Cedar Crest Forge

8 hours ago, Steve Sells said:

mild steel is a terrible choice for any cutting tool

Good point, thanks Steve! I should stay on track to what my books say. I did recommend Jim Hrisoulas's books. Hopefuly that is still on point...The copies I have are quite old now.

Hmm, I did say at a minimum, but yes it was not clear that I was referring to getting it to weld, not how well it would cut,

Cool. I like to collect the grade 5 and 8 grade bolts for blacksmithing, when I find them cheap, but I never thought of making scissors out of them.

This thread reminds me of George Carlin's take on  "stuff"

I guess this applies to blacksmith shops as well. "Sometime's you have to get a bigger shop. Why? Too much stuff."

45 minutes ago, Rojo Pedro said:

Tang is too small

Really? I didn't notice that. It looks like a nice, comfortable handle to me.

On 5/10/2019 at 9:35 PM, Nagoo said:

I was trying to make a throwing knife, very basic with a point,  was folding and forge welding

Folding steel into a throwing knife is Damascus making, not the original definition, but the modern anachronism(pattern welded steel). Have you studied how to make modern damascus steel? May I suggest reading some of Jim Hrisoulas's works, or go to youtube. As Thomas has mentioned, it usually takes alternating layers, usually of high and low carbon steel, to make a good weld for damascus. At a minimum, throw in some mild sheet steel, or better yet, nickel steel from a knifemakers supply house (example 15N20) , in between your layers next time. Save that current piece for a paper weight.

Even if you manage to weld it, and weld up to 500 layers of one type of steel, there will be no alternating contrast except for the weld line, because it is all one homongenous piece. It will etch at the same rate. So, your effort will not have the look you envision, or that your efforts deserve.

And Remember the old adage on anvils...Beware the painted lady

If you start posting in half sentences, we will know it was lead.

4 hours ago, bill duckworth said:

,it was too cold and split 

Must have been really cold if it was mild steel. Or maybe you meant it was too cold outside, so you left the forge area. Just kidding, Did you try to include a video? The video is blank for me. Try a picture or two instead? And I am not sure if  you are asking a question, (how to fix the situation) or just making a general comment. :)

About the "Use Neosporin" , I have found it to be an amazing product! If they had this in the medieval ages, many a knight might have lived on. Not all of the types work the same for me though. Or maybe one was expired, haha.

Crazy Glue? Wow. Good to know if you are stuck in the backwoods, but honesly, a trip to urgent care is not that expensive either , and should be considered over losing a finger. Don't forget about keeping up on your tetanus shot. Hopefully that draw knife was not rusty.

Gloves have saved me multiple times. I use quality leather ones, not the cheap imports with the cloth on the back. Kevlar gloves may be another option for the future.

My post is not medical advice, and I specifically excluded how I treat my own cases. Seek professional advice 

42 minutes ago, SLAG said:

You can join the two pieces of skin by using crazy glue.

Slag, be careful about giving medical advice. Even if you are a doctor, you have not examined his particular condition.

p.s. from the website: 

"Today cyanoacrylate is used in specific formulas developed for medical use. 

Note: Krazy Glue products should not be used for wound care"

http://www.krazyglue.com/faqs/was-krazy-glue-invented-to-seal-battlefield-wounds#.XNjtfopMGhA

This thread needs more pictures

Hi MetalBeard. Your vise looks interesting as I usually see iron city vises with the newer triangular shaped mounting bracket. Maybe you have an older model, 1800's? ... or maybe someone switched out the bracket to make it fit the stand. Either way, Nice vise! As for cleaning, remember that these are antiques. A simple wire brush will clean it up without taking the patina off.

I wonder why this has not been answered yet, I am sure there are welders on here. Maybe because you did not specify the type of steel that was cracked? I am not a welder, I would most likely give bad advice. Hmm, with those grooves in the handle, it looks like it was meant to be hand tightened, rather than wrenched.

On 4/15/2019 at 11:44 AM, JHCC said:

 

We'll be looking for something else, of course

 

May that something else be even better than the last...

On 3/28/2019 at 12:49 PM, ThomasPowers said:

Make a lot of friends making powerhammer dies?

Good point! I've been looking for a Bridgeport mill for that exact reason. I already have the steel set aside. 500$ for a powerhammer die is a bit too steep for my taste, and the ones with interchangable dies are even more expensive.

Interesting. Once you have all the tools made, what is the plan? How will you be using them? Cutlery?

Nice forge. What kind of tank(s) do you need to keep this 24 port 2 inch diameter forge running all day ?

Is there any reason for boiling it, other than a faster reaction? I've been using PCB etchant, which is working fine for me, even diluted.

Cool. It has one interesting feature...you can match the tongs to the work by sliding a new rein in. Holding half rounds, for instance,  could be done by using half a flat pair and half a round pair.

Cool. Why wait a month? Maybe you can find a heavy ASO at the scrap yard.

4 hours ago, volodymyr.metlyakov said:

how do you prevent such a situation?

Yes, you probably just need pracfice. It does not take years. However, just to get the basics out of the way: Are you right or left handed, and which side is the round horn of your anvil pointing?

What style is your anvil, two horn north german?

Old anvils were often resurfaced, to extend industrial use. However, they were not always resurfaced parallel to the base. I think this was done to prevent digging in to the round horn. So, if old, measure height on both ends of your anvil (to the table/stand it is on), to see if anything is off.

6 hours ago, Ironbelly said:

using ratchet straps

In addition to the good comments already made, also consider "theme"and "atmosphere". If you are planning on making 1800s tools, for example, a traditional looking forge area may help with the flow of producing traditional looking objects. Design creates design. This may not be a normal topic, but If I may re-paraphrase the definition of Feng Shui:  "The purpose ... is to get your environment in alignment with who you are and where you want to go—to harmonize your energy with your shop's energy."

So,  consider not using Chinese made  blue or yellow straps if you are going to be making traditional hand crafted objects, like 1800's styled bowie knives etc.

Look at Daswulf's stand, for example. The attached curved spoked wheel hasn't been produced in over 100 years.

1 hour ago, anvil said:

Normalize is air cooled.

Nice post. I think you meant just the 02 for "normalize = air cooled", as some tool steels like A2 do not normalize that way.

I am not the expert on tool steel; just clarifying the topic.

https://www.engineersedge.com/materials/normalizing_annealing_tool_steels_13253.htm

Gustav, as for the knife, if there is terror in your process, then may I suggest working with some smaller test pieces until you get your process refined. Take some strips of steel ,bevel them, and process.. Break a few at the end of the process, to view your grain structure, etc.

Good points on this thread. Diet can also help relieve symptoms, in my opinion. For blacksmith elbow, try a Mediterranean diet. Or search a related topic like 'arthritis meal plan'. For tinnitus, search 'tinnitus meal plan'.

On 4/20/2019 at 1:20 PM, ThomasPowers said:

! I found some rubber washers that I was able to push over the knobs

The picture ThomasPowers added got me thinking of my technique. It may be unusual, since I was self taught...or it may be common. I don't rightly know...

I never turn a vise with the handle centered , like the picture. The handle is always fully on one side, and I keep a slight outward force as I turn , so it never starts to slide. When the turn is finished, I just remove my hands and let it fall with a 'clunk' if it was facing up. No issues. I never get bit; there is no way for that to happen with this technique. I would wonder about the training of the smith, if I saw bright colored puffy padding on a vise in a one man shop, and they were not a teacher. If I may joke around (hopefully without offending anyone) , the padding looks like training wheels. The twine however, looks acceptable to the eye, like an old world safety feature. Just my opinions here