Welshj

^that is very cool ... it reminds me of a Japanese garden zen.

Bliziak- like frosty said... don't feel stupid. Feel safe. Feel stupid when waking up in a hospital wondering "what the heck just happened?". There's a few of us here with that particular experience under our belts. Trust me. I have a younger brother that kinda pushed me into learning to forging metal, which I'd always wanted to do... but never did. I just re-lined the small coffee can forge he'd built for him. He used perlite and sodium silicate to line it. Didn't survive long with minimal use. I did his with scrap pieces of ceramic wool and leftover refractory. I've used it a couple times now with decent results. It's not really hard to do, there's just certain steps you don't take for granted. It's like driving a car- do you take your driver's training test in a Lamborghini?

That looks really similiar to an old clamp set up I used to have belonged to my grandfather... mine had a round post like that- but was threaded on the bottom of the post for a locking nut, and the sliding adjustable bar at the top was a cast piece. It was used in a garage as a valve spring compressor for cylinder heads. I know that from my father who used it to do that job before I was born. It would slide into a hole in the work bench, get adjusted for height and tighten the lock nut. Move over the valve stem and compress the spring to remove retainers. Dont remember how I wound up with it after my dad, but without the bench and spring adapters... I never used it and think it wound up scrapped. Just another possibility.

^ this stuff's a little chewy for pie yet... I'm saving the apple limbs for that!

STOP! DON'T FIRE IT UP AGAIN. As you described it- A brass torch tip adapted to fit a 20lb tank is - you're right- totally unregulated gas pressure. There's a large difference between a propane or MAPP torch can style tank- and a 20lb tank. Higher pressures, higher flow, and bigger tanks require external regulation. Good way to get hurt. There's alot of information here about forges, setting them up, building burners, insulation and refractory and how to use them. Do some research for a bit here, it's hard sometimes to find. But it's there. This is a dangerous hobby to play with. Like any danger, it can be mitigated with knowledge. Take the time to research. And keep asking questions, there's many people here with knowledge and skill to learn from. I'm a relative newbie to smithing... I did. With a small coffee can forge- a small t style burner should provide plenty of heat and control without an air source. But you need a regulator to adjust gas flow.

Appreciate the advice. Pecan it is then. Theres a chunk in my shed about 6" diameter by 12-14" length I've been saving and drying to make something with.

That's where my maple is from, firewood- I helped a younger brother cut up a tree a few weeks back. I've got a pile of it in green wood out back. Also have some dried pecan, apple, and some smaller walnut I think? I do have some finished, kiln dried maple, and oak... but they're 3/4" dimensioned lumber I'd have to laminate to make a thick enough piece.

I've got a decent older cross peen (spelling?) head that my little brother gave me. I have a commercial handle, but it's not a good fit for the eye... so I'm going to make mine. But the only good hardwood I have large enough right now is some maple. Worked alot of wood, just never made a hammer handle- thoughts on maple for use?

I'll be looking for a finished project picture for sure. Ausfire said it well... very cool idea for sure. Those are my favorite kind of projects.

^ oww.... Rockstar- If I'd have been able to tell myself that 26 some years ago... it would have saved me two decades of child support payments. Think of the hammers that'd buy?!!

Stay away from 19yr old blonds trying to be redheads.... Pay more attention to your elders when they speak. Wisdom comes with age, stupidity comes with attitude.

Got my little brother's kukri drilled for pins, hardened, tempered, and cleaned back up... also found out that the steel I made my hot cut tool from is not hardenable, mild carbon at best guest. Sigh.... next attempt will be made from a 1" thick semi leaf spring piece.

Did so, let it set over night in a cleaning strength vinegar- could just barely see the pattern in the steel... enough to see it and tell it looked like a snake skin pattern. But not well defined. Some ferric chloride coming in the mail soon! I'll get it polished some more and try again when I get it.

Mine's simple... Welsh, Joel E. As normally used and addressed in the army. So it just was easier to use it on sites, as sometimes there is a jwelsh, j.welsh, welsh, joel, or joelw... even joel welsh.

