keithh999

heres a few more.

you can order a large flint nodule (about 5-6 lbs) from Dixie Gun Works. enough for hundreds of strikers and its about $12 i think

<p>another style of nutcracker for your consideration</p> <div></div>

some of the best strikers i ever made were from 1/4" square spring steel oil quenched from critical temp. and that size makes them lighter and easier to pack around.

got em in da box just didnt put pics up...LOL got lots of other things that i should show off as well but havent gotten all the pics on the puter yet

Heres just a few things i have been working on to get ready for the upcoming arts and crafts season here in Richmond. Have already been juried and accepted into the big fancy nationally recognized Arts in the Park in May so i need to make lots of fancy fooferaw!! pics taken at nite in my shop so they dont show the best in the light of the halogens.

oh you mean this one? starts as a 12" piece of 3/8 square...forge down one end to 3/16" ..offset to one side.... punch or drill 1/4 hole..rivet and finish as desired

Really neat Mike...could use it for a halloween decoration or something for Easter.. You still looking for a welder at the shop??

i did prep it at approx 120 degree flats but that was only approx since i didnt have a swage with that angle. when doing the actual welds that became an issue due to the fact that when striking the top it actually started to open the bottom part since there was no support...maybe a round bottom swage would have helped ??

I just tried a forge weld with 3 legs around a central upright for a fireplace utensil set.....needless to say it wasnt the most successful forge weld....in fact it basically sucked!! but with perseverance and a few strategic mig welds to assist and a flapwheel on my grinder i think it might be ok....a 3 leg system is a pain to do as a one man band and anyone that can do it consistantly can count themselves fortunate!! when its done ill post pics of the whole thing.

basically thats my problem....none of my scrolls look "right" to my eye. Im not a perfectionist by any means but to have the sweep and symetry is what i cant get in my scrolls. Thanks for all the advice guys, I really appreciate it and guess ill just keep hammering and swirling till i get something i can live with.

Yes i "quartered my circle so that one element of the C would fit into it seeing as how thats what the jig itself would make (ie. half of a c scroll). Just found it difficult to wrap my head around the possible fact he was actually drawing out a taper an additional 2 1/2 inches....i mean it can be done no problem to get that looooong slender taper and on heavier stock would need to be done for the elegant sweep. Im just guessing that every size of stock would have to have its own scroll jig for every size of scroll.....guess ill have to get busy building more shelves for all the different sizes of scroll jigs...grrrrr I also did the paper drawing of the golden meany thing last nite on some graph paper and i see what he means about it not being pleasing enough or doing what he was after so that was another dead end.....another grrrrr!!

Hiya All and Brian too...LOL OK this scroll thing is kicking my butt trying to get a smooth consistant shape..The math involved for the golden meany thing is wayyyy over my head! tried to make a c-scroll that would fit in a 12 inch circle but my stock length came out to 29 inches!! i made an initial scrolling jig and then used the 3/8s scroll i made with it to try and match up to my 12 circle (quartered) on the floor....NOPE...didnt work...used the scroll and found that i had almost a 3/8" gap all around so im guessing that im getting closer. will have to try the scroll jig to make a scroll to make a scroll that will fit in the 12" circle. Would go out the window tho if i used anything other than 3/8 stock. but the stock length dimensions are nowhere near what Brian has developed and I was wondering if anyone had any ideas why?? Is it due to the tapering?? gaining 2 1/2" on each end?? Its starting to drive me buggy!!

