Spears

A new gear reducer box was just put on one of our machines here at the factory where I work. The roll mill manufacturer specified the following product from grainger. http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/search.shtml?searchQuery=4zf30&op=search&Ntt=4zf30&N=0&sst=subset If that link doesn't work it is Mobile synthetic gear oil SHC 634. That is, if your into those new fancy synthetic oils that are supposed to be better for certain applications. At $20.00 a quart, it ought to be the lubricant to save the world. I've seen so many different lubricants used in those applications I believe the most important thing is to have some in there at all times making sure it never goes dry. Good luck. Spears.

Nice to have a customer throw in a little extra to keep the operation going.

Absolutely, steal away! The more tooling and power hammers that are out there, the better the chances I have of getting inspired to do more. A month ago I took a few days vacation (it had been a while)and visited Pensacola Florida. I was a bit bummed out to venture in there and not find any blacksmithing or iron work. Not that I expect to see it everywhere but you know it adds a nice touch when you travel. Not a whole lot of this stuff to be seen everywhere in the world. This forum is important to promote something really cool that not to many people do. Please post some pictures if you throw together some tools. It helps feed the addiction. Spears.

Considering the cost of everything nowadays plus the equipment and resources it takes to put together a nice project like that, it can definitely be argued that the price was on the light side. However, keeping the cost well affordable should gather interests of future customers. I've seen the inside of homes owned by some very wealthy people where the level of decor wouldn't even come close. Someday when there is an entire inventory of your work on display somewhere, I will take a trip just to see it. Thank you for posting pictures. Spears.

Thanks David. At this point in time, my Blacksmithing and artwork don’t extend to far beyond an experiment. I do some really nice work at times, but it will take me 30 minutes or more to do what a real Blacksmith does in five or less. That’s ok because right now it is just a hobby. I would like to get more involved with it and go to some shows and seminars. Time and resources for taking classes is a little tight right now. Self taught leaves me with a lot of gaps to fill but I can look at things on this forum and develop as I can. I try to post pictures of my tooling in case someone is looking for similar ideas. For now I have to try and practice more and obtain more hand tools. Regards, Spears.

Last summer was hot and I was a slacker for getting artwork done so upon finding good stock I crazily made a bunch of dies for my self made air hammer. I like to enter art exhibitions from time to time and I have taken awards. Problem is, having to go up against those with the capabilities for doing cast bronze figuratives and most of the time I lose. The presence of forged and welded steel is next to nothing in these art shows and going in with leaves, twists and scrolls like what someone could buy from King metals just isn’t going to cut it! The follow pictures are of the first tryout of these dies I made to mimic reptile skin. I have ideas of making some realistic looking creatures with that deep beeswax pewter finish but have had a real slow year at getting into my art. This first attempt at a tail turned out rather well for me so I figured some of you might get a kick out of it. Check out how the overlapping strikes actually do and don’t make a desired finish. Enjoy. Spears.

Certain steel yard items of certain sizes and quantities "can" be found cheaper from the "steel yard". But for machine shop supplies and small quantity purchases, I've found it hard to beat Enco for most anything. Sounds like you found an exceptional deal you might want to get it while the gittens good!

A long time ago I started buying things mail ordered through ENCO. Having an account with them and getting their sales catalog has really been a blessing over the years. A month or two ago, they ran a sale on USA made flap wheels for the angle grinder and I purchased $100.00 worth and I'm not sorry. They run specials on very good quality stuff all the time. Once those sales fliers start hitting your mailbox, it's very difficult not to look through them even if your not looking to buy anything. Maybe they're soaking those things in magic temptation dust because I don't seem to get the same effect from the Harbor freight catalog. Happy shopping. Spears.

Excellent looking rack. That will improve efficiency being able to find exactly what your looking for quickly. Steps ahead of the good old coffee can full of everything except what you were looking for! Nice job. Spears.

Yes the fire place set is my work. It was made a few months after I purchased my forge. Very much beginner and treasured by my wife. Hammer marks galore. I don't show much of my earlier works. I didn't dress my first hammer real well and some of my early work has half moon marks. The broom I bought at an arts and crafts show by a gentleman who does just that. I don't know if I kept his card or not. It was rather inexpensive and I clipped off the wood end and captured it with a piece of 1/4" plate hammered to death and folded over. Thanks for taking an interest in my work. Here is a little better picture of that set. Regards, Spears.

Let's start with a bit of poetry.. If you throw together some crap, and your afraid some elderly chap, is going to slap your flap, just write yourself a disclaimer, and try not to sound like "Rap" Here, let me include an example to get you started. Important Disclaimer: The following art piece was constructed using any and all modern day processes available to the builder. Although some blacksmithing techniques were used, in no circumstance should this art piece be used to exhibit or stand for the traditional methods of the craft. Use of such an art piece in any way to define the maker as a blacksmith will result in ridicule and should not be attempted by any owner thereof, past, present and future. Just have a little fun with it. Your work will define you more than your title. Spears.

