pnut

Thank you. I have family in western Kentucky. Luckily they're all safe but it was bad. Even in northern Kentucky where I live it was pretty dicey last night. I thought the wind was going to break the window on the wall of my house that was facing the wind. 

Pnut

Big bolts and pins look like nearly finished planishing hammers to me. You can even do a quick and dirty wrapped rod handle if you don't plan on doing any prolonged beating with it. 

Pnut

That's a very nice JABOD. Reminds me of a Japanese style forge. Excellent job. 

Pnut

I've never seen a butane fueled Zippo. They've all been naptha/lighter fluid fueled lighters. 

Pnut

I tried mixing it by hand and it didn't want to work. I used a blender from the thrift store to mix it before applying the next layers. It was much smoother. 

Pnut

13 hours ago, Frosty said:

Maybe discuss the lack of performance with the SEC members during fellowship in church? Small towns are well known for applying peer pressure. No need to make threats, just ask for a good reason they aren't doing anything but double billing you for work they aren't doing. 

Excellent advice. I've lived in small towns myself and this truly is how you get things done. 

 Pnut

I just bought a file off the clearance rack at TSC that I suspect is case hardened.  I'll find out before I try to make anything from it. Until then it'll be a hot file. 

Pnut

Found this on the clearance shelf at the TSC near me for $4.99US. Figure I can use it for some hot rasping and when it's worn out use it for a tomahawk.  Never heard of the brand before so I'm somewhat skeptical of the HT.  Have to find out if it's case hardened or fully hardened.  First new farriers rasp I've ever had

Pnut. 

Yes, heat up the rigidized wool. It doesn't matter if it's been a week. One other thing, before you apply the Kast o Lite you should spritz the wool with a spray bottle.

Pnut

1 hour ago, jlpservicesinc said:

Its that time of the year again..  competition time..  Sample piece.

You're work and work ethic is constantly impressive. I hope to one day get a chance to come up north and visit your teaching facility. 

Pnut

Yeah, I did orient the bricks on the bottom the wrong way. I usually have them rotated ninety degrees and have another couple of bricks stacked on the tue side for banking the fuel against.  Something was looking off and I couldn't remember what it was hahaha. It had me scratching my head as to why things weren't lining up the way they should.  I haven't fired it up in quite a while. My shoulder is feeling better and the weather is starting cooperate so it'll be getting a workout soon. I'll post some pics of it actually running. 

Pnut

I've been saying I'd post a picture of my MARKIII style jabod when I rebuilt it and here it js. Keep in mind I just threw it together to get the point across. If I was meaning to fire it up I'd make ever level and I still need to cut a little slot for the tuyere to enter at a shallower angle but this is the general idea. 

Pnut

Is there a reason it's not recommended for fiberboard?Personally I think the results were better on the fiberboard than on the blanket in my forge door. Possibly due to me putting it on too thick on the ceramic blanket. I've had no problems with it on the fiberboard. 

Pnut

Those aren't opposing opinions. Frosty said no cement and I expanded on his statement by listing the proper materials to use. Exposed ceramic blanket is a health hazard. 

Pnut

I'll not post any here but in the past I've made some pretty inventive anti theft devices. Ranging from something that would alert the whole neighborhood,  just ruin your night, or all the way up to this is your last night on earth. Usually a klaxon and a strobe light is enough to deter any but the most determined thieves.

Pnut

A sharp clean file will always make the work easier. I need to invest in some quality files. I have some mediocre ones but I'd like to upgrade soon. 

Pnut

10 hours ago, Irondragon ForgeClay Works said:

good way to rejuvenate old files is to soak them in Cleaning vinegar. It will remove rust and crud in essence sharpening them.

I use muriatic acid then a file card and some talc on all the used files I buy. You'd be surprised how many of them just needed a good acid bath to bring them back to life. 

Ceramic blanket under a castable refractory like Kast-o-lite or Green Patch. Might want to add a coating of plistix too. 

Pnut

Make tenons for the joinery. You might even get an excuse to make a monkey tool. Use a solid fuel forge to heat it. Isolated heat is one benefit of solid fuel.  A ground forge will work for a one off project. 

Pnut

I can't remember if I have a 3/4 or 1in. Sch.40 pipe as a tuyere. I also made it extra long because I thought it would burn away quickly. I think after a few years it's maybe two inches shorter. The clay protected it very well in the JABOD but most of the length that has burned off is from after I started using brick as a firepot. I don't drill through the bricks I just set it between two bricks with a split firebrick to fill the gap above the pipe. 

Pnut

I have a no. 700 and it's similar but not exactly the same. I can post some pics of both sides of the blower if you'd like. 

Pnut

If it stops sprinkling I'm going to grind the shank on a fuller to fit my anvil's hardy hole and maybe rework the wedges that hold my anvil to the stump. 

Pnut

2 hours ago, littleblacksmith said:

Finished getting ready for the Tannehill conference in Alabama and Quad-state in Ohio! Hope to see some of y’all there. 

Do you do mail order sales? 

Pnut

3 hours ago, Frazer said:

think it's pretty common to skimp out on fuel when you're first staring out. I know I did it.

So did I. It took me a couple hours of having mediocre results till I piled some charcoal on and it clicked in my thick head that I was wasting more fuel by running my forge inefficiently. 

Pnut

6 minutes ago, Frazer said:

, I think this would be a good direction for you to go (even if you're using different materials)..

I had a setup like that with the box filled to the top and the bricks sitting on top like a Japanese forge and it worked great. Basically two walls just like the forge in the pic you posted Frazer. 

Pnut

My first setup cost around ten bucks and that's because I bought a mattress pump new. 

.

Pnut

I didn't do anything. My shoulder is finally feeling a little better so I decided to try to get some little jobs done like some grinding with the angle grinder and drilling a few holes with the press. I found to my dismay that the landlord's husband rewired the outlet that was outside and put it on the other side of a locked door. I'm sure I can get the maintenance person to open the door for me but I was upset and thought it would be better to calm down before I asked about it lest I lose my temper. If all else fails I have a hundred foot extension cord and can just plug it in inside my apartment and run it out the side door. Hopefully that's not going to be necessary. 

Pnut