MageDK

I could, but I am no where near good enough to make a nice perfect circle like a drill bit would leave.

I did try annealing it and that helped a little. I was able to get a little further with the drilling, but then it hardened up again. I was able to work the hole a little larger with a small file. I am trying a few different options of cutting oils and lubricants on some scrap pieces to help ease the heat while drilling.

I will give that a try and let you know if it works. thanks for the tip

The steel I bought was 1095 Hot Rolled Carbon Steel 1/8" x 2", 12" bar, Knife Making Stock, Billet im not familiar with all the terminology yet but does hot rolled mean it was hardened already?

I haven’t hardened it yet. Just did some basic forging and grinding to get the general shape.

Can anyone recommend some drill bits that can cut through hard steel like 1095 1/8 inch thick? I am struggling to make some holes for the pins I want to put in my knife handle. I use a fairly powerfully hand drill and I’ve easily made holes in mild steel and rebar, but I’ve recently tried working with better quality steel like 1095 but have had no luck with the bits I have or have bought. I always start with the smaller bits and work my way up to a 5/16 diameter drill bit but I can’t get the bigger bits to drill through the metal. any suggestions or help is appreciated. Thanks btw this is the last set of bits I bought moolo Hex Shank Drill Bit Set (16 Pcs), Premium 4341 HSS Titanium Impact Hex Drill Bits for Wood, Steel, Metal, Plastic, Quick Change Design (1/16”-3/8”)

I do all my melting outside and I wear a 3M 6200 Medium Respirator Face mask as a precaution. So anytime I get a lot of fumes from anything I just step back and let it burn out. I don't use any kind of flux. I have been having some better experience wrapping the zinc in aluminum foil and dropping it in to the bottom of the crucible at the last minute and them mixing it quick. That seems to burn off a lot less. I will also try adding some borax as a flux to help reduce the zinc exposure to air.

I have made a few attempts to make Nordic Gold (89% copper, 5% aluminum, 5% zinc, 1% tin). I am having trouble with the Zinc boiling away, which boils at a much lower temperature than copper melts. I usually have the temp of the foundry at around 2,000F - 2,200F to melt the copper. I have tried melting all 4 metals together. I have tried Adding the zinc last once everything else is molten I have tried adding melted zinc to the other 3 Every time I try to make it, it seems like a lot of the zinc boils away. All of a sudden I get a bright flash and big plume of smoke coming out of my foundry. I have seen some videos of people making nordic gold, but they never seem to have the same reaction that I do. Is there some trick that I am missing?

I read them, thanks. I haven't had much time in the workshop this week. Will go through them and try out a few things this weekend. thanks.

I did take the burner out and try tuning it better. It starts off easy enough at low pressure, but even at 30psi i can't open the choke more than a fraction before it goes out. I opened up the regulator to 10, 15, 20, 25 then 30 psi. Each time i opened the choke slowly from back to front. But as soon as it opened each time it went out. heres a video of what I did. also a few screen shots of my forge just for future reference. Video.mov

I haven't tries running it outside the forge, but I can try that. I'll put it in the bench vise and try tuning it. I'll see if i can take a few videos to show exactly hoe it behaves. thanks for all the feedback

I purchased the burner on amazon and I contacted the seller to get the info for the manufacturer to see if they provided any support. I haven't been able to find the manufacturer online I just keep getting amazon, ebay and other online store pages for similar products. As far as it being hard or soft. It's a rigid brick, but not as hard as wall bricks or pavers. It's pretty easy to cut through with hand tools. The front of the forge is completely open 4.5in x 8 in. The back has a small opening about 1in x 8in. yes, when i first light the burner it is long whippy yellow color. When i open the choke slightly the core turns a little blue, but still yellow around the outer edges. If i open the choke to expose the first set of holes completely, the flame goes out. I light it at low pressure and the front of the forge is completely open. Should I be opening the back completely as well? As soon as I get home I will include some pictures so that you can all see what I'm doing

I recently started getting into forging and I built a small propane forge. It's built out of fire brick. I drilled a hole at the top/side (depending on which way you lay it. I've tried both orientations) and fit the burner into it. The dimensions inside the forge are about 4.5 x 8 inches. When I light up the burner initially it works fine with the choke completely closed. As soon as I start to open up the choke more than a fraction of an inch the flame goes out completely. I've tried opening the choke at anywhere between 1-10 psi, but it keeps going out on me as soon as I stat to open it. Here is the list of components that I used. Adjustable Propane Regulator 0-30PSI High Pressure 5 FEET SS Braided Hose-Type1 (QCC1) and 3/8 Female Flare Swivel Fitting commercial link removed Goede Stainless Steel Foundry/Forge Burner commercial link removed US Stove Company FBP6E FireBrick commercial link removed Could the burner be defective, or am I doing something wrong here.