pkrankow

So do you use a small pump and a dip tube to move fluid, or is your plumbing welded in? Is moving the fluid going to improve quench versus just moving the object for smaller objects (knife, punch, chisel, hammer head, etc.)? Do you use a basket on the bottom in case you drop something? Phil

Moving the Earth again Archimedes? Phil

I bet he used a marking tool to lay out punch holes for stitching. That's the only way my leather work looks like anything other than "functional" I have had poor luck with direct stitching through leather even using a sail makers palm. The thread is also laying in a neat groove. Ain't west system great? Phil

Very nice information. I'm saving this one for later use. Phil

I am building a 2 burner forge that is 11 inches long. The ceramic wool comes 24 inches long. I have found many many MANY websites of smiths using forges about a foot long. Calculate your volume and figure 200-350 cu inch per 3/4 inch burner. Choosing which burners are lit is nice, running more than needed is a waste of fuel. Frosty and I were discussing which single burner is best to run, but never came to a conclusion other than one more valve is cheap. Before you decide on the length think about what you plan to make, and think about the longest item you expect to build. You can always build a larger forge in a few years once you have skills to take on larger projects. Phil

If you replace your bricks, save those bricks for when your Vogelzang wood stove cracks a brick, or you need a sacrificial brick for fluxing, or need to set red hot metal down to cool. I bought a box of 6 of those bricks for $20 last year at the local big box store, and they have utility. 2 are keeping my wood fireplace grate in position. Hot borax seems to do nothing to them at least, although I only have used borax once. I *was* going to use them as a gas forge floor, but I'm going to order a 12x12 from Zoeller and cut it to fit. Just my $0.02. Phil

I have tried white shortening (Crisco) and find that 2 coats in a 300F or hotter oven (I used 450F while cooking dinner) give an nice black gloss to the few leaves I have made. I got that idea after reading about everybody that uses oil, and remembering how bad of a time I had using oil on my cast iron cookware (gets sticky sometimes). I was told by a chef friend to use shortening on my cookware. I might switch to another finish as I make more stuff, but I am pleased with my results so far. Phil

Just call it a spud, I go fishing with mine when it's not standing in the corner, digging holes, moving rocks, or something. Makes good holes in the ice, though it's not quite that robust. Feel free to store one at my place too. Mine is only 1 inch round for most of its length. Phil

That is a handy feature! Phil

Cherry pits are $5 for 30#. They cost less by the ton. They are a waste product from the cherry orchards in Michigan. I bought a bag, but don't have a solid fuel forge. Expect it to be a quite a while before I give an opinion. Phil

I do not recall you mentioning that they "don't work" outside of a forge. You did mention that they are tuned for use inside of a forge. I lack a Dremel, so I am using a 4 1/2 inch angle grinder with cutoff wheels. Every time I have cut a contact tip the hole is closed up most or all of the way, no matter how slowly I go. The mill file opens up the hole a little, but leaves a bunch of junk inside of it. Passing the torch tip cleaning tool is not very difficult. The first few tips I cut, I cleaned the hole, filed, then cleaned the hole again. I was also trying to get final dimensions with the grinder. My drill press only goes forward, cheap HF job. Maybe I should try the hand drill in the vice? I think I need to unpack some moving boxes, because I know I have a mini die grinder somewhere, and that has some small, very thin cutoff wheels with it. I was expecting the burner to focus heat in open air a little better for some reason. These are definitely not comparable to a rosebud torch, or even a plumbing torch, the heat is much more diffuse. I also noticed that in my brick pile, with the flame traveling along one brick, the hottest spot is a few inches from the flame holder, not right against it. Heat seemed to spread faster away from the burner, though eventually the brick was glowing right up to the burner. Thanks for all the help so far Frosty. Phil

I have an old file screaming at me to be put to use. Thanks for all the good information! Phil

$70 at a flea market in Wisconsin, 2009, cut face, nicked to heck, edges broke off, heel broken off at hardy. No brand, markings etc. Casting marks visible in the bottom. I suspect it is cast steel, but might be cast iron. Has some rebound when I miss (more than a HF ASO) and some ring. 68 pounds on the bathroom scale. Wire wheeled and lightly sanded. (Don't sand your anvil) Phil

I'm using a Belkin wireless router with 4 wired ports. You log into it from a wired machine following the directions, set up network name, password(s) and wireless encryption. Every few weeks I need to pull the plug and let it reboot because wireless gets flaky, but I otherwise ignore it. I dunno if it really increases my security, but it makes life easy with the desktop, laptop, and guests. I use an easy to remember phrase for a public password. I have it plugged into the battery back up with the modem. I have cable telephone through the same modem. I had an old Microsoft router before, but gave it to my mom when I upgraded to this one. Make sure you get wireless G or better, I think N is the current best standard. The newer stuff is faster, more secure, and works with older equipment. Phil

