Charlotte

I'm not sure about the resources available on I forge Iron, but if you go to
AnvilFire.com , Click on Armory on the left side of the page, you will find a list of detailed subjects.

In the list are Demos by Eric Thing on raising helmets with detailed pictures of the process and equipment. I've read through all of that part of Anvilfire and found it enlightening and instructive.

NG,
Is this osage orange wood a very dark or near black colored wood as in ebony-like or the aforementioned black locust?

I'd expect the clay to crack and fall apart as i dries. It'll shrink considerably as it dries; the pipe won't. Wrapping in some wire might help hold the pieces together when that happens.

Thank you everybody for your replies. I have settled on using Osage orange and American Walnut, when I cannot get Persimmon and Black locust.
Thanks for the link Bigfootnampa! that is one I haven't found so I will investigate what they have to offer.

When I've been faced with this problem in the past the way I've done it, on the edge, or on the flat, is to open my biggest vice to an opening that is one half and inch to one inch,( about 13 mm, to 25 mm ) larger than the dimension that I'm bending, in this case the width 35 mm ( approx 1 1/4) , or the thickness, 5mm (approx 3/16,) I clamp the vice closed tightly on two spacers placed to prevent twist or bending a helix unintentionaly.

Taking a piece of steel much longer than the circumference, of the circle I'm bending and allowing 5-6 inches (100-120mm) to project beyond the bottom of the vice jaws I begin to "bump" a bend into the curve along the direction I want. If I want a taper I forge that before the bend. If I'm doing a pair I work them alternately trying to keep them the same shape as much as possible


You will be surprised that the amount of stretching you can do to the outside of the curve compared to the inside compression done cold. The centerline of the curve tends to be rather closer to the inside that the outside. If I need to make a hot bend, for a really tight radius on tough material, I make curved jaw spacers from heavy weight angle of appropriate size and curve to prevent more edge upset than necessary that needs to be forged smooth.

A quick review of engineering involved shows that the answer is not definable in the form you have asked it.

The alloy is the first question. Who's specs. Loading and anchoring.

There are books that give the typical bending load for BEAMS. The failure of columns is a whole lot more complicated. It depends in large part on the length and modulus of elastisity of the steel.

It would be irresponsible to give you advice with out understanding the application in detail.

Disassociation of CO2 happens at different temperatues depending on whether or not there is a catalyst or electric current present.
Up to the burning point of steel it does not disassociate with out special circumstances. Not a problem in most normal forges.

AP Green offers a similar formula to ITC 100. Except as an experiment I would not try re-inventing the wheel.

The refactory formulas used today are very sophisticated and contain materials in exact proportions according to a lengthy development process.

If you have the time and equipment go and experiment. But if you are try it to same money I believe you are spending a lot of time an material that may be needed else where.

I favor using regional specific materials when ever possible. I buy local veggies, local milk, local beer, eat local meats and domestically produced goods. I hope that others will look to their local markets and domestic materials when ever possible.

We are some what handicapped buy international corporations but it is still possible to put the people next door to work rather than the slaves 12 time zones away.

In response to my online inquiries I received this reply in part:
"We don't have either persimmon (since it cracks terribly when drying) or black locust (because its hard to get, expensive to ship and worth almost nothing to sell). That's probably why you aren't finding these. Personally, I think a tree in North America is just as important for the environment as one in South America. "

Since I live in Louisiana, live in a urban enviornment, and my truck was destroyed in an accident, it is difficult for me to get out and locate my own source. That is why I was asking for help. I have some inquiries out but if they don't pan out I will have to use osage orange and american walnut.
There are more significant issues involved than the writer quoted addressed and it is only his opinion after all.

Thanks for your interest,
Charlotte

Charlotte;

Black Locust is a legume, related to peas and beans... also of course Honey locusts. Not closely related to ebony... though it is a hard wood and dark in the heartwood. It is often available as fence post material, which should yield decent stock for handles (though green of course).

Persimmon wood IS of the ebony family and also hard and dark in the heart. I have a little that I have been wanting to experiment with but much of my stock is pretty wormy. It also tends to be difficult to get straight unbranched pieces and of decent size... once you split them down and remove the pith and sapwood it takes a bigger log than you think to yield nice handle stock. I also have the handicap of seeming to always be busy when a log is available so that the thing is all weathered when I get to it.

You might try Craig's List for a source. Or contact some of the small operators who trim and cut trees in your area. I trade with some of them for the rarer stuff that I hanker for.

I've had the same experience and have the same feeling

Off the top of my head it looks like you will need a Jig to do that.

I would be inclined to drill a small pilot hole and follow up with a slitter as described in "Slitter Geometry" thread, and then drifts. You didn't say if these were going to be individual or series of several in the same bar.

Thanks for interest but I'm looking to find a repeat source of the material.

