hedge against economic problems.  If I buy at spot plus X% and I can only sell at 70% of spot I have to hold until there has been a 30%+x increase to break even financially.  The real issue of holding gold or silver seems to be how do you convert it back into a medium with which you can buy a loaf of bread or a gallon of gas.  So, for an investment vehicle it doesn't look very shiney.  If a person is looking for something that will hold value in case of an economic collapse the that is a different equation. 

GNM 

Well, 1018 is just about mild steel.  So, you can use it for about anything that doesn't require hardening.  You may be able to get a little hardness out of it with super quench but you'll never get it hard enough to skate a file.  It may work for hot tools which can't stay hard because of their exposure to the hot metal they are working.  I think a hammer made of 1018 would mushroom over pretty quickly.  It would work fine but you'd have to redress it more often than something made of a tougher steel

It is still a good score for $8.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

RE charging batteries:  Back in the '70s I had a friend who lived across the road from the National Bureau of Standards antenna farm for WWV, the short wave station broadcasting the time signal for setting clocks.  This is a BIG operation just nort of Ft. Collins, CO with 8-10 large masts and can be seen for miles at night.  He set up an antenna (IIRC about 6-8' of copper wire) and was able to capture enough energy to run a battery charger.  I don't think I would have wanted to live 24/7 in that powerful of an EMS field.

GNM  

Welcome aboard from 7500' in SE Wyoming.  Glad to have you.  

Although brass is generally much more available and common than bronze I seldom work with brass.  Besides the issue you mention with zinc a lot of brass is an alloy that includes lead, to make machining of the brass easier.  However, that means you cannot forge brass.  When it is hot and you hit it with a hammer it just crumbles because the lead is already in a liquid state because of its low melting point.  And, of course, we are now talking about lead fumes as well as zinc.  Heavy metal fever is a BAD thing.

Bronze can usually be forged unless it is an odd alloy.  Bronze brazing rods are a good source.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Das, it was said in jest, that's why I used a ;-) afterwards.  It was in response to Mothman's slightly sarcastic jab.  All in fun.

G

Das, true dat.  The only "combat" photos I took were of the quad .50 because while we were in contact I was pretty busy directing the platoon and calling in artillery and air strikes and talking to my higher ups.  Any photos were taken during quieter times.  I also have a bunch that are more "touristy" which I took later in my tour when I was a Brigade S-5 (196th Light Infantry Brigade, part of the Americal Division) up around Da Nang.  The bush photos were taken about along the border of II Corps and III Corps area at the southern end of the central highlands.  Looking out from the fire bases it was as flat as Florida or Kansas in one direction and in the other the terrain looked like an unmade bed.

I guess that I'll carry the shame of being an officer to my grave ;-).

G

Mothman,  I have always had an appreciation for scout dogs and their handlers.  They kept us out of a couple ambushes and once allowed us to ambush the ambush.  Also, when not working the dogs were friendly and were a bit of "The World" (home).

IIRC the boar was very tasty and a nice change from C rations and LRRPs.  

The quad .50 (aka the popcorn machine) was working over the area below the firebase because movement had been spotted.  We did get one secondary explosion in the area.  So, the NVA had been planning something.  I either don't recall or was never told if subsequent patrols found any bodies or other evidence.

When I look at myself in the photo and then look in the mirror I realize what a long, strange journey it has been.  And I always remember the guys who weren't as lucky as I was and didn't get to come home, grow old, raise a family, become a blacksmith, and be posting to IFI.  RIP, shoulder brothers*.

GNM

* The Anglo-Saxons called the man who stood beside him in the shield wall "shoulder brother."

In soil science the name of the soil, in this case, Crockett, is the name of the location where it was first described scientifically.  It is the same as with geologic formations, e.g. the Mesa Verde Sandstone, the Oglalla Formation, or what I am sitting on and get my well water from, the Casper Formation.  So, this soil type was first described near someplace named Crockett (not surprising in Texas).  The soil type will vary geographically.  Hence, in your area it is fine sandy loam.  A mile down the road it may be somewhat different, maybe coarse sandy loam.

GNM

PS  I just mentioned this to my wife, Madelynn, and she raised the issue that if the clinker breaks down under use and becomes dusty that the dust may pose an inhalation hazard.  This might not be a problem if it solidifies when moisture is added but it is probably an issue that needs to be addressed.  I'm less concerned about this material because it is made of carbonates than I would be with something like coal clinker which is mostly silicates which break up into very sharp particles which can result in silicosis ("miner's tuberulosis").

G

I agree with Frosty.  Buster looks like he is "snoopervising" to make sure that you do it right.