He never mentioned lard, but he knows I don't normally keep lard around. The chamfer on the tip was barely visible with the naked eye. I made it removing the burr that formed on the outside while cleaning the tip with a drill bit. No spiral marks on the inside. Took one of the contact tips and cut it back to 3/8 inch removed, filed it on the outside to shape and correct the length. Then I used the torch tip file to clean the inside. After a few passes I was very happy that the edge was clean. The burner did not act nice in open air, and was hard to keep lit, but no swirl of flame. When I put it into my brick pile it acted very nicely. I think it was even putting out more heat than yesterday. The pile warmed up much quicker and reheat was also much quicker. I tried to make a smaller leaf, and texture it using the flame cut end of a short piece of RR track. This took a lot fewer heats, maybe 10 or so. Took less than 30 minutes this time too. I like it enough that its going on my keys, but I'm not satisfied with it. 3 inch overall seems a good size as most of my keys are about that size. Pics are as forged, no finish. I might not put a finish on it and see what happens. Phil

I read an article on how to use torch tip cleaning files, and I think I created a chamfer on the business end of the orifice, a very big no-no, if not *THE A#1* no-no. The sharper the edge the better the separation of gas from the orifice. Basic fluid dynamics. A set of files are less that $10 at a number of places, so I go shopping tomorrow! I guess I better check the change jar tonight. Phil

I need to get a torch tip cleaning file, I don't have one yet. I was removing a burr that formed from metal being pushed in from the abrasive wheel and bastard file as I trimmed and shaped. Completely sealed the tip. Here are some pics as promised. My brick pile before it got good and hot, the as-forged leaf, and the leaf finished with 2 coats of white Crisco backed in the oven at 475F (dinner was at that temp) According to a friend who is a chef, for cast iron cookware, shortening builds a better black non-stick finish than oil because it is partially hydrolyzed. Figured I would see how it held up. Phil

I have owned a few strikers, but have yet to make one. They need to be dead hard which makes them brittle. If there is not enough mass to them they may break in use, or in your pocket (happened to my good one). The striker I have now is too soft and doesn't spark reliably. Phil

Well, I tuned another burner today, and decided to aim it into a small brick pile to act as a forge. (4 hard firebrick and 6 red pavers) After the brick start to glow the burner settles down, becomes quieter and seems to produce more heat. I think it was running rich still. I trimmed about 1/4 inch off this contact tip. I'll try the one I trimmed 3/8 inch off in a brick pile (probably) tomorrow to see how it acts. I measure carefully with a micrometer, but used even fractions. I even made a leaf key chain using 3/8 square that was the former leg to a chiminea stand. Took me over 30 minutes. So much for a "one heat" key chain. Was probably 20-30 heats, I stopped working when I couldn't see color. I was outside and it was mostly overcast. I am using a 16 oz ball peen hammer, the largest slip-jaw pliers I have, a set of channel locks, and a set of needle nose. There was almost NO mill scale. I'll post pictures later. Phil

Application of direct heat from a plumbing torch freed up the parts sealed with muffler mender. Didn't take too much heat either. Phil

You can also look up Bulat steel, developed by Pavel Petrovich Anosov. Phil

Wootz is a ultra high carbon (over 1%) crucible steel that includes carbide forming elements like Vanadium and Chromium. It is batch made, and there are few published recipes. It needs a coating of iron to be workable and is very hot short. Due to the high carbon content it is supposed to be workable from "black" or "very dull red" to "red" heat. Under air quench it gets a high hardness due to the carbide inclusions that form, but the non-carbide matrix remains flexible, giving it a watered look like pattern welded steel. The stuff is very interesting. Have fun with that. I want to give wootz a try at some point, but not anytime soon. Too involved for my current abilities. Phil

I thought the drawings were nice looking, the work in progress has more life than I expected! Still can't wait to see the finished job! Phil

Ya'll need to check CARS.gov and get the real facts. Yes it is a waste, but it is for cars that are worse than 18 mpg, less than 25 years old, but manufactured before 2001. There are so many hoops to jump through that prevent true clunkers from getting scrapped. Yes there are many problems with the program, but PLEASE discuss the real problems. I do agree it does not benefit the people who need the help, and it does force quality parts to be destroyed. Sorry for the rant. Phil

Yea, oversized dogs are nice to have around at times too. Phil