Frosty

Over the top is a good adjective, Frosty dittos! I love forging copper but have never tried that thick. How many times did you have to anneal it, or did you work it hot? Frosty The Lucky.

Welcome aboard David glad to have you. What Thomas is saying in his oh so diplomatic manner is you need to put your general location in the header there may be Iforge members close enough to visit and they may know exactly what's going wrong. Anyway, there's a factor to hot forge sputter I haven't seen mentioned. How far into the forge is your burner? If it's too far the burner itself will get hot enough to pre-ignite the fuel air regardless how fast it's moving. There's also the intense IR radiation a reverberatory forge is designed to produce. IR radiation travels in a straight line so it can and will affect the fuel air in the tube so if the tube is getting hot too it can become a problem. IR radiation is another good reason to NOT aim the burner perpendicular to an opposing forge wall. After all that, if the burner is inserted more than say 1/2" into the liner you might try pulling it back. Frosty The Lucky.

You also suffer high doses of radiation from that big unshielded fusion reactor in the sky!! Igneous rock too? Oh my. At least you don't have big trees too close do you? About coal and radiation and radioactive particle releases. Just because virtually every coal power plant releases more radiation a month (I don't recall the actual number and ain't going to look it up) than 3 Mile Island during the "Melt Down" doesn't mean we're going to change to clean power. Too much lobby power in DC from the coal industry for that to happen. No, I'm not suggesting an atomic reactor as a forge. On the other hand if you put one together and get it working I want PICTURES. Frosty The Lucky.

I'd hard face it. Trying to do a full penetration weld will be a serious PITA keeping the plate from pulling into a dome. Sure you can do it but it's only 4140 and isn't going to get particularly hard, better than mild but still falls short of serious anvil face hard and for that much work I'd want something in the RC 55+ range. If I had the project I'd probably use 7024 Jet still a PITA. Give a shout if that's what you decide to do. Hard facing isn't that hard to do and if you pick the correct rods it will not only be hard it'll be impact and deformation resistant. A couple passes of deformation resistant build up rod and it's not only not going to deform under years of sledgehammer work it's hard enough to crush rock. Pre-heat it before hard facing and grind with cup stones while it's still red from running fast hot stringer beads. Use graduated grits, start with as course as you can get, I have 60grit available at the local commercial hardware store. Once you have the face smoothed and cleaned up to the finest cup stones you can get switch out to disks and finally paper disks to finish. It'll cool as you grind so by time it's ready for sanding it should be cool enough it won't just burn them up. Remember to keep the stones and hard disks FLAT, if you use the edges or tip it you'll end up with a wide fuller and NO don't whip the grinder back and forth, that noise it makes is a motor. Seems everywhere you look people are stroking the disk grinder back and forth fast. This does NOTHING good it guarantees you won't have an even bevel or chamfer. Smooth slow passes are a GOOD technique it's easy to keep a slow stroke uniform, you can actually SEE what's happening before it's permanent. Experience hardfacing. . . Me?

Welcome aboard Navaja, glad to have you. I usually suggest new folk put their general location in the header so people you're within visiting distance of can invite you over but . . . Wait, I guess I just did. We love pics, most any pics, your work, shop, equipment, tools, pets, scenery etc. about anything you'd let your 8 year old daughter look at. Frosty The Lucky.

Don't apologize for not knowing the craft, nobody was born knowing this stuff. As Thomas says bone black would work to make steel but it's char, not ash. Ash is the mineral content that won't burn. I've seen ashes in resin castings, some classy some incredibly tacky. Now I wish I hadn't remembered one of those really REALLY tacky ones. I need brain bleach!! Frosty The Lucky.

Looks good. How does she work? Nice job of tinkering a power hammer, lots of guys THINK they can figure something out from pictures. It's a pleasure to see the work of someone who actually can. Frosty The Lucky.

If you're concerned about nuclear radiation from coal, wear a dust mask and goggles. Shower immediately when done, shampoo repeatedly. There's no really good way to get hair completely clean though it's just too porous. Maybe just keep shaved down. Wear coveralls and wash your clothes separately. Of course if you were to walk around with a Geiger counter sometime you'd discover we're surrounded by radioactive stuff. And the RADON Oh my run RUN! Minimize exposure but don't get silly about it. The only EM radiation from forges is IR. Don't stare into the fire, keep an eye on your steels but don't stare. Frosty The Lucky.

