Frosty

I forgot to welcome you aboard Steve, I must've gotten excited or something. If you put your general location in the header you might be surprised how many of the IFI gang live within visiting distance. I figured you were most concerned with heat treatment, making blades. After heat treating everything else is small potatoes, well, okay, I'll give you making pattern welded billets as a close second but good heat treat is make or break and the most technically difficult. Hardening can be done in relative darkness so long as you can move around safely. Tempering by color is where consistent light is most important. You must be able to judge the color accurately and seeing as it's a judgement call based on how YOU see colors you really need to have consistent light levels over time. (read practice) Use a toaster oven with a good quality thermometer. It's not like you're doing differential tempers so slowly raising the temperature to a specific level for a specific time is what matters. Use a thermostat and quality thermometer and it doesn't matter what the light level is. Frosty The Lucky.

I don't get that but the "location" tag is in a different place on my profile. I was going to edit a couple things, like how long I've lived in AK but it did weird things so I left well enough alone. Maybe Admin can give us a clue or maybe it just takes time, or . . . ? Frosty The Lucky.

I don't think it's the printer, I think it's the software and OS you want to print from that needs filtering. Seems every software company has a bunch of ITs who have to do SOMETHING to justify a paycheck so they keep coming up with ways the software can do their idea of cool things instead of just doing what you want. Oh wait, the HP business card templates are just as hopeless. Manuals and stuff have always been written is bassackward geekish but now they're primarily legal butt covering and ooh shiny sales pitches. Pages and pages of disclaimer followed by all the oh so COOL things it'll do and not a word about how to do a thing. ITs, bean counters and pitchmen! ARGHHHHH! Frosty The Lucky.

Why, you afraid they'll clamp down on ya? Put the squeeze to the blighter Dr. Watson, he'll squeal soon enough! Vise is an entire department you know. Frosty The Lucky.

When I used charcoal I limited the size of the fire by moving the fire brick I used instead of a fire pot. Fire depth is more important than width, just wide, long enough to heat the iron and deep enough to consume all the oxy is perfect. A potential problem you can run into with a variable fire is if you make it really small. Seriously, I messed with it till I could make a coffee cup size fire and weld. If it gets less than about 3-4" across you have to break the charcoal up more or it won't consume all the oxy without being really deep. Corn kernel size is about as small as I found "practical" but even a little puff of air can blow burning coals out of the fire so be really REALLY careful. (go ahead, ask how I know. <grin>) Frosty The Lucky.

I can't add anything very substantive after Frank's post. Thank you Frank, a formula is so much better than eyeball guestimating for some things. The only thing I can add is about the flux. Laundry additive Borax is just borax while Boraxo is soap and will really mess up a weld. Borax, just borax. OR use a commercial flux, more expensive but they work well. Anhydrous is a common bit of "must be" advice but while anhydrous has advantages it isn't a must, it just stops the flux from foaming as the water boils out. Here's a trick that's stood me in good stead. Clean the joint as well as you can, polish and degrease if you can, I like taking a file to it just before fluxing. Flux is NOT glue, it's to keep the oxy out of the joint. Iron oxide doesn't weld all that