pnut

10 hours ago, Hefty said:

should I cast around a small cylinder for each? Should I step the hole so the castable fits neat around the burner tube and then steps to a more "nozzle-like" diameter?

A small inverted funnel would work to make a nice flared port for the burner. 

Pnut

20 minutes ago, Nodebt said:

  Pnut, I bet it was particle board

It looked to be 6x6 dimensional lumber like you'd use for the legs on a deck. 

I remember that scam too. For some reason it seemed like they were always driving around in vans. When I lived in San Francisco in the early nineties some people tried it on me a couple times. 

Pnut

Nope just 2x4's. 

Yep. I read the section on the House flintlock makers quite a bit. The Goshen Historical Society School of Blacksmithing in Goshen Township, OH had a weekend course taught by Herschel last year. Unfortunately I found out about it too late. 

Pnut

21 hours ago, Nodebt said:

"I" beam torch cut to a point to look like a "horn"?  It would be funny, but that's just downright unscrupulous

I recently saw an I beam with a piece of lumber on either side being sold as an anvil on a Facebook page. It said the wood was for added mass and it had excellent rebound $75.00 firm. I've also recently seen a few tiny pieces of rail poorly cut to resemble a London pattern anvil offered for over a hundred bucks.

Pnut

As everyone said it's overfilled right now. After that is remedied I'd just put a tray full of kitty litter under the blower. I use ATF in the winter or 5W20 or 30 in the summer in my blower. I work outside though and anything but ATF or clear machine oil gets too thick when it's in the temperature drops into the teens. 

Pnut

19 hours ago, Nodebt said:

I'm re-reading my foxfire books right now.  I have an incomplete collection.

I found the whole set at my local library's annual spring book sale. They bought a new set to replace the old ones. I paid five bucks for all the books I could fit into a shopping bag. I got the entire Foxfire series in paperback and a few other books for ten bucks.  I've read them all but there's only two I seem to go back to frequently. 

Pnut

its about the same here in Cincy.

Pnut

it almost looks like cleat thats been ground into an anvilish shape

Pnut

Thanks IDF&C. I just checked it out. I still have to open up the tool and see exactly what the problem is but it looks like there's a good chance the site will have either parts or a replacement motor for cheaper than a new tool if I have to replace it. Thanks.

Pnut

It didn't take me very long to ditch the double action mattress pump and switch to electric and as soon as I found a hand crank blower I ditched the AC pump. With the buffalo blower if I crank it too fast I blow the fuel out of the pot.  Good luck and happy forging.

Pnut

Does anyone know a good source for brushes for a rotary tool motor? My rotary tool is producing visible sparks in the motor housing and not wanting to start without spinning the chuck. I'm going to disassemble it and blow it out and clean everything but I'm pretty sure it's the brushes that need replaced. 

Pnut

4 minutes ago, JHCC said:

Robert Merton, I don't know, but Thomas Merton certainly wrote some great stuff

TBI strikes again. I was reading some poems by Robert Penn Warren this morning. I've been doing that a lot lately. Using the wrong name for people and mixing words up. 

Pnut

The PBS station here in my area of KY plays two documentaries about Thomas Merton a few times a year. If memory serves one is titled "The Many Storeys and Last Days of Thomas Merton" and the other is titled "Soul Searching". They are both worth a look. 

Pnut

23 hours ago, Chimaera said:

My other favorite honey is ginger creamed honey. My father would always bring me back a jar when he went to stay with the monks at Gesthemani. It's so creamy, a bit spicy... truly delicious.

I don't live too far away from the monastery and I'm a big fan of the writings of Robert Merton. Coincidentally I've also dabbled in beekeeping. My last name is derived from the Old English word for beekeeper.  I've made a few trips to Gethsemane over the years. The plants are pretty varied and it's a wonderful location for honey making. 

Pnut

On 2/11/2022 at 9:07 PM, George N. M. said:

Magnet fishing with a BIG magnet and a winch or come along?

Have you ever seen the rigs they use to salvage submerged logs in the southern rivers? Basically a pontoon boat with an open area between the pontoons and a winch in the middle. A diver hooks the log and they winch it to the surface. Would probably work in this situation as well. Or air filled bags could be a possibility. 

Pnut

Looking forward to seeing a fire in it. 

Pnut

On 2/6/2022 at 5:35 PM, Frosty said:

kiln washes aren't IR "reflectors" pnut or they wouldn't get very hot. It absorbs heat energy because it's a poor conductor.

I don't mind picky. I actually prefer it to sloppiness. I've heard them called re emission coatings as well which I think is a more accurate description of what it does. 

Pnut

On 1/28/2022 at 10:23 AM, ThomasPowers said:

That last one looks like a "picket twisting forge" to me.

It would make a good heat treating forge for a sword maker. 

Pnut

You only need a spring strong enough to make the jaw open when you unscrew it. You don't want to have to fight hard against the spring to screw the jaws shut. 

Pnut

You only need to heat the part of the stock you plan on working. Heating more than that isn't good for the grain structure. Getting the entire blade up to critical for heat treating is really the only time you would need the entire blade. 

Pnut

I haven't been to the doctor yet. It very well may not be a cataract. I'm afraid it is though. We'll "see" when I get it checked out. 

Pnut

On 2/4/2022 at 4:17 PM, Chimaera said:

- That's really neat! I don't think I'd ever heard of a mouse hawk before. I want to make a tomahawk but dont have the right flat bar right now.

Check out the video from Black Bear Forge on making one from a RR spike. They're pretty fun projects and actually make a halfway decent kindling chopper/splitter or throwing hawk.

Pnut

I noticed the same thing when using my friend's diagonal pien hammer. It was angled perfectly to draw out stock. The next hammer I'm looking to acquire is a diagonal pien. 

Pnut

23 hours ago, DennisCA said:

so the plistix stuff is required to keep the bricks from degrading as fast I assume

It's also an IR reflective coating so helps with the reverberative effect that heats the stock. I was surprised at how hard the Plistix became after being fired though. 

Pnut

If you have somewhere near your forge that you can build a fire and transfer the coals from the fire to the forge you'll have plenty of charcoal. 

Pnut

Very nice work and a great gift.  I'm not absolutely sure but I don't think I've ever used a straight pien hammer before, hmm. 

Pnut

18 hours ago, George N. M. said:

.  A lot of us are self taught with no mentoring, instruction, or videos. 

I feel very fortunate to have access to resources like this website. I wish I could have found it earlier.

I only know two blacksmiths near me and they are both self taught as well.  The upside is they have been doing it for multiple decades so they've stopped me from making some of the mistakes they made while learning. I don't get to spend a lot of time at their shops but I make the most of the time I do get. I have to work on getting my smithy indoors so I can get more anvil time at home. 

Pnut