Frosty

Welcome aboard, glad to have you. I'm on Vine Rd and can show you the ropes, I do some teaching. PM me if you'd like to meet up. I can't believe I missed your post, I need to check my notifications settings. Give me a shout. Frosty The Lucky.

Now compare the bearing rebound to a small ball pein so you have a handle on using a hammer for rebound testing. In many ways you get more info from a hammer, you can feel the impact, see and hear it. All are data the old brain analyzes once it has some experience. Frosty The Lucky.

A couple more options for slips (jaw covers by another name) is a set of headers or upsetting jaws. Round or square vertical spaces to grip bar stock so you can upset or head it. VERY handy slips. If you're going to make a steel stand don't do what I did. I made a folding tripod stand to be easily mobile. Well it's too easily mobile for even medium weight work. My next stand will be a circular plate with a square receiver to accept a square post and a hole to accept the vise leg. A bolt plate on top and a couple pins or wedges on the post and receiver makes it all solid but easy to break down into manageable weight/pieces pieces. A round flat plate makes it easy to move by tipping it up and rolling it like an oil, etc. drum. If a person needs to do heavy work in it say strolling or bending heavy stock you can stand on the plate so it stays where you put it. Frosty The Lucky.

You can but it's pretty useless just adding weight. It has to be solidly coupled weight, even welded isn't as good as a single piece. The compression wave of impact needs a clear single path to provide the rebound necessary to hit back from the anvil side. And yes, dove tailed or bolted dies absorb impact energy and would be much more efficient if it was all a single piece. It's just a real PITA casting a heavy sow with the high carbon steel die in place and it wouldn't be changeable. Compromise is a fact of life, just don't make bad ones if you can help it. Frosty The Lucky.

I must've gotten posts jumbled in memory. Single bevel blades in the field scare me. Well an Ulu is okay but you're skinning or chopping veggies so . . . Frosty The Lucky.

Oh my, that is masterful work, so uniform and fills the space so perfectly. You said it's old but not if it's yours. Thanks for the pictures. Real eye candy. Frosty The Lucky.

Welcome aboard Jennifer, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you might be surprised how many of the IFI gang live within visiting distance. This site has literally thousands of posts archived by category. You'll need a comfy chair, a snack and something to drink but about any question you might have is probably answered more than once. Of course that's a blacksmith trait anyway, ask two smiths a question and get four answers. Frosty The Lucky.

Welcome aboard T. Glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you might be surprised how many of the IFI gang live within visiting distance. How much does it weigh? A bathroom scale should do it, the new ones go to 450 now days. Naw, not a Soderfors, it's not cast and Soderfors cast their name proud. It's has an awfully thick waist for one, though I do admit to not being very familiar with Soderfors over 250lbs. Frosty The Lucky.

TW: We're NOT trying to discourage you but you're asking questions a person who knew the craft well enough to need to know wouldn't have to ask. I know, I REALLY hated the old universal answer to my questions, "If you have to ask you wouldn't understand." I HATED hearing that, seriously. Unfortunately it's probably one of the truest old sayings around. There is a LOT to know about blacksmithing before you'll be able to use some of this info at all. for example you turn your nose up at the thought of a rail anvil. Why, is it a step down from the anvil you don't own now? Anything heavy and hard is an anvil IF you use it for one, rail is actually a pretty top shelf field expedient anvil if you forget trying to carve a horn, heal, hardy and pritchel holes in it. How about finding an old sledge hammer head, piece of rail or virtually any thick piece of STEEL, build a fire and start learning the craft? None of the stuff you're asking about, NONE will do you any good if you don't know how to use it. Take a couple classes if you can find one, maybe offer to sweep floors and be nice a local blacksmith might show you the ropes if he thinks you aren't a danger to yourself in his shop. This is a life long learning curve, I've been enjoying the ride for a good 50+ years and still learn new things every day. Often I learn more answering good questions. It's a GREAT ride, enjoy. Frosty The Lucky.

Sorry Mr. Reynolds, your worst fears are WAY too optimistic, unlike every other process where hand forging is concerned nail headers require a minimum of 8 decimal place accuracy in all dimensions. And whatever you do don't forget it must be painted the right shade of titian red! Put the calculator by the checkbook and just draw a long taper to drift the hole you punch. Dome the header a little first, punch if from inside the dome over a bolster or the pritchel hole. Then drift it a little with the tapered piece, a nail works fine, heck perfectly. Drift from inside then from outside. The outside or top drift only needs to be a little, a touch so the nail blank can seat without jamming. See, not ONE decimal! Frosty The Lucky.

