pkrankow

So this is a new order of coal from the same supplier?  It sounds like a different product, regardless of looks.

Try getting some lump charcoal and see if starting with the charcoal you can light this coal.

Phil

A tip to make your thread "right"

Put your thumb on your right hand up, or out in the direction on desired travel (towards the point) the direction your fingers curl as you make a fist is the direction your corkscrew should curl in.  This makes "right hand threads."  If you desire "left hand threads" then use your left hand.

Of course, there is a market for left hand cork screws: south paws, practical jokers, and people who don't care as long as it works.

Phil

I bet it is quieter on the stump too!

Phil

Liquid laundry soap, straight up, applied thick.  You can apply to paper towel then paper it on.  Wrap well in paper like newspaper or paper towel.  Wrap in plastic.  Place in a WARM location for 2+ DAYS (the warmer the better, but at least room temperature).  Glove up, unwrap on a sheet of plastic and attack with putty knives. 

Repeat if necessary.

Many types of paint will soften considerably from this treatment.  The soap will not etch the anvil since is is basic instead of acidic. If lead paint is involved then the materials are contaminated, but the lead is containable in the scraped off waste.

If you read about using a crock pot to strip painted hardware, they use heat, time, and dillute laundry detergent.  I am suggesting that you use straight laundry detergent and time without the added heat.

Phil

Good question Smoothbore.  The outlets should be the same price, and likely the breakers too.  The wire cost is driven mostly by the length of run.

Phil

A candy bar and a bottle of gadoraide and I can have one of the boys at the scrapyard zap a couple pieces. 

Phil

My 100A 220V machine requires a 30A circuit.  I pulled #6 wire for a 50A circuit since I plan to upgrade my welder at some point.

Phil

hillbilly rock tumbler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvGYfmbBYyg

neat centerless tumbler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpxFDMcYiXA

You can also tumble in a concrete mixer. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f32989UsCEs

Grant's username was "Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver" here on IFI, and "Grant" on Blacksmith.org

I believe Grant imported some hammers at one time.  He imported a fair number of items that he was not able to manufacture himself for whatever reason.  He was pretty up front when he was asked, so perusing his old posts might get you what you want to know...and then some. 

Phil

http://www.blksmth.com/mild_steel_firepot.htm

I have one of these and I am building a 30x48 inch steel table to set it into.  The table size is determined by the metal I have on hand. 

Phil

The sky is the limit so to speak.  What do you want?

Phil

Without knowing your ablities and capacities, no I don't have ideas.

I would build a rivet type forge using a hoop of the pipe.  I would get pipe for legs from the local garage door place, since almost every replacement overhead door generates a scrap pipe.

Phil

A step to stand on while cranking away, and possibly to hook with a hand truck...

Phil

Yes, indexing is a means to prevent rotation or turning.

You may have already noticed that you can cut on the hard corner of your anvil, and that will work with controlled hammer blows on 1/2 inch stock.  You can either cut by making a groove then breaking, or using a shearing blow with the hammer face exactly off the anvil, and the stock flat on the anvil.  The shearing blow does require a fair level of hammer control. 

You can open a hole for a bottle opener on a corner of your block.  You can also check flea markets for a "bull pin" which is an alignment pin or drift used in steel work, which you can clamp in your vise.

Phil

What tool you want to make?  A cutoff does not need a square shank or indexing.  Several other tools like fullers can fuction without indexing, although some lightweight positive index might be helpful. 

Turning forks are the only one that really needs strong indexing, and depending on the spacing you can just drop some rod in the holes and go with it.  You can make a fork then weld (or clamp)  a bent rod alongside to index on the other hole or the side of the anvil.

Phil

Wrap the blade in a wet rag as added insurance against the heat.

Phil

For some tasks you need a just broken edge, for other tasks you need a heavier radius. 1/8 inch radius (consult a piece of 1/4 inch roundstock for comparison) is probably all you need for the heavy radius.  You want the same radius on the other side of the anvil, but the radius can change some along the length of the anvil edge.

Phil

You can "cheat" on the math by googling

cone calculator

Phil

Hot or cold?

Very nice.  Lots of detail.

Phil

Use glazing compound.  Glazing points are just for assembly and maybe when the compound gets really old and starts falling out.  Some basement windows I reglazed had some wire welded or brazed in that was bent over the glass to act as a glazing point.

Silicone is just fine too, but you have to let it set up before putting it to service.

There should be no metal-glass contact so lay a thin bead of the compound of your choice on the frame, then set the glass, then use more to seal it into the frame.

Phil

Control line airplanes?

Super Ringmaster I just repaired and re-covered, was a Craigslist deal.  My daughter thinks it is hers though.  I still need an engine for it.

I fly 049's between my house and my neighbors house.  I keep trying to get him to fly control line, and he is succeeding is getting me to fly RC.

Phil

Those look great, no hammer marks!

These would be a good exercise in heat treat. (If you need the exercise, even though heat treat is not necessary for hot work...)

low material cost

low time investment

simple cross sections

The first two mean a failure is not costly.  The third means that an aggressive quench is not likely to crack the tool. 

Phil

Very nice.  It looks like there is only one bad chip in the edge, and it is fairly small.  How is the other edge?

The horn is necessary less than you might believe.  This is not a comment on usefulness.  Horns are useful.

This is a CAST IRON body anvil so simply welding a piece of steel on is not really an option, you need to pad the cast iron side with a layer of nickle weld, so the procedure is expensive from the get go.  It is quite do-able and ultimately may cost similar to a better anvil, but might still be worth it.

I would recommend making or getting a small cone mandral and a bick for the hardy hole.

Phil

4 inch diameter 16 inches long is just shy of 60#. 

You can cut one into 1.5 inch thick disks so you can weld them to hardy shanks and forge swage shapes into them. 

Phil

The hole in the bottom, under the horn and under the heel are handling holes for special tongs so the whole mass could be moved and manipulated during forging.

Some anvils have 3, some anvils have fewer, I wouldn't be surprised if some have more than 3.

Phil