I am in the same boat as Jerry....I quit my job after 20 yrs of structural welding and fabrication...Went and got my business license and now the only idiot i have to listen to is the one i look at in the mirror every morning. I realize i will never get rich and i will never have a big production shop and at times i doubt that my hammer control will ever be as good as Brian Brazeals or Peter Ross' but i can only hope. I have dreams and blacksmithing is a big part of the realization of those dreams. I had been tinkering with blacksmithing for over 20 yrs off and on but now i actually look forward to getting out to the forge everyday to see what new kind of gizmo my vivid imagination can come up with as well as hammering out an old tried and true S hook.. Sales havent been stupendous...but i see loads of room for improvement in where and how my market will grow. Being in the historic city of Richmond Virginia i have tons of options for truely handforged items. Winter is gonna be a test since Xmas is tomorrow and lots of folks disposable income went into some plastic electronic thingy that they just cant live without and will probably not last the year. Anyways...for those of us whose dreams are filled with coal smoke all i can say is best of luck and live your dreams!! Keith Hicks MMM Fab& Forge Richmond VA

Howdy all...Im going to start making fredricks crosses for the Easter season and i would like to know if anyone has the cut dimensions for different sizes of stock. I have the dimensions for 3/8 material but those crosses are a bit big for necklaces. Am interested in trying 1/4" stock and some of the larger sizes for mantle or tabletop. If you would care to pass them on I would be grateful. Keith Hicks MMM Fab & Forge

A horseshoe outside of a blacksmiths shop should be with toes down so that " the luck pours out onto the anvil" ...at least thats what i read and practice.

actually am just try to fuse the pieces together for electrical conductivity so im not using any filler rods...am wondering if that would help keep the heat affected zone on the 24gage smaller ??

an old machinist told me he uses a rifle cartridge (empty of course) with the end crimped flat and then rubbed on the file going with the grain....start on a clean area of the file to get the teeth cut into the cartridge and then use on the inbedded area...stuff just pops out. have been doing it ever since then and swear by it. obviously it will only work on a single cut file and that mostly what i use but do have some double cuts that i clean in the electrochem tub(battery charger and washing soda water)

I have an ongoing R&D project where i need to weld 24g titanium sheet metal to a 5/16 and/or a 3/8 titanium bolt...am getting lousy welds and seriously cracking welds around the heatzone.. Info i found online said the titanium needs to be mechanically cleaned and then chemically cleaned with acetone. am doing the welding in an enclosed box with a purge of argon.. any other tips or tricks that i should know before i mess up more of this thin gage stuff?? Thanks in advance!!

Well i finally had a chance this weekend to get on the forge after seeing Brian Brazeals demo at the Franklin county fairgrounds. I made a hot cut out of an earthbreaker bit and a drift from some 5/8ths spring steel i had in my shop. It aint exactly a brian original but somehow i think he makes a better Brian than I do..LOL If you read this Brian Thanks for the demo and the information imparted!!

make sure you put the little "stop" on the inside of the jaws like Brian does...keeps tapers from "squirting" out at ya and upsetting easier on the gripping hand

is it possible or advisable to heat treat cold rolled mild steel?? i just machined an axle for a boom lift and was wondering if it would be needed. the previous axle was ductile iron and snapped clean in half in the middle of the gears and dont really want this to happen again...ive come up with a different hub mounting arrangement to make the weakest point of the axle outside the hub by using large tack welds versus a solid cored axle/hub arrangement...this way i hope that the tacks will break before the axle shaft/gearing....any thoughts or info would be appreciated Keith

to all and sundry....a great easy to make burner design can be found at www.backyardmetalcasting.com . i use them in my forges and they can get up to welding heat on 5-8 psi and a 40lb tank....smaller tanks tend to freeze up. i make my forges out of 6-8" pipe i get from work as scrap...1-2" of kaowool and no ITC and ive welded plenty of gadgets in it....HINT...smooth burner walls (not forge walls) make better flame characteristics BTW hey Drogo and Solvarr...hope to see yall back up here next month at the meeting

go check out the practical machinist website.....they have more info about machinery usage than you can shake a stick at. Practical Machinist

dont give up on trying to find a cheap one...i got mine for FREE from craigs list...had no tools and needed a rebuild and paintjob but thats about done now....last week i saw another one for $150 on craigs list....we also have a used machinery dealer here in town that sometimes gets small lathes in stock. go to MSC and order their catalog and you can find lots of inexpensive tooling as well as Enco and Wholesale tool...both available online. just keep looking and one will drop in your lap...Good Luck Keith