Double bevel a hatchet or woods axe! A single bevel WILL glance if it's used the wrong direction and you do NOT want an axe that glances easily. Kids will be using it and some WILL be left handed. It ain't for cabinetry it's for: felling, limbing, splitting kindling, throwing at targets if no adult is watching. Just a basic draw filed convex edge is right though stone honing will result in a longer lasting edge. Yes, you're over thinking things, it's a Boy Scout axe, not a wall hanger for the Louvre. Don't forget to give the lad a 4" draw file and a palm stone to maintain it. A whet stone can be used in the field with a little spit where an oil stone needs oil he might not have in the field. The draw file and round stone came with my official Boy Scout hatchet set. It was 1st. prize for the log lift contest at a Camparee. Throw a rope over a tree limb, tie one end to a branch with a timber hitch then hoist the branch and make it fast to a stake with a double half hitch. I was the fastest scout at the Camparee. It's cool how some things really bring back memories ain't it. I can still see the double half hitch holding like it should and cheers from my troop. I didn't have to cook breakfast for the rest of the weekend. <VBG> Frosty The Lucky.

Yes it is. Ever take a pill with a shiny coating? That's carnuba in a pretty natural state. It's even "hypoallergenic" though don't quote me on that it's according to articles I read a while back and may have been marketing hype I didn't look farther. Frosty The Lucky.

Sounds pretty darned good to me. A small group has it's advantages. Doing a rebuild on a LG 50 would be a great club project. How long have you been a club? Frosty The Lucky.

That's pretty cool, a Youtube video done by someone who knows what he's doing. If I use my lathe 10 minutes is about right. If you want to use a gun burner just make a gun burner. Adding a blower to a naturally aspirated burner is just adding a completely unnecessary level of complexity for no gain. I don't know what size burner will work in your forge. What's it's volume? Is it insulated? how large is/are the door(s)? Again, tune your burner and use it, forget what psi someone else claims their burner runs on. It doesn't mean anything to anybody but them. Frosty The Lucky.

Nice set. I'm not fond of the fire dog as a tool holder though, I don't like laying long tools like the poker on the floor unless it's flat on the floor or it's trip hazard. Not everybody watches where they put their feet you know and falling on a wood stove can leave a mark. I really like the work and finish, good quality all round, I'm sure the customer is well pleased. Frosty The Lucky.

Just make a sheet steel cover to smother it or shovel it into a bucket of water. The coke/breeze and coal will dry out quickly once you strain it out of the water. Frosty The Lucky.

Yes and yes. Frosty The Lucky.

Post the Youtube link and I'll have a look. Don't get stuck thinking there is a right psi to run burners. How much pressure it needs is a function of the size of the jet, size of the intake ports, length of the burner tube, flare if any, but mostly how precisely you built the thing. Those are just the beginning factors, I didn't get into any of the ones you tune by. Most of my burners run in the 6-15 psi operating range. One doesn't like much less than 8 but melts fire brick at 15. Trying to compare a burner you built with one someone else built with things like a specific operating pressure is counter productive. Frosty The Lucky.

I have a can of commercial carnuba paste wax called "Trewax." I have acquaintance who work jewelry who use carnuba beads but don't know how they'd use them as a finish on work. However, it's very brittle it's so hard and can be crushed so maybe a mortar and pestle then apply it to hot iron with a dry brush? The can of Trewax has no other wax ingredient and I haven't read the label remains in a long LONG time so I don't know what they use to soften it other than it is volatile or it wouldn't evaporate letting the wax harden. Frosty The Lucky.

Stone is still a fine option for a display knife. Petrified wood comes in so many grains and colors I'm pretty sure spectacular handles are possible. It's just a new craft to learn and gear up for. Not that that's a bad thing. Hooking up with a rock club or gem and mineral society etc. might give you access to: materials, tools and expertise. Frosty The Lucky.

It contains sodium laurel sulphate a surfacant which breaks surface tension so water makes good contact and the detergent prevents steam from sticking to the steel. Little air and steam pockets on steel being quenched insulates the spot making for uneven hardness throughout. Jet Dry, dish washer water spot preventative has a higher % sodium laurel sulphate and is included in Super Quench recipe as a surfacant. Frosty The Lucky.

Yeah, there're a lot of gold mines in SE. Iron Mountain is the one serious iron deposit I know of. I'll stop second guessing now, I'm just a little jealous you know. <sniff> Frosty The Lucky.

Enthusiasm I get, no need to apologize a little verve is a good thing. If you're forging RR spikes don't worry about heat treat, spikes don't have enough carbon to harden. Think of them as letter openers, they'll take an edge but won't hold it. On the other hand there are a lot of useful, decorative and marketable things you can make from RR spikes. The people who might buy from you like seeing how steel can be molded like clay and if they can recognize the original then the transition is more desirable. Good beginner spike projects include: streak flippers, coat and tool wall hooks, garden tools, Fire tools, etc. A little more advanced spike projects are tongs and every blacksmith needs more tongs and spike wizards. Wizards are pretty solidly intermediate level and require making some tools to pull off. Again, good to have you aboard. Frosty The Lucky.

A knock down forge that comes apart will be much easier to move and setup tear down. You can make simple socket connections and let gravity hold it together. That way the heaviest piece will be the table and that's not so bad with the pot popped out. A good way to keep thieves from messing with it is make a simple plywood dog house shell for it and buy a dog. Dogs are good to have around, they'll protect the property and are always happy to see you come home. Frosty The Lucky.

Yeah, don't be THAT guy. Frosty The Lucky.