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Bob S

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Posts posted by Bob S

    Cutting 5/8" Bar Longways into four Strips

    in Blacksmithing, General Discussion

    Posted

    Most such discussions are not worth the quibbling *except* for the fact that this forum is teaching the next generation of smiths and so we should be extra special careful not to mislead them. We've had to deal with so much misinformation back when it was just word of mouth or repeated in a book or two---"Packing" anyone?---So given a chance lets get the new people set off right! (save for when we pull their legs about something...)


    My comment (up a few) was in regards to the foggy and arbitrary line between 'traditional' and 'not traditional'. Not mis-information.

    Cutting 5/8" Bar Longways into four Strips

    in Blacksmithing, General Discussion

    Posted

    Funny I thought that forge welding them was a "traditional way". Lots more forge welding than slitting back in the old wrought iron days!


    Reminds me of what is called 'conventional' landing gear (on airplanes. ). Back when all there was was tail draggers, that became known as 'conventional' landing gear. Then 'tricycle' landing gear came out. I doubt an airplane is made today with 'conventional' landing gear (1) but the taildraggers are still called 'conventional'.

    (1) possible exceptions are some 'kit planes'.

    more here... http://en.wikipedia....al_landing_gear

    ps. I'm not a pilot. :ph34r:

    pps. the whole 'traditional' v. 'modern' seems like a pointless quibble to me. I mean who cares?

    ppps. could be fun to see a 747 taildragger tho. :o

    *Possible* trip to ABANA 2012 Rapid City

    in Blacksmithing, General Discussion

    Posted


    Which airline? But limits bringing almost anything back to zero. And other costs of being out there without easy transportation.


    If you have 2 guys + gear in a Corolla you aren't going to be bringing much more than zero back anyway. If it was me I'd fly and save all that wear and tear. 800 miles x 2 is a lot of wear and tear. As far as getting around while in Rapid City there isn't much problem there either. It's a pretty small place.

    But maybe you're thinking of touring Mt. Rushmore or Needles Hwy. or Crazyhorse or Devils Tower (in Wyoming but not so far). Badlands are a good drive thru on the way (couple of hours east of Rapid).

    All in all I think I'd fly and rent a car for a day.

    btw speed limit in SD is 75mph. Good luck.

    Anvil rebound and ring

    in Anvils, Swage Blocks, and Mandrels

    Posted


    A lot really depends on the type of work you're doing. As a hobbyist smith, you don't need a hardy hole or pritchel hole in your anvil. These were invented because they made the london-pattern anvil a fairly good all-around tool. Yea, they can come in handy, but you can use a good heavy bench vise to hold a hardy tool.

    For making knives, a "traditional" anvil has a lot of features that are just a waste of space. A square or rectangular block of steel set into a heavy stand is all you really need, and it will work for a lot of general smithing as well. If you can find a metal supplier in your locale, they might be able to set you up with a cut-off piece of steel that's plenty big enough and heavy enough to do a lot of work on.



    Good advice.

    How is this hammer much different from a Hofi hammer

    in Hand Hammers

    Posted


    I seem to recall a blueprint or a post by Hofi that stated he preferred the cast versions of his hammers. I don't recollect his reasoning, however.








    The HofihammerCasthammer vs Forged Hammer

    To my opinion the Cast is better then the forged. The deference is small. An amateur will not fill the difference.

    The 6150 steel of the Cast is a better steel then the c45. The Cast is more balanced because casting on a mold I could arrange the steel in a better and more balanced form and there for more ergonomic. I myself forge today mainly with the Cast hammer. There is a belief that the forged because the grain re-organizing is better then the cast. Not any more !!

    To day with the lost wax system that the air is leaving the mold from all around the mold and not only from the air outlet the grain dispersion in the Cast is better. Even in the industry many parts that were forge are Cast today. And it is very interesting also that more and more I sell more Cast hammers then forged. The people loves them.
    Hofi

    Lessons Learned

    in Blacksmithing, General Discussion

    Posted



    Did I learn anything? You bet. But I did not get even a serviceable set of tongs. So it's either try again right away (or when work permits) or just rely on my channel locks and the POS long needle nose pliers I just bought at Harbor Freight to work on other skills.





    my advice would be to stick with the tong project. Build on what you learned today. A couple more sessions and you will be making decent tongs. Don't get discouraged if it takes a few tries. Also don't forget to put up lots of pictures.
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