I had an experience that was a bit different yet still relates. I bought the 7/64 thick blade one time thinking less energy to push it because thinner means cutting less material out of the way. This is using a Makita 14" abrasive chop saw I have owned for years and has seen some use and abuse. The thinner blade didn't have the rigidity to stay straight as the 1/8" thick and would cut crooked. It didn't die much sooner than the thicker blade but I believe I get more life out of the thicker. I cut through 3-4" wide plate and with the thicker blade this thing is pretty square. My luck rides well with Dewalt brand purchased from Lowes for ~$8.00 and they aren't real far down the street. I won't be trying anymore 7/64" blades unless I can get a saw I know can hold rigid and perpendicular to the cut. Just my experience with what I use. Peace! Spears.

This project ended up a little more work than first anticipated which is common for a lot of mine. The trunk is 3 pieces of 2" wide 1/4" thick 58" long hot rolled steel tapered edge wise then formed and textured at the same time. With the power hammer fullering top die, tree bark bottom die created "U" channel. Welded together for a round trunk, then plasma cutter gouge textured the weld seam. Welded on hand forged broken branch and plugged the hole with a hand forged coil to simulate a branch having broken off and started to heal. Power hammer three roots same as trunk with smaller fullering top die same tree bark bottom die stock size 1" wide 1/4" thick. Power hammer 1" round stock for limbs (top & bottom treebark dies taper and texture) and bend them to still look kind of real and yet not end up "eye pokers" for hanging coats. Mig weld assembly and Plasma cut texture along with weld bead texture to blend with power hammer texture. If I had the equipment to make the trunk solid, it may have been easier but boy would it have been heavy. I'm happy its finished and thank you for your compliments. Spears.

Finished this piece this weekend. Did my best with the pics. Spears.

Its now Friday afternoon and I decided to roll one. A tapered forge hood that is. Besides, I only drink. Alright bad joke. Anyway, it looks like it may need some additional hooding if used in the horizontal position. It also needs a bit of exit support if used that way. Sat nice and flat and level on the cutout which was the hardest part to draw in the flat before rolling. My guess would be more folks would desire to use this in the straight up position. Weight is around twelve pounds. Maybe the wife will let me have a campfire in the yard before to long and I can test it for distortion over some heat. Here are some pics, Spears.

Good point Bob, The book states when used for industrial furnaces, kilns, ovens, and diesel turbine exhaust, the continuous is 1400 deg F and intermittent 1800 deg F. I guess that means if the intake hole isn't big enough, the intake hole might GROW big enough. I think this calls for a big glass of ale and a field test right next to a good sized camp fire in the back yard. Nothing like a little "high tech" R&D. Maybe I could get inspired to use coal instead of just propane. I gotta have something these days to get excited about. Spears.

Holy Toledo Peter! Please read the second sentence in my second post. Better yet, please read my entire second post. And I would be delighted to know what size "square opening" your forge hood is right next to the fire that has worked very well for you. If I throw something together, it will have to be cylindrical in shape. Here at the "manufacturing plant", it "IS" easier to fabricate "round" shapes. I only wish we had more "fab shop" equipment so we could make right angle bent parts easier. This factory just isn't set up for much beyond round ducting. Peace! Spears.

Cutting square or Acme threads on CNC or manual equipment can be a bit of a setup depending on what the shop owner has on hand to work with. I have seen full blown machine shops stocked with everything under the sun that didn't or wouldn't purchase the proper tools to do the simplest tasks. Considering the availability of ACME threaded rods and nuts and the legitimate pricing like what was mentioned by Mr Sarver, I would probably weld together some sort of new assembly. That stuff welds like a dream and not having to mess with thread fits is like having the hard part already done. Just my two cents and good luck with the route you take on your project. Peace, Spears.

Thank you everyone for your questions and comments. My goal in this design was not necessarily to make something better or worse than what is already available, but rather make use some of the enormous amount of scrap material by turning it into something folks can use. I will need size clarification of what people might desire for what could be mounted to a homemade solid fuel forge. I don’t use one so my guess work is what it is! Feel free to throw in two cents, its all good! Nothing like making something where the end user says: “gosh if this were only a little taller”. I left the outlet at a 12” diameter because it was “guessed” to be what people might commonly use for exhaust ducting. Square to round construction is harder to make with tapered assemblies like these. I know because I have to draw the things in the flat position and the materials we use are extremely rigid and harder to fabricate than residential air ducting. A two piece round assembly like what I drew may take as little as 25 minutes to cut and fabricate after the initial programming. Stainless steel scrap pieces of substantial sizes are available to me at reasonable cost and the material has excellent heat and corrosion resistance. Thank you for your description of certain details Mr McCoy; you are an excellent writer. I will check this thread for anyone’s likes or dislikes of certain sizes and such, and eventually I may make one and give it away for the price of a report on how it works. If I end up building a few of these I won’t be asking much for them anyway. Anyone who knows me knows I just can’t help myself but to play around with all this cool s__t. Regards, Spears.