Here is a link to a photo of a scout dog and his handler that worked with us in Viet Nam, early 1971.

https://www.charliecompanyvietnam.com/class_gallery.cfm?gallery_id=26406&member_id=5514692

In this gallery are photos I took in the bush in Viet Nam 1970-71.  I was Platoon Leader of 1st plt, C 1/12 Cav, 1 Cav Div (airmobile).

G

I'm aware that your climate is a LOT different than semi-arid Wyoming (Laramie gets about 11.53" in precipitation/year) because I have two brothers-in-law near Tyler, TX.

You might check with your local US Department of Agriculture office and look at the soil maps of your area and then look at the characteristics of that soil type.  Also, the local office of the Texas Department of Highways (or whatever the actual Texas title is) may have engineering data on your particular soil type.  A phone call to the local highway engineer may give you a lot of information about whether cement clinker is a good or bad idea.

Keep us informed about how it all goes.  I'm finding this interesting.

GNM

It sounds like you have soil with a heavy clay component and that where is a fair amount of expansion and shrinking depending on whether conditions are wet or dry.  Have there been any issues with shifting or cracking foundations in your area?  (I suspect not because that is usually the result of very expansive bentonite clay which is altered volcanic ash.  That is more common in the Rocky Mountain area than in Texas.)  I believe that means that you wouold need a thicker layer of anything, gravel, cement clinker, etc. to support a load than you would if you had sandy soil which is more solid and compacted when wet.

If it were me, I'd get the equivalent of a couple wheel barrow loads and lay out a few small test areas of a couple square feet each and then use different variables, depth, intentionally soaked, dry, etc. and see what happens.  I'd drive one tire of a vehicle across them to observe load bearing characteristics.  This is, of course, if you can't find anyone with experience with cement clinker which would give you more guidance as to its suitability than experimentation.

I still think that a call to the marketing department of the company manufacturing it would be worthwhile.  

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Very nice work, particularly for a first outing.  I like the pattern welded steel a lot.  The only thing that I would change is the star drive screws but that may just be my personal preference.  I think brass rivets would give a cleaner look.

Back when I was a criminal prosecutor I had an interesting discussion with a police officer who wanted to charge someone with carrying a dangerous weapon.  IIRC, the local ordinance was 3" and the knife in question was very close to that. It was slightly over when measured from the tip to the handle but less when the edge was measured.  I refused to bring the charge because I felt that it was ambigous whether the "blade" should include the unsharpened portion.  And I personally thought that the ordinance was kind of dumb anyway but I didn't say anything about that.  The officer was just trying to stack charges IMO.

I agree with Frosty about the background in the photos being too busy.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Welcome aboard from 7500' in SE Wyoming.  Glad to have you.

If you put your general loction in your profile we will be able to give better answers to your queries.  A surprising number of issues are controlled by geography.  Also, we may be able to suggest local blacksmithing groups and you may be within visiting distance of other smiths.  There is nothing better than learning from someone with more experience.  I was a lone eagle for the first dozen or 15 years of smithing.  It was pre-internet and all I had for instruction were books from the library and my own mistakes.  This is a world wide forum and we don't know if you are in Lapland, Tasmania, or Kansas.

Re your hammer:  Yes, it is obviously a first try but it will work.  You ought to be able to compensate for the irregular eye by some custom work on a handle blank.  You may need to start with a plain chunk of wood (hickory is a good material but other hardwoods will work) to come up with a shape that will fit the eye.  The one thing that bothers me a bit is that in the last picture the head does not appear to be at 90 degrees to the handle.  This will likely result in the hammer head hitting your hot metal crooked and that is not a good thing.  You may need to drive a wedge in the front of the eye from the bottom to rotate the head a bit.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

So sorry to hear this.  It is our curse to outlive our friends and families, both human and furry.  But I am convinced that they will be there on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge.  Expect Buster to be there waiting for you and asking what took you so long and did you bring treats.

Sadly,

George

You may want to get a small amount (say, a few hundred pounds) lay it out and experiment with how it acts on its own or mixed with gyp.

G

I would think that it would perform like gravel made of softer rock in that IIRC cement clinker is fairly soft, softer than, say, limestone rock.  So, under heavy weight, e.g. a driveway, the individual chunks would break up into smaller pieces and would compact more.  Also, it appears that cement clinker is reactive with water and will become harder if exposed to moisture.  So, if you are using it outside exposure to rain would give you something more like limestone gravel.  Inside, it would probably harden eventually but would take longer.  

I'm not sure if I would like a gravel or gravel like floor in my shop.  I think it would be less comfortable than dirt or concrete to stand and walk on.

