NoGoodWithUsernames

Learned something new thank you. I've not done much hardening/tempering as of yet so I had no idea you could "overheat" and quench resulting in a soft part still.

Shaina, it is hard to tell from the photo, but to me it almost looks like a fatigue crack more than a cold shut. (Though photos on a computer screen are often deceiving.) If it is, something to help keep from fatiguing thinner sections like that is when you are hitting one "corner" of your ball make sure the exact opposite corner is against the anvil. It is not always possible with different shapes, but if your work piece is supported then it is not trying to twist and bend that thin shank every time you hit. I try to imagine a line straight through a piece from where I hit with the hammer, and I want to line up the opposite end of the line with the anvil (whether it is the face or an edge or the horn that I am using at the time.) That's my $0.02, again through a picture on a computer screen. If I'm totally off base feel free to ignore this. Free advise is free for a reason

That is good, it sounds like it has already at least been rigidized. It would probably still be a good idea to get some of the castable refractory and coat all visible wool as well. You can get small batches here from Glenn, he buys in bulk and breaks it up into smaller containers so we don't need to buy a huge 50lb bag that we will never use up! I have no idea the make of your forge but if it was $73 then I would imagine it came from China or somewhere else where they don't care about your health so that's why these guys are trying to watch out for ya. I think that's all the advice I've got, like I said I don't have much experience with forge welding. But keep us updated with progress and pictures!

It looks like you've already got some sort of ceramic wool in your forge, though it's hard to tell if it has been coated with anything. Does it feel "crispy" if you poke the end of the wool with something? If not it will need to be "rigidized" and some castable refractory and even some IR coating would also be a good idea (and help the forge be more efficient, easier to get to welding temps) https://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/257-insulation-and-refractories/ is a good place to start reading. Lots of information and can be overwhelming so start just with rigidizing, then move on to castable refractory, then if you wish move on to coatings such as plistix if you want to add that. Lots of good information from guys with lots of experience with gas forges on here. I have very limited experience with any sort of forge welding so far, but I think a good starting place would be folding flat stock onto itself so you don't need to worry about fastening it together. It will hold itself together where it was folded. It seems a lot of historical knives and axes etc were done this way, folded wrought iron with a high carbon steel in the center to make the edge. edit- Also Welcome! I would imagine it rather frustrating diving in head first, but if you can be more stubborn than the steel I'm sure it will pay off. If you can't or won't do in person training or visiting a smith one on one, then this forum is very good. Just be willing and ready to take the constructive criticism and advise offered. These guys are pretty strong on good safety, and for good reason! So they will always steer you in that direction, but of course all of the replies on here are our advise, so do what you want with them.

I think you are both on the same page but coming from different angles (pun intended) If you have the dies in the press (or power hammer) and you run across them perpendicular then they will draw out, if you change the angle of your stock to run parallel to them they will widen the stock. I believe Frosty is bringing this up as the benefit is you just change your stock positioning, you don't have to move the dies around when you want to change function.

Lump charcoal is fairly easy to find anywhere that has smoker/bbq stuff. Heck I've even gotten some at Walmart but it had its share of stones in it so you get what you pay for. Just don't use charcoal briquettes!

Nate, this is just my $0.02 as a rookie-ish blacksmith. I built a propane forge following the guidance of guys on here, and it has worked very well for me for the last year or two or however long it has been. HOWEVER, I have been leaning more and more towards coal. I took a class locally a couple weekends ago to learn proper use and tending of a coal fire, as I have an old rivet forge that I would like to start using. Not everything fits inside a propane forge, and sometimes you don't want your whole piece hot all at once. A proper burning coal fire as these guys described gets HOT! You can burn up your stock real quick if you are not paying attention. If you have the option, visit someone local to you in person to learn. And next best is listening to the advice on this forum. Don't get offended by criticism either. What I've seen on this forum has always been for a persons safety, or to keep someone from wasting their time/money. Good luck getting your forge working well and hopefully soon you can get beating on some hot steel!

Round over any sharp or jagged edges, if you need a fine point use a hardy bick or something similar? Would likely be easier and less trouble than welding and refinishing the horn. My $0.02.

Yessir, grew up playing in the car on road trips. And I'm a young-un! But thankfully raised before the widespread iPad pacifier thing these days, glad to have been sent outside to play. Didn't get allowance either, had to go pick weeds for that. Now I have to pick weeds for free since I'm all grown up and the yard doesn't take care of itself!

Looks to be manmade. How many questions can we answer before we hit 20 and he has to tell us?

