bluerooster

Two feet above ridge is code here.

I need to put up a privacy fence around the swimmin' pond. So I decided to try my hand at making the gate hardware. Started a hinge. parent stock is 1/2" x 1". So most of the time was spent getting it to a suitable dimension to start. All done by hand, with many heats. I need to hit up the local supplier for some drops of a closer dimension.

A quickie, and it shows.

52100 makes nice blades.

Back when my nephew was into break dancing, I'd bring home pickup hood boxes for him.

I've gotten many good useful tools for cheep from others "castaways". The most recent was an air compressor I rescued from the dumpster. It had quit working, found it had a faulty pressure switch. So, for $25, (cost of switch) I have a nice $300 air compressor.

I like that one with the hook and notches, quick to adjust, and looks like it will work well. May well be the next thing I do in the shop.

No shouldered cartridge!? Wow! So a 45-70 would be just fine then. I like muzzle loaders too. But Black powder is becoming scarce around here. I'm not too sure about using pyrodex never having used it before. As to the flip, I made one from a pecan fork, and a piece of heavy elastic donated/stolen by/from my mothers dress shop. I was mabe 11 or 12, and squirrels didn't stand a chance.

SWMBO wanted a pantograph. So I had to build one.

Throw it back in the forge, and re weld. Keep going. One cold shut out of five layers, means that the other joints welded. So hit it again. My last billet, I worked at welding temp through 3 heats to insure it welded, before I started drawing. When I started drawing, the first hit was on the edge, If it seperated, it was immediately brought back to welding heat, and welded again. But I'm a beginner, and may be doing it wrong.

Mabe in about 20 or 30 years I'll be able to make a blade that's half as nice. Most excellent work.

After seeing the blades posted here I'm embarrassed to show mine. But I would like some input, so here goes: The pattern is evident, being 1095 and 10(low carbon =/<30) But The "Ol Lady" sez it just looks dirty. I agree. Mabe more layers? (only 12 here). Other than that I'm happy that it's smooth, and no flaking, of layers. (I assume good weld) I would like to find some known 23xx to bring better contrast.

Got the blade profiled, hardened, tempered, and now is in a bath of coffee. We shall see if it will show a discernible pattern. Probably not much as the two steels are 1095 and 1035 (or less) but no nickle.

I'm a framing carpenter by trade. Everyone on the crew cuts lumber to within 1/32. When we get on to exterior trim we go to 1/64. We are also high paid, and way busy. I beat hot steel at the forge for fun, and do my best to hold to as close tolerance as I can. Prior to framing, I did body work for about 25 years, and hammered cold steel to exceedingly close tolerance.

Yes, as a company with one employee (me) I have to have workers comp. and general liability. Or I don't get to work. But, as a result of having it, I can get the better jobs, where they don't mind paying my rates.

All the suppliers within reasonable driving distance only carry mild steel. Nothing hardenable by usual means. There is one place that also carries 4130 but it's tubing for race car frames, and they price it like platinum.

Looks like they'll work better than mine. Thomas, I can't explain it. Steve, Thanx, It may have a chance to have a pattern of some sort after all. 1095 and 1035. I wanted to work on it today, but wind would not cooperate. I can handle cold, and I can handle wind, but add the two together and no.

Spent a few hours playing with forge welding. Decided to make up a billet of HC/LC just because. It went well. Now to practice drawing, folding, and welding. I know there will be no discernable pattern as both are 10xx steels, but I figure good practice anyway. So far I have a 6 layer billet. I guess I'll stop at 24 to 48 layers, and draw out a blade for a kitchen knife.

I've never heard of a kerbal, But any "Whovian" knows what a Dalek is.

I saw an episode where they were on a farm, had to use coal forge, and what could be salvaged from farm implements. And another where they had to use coal forge, and a large ball bearing. Both shows, were all hand hammer, no "big blu".

That's it. I've gotten a little faster at some things, like tongs, and punches. now that I've gotten the basics down, I and turn out tongs in a shorter time than I first did. Some of the tools that I've made were not made at the forge, like the small swage block. So far it only has a half round, and a vee, but I'm sure I'll be adding more to it in the future.

I think it has to do with skinning cats of the fish variety.