If I recall correctly some of the early arc rod fluxes were largely saw dust so you might try saw dust and Elmer's glue (milk glue as a binder) Maybe adding a little sand or similar to develop a slag layer. Is there a reason you don't just buy welding rod? Frosty The Lucky.

She's a beauty Tony you be one lucky guy! Let me know next time you're in the states I'd like you to buy me a lottery ticket. Frosty The Lucky.

Mighty fine Mollusk you made Joshua. Frosty The Lucky.

First suggestion beef up that forge table!! That looks as flimsy as it can get and stand in still air. Even if you don't light the yard on fire Murphy says the top of your shoe will be in exactly the wrong place when it goes over. No blast when you're grilling dogs, they like a gentle heat and some soak time. Oh no borax! Nice fire rake well done. Next session project suggestion = toasting forks with bottle opener finials. Frosty The Lucky.

Hobbies are good, everybody should have at least one. Time well spent Pallo. Frosty The Lucky.

Aus, you or Das need to make a couple and a hungry looking scrap squirrel to make the set. Frosty The Lucky.

Nice Pallo VERY nice. I really enjoy seeing work done in different parts of the world there is often a different aesthetic. I like the balance and joinery almost as much as I like how the sun's rays extend beyond the frame. Good metaphor for thinking outside the box. I got it right away. Frosty The Lucky.

No carbon in bone ash. If you know a glass lamp work artist you can have some embedded in the glass. I have a couple glass hearts with Buran's ashes in them, Buran was our first Great Pyrenees Mtn. dog. A good friend made them for us. Think glass or perhaps ceramic dice. Steel is a no go. Just because Theo used ashes or almost most anything as part of the process of bladesmithing doesn't mean it was a component it was part of the process. You need to have a handle on what's being talked about to even be able to ask good questions. This goes for any skilled craft, not just blacksmithing, what you think someone says isn't likely to be what they actually said. Eg. Upsetting isn't it? Frosty The Lucky.

I've wanted an exoskeleton or better yet powered armor since reading "Starship Troopers" in the early-mid 60's. "Alright you apes, on the bounce! You want to live forever?!" It's only been the last decade or so anybody could make a movie with special effects worthy of the stories. Still nothing like the movie that runs in my mind when I read. I'm hoping someone will do, the "Honor Harrington" series or the "Aldenata" series or "Into the Looking Glass" series, without screwing them up using "proven" production values. The recent Star Trek movies with the young Kirk and crew or "Battleship" based on the Hasbro game give me hope. Oh that's right the Star Wars #? movies. I've been seeing them in collector sets at garage, yard, etc. sales for a buck for some time now. Maybe I'll pick them up next time. Frosty The Lucky.

