Jump to content
I Forge Iron

dickb

Members
  • Posts

    272
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by dickb

  1. What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of using a dog's head hammer ?
  2. Here's a couple of things you can do. Using square or round stock, forge a few four sided tapers. A taper is like a pyramid with four sides. Make them about an inch or two inches long. Tongs not needed . Rebar is okay for this. Repeat the above to make some round tapers, like an ice cream cone. This will give you a very basic feeling of how to forge iron. Since tongs are so important, you can make some with little or no experience. Check Youtube for "how to make tongs without tongs". Don't worry if the first pair is not great. The next pair you make will be much better.
  3. I don't see anything that looks like a clinker breaker or an ash dump. Either or both of these will let you clean out accumulated ash and clinkers without disturbing the fire too much. You can drag a poker with an "L" shaped end bend at the end through the fire and drag the bigger clinkers out of it. That will help with big clinkers but not with the accumulated ash. Your firepot has an "S" shaped grate. If this grate is not moveable then ash will build up and clog the air flow. If you can modify the grate so it can be rattled around without disturbing the fire the you will be able to avoid the ash buildup.
  4. What is the "established terminology for what I am calling spine side and edge side." ?
  5. For this post I define "spine side" and "edge side" as it relates to grinding a knife blade. If the abrasive (flap disk or belt sander) is moving from the spine toward the cutting edge, I would call this "spine side" If the abrasive (flap disk or belt sander) is moving from the cutting edge toward the spine, I would call this "edge side". In my opinion the "spine side" is safer because it's almost impossible for the abrasive to bite into or grab the blade and throw it at high speed. In the "edge side" mode, too much pressure or wrong angle of attack could force the blade to cut into or grab the abrasive belt of flap disk with unpredictable/dangerous results.
  6. The problem I need help with is how to open the initial hole so it is collinear with the axis of the handle , or at least parallel to the axis of the handle.
  7. Can anyone suggest some kind of simple jig to drill a solid piece of wood to enclose the tang on a hidden tang knife. The stock will have one clean flat side but the end of the material may not be square to that side. I stress "simple jig" because I don't have much more than common woodworking tools and an electric drill. Thanks
  8. The bearings/seals where the crank handle meets the body of the blower are worn and leaky, so oil frequently gets down the vertical column and wets the threads on the cast iron base. Maye that contributes to the connection loosening up.
  9. I already tightened the post to base connection as tight as I could but it loosened up after a few minutes. The question remains, is there any locking mechanism on the bottom side of the cast iron base ?
  10. I am using a Canedy Otto blower. The model is Western Chief. The blower is complete with all original parts and mountings. The base appears to be cast iron and it's bolted to the stone floor. A steel column about four inches across is threaded to fit the cast iron base. The blower mechanism is mounted to the top of this steel column. After a few minutes of use, the steel column and blower mechanism (both acting as a single unit) loosen up from the cast iron base and the blower is not stable and/or safe. Can anyone suggest a fix ?
  11. Companies who fabricate fences, welding shops are good sources for "drops", i.e. cutoffs from other jobs.
  12. I have seen bladesmiths fully harden a knife blade and then soften the spine of the blade while keeping the edge cool. This has been called "bluebacking" What are the pros and cons of this technique?
  13. I will be sharpening 1095, 1080, 5160 steel knife blades. The stone is very old and very thin. It broke in half but I managed to use Crazy Glue to join the two pieces together. It's working fine right now but it's only a matter of time until it breaks again. We don't have flea markets around here but we do have garage sales, so I'll give that a try when they start in a couple of months.
  14. I apologize in advance because I think this is the wrong place for this post. I need to replace my old, old combination Carborundum bench stone. I see so may types of stones available that my head is spinning. Would prefer a combination stone about eight inches long in the range of twenty to thirty dollars. I would appreciate any advice as to what material (silicon carbide, green silicon carbide, aluminum oxide, etc. ) would be a good choice.
  15. Just curious to know why the discrepency came up so late in the project. Did the client look at a detailed plan and/or approve the design ? A sad case of measure once, cut twice.
  16. Sodium is put into some valve stems to improve heat distribution in the valve. One end of the valve is operting inside the cylinder at high temperature and the other end (the stem) is outside the block or cylinder head and is near room temperature. Sodium transmits heat away from the valve head toward the stem so the valve head doesn't get too hot. The exposed hot sodium would probably explode and damage the anvil, the hammer, and the blacksmith.
  17. You can get plenty of brand new mild steel from shops that make gates and fences at little or no cost. Just explain that you are a new blacismith and ask if they have any lengths that are too short for them to use . You can also get automobile coil springs from any shop that repairs/replaces suspensions . Try to find some that don't look too crusty. These coil springs can be heat treated, but for the beginner, don't bother. They are great for learning and practice, and the price is right. (usually free) Finally, you might get the gas forge hotter by partially blocking the front opening. Get some advise from these forums as to how to do this safely.
  18. First guess, but only a guess, is the work was not hot enough. Heat the iron until it's a nice bright orange before hammering and stop hammering when it cools to cherry red. Then heat it up again. You can avoid endless disappointment / discouragement by watching a few basic videos on Youtube or by finding a local blacksmith and watching him.
  19. I have made a bunch of kichen knives from 1095 and 1084 and I use them every day. A couple of them have begun to take on a very light blue or straw color. It's not completely even, but it's definitely there. They look similar to colors you get when tempering steel, but not as strong. The blades havnot been exposed to anything hotter than what comes out of a hot water faucet or any chemicals other than dish detergent. I would like to create this finish on a few blades, but don't know why or how it came about and would appreciate any suggestions.
  20. dickb

    4340 steel

    A hammer is a poor choice for a beginner. The odds are very much against producing anything useable or pleasing to the new blacksmith. As per Frosty's post, used car axels are just about perfect and very cheap or free at local shops that repair cars/trucks. Machine shops everywhere routinely throw away one or two foot leftover pieces of brand new 1045 steel. Perfect for hammers. Not worth cluttering up their shop with them. Just be polite and ask.
  21. Explain to him that you don't have enough experience to forge an axe so you can't coach him in that project. You can offer him a choice of projects that you are comfortable with, but start with the easiest ones. Be careful working near or around him. Pay extra attention to safety. New blacksmiths can make some very dangerous mistakes.
  22. dickb

    metallurgy

    Making a hammer is a poor choice for a beginning blacksmith, much too difficult. better to with simpler jobs. You could do an internet search for "blacksmith projects for beginners" to find easier projects.
  23. dickb

    bottom tool

    Thanks, I never thought of cooling off the first 1/5 inches and then upsetting. good idea. I don't have a swage block with a V groove.
  24. dickb

    bottom tool

    I have an anvil with a one inch hardy hole. One inch square stock drops right through it so it's either worn or oversize. I have plenty of one inch square stock. I want to make a hardy tool so I can reliably shape the bits on a pair of V bit tongs. I came up with two ways I could upset a piece of one inch square stock and then a put shoulder on it so it doesn't drop right through the hardy hole and then forge the V shaped depression into the end of the tool. or I could bend a piece of one inch bar stock into a L shape so one leg of the L goes in the hardy hole and the other leg of the L lies flat on the anvil. Then forge the V into the this side. Upsetting one inch square stock doesn't seem like a lot of fun. I'd appreciate any suggestions. I tried using the square corner where the anvil face meets the cutting table with poor results.
×
×
  • Create New...