But, as I'm starting out with pretty much nothing, I guess I've come quite a way. It has come to pass that every time I want to make something at the forge, I need a tool to do the job. I wanted to forge stuff, and play blacksmith as a hobby, so I needed a tool to do that. I built a hole in the ground, and heated up a piece of steel in that hole. I bent that steel, and was hooked. I need a real forge. never having done this before, I built a bottom draft fire pit, and got a bag of royal oak. I went to the second hand store, and picked up a hairdryer for about 2 bucks. Now, I need an anvil. I scrounged up a steel plate about 3/4" thick, set it on a stump, and thought "OK I'm ready." Well, all I had on hand was about a ton of rebar. So, that's what I started off with, just to see if I could heat it and beat it into submission. I had a 2 pound ball peen hammer, and a 10 pound sledge, also, my body hammers. I found that my "anvil" was sorely lacking for anything but small thin stuff, That I could easily work cold with the body hammers anyway. That coupled with the cost of a bag of royal oak, and the speed at which it burned, caused me to re-think this whole ordeal. Now don't get me wrong, I've got hammer time, and some sort of control. I'd spent the past 25-30 years moving metal under the hammer. Albeit sheet metal on cars, doing restorations, custom work, and collision repair. But this is different, but similar, at the same time. Back to the story; I spent some time doing research, and found that I could build a coal forge using what I had on hand. So I did. The fire pot was a bit shallow, but I quickly learned that I could mound the fuel to make the fire as deep, and as large, or small, as I need. I make a trip to the scrap yard as often as I can, looking for anything I can use. On one trip, I came upon a sizeable chunk of steel, 2"x8"x50", 240 pounds. I snagged that anvil, and came home with it. I'd thought about socking it into the ground and using it as is. But being a somewhat frugal type person, I decided to not waste so much good steel. I cut off two 12" pieces which became my anvil. It weighs about 104 pounds. I wanted to find a "real" anvil, but what I found was priced way out of my buying power for what they were. A friend of mine had an oak tree fall, and he gave me a log, 18" accross, and about 40" long. I got it home, and cut it to fit me, and my anvil. Got the bark off, and it made a fine anvil stump. Now I can properly forge stuff. So, I set out to make a (something) and got started on it, then found that once I cut it from the parent metal, I need to hold it with something. I grab the vise grips and complete the project. But Vise grips, are not the best thing to use. They hold okay, but with an errant hit, the work may depart for destination unknown. I need tongs. So, next session was spent forging my first tongs. Now I need a punch, next session was spent forging a punch to make the rivet hole. Now I need a rivet. Next session was spent making a header, and a rivet. Now I can put my tongs together. Got the tongs made. Now I can forge stuff. Next session, I needed a way to cut work from the parent stock, to finalize the project. I need a hot cut hardy. But I need a hardy hole. So next session was spent adding a hardy hole to my anvil. The following session was spent forging a hardy to cut work from parent stock. It works, but not the best material for a hot cut. or mabe it is, it's soft enough to not mar the hammer, but it requires a lick or three with a file after every cut. That done I managed to finish up the project which came out OK. But I need another tongs for different shape stock. So, I make tongs, again. Then I decide to make a hammer. A light weight cross peen. with a long peen. Which I've only used a few times, but those times were when nothing else would get the job done. I came to a need for a horn on my anvil. It doesn't have one, but I have a chunk of steel that would make a bickern to fit the hardy hole. So I now have a bick, and it has come in handy on more than one occasion. It seems (for now) that most of my time at the forge is spent making the tools needed to complete the task at hand. Mabe, one of these days, I will have enough tools to just go out and make something, without having to stop, and make a tool to complete the job. But I've learned a ton along the way. :D Oh, and somewhere along the line, I ran across this forum. A wealth of info, and many experienced smiths on here, to give advice, and admonishment, as need be. Great bunch of folks as far as I can tell.

Yes, I can see it being troublesome. Drill the round hole, square it with the chisel, and at the same time taper it on two sides with the chisel. Doesn't require much of a taper. I think I'll give it a go next time at the forge.

Suspending your weather vane from the top only, will present troubles of it's own, with it swinging as a pendulum rather than spinning about it's axis. So, whatever you suspend it from needs to be pretty ridged. A shaft to run through it, with a "bearing" on the bottom to reduce friction, and a hard attachment at the top would work better than hooks, and swivels. A couple of conical hardwood bearings, well waxed, with the small ends together should work fine. John B beat me to it, so never mind.