pnut

I have a double action hand pump but it's too much work now that the heat and humidity have spiked, after all the pumping I'm sweating too much so I got a little electric mattress inflater. I've been looking for an actual blower but they seem a bit pricey. I haven't seen one for cheaper than 250 dollars and most are in the 300+. I know it's not a lot of money compared to some parts of the country and I would have bought one by now but my car just recently died so I've been looking for a replacement vehicle. After I get a new used car then who knows. Until then the jumpstarter/ power station will have to do. I did find a NIB tailgator HF Genny online for 75 bucks and it's barely larger than the aforementioned jumpstarter. I might get it. Pnut

Another "interesting" fact, Dr. Jenner used pus from cowpox pustules to innoculate a farmer's son after telling the farmer he thought it would keep his son from ever getting smallpox and the farmer agreed to it. How many people today would let a doctor do this. We owe farmer Phipps, his son Billy, and Dr. Jenner a debt of gratitude. Pnut

I understand, going backwards is no fun, but in the long run I think you will actually save time and money by relining your forge. It will heat up much quicker so you won't be spending $ on heating up your forge it will be spent on heating up metal. If you follow the directions in the post I referred to and you read you will have a forge that is efficient enough to weld. A well lined forge can also make up for slight inefficiencies in your burner. It's a proven process and you should have a good forge if you line it per the instructions in "my consolidated notes for new forge builders" By Loul. I know you said you hate going backwards, we all do but going backwards to get good results beats going forward with something you don't really want or that isn't going to do what you need it to. Don't get discouraged you have the hardest part done and that's building a decent burner. Lining your forge isn't much more difficult than fixing a hole In drywall or plastering some lathe. Pnut

Shelter is looking good. I can't tell what that is under the leg of your vise. If it's not metal you should try to source some plate to put under the leg. Bricks or concrete will eventually crumble and wood will absorb too much energy. I looked on a real monitor and see it's a 4x4. If it's buried about six inches or so the end grain of the 4x4 you have should hold up for a while but you still may want a piece of plate at least 1/4 inch thick and a half inch would be better. Are you planning on using tarps to block the sides as needed for wind or rain? Sliding or folding doors on the side of the prevailing wind is also an option. All in all I think it looks good and I may build one myself. Pnut

You described it very well. It looks like the face would move metal very efficiently. If I was going to try to use the pein side I would try choking up on the handle to get a little better control. If it's still not comfortable I would use a different hammer for peining. I guess there's a trade off for the effectiveness gained by the weight being forward and the trade off is a pein that's a little harder to control. I bet with practice you would adapt to it and find it works as well as if not better than a regular cross pien. I think I would like to try that style of hammer. I use a dogshead hammer regularly and I wouldn't have to switch hammers or use the heel to pein material maybe. Pnut I just visited his site, he makes some very nice hammers.I'm considering buying one for myself but I always wait about a week before I make most purchases and usually find I don't really need to spend the money on it after all. They are nice hammers though and his 2.5# cross pien has caught my eye.

Another scrap of know how to pull out when needed. Thanx Latticino, JHCC. Not something I would have thought of on my own. Pnut

I found a horrible freight 63cc two cycle generator for $125. It's not much bigger than the rechargable power supply I've been using. I may have to go ahead and take the leap. It's probably right around 1or 1.5 cubic feet. It's pretty small and would definitely be enough generator for my needs. This one is small enough I can keep it inside and won't need a cart to tote it around. Pnut

I have a ride lined up but don't know if I will have the money to go. All depends on if I find a car to buy at the right price or can fix the one I have for a reasonable amount of cash. So I guess my answer to the question who's going is, maybe. It will be the first blacksmithing function of any kind I've been to. I hope I can pull it off. Pnut

9 out of 10 knuckles reccomend medium carbon steel for wrenches. Pnut

I don't use a gas forge but before I built the charcoal forge I was planning on building a propane forge. The rigidizer is just hydrophilic colloidal silica mixed with water and a little blue food coloring so you can see where you sprayed it. If I remember correctly you can use a couple of thinner layers of castable instead of one thick heavy one. Have you read the consolidated notes on forge building? Everything you need to know about lining a forge shell is in it. Good luck and keep us posted. Pnut

I simplified my life a little more than a year ago. I got rid of everything that wasn't essential and moved in to the apartment I live in now. I knew if I got a large apartment or rented a house I would fill it back up with a bunch of stuff I don't really need. My goal was to live an uncluttered life both figuratively and literally. I appreciate any suggestions anyone makes. I didn't explain how much of a premium space is at in my current situation. I have considered chaining a generator to a tree near my work space but I think it would be too tempting for the tweakers to pass up. I've had my scrap pile stolen already. I think before I build a roof I might string a tarp above my work area and see how well that works or if I can find a cheap expandable awning I might give that a try. Pnut

I Live in a tiny apartment. I don't have any extra room. If I put much more in it I'm flirting with hoarder status. Pnut And Iive on the third floor.