How much thickness you need is more an engineering question and dependent on what kind of soil you have and what kind of uses you contemplate.  For a shop floor where it only has you walking around on it I would guess that you wouldn't need more than a couple of inches.  Compacting is always good.  If you have a choice, I would get the finest size available and then wet it down to harden.  If you can get a crusher I'd think that pea size and smaller would give a flatter and more solid floor.  It may be that if you are using a vibrating compactor it will break up the chunks and give you smaller size particles.

I have seen power plant fly ash which I believe is similar to cement clinker used as sort of a poor man's concrete for dust suppresion on dirt roads.  It is put down dry and then a water truck sprays it down.

As to whether you need to dig out an area or just put it on top of the existing soil would be, IMO, a question of whether you have power excavating equipment available.  Digging out even 4-6" of dirt by hand is a very demanding project.  I've thought about having a concrete floor laid in my shop which is a dirt floored old horse barn and the only way I'd think about doing it is if I could hire a crew to dig out the dirt to the depth I'd need.

I'd ask around with local contractors, particularly those who do driveways, etc. and see if they have any experience with it and what their experience has been.  If there is a cement plant in your area you might call their marketing department and ask about uses for cement clinker.

Just to be a bit pedantic I am using the term "cement clinker" because it is an intermediate step in the production of cement which is added to sand and gravel to make concrete.

Good luck and let us know what you decide and if you go with it how it works out.

GNM

Voldemar,

That is a very good price by American standards.  Here, it probably would have been $US 4-6/ pound ($US 8-12/kg).  From what our European members have said it seems that anvils are more plentiful and cheaper and post vises are rarer and more expensive on your side of the ocean than they are here.

We'd love to see some photos of your work.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Oh, that is a lovely anvil!  Of you don't mind my asking, how much did you have to pay for it? I have no idea how much anvilos sell for in your part of the world.

By the way, nice shop.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Gondowanaland was a big place and not many folk around.

G

My son, who was raised by two geologists, insisted that his mother and I had been born in the early Cambrian.

GNM

You'd think we'd get lots of rattlers around here but in reality you don't get many snakes above about 7,000' in elevation.  I've seen a few garter and other non-poisonous snakes around Laramie and in the mountains but I've never seen a rattlesnake this high.  Too cold in the winters.  However, there are parts of the state that can get pretty snakey and you have to watch your step in places.  The snake populations tend to fluctuate along with the populations of small mammals.  Generally, if I get buzzed at I will just back off and go around.  However, it can still give me a pretty good jolt of adrenaline.

GNM

Carboniferous oxygen levels are estimated to be about 35% versus 21% today.  This allowed terrestrial arthropods (insects, millipedes, spiders, scorpions, etc.) to grow much larger than they do today.  Dragonflys had a wingspan of 2.5 feet, millipedes were 8' long and 1.5' wide, and scorpions were about the size of a house cat.  Here is a link to an article on Carboniferous creepy crawlies:  https://owlcation.com/stem/The-Carboniferous-Period-When-Giant-Insects-Ruled-the-Land-and-Sky

GNM

The need for Atomic Annie passed when nuclear warheads were miniaturized enough that they could fit in regular field artillery weapons, e.g. 155mm.

One of my more arcane areas of knowledge and training is that I am a certified Nuclear and Chemical Targeting Officer.  One of those areas of which I am VERY glad I never had to use except in exercises.

I've climbed around on Anzio Annie and the USN railway guns and walked around Atomic Annies at Ft. Sill, OK and the Nuclear Energy Museum in Albuquerque.

GNM 

That monster would probably have never been built or deployed because there wasn't a bridge in Europe that could have supported it.  Probably more a fantasy concept to impress Der Fuehrer as a wonder weapon than anything that had any real or potential combat effectiveness.

There are two preserved railway guns in the US that I know of. One is a German K5(E) ("Anzio Annie") which is at Ft. Gregg-Adams, VA (formerly Ft. Lee).  The other is a US Navy 14" railway gun used in WW1 at the Washington Naval Yard Museum.  There are also a number (7) surviving M65 11" guns ("Atomic Annie") around the US.  They are similar in size to railway guns but had large truck type prime movers.

Railway guns had their most effective moment in WW1 when the front was static and firing positions could be built behind your lines and there was a thick net of railroad lines to deploy them.  All the major combatants fielded them.  Since large caliber guns are slow to make the US pulled quite a number of large coast defense guns out of forts in the US, mounted them on RR carriages, and sent them to France.  After WW1 many of the RR guns were used as coast defense weapons in the US, Panama, and Hawaii.

GNM