Surprisingly enough it doesn't take much heat. From rebuilding a few VW engines and putting the cam drive gear back onto the crank a coffee cup warmer usually did the trick. I think I would use a damp rag in the freezer and wrap that around the end of the crank while the gear was heating up. That little bit of difference was enough it would slide right on and lock up solid once the temp evened out. Obviously you're on a much bigger scale than a little VW crankshaft, so don't drop any of that on your toes

I used copper tubing so found an appropriate fitting at the hardware store. What kind of plumbing are you using to get to the burner? I also put a valve on one line so I can only run one burner when the second is not needed to save fuel. Edit- looks like thread got edited for subject, I don't have anything to add in regards to placement. I'll leave that to those with better knowledge.

So obviously they want you to repair it by putting a proper weed eater two stroke engine on it?

Wow! Color me jealous, even my home internet is something around $50 a month and that's kinda their minimum "enough to watch YouTube or stream a movie with the wife after dinner" nothing crazy. I think it could be less if we bundled phone and TV and all that nonsense they try to get you with, but we don't have any of that so kinda defeats the purpose. Granted this is in California so everything is more expensive out here. Perhaps the cost to income ratio for us regular folk isn't really all that different if we looked at the bigger picture.

Have you looked into Starlink? It's not cheap to get the equipment but $100 a month is not terrible, I know some of the "Satellite" and similar charge stupid high prices for low speed and data in remote areas. Our previous shop was in a small industrial area but for some reason the one block our unit was on had no hard lines or optical run to it, so we were stuck paying something like $160 a month for 15mb download speeds, fortunately we weren't limited on data but it was still miserable at times.

We use citric acid at work to passivate stainless (in food and beverage so everything is stainless) very easy to find as it is a common food ingredient. We buy big bags of it but I believe small quantities can be had locally from your favorite bulk kitchen type store. We mix to about a 10% strength. Polish first, then passivate, then rinse with water.

I was up at a work colleague/friend's welding and fab shop, working on a skid that was too large for us to handle in house, and I asked him how he would go about getting from off the shelf stock to 1-1/8" square so as to be able to make hardy tools for my Hay Budden. His answer? "You've not been looking in the right spots." and pulled a 7' piece of 1-1/8" cold rolled square bar out of his drop pile and told me to cut a couple feet off. A lot easier than forging down 1-1/4" and, I would think more durable than welding up a hollow tube out of angle, at least for some applications. Very excited to be able to get some proper hardy tooling. I have not been able to find anything locally so far what-so-ever in that realm. Tongs and hammers and anvils and forges etc, but only one bottom tool so far.

I actually had that happen just recently. Paid a bill via check in the mail (all my friends make fun of me for still doing that, everyone else my age pays with automatic withdrawal type of deal. I just like being in control of when and where my money goes I guess.) Anyways, I had paid the bill and thought nothing of it. It cleared the bank not too long after for the correct amount so still thought nothing of it. A couple weeks later I got a notice the bill was overdue so I started digging, let them know the check was sent, etc. Our bank saves a scan of all checks that go through so pulling that up it was immediately obvious that the name was changed. Was a pretty crappy scan from the "cashing" bank but it was still pretty obvious. Was a hassle getting it taken care of but all ended well. I still have no idea how the bank where they cashed the check let that slip through...

Oooof, I have a feeling several people had a VERY bad day after that...

That gives me somewhere to start, not sure that mine is adjustable. I'll have to look at it a little closer. Something to shoot for though is nice, I didn't want to end up only going one tooth at a time if that was going to rub and dull a bit, but also didn't want to be trying to punch material with a drill bit either. Probably not the most effective method!

Welcome! Glad to see you jumping in and so readily willing to listen to the advice from these fine folks. It is good advice to have. As you get up and running be sure to post some photos of your setup and as you start making stuff. We all like photos and a lot of the folks on here can give good tips on layout and planning of a work area.

Does anyone know how many teeth the auto feed on an old post drill are supposed to ratchet per crank? Aka, with one crank of the handle how much should the dow-feed actually feed? The "lifter" on mine is either bent or broken and doesn't contact the cam in normal use so I was planning on adjusting it but was not sure how much it should actually contact each revolution. Appreciate any help.

I didn't realize Craigslist was "commercial"? I was under the impression it was a nonprofit. Anyways, was a park BBQ like first photo in this thread. Listed in Yuba/Sutter, CA Craigslist for $25. Just to show they do turn up for sale apparently, as I accidentally found it last night just browsing.

To start I recommend the "JABOD" (see the thread in solid fuel forge section, stands for just a box of dirt) that is easily put together and can be very inexpensive. It will at least get you some hot metal to beat while you save up for/research a gas forge. That is the way I did it starting out a few years back and I was able to get forging in an afternoon after a trip to Walmart for an air mattress pump.

Found this locally browsing Craigslist. Link removed per TOS you can describe it and say which list so if anyone is interested they can do a search to find it.