Ditto, same machine same time frame. I've welded car frames, dragster roll cages, and plenty of sheetmetal with it. Good little machine, doesn't like a kinked stinger line at all- so pay attention to keeping it untangled and rolled loosely- it'll work every time. Accepts the 11lb rolls of wire with no problems.

I'm not sure about a ribbon burner... But, am I thinking right?- in that even if ignited in the mixture tube just before the burner box... wouldnt the airflow push the flame out of the burner box inside the forge? Or am I way off base? Would it ignite at all inside the closed mixture tube? The blower should keep the flame pushed back past the gas orifice.... or would the flux capacitor interfere there too? I'm thinking along the lines of an old school flame thrower exhaust on a hot rod. The spark plug is located inside the exhaust pipe, ignites un-burnt fuel in the pipe- and is blown out by engine exhaust pressure... wala! Flame throwers.

Stayed home from work today after waking up with a migraine headache... after setting around suffering all day, I couldnt take it anymore. Went out to the shed and worked on making my hot cut hardy tool, and my brother's requested kukri blade- my take on one anyways. Blade is rough ground, hardening and tempering to go yet. Leaf spring source for steel. I really need to look into a surfacing grinder/sander setup. lot of length to smooth out.

What part of Ohio are you in? I'm in the northwest in wauseon. And welcome to the madness!!

I like it. Job well done from where I can see! The grain pattern in that wood looks alot like zebra wood, but it usually has a lighter yellowish color to the light grain... either way, looks good!

First real forge weld complete!!! Nothing big, just some 1/2" cable. Got it welded together down the length, flattened it out, and doubled it over on itself, welded together again. Has a small crack about an inch in the handle, but the blade is solid and welded.! I have literally nothing to etch with! Not even coffee...Smh....

Got my first real forge weld today! Yay me.... lol. Twisted up a 1/2" cable to try my hand at it. Got it welded together well, flattened it and doubled it over. Knew going in that it was going to be a small billet, if a billet at all. So, I made a tiny knife. Now I gotta get something to etch with!

Spent a little time in the shed tonight. Epoxied the handle on my buddy's army blade, played around with cleaning up a piece of steel cable to try and forge into a blade later on... And have been having some trouble getting a decent temperature out of my propane forge lately. Seems like it's just not getting hot enough to get a good forge weld. I'm just not getting barely hot enough... real close.... So, I tried something. Changed out my blower to one my younger brother gave me. It's an inflatable bouncy house blower that puts out about double the flow of my little squirrel cage blower. Was just an experiment to see. My forge came up to temp pretty quick. Where before- I got a decently noticable flame "roll" around inside... I generally had a hot spot at the burner. With this blower- it literally looked like a rolling flame entirely around the inner circumference of the forge. A little bumping here and there... and it leveled out nicely. Didn't try heating any steel, as it was almost midnight. But I think I may have it licked. Just need to get some plumbing to move it further from the forge body. It has a plastic housing that I'm not comfortable getting hot. and I have to come up with an airflow control for it too.

Thought crossed my mind... two things kind of... tempering that idea though. 1. Room, or the lack of. 2. The guy that gave me the stuff repairs cranes. Big ones. So if he had this stuff- it probably was parts replaced for a reason. Which scares me for structural use. What I've wanted to do for a long time was weld up links of a chain to use as a mailbox mount for the house. One end cemented in the ground, chain welded in an arc up to the mailbox. Hmmmm....

I havent got it out of the car trunk yet... so no pics- but I recieved a gift box from a guy while at work today. Approximately 80-100? lbs of steel overhead gantry crane wheels, probably 20 feet of 3/8"? crane chain, and the 4-5" diameter crane hook its connected to. One of those- "my buddy makes stuff with steel if you ever come across some" deals. Dunno what I'm doing with it yet...lol. But, anything free is worth saving up for!

If your family and friends keep bringing you springs and car parts- asking is this hardenable? If you keep scraps of wood and metal for twenty years, pushing it around the shop until you finally get to make that one blade for yourself.