I'm planning the handle as a "signature" for about 60 kitchen/Utility/Green River style knives.

Thanks Arftist, your response is exactly the kind of advice I was wishing for!
I'll toss the plate in my kitchen oven to pre-heat.
Incidently, the Stickmate is an AC only machine.

Thanks again,
Charlotte

i didnt know osage orange wood was good for handles or that it finished so nice, i just happen to have 7 osage orange trees in my front yard )they are protected by the city nobody is allowed to cut them but when i big branch fell off when a hydro truck hit it i kept it and still have it) now i know what to use it for. boy those green brain looking things dont really look like oranges.....

The air needs to be fresh but if he can arrange it using air exaust to heat the incoming fresh air reduces fuel consumption and produces higher heats.

This is called regenerative heating and is practiced in the steel industry and other places that need to generate high heats.

If I were subscribing, I would download to a DVD or CD.
I used to subscribe until circumstances intervened.
When I get some spare cash I will subscibe again.

I strongly recommend White Ash for axe and hammer handles and pretty much every handle on any tool you can imagine.

Does anyone know of a source of black locust wood?

Black Locust is the only american relative of the tree that produces ebony.

The heartwood is reputed to show some of the same properties only to lesser degree and more brown than black. I remember the color from my childhood in Ohio where I saw it used as part of fence line.
I think it was regarded as "trash wood" instead of a potenially valuable resource because the trees, at least in my memory, were relatively small in diameter when compared to shellbark hickory, black walnut, ash, beech, and other hardwoods.

I remember one of the local farmers commenting that he liked it for hoe and axe handles.

Nice Work, would not mind having it at my side one little bit.

Convex/concave? It is a matter of taste to me. On my personal knives I sharpen with the intent of producing a slightly convex edge. The extra material provides, in my opinion, a little extra support for very edge.

I always strop my knives on oil tanned leather impregnated with jewlers rouge. The extra polish seems to make the knife cut better.

This is just my belief and personal taste. There may be scientific and technical knowlege that refutes this but...

In electric arc welding I'm mostly self taught.

"In the school of self taught the price is about right, but the labs are pure xxxx" (to quote my self)

That said, for every weldin project I've alway relied on advice, instruction, and equipment provided by older and more experienced friends. Until a couple of years ago I had access to a 400 amp DC welder and a sage craftsman of vast experience. He and the equipment have faded into history unfortunately.

Today I have a brand new Hobart Stick Mate that recommends max 165 amps at 20% duty cycle although 205 is the rated max.

I'm putting together a treadle hammer and need to weld 1" plate to 4" square tube with a wall thickness of 1/4". Plates are the hammer and anvil with 1" hardy hole.

The 1" Plate will be 4 1/2" by 4 1/2"

I'd like advice on Rod (size and type) , amperage, joint preparation, and preheat of plate if necessary.

Thanks in advance for your help

If I may suggest, I have used fireplace brick in a couple of situations similar to this.

Buy a couple of fire place brick.
Using a concrete drill of say 1/4" or 3/8
Drill a series of holes the size to a diamater of the size you need in one brick.
Drill a series of holes the size of what ever your inlet pipe is.

Using one of the round carbide grit hacksaw blades, worry out between the holes and around the sides to the taper you need.

Glue the two brick together with fireplace mortar.

Shorten the brick to a size that is convient to placement you have selected.

I know it sounds a litte crafty but it's only defect is that you will need to scrape of any clinker before its is cool.

I've done this with bottom blast forges and not had any particular problems that I didn't have with iron fire grates.

It really depends on the source of the copper.

Copper from electrial service is quite often a heart break for the use.

It seems that it has some oxide and trace metal inclusion that make it unsuitable for sculptural work.

Ivan Bailey, A well known Artist Smith, during a demonstraion of making three dimensional birds for use in gates, related the story of buying several pieces of copper to complete a curved stair railing for a customer in Atlanta that, after bending the individual pieces to fit, tried to fit them to the Rail support only to find that everytime he made the atempt the rail cracked at the joints.

He finally had to buy copper that was intend for sculptural use and sell the first, electrical copper, for scrap.

Jake, Thanks for showing your work, and thank you for the Link to the old stye Nordhordland axes. It confirmed something that I've been told but never had seen evidence for: The "american" axe was more strongly influenced by the Scandenivan settlers in the northern woods than from any other single source. The extra material behind the eye and the curved handle allowing a more ergonmic swing are feature not present in early english and french axes to the best of my knowledge and belief. I have not investigated the relationship but really report what I have read and been told about axe evoulution.

The early Russian axe is a real beauty and a great reminder that early Iron work was done by people at least as smart and skilled as any living today working with fewer tools to produce works that most today would not trouble to equal even if they could.

Thank you for your contributions