Too many thieves around. I don't have anywhere to store it. That's why I use a rechargable jumpstarter/power station. I just bring it inside with me, but the 120volt outlet on it is only rated for 6 amps so any tools with higher amperage than that I can't use with it. Pnut

If you rebuild it two 1/2 inch layers of ceramic fiber insulation, 1/2 inch of castable refractory, and a layer of IR reflective coating and it will be much more efficient. You do know about hydrophilic colloidal silica mixed with water sprayed on the kaowool or whatever fiber blanket you use to keep the inhalation hazard of ceramic fibers at a minimum? Good luck and let us know how it goes. Pnut

We're all learning as we go. Some of us have just been going a lot longer than others. If you have unknown steel you have to test it by quenching it in different quenchants until you find which one works best. Same with tempering. There's a lot of info on here about testing mystery metals from spark testing to estimate carbon content to finding the right heat treating process. In the post titled mystery metal Jlpservices has a good description of the notch and break test. I would think you can do something similar when it comes to tempering steel also. After you know the right way to harden it you can temper test coupons and then break them to see what temper color works best for it's intended purpose. Good luck and keep learning, I know I sure am going to soak up as much info as possible. Pnut

I use dogshead hammers. I wouldn't think it would be comfortable or easy to control a weight forward hammer using the pein on the lighter side. Perhaps you can just switch hammers if you need to use a pien for more than a few minutes. That may be easier and less frustrating than trying to get accustomed to a hammer that you don't find comfortable. I'm assuming you like using the hammer face just not the pien. If I'm wrong and the hammer just isn't comfortable using either side maybe try a different hammer if you can't get used to it in a reasonable amount of time. Good luck and could you post a picture of it please?. Pnut

I have no electricity near my forge either and was using a double action mattress pump. When the heat and humidity cranked up as summer proceeded I switched to an electric mattress pump powered by a rechargable jump starter/power station with a 120v outlet since running 200 feet of extension cord across a road and over the hill isn't really practical. The only drawback is that it's only six amps so I can't use any power tools rated at more than that but it does what I need it to do and that's power the electric pump. Pnut

I might have to build something like that. I currently have everything out side covered with tarps to keep the rain off, but I've been thinking about stringing a tarp above my triangle but a more substantial roof would be great. Pnut

The two TSC's nearest to me do not carry anthracite and will only order it for me if I want to buy a whole pallet, but since I have nowhere to store it I may be out of luck. They told me there's not enough demand for it during the heating season and they got stuck with most of what they ordered for 2017-2018 and won't be carrying it again. So I have been trying to persuade them to order a pallet by asking a different person about it every time I visit and also over the phone. I've even had other people call and ask about it. I doubt it will make any difference but I figure It doesn't hurt to try. Pnut

I'm not sure. I haven't made any purchases from them because I built a forge optimized for charcoal. I talked to them on the phone about six months ago. I don't know if I can post their phone number or if that would violate the TOS. They're on Swan St. In Louisville. If you search Cumberland Elkhorn coal and coke on Google or Bing their number shows up. Pnut

I know this is an older thread but there's a place called Cumberland Elkhorn coal and coke that sells retail amounts of bituminous coal. It's located in Louisville KY. There may be other locations. Pnut

I'm not sure of the European designations but A-36 or 1018 is good for decorative forgings and cars have lots of useful parts to salvage for tools,blades, and axes etc. I too don't have a lot of experience. I just started smithing maybe six months ago but feel like I've learned a lot in that time. Clay or plasticine moves just like hot steel so it's a good way to figure out order of operations and such. There's plenty of info on this site when you have time get comfortable and start reading. I learned a lot from IFI and it's members. Try to find books too and more importantly if there's a blacksmithing group near you join it you'll learn much faster in person than by trying to figure it out on your own. Pnut

I think what zone of the fire the stock was in would play a big part. Carbeurizing metal in the forge requires a reducing flame. Someone with more experience can probably expand on this but I have a feeling it would be a negligible amount of carbon being added to the stock without it being packed in a container with carbon material and being heated to critical temp without much oxygen being present. I'm sure someone will be along shortly to explain it better and correct anything I've gotten incorrect. My inexperienced instinct says after four hours it may be decarbeurizing the steel but I've been wrong before and will be wrong many more times to come. Pnut

Donniev, are those copper inlays or rivets? Nice touch. Jimmyiorn, nice hammers. Let me know if you would be interested in selling one sometime in the future. Interesting name, I nearly misspelled it by reading what I wanted to see and not what was written. Pnut