While it's good to be aware of and take precautions about explosions being "Very Fearful" isn't productive. You have to respect it but you can't be afraid of it. It being virtually any dangerous pursuit. Being safe is about knowing the material and the steps. Where are you going to use the forge? If it isn't enclosed an explosion is a vanishingly small possibility. Set a propane forge up in the basement on the other hand and it becomes a serious possibility. Propane is heavier than air so it will collect in low places like the basement and even floor drains. Good ground level ventilation can take care of the problem nicely. A broken line is always a possibility but is a fire hazard rather than an explosion hazard IF you turn the tank valve off when not in use. Don't leave the gas on when you're not using it. Explosion is no longer a problem. Fires on the other hand are possible so precautions are called for. My first line of defense is line placement: you don't want people tripping over the gas line, you do NOT want it exposed to excessive heat. The heat issue is why my final lines to the burners are copper tubing. My second but no less important line is control, I have a 1/4 turn ball valve right after my regulator on the tank. If a fire occurs I can shut the gas OFF in a split second. I have 1/4 turn ball valves on the manifold feeding the individual burners on my forge but that isn't a safety measure though it can act as one. That's it, each burner is supplied by copper tubing so it can get as hot as it wants with on danger of melting or burning a hose and causing a leak / fire. The copper runs to a manifold. I have a manifold because there are 4 burners on my shop forge. From the manifold to the tank is rubber hose rated for propane. Rubber here because it is flexible and a bump or something dropped on it won't damage or break it like it would copper. The order of connection, 100lb. tank - regulator - 1/4 turn ball valve - gauge - hose - manifold, etc. using applicable fittings and adapters. Two things about using a 100lb. tank. First it doesn't freeze up unless it's COLD in the shop or I'm running two or more burners for a long time. Second it's BIG so folk don't trip over it and it's hard to knock over. Being big and tall enough to be easily visible I can place it where people can't walk into the hose and damage the supply lines. Okay, that's the rundown of how and why I configure my forge and fuel lines down to where I put the propane tank. I won't forge in a basement nor would I forge on a floor over or close to a basement. The garage attached to a house with a basement would scare enough to find somewhere else if I had to put up a tent. I'm always looking around with propane's heavier than air properties in mind, call it "pooling properties" for lack of a better term. Last but far from least is exhaust. Combustion of any kind consumes oxygen so it MUST be replaced in the air you breath it also makes CO2 and CO (Carbon Monoxide) CO is very dangerous it's odorless tasteless and replaces oxygen in your hemoglobin. It bonds much more readilly and securely to hemoglobin than oxygen so you aren't getting oxygen if it's present. It's so hard to flush from your system it's treated with transfusions and hyperbaric chambers. All that is why you want to get the used air OUT of the shop before you breath much if any and replace it with fresh air. There have been a LOT of posts about proper ventilation so do a little searching and reading before setting up your forge in an enclosed room / building. And NO an open window isn't likely to be enough. Frosty The Lucky.

I saw "Star Wars" I think 3 times in theater in it's first run. I saw the next one once and haven't bothered with the rest. Like so many things in a market driven society popularity killed it. Frosty The Lucky.

I'm with you Mike, good regs and hoses are are just too easy to find, ANY propane supplier will carry ONLY high quality components. were I in the market for a Devil Forge I'd tell them to keep their reg and hoses and give me the difference in price. I'd be polite but I'd tell them. Heck they probably don't know how hard it can be to match stuff like this. Where they're from things are a lot more wild west where we're major litigation shy. Here near the edges of America in Wasilla a 0-60lb. high volume regulator runs under $35.00 at Amerigas, a 10' hose runs around $26-28 and a 0-30psi gauge around $20. They have all the fitting a boy could want AND best of all EXPERTS to advise you. Some things are just not worth risk of trying to save a buck with salvaged components. Sure I have two $5.00, 100gl. propane tanks I picked up at a yard sale but I eyeballed them both good and left two that had dents. Then when I had them filled I took them to the local propane supplier, Amerigas and had them inspect ad certify them first. That was NO CHARGE. Even though it's not legal there are plenty of service station hands who will fill one without a current certification tag or even damaged valve parts. A bent handle is usually good for an "inspect before refill," refusal. I like the places that have a red ink stamp refusing refill right at the pump. Anyway, but American fuel gas parts it just ain't worth fooling around with cobbled together IEDs. Frosty The Lucky.

They're not made to be hard, they're tough so a decent hacksaw blade goes right through them. Unfortunately too many guys in metal trades don't have general metal shop schooling. It's really common for idjits to lean on bandsaws and do hand stands on hacksaws to make them cut faster. Just rolls the teeth so they don't cut worth diddly but you just can't tell some folk that. If you over hog a hot saw the sparks shower falls off and they can see that, they don't have to listen to the motor, singing of the blade, etc. A good practice is to keep a wire brush next to your bandsaw to clean off dirt, rust, etc. before you cut it really makes the blades last longer. One trick ponies, world's full of em. Frosty The Lucky.

Punching and drifting wrought is problematical you've a better chance drawing it down turning a loop and welding it. Frosty The Lucky.

Next time try a drive chain and weave a little nickle "gas" welding rod in for flash. Oh well, a dead chainsaw chain, don't bother me any. Frosty The Lucky.

Not enough to work with? Frosty The Lucky.

Mikey's part of the country is covered with trees finding a pulp mill shouldn't bee too terribly hard. I can still remember the "Tacoma Aroma" but the Everett ambiance (It had a catchy nick name too but I don't recall.) had it beat by a large margin. Boeing should have usable stock in the surplus sales, maybe jet engine SS or TI. Ooooh, space age shiny! Frosty The Lucky.