671jungle

A friend who works for the railroad stopped by with a box of goodies. The date nails are sweet!

I found them on the local online for $17 a piece. I talked him down to 2 for $30. Not much of a discount but they go for $25ish on the major online shops. I also had to drive 30min to get them. Not complaining, I’ve been searching for one as well. Good luck!

A couple of explosive charge boxes from one of the ski resorts. They use’m to set off possible Avalanches. Not sure what they will store quite yet. Maybe flowers. Aaand... a couple of military surplus mortar cans. One will be the new quench tank, the other maybe a time capsule.

Did the beginner tasks and made a couple of leaf keychains for friends. But I also melted some ALAMO clay bricks. Pretty cool! Dirt to glass! Classic alchemy!

Did some light forging for the mounting plate and cut pieces for postvise stand. I will need to reorient the plate lengthwise. Was taking it to the weld shop and my transmission blew($500 2004 Corolla). It lasted about 5 years 274000mi.

Thanks CTG, it was welded. Got it cut off.

Old axel. Any one know how to take this apart without damaging it? The flange holes are about the same distance as my postvise mounting bracket. It would be a great stand/mount. Picked it up for free awhile back along with two 4” OD 1/4” thick T post that we’re old school clotheslines. thanks y’all!

Nice. good luck! looking forward to seeing what comes.

What are you melting? What are you using for molds? Nice looking oven

If absolutely needed on the anvil, You could could cut a square into the side creating three walls and then full penetration weld a thick flat bar to make the 4th wall to accommodate hold downs. Otherwise the post vise will suffice for most bootom tools. I have made one using an axle upright with a socket over the top. The drive on the socket acts like the square hole of the hardy hole. You cant punch and drift with this style nor use a hold down.

Ginkgo leaf from railroad spike

Due to old thread, the pics have been lost in the ether. Anyone care to add/update pics of their setup? Anchored/portable mounts? I have a champion No. 108 I'm getting ready to pull apart, clean and mount. Looking for some fresh ideas. Thanks!

A wealth of very interesting information. Thank you. I may look into this a bit further and decide if its worth handles or something else.

Iceman, How's it goin with the build?

The heat would concern me for sure. Melting point is in the mid *200f but extrusion is in the *350f-*500f range. If the tool Is quenchable, then no biggie. The slickness from sweat is a great point. Not sure if added texture would help. Maybe a type of tape for extra grip? Tennis racket tape? It will be a fun experiment. I'm trying to find ways to recycle all the plastic coffee containers from work and other pieces that I see floating around on a daily.

Has anyone used HDPE for tooling handles? It seems they would work great. Good strength to density ratios, easy to acquire and easy to melt down and form into any shape. The pic was taken off the web.

Finally got to using the new forge. It is nice. Baffle doors will be made tonight. Ran out of propane and time.

Welding Manual Haynes TECHBOOK by John Haynes Just found this on the website named after a south american rainforest. Ordering one now. Thanks for the reference Iron Dragon

A couple of hammers. 3lb and 10lb found in thrift shop in Grand Junction both for $15. A little steep for thrift prices but I've wanted a 10lb sledge and the chances of me coming across a used one for much less is slim as I don't frequent the recycle center as much. And sometimes the 2.5lb just ain't enough, so the 3lb will be nice for the extra heft.

Great work and info everyone. Especially the file care and info . Thanks JLP. "finished" the chopper. Tested and passed. Could not find finer sand paper locally so no polished finish.

Not sure what I'd use 'em for. But I knew they weren't cheap. If I could price them off on the local online it would help offset some of my expenses and maybe buy some known steel

Followed me home from the recycle. They wanted to charge me $4 for both but I only had my card. Their minimum limit for c.c. charges is $10. So they just gave it to me. Research shows they are around $150 a piece

Yes, too much oxygen introduced into the system creates an oxidizing atmosphere resulting in excess scale on the work and the nozzle. Nozzles should be considered as a consumable. Stainless nozzles last longer than black iron. 316 stainless lasts longer than 304 stainless. When tuning your burner pay attention to the flame colors. Green ranging all the way to orange flames indicate a rich burn. Or incomplete combustion. A light pale blue indicates a neutral flame. It is pretty and doesn't look real, kinda ghostly. This is the tune for general forging. A pyrple flame indicates an oxidizing burn which will scale up the work. This is also a pretty flame, but not desired for forge welding. A lightly rich tune is desired for forge welding.

The difference of one drill size up on the intakes of the 1/4” burners. The nozzle with the most scale has the larger intakes.

Funny how a friend and a box of things can have so much impact on so many people today. Thanks for being the catalyst!