I don’t own or use a solid fuel forge (yet) but I have noticed times when people want to exhaust it out the side of the wall or straight out through the ceiling. Since I work in the commercial exhaust piping industry, I tried to design a hood that can be used upright or horizontal for coal forging. Something like this would be could easily be made from two pieces of .035” stainless rolled and seam welded down the front and back. I’ve shown the cutout in the isometric view (which points down for horizontal exhausting) pointing up for visualizing. Wanted to know what you folks think about this along with potential improvements before I cut and roll one. If the Adobe file isn’t readable I will take a snapshot or figure out something else. Thanks in advance for your input. Spears. FORGEHOOD1.pdf

I haven’t started my own machine shop yet but I can speak some pros and cons about machine tools and what’s available or where to find them. I first would have to know a bit about what you intend to do with it. Not that I care but there is a difference between drilling plastic circuit boards and tool steel parts machining. If you were planning on making small aluminum parts for compound bows it of course will be different than parts for farm machinery. Decent imported machines for universal machining operations (lathe, mill, bandsaw, drill press etc) can be found at stores like ENCO, Northern tool, MSC, J&L industrial, Grainger etc etc. Brand names like Grizzly, JET, Wilton, Dayton, Smithy, Rong Fu, I believe are all import and have something to offer depending on what you’re doing. Biggest advantage was they hit the market with more small size machines utilizing home power (i.e. 115V single phase) which is king for the hobbyist. I owned a Smithy Lathe/mill/drill combo and it proved very useful for certain work. Although I would stand beside anyone who claimed no substitute for the 3 Phase industrial powered USA made machines of brand names like Bridgeport, Clausing, Cincinnati, Leblonde, Index, Hardinge etc. Anyone who worked for years in shops with those machines knows that even when they were half worn out you could still do precision machining (i.e.within .001”) with enough attention and expertise. Good luck finding what you seek! Spears.

I fabricated my tumbler out of six pieces of 12" x 48" sheet metal (14 ga =.075") with a hex on each end. A plate with a 1" welded peg bolts to each end and goes into a pillow block. A piano (strap) hinge was welded on one of the panels down both long sides. The pivot rod was removed from one of the strap hinges and replaced with a smaller diameter removable one. This seals up well enough for media of small metal pieces of the bottle cap size like fence staples. The easiest way I found to drive this rotating tank at a slow usable speed is the motor off a portable cement mixer. Since I sometimes need a concrete mixer, I bought one from Lowes ~$300.00. Many decent quality concrete mixers will have the muscle to turn a decent size tumbler. I connected the motor to the rod that goes through one of the pillow blocks with a Lovejoy coupling. These can be bought anywhere in numerous shaft (bore) sizes from places like ENCO. The Lovejoy coupling will take up any angular misalignment you may have after fabricating your frame that holds the motor eliminating the need for a U-joint. Carpeting or rubber could be installed in the inside panels to quiet it down. I didn't and mine is pretty loud. I run the thing for 1/2 hour while I'm not in the shop. The hexagon shape creates a natural "tumble" decent enough to even out the finish of small iron forgings. I hope some of this was helpful and good luck in your quest for a tumbler. Spears.

Thanks all of you for all your replies. I've done some short cuts in heat treating some very small pieces like worn out gun parts and had very good results. I do however try to keep up with times and temps like what's been done in a lab environment (like what the books say) because they usually have the equipment to "check it". As I lectured my students in Machine shop class; treat your measuring instruments kindly, it's your only ability to check it. The steel companies are making some pretty fantastic stuff these days. I have seen some tool making rather loosely done where the end result would out last the energizer bunny. I'm looking forward to building myself some hand tools for blacksmithing. My stomach is rather fragile so I can't eat wild diet stuff like what some of you folks have come up with! Peace, and thanks again. Spears.

Sorry to keep butting in here with technical stuff, but before we start throwing pot leaves into our salads or sprinkling rabbit pellets all over our ice cream I just have to ask a few questions. If I forge down one side of a 3/4" bar of H-13 to a flat "corners rounded" slitting type chisel, would heat cycling help make a better tool? Supposing all I had to temper with was an oxy-act rose bud torch, would a short tempering time have satisfactory results if done out near just the chisel end? I've had ok results with some heat treat shortcuts but it was for punches and nail sets made from materials like W-1, O-1, 1095, but not H-13. Some of those recipes sound like you folks are really into gourmet foods! Regards, Spears.

I was given a nice piece of H-13 awhile back and haven't got around to making a slitter yet. Continue in detail just a bit more on the draw at 950-1100. How long should I keep the piece at that temperature? Or just after hitting that temperature just let it come down to room temp? Made plenty of center punches out of W-1 but never chisel types out of something like H-13. Thank you in advance! Spears. Sorry if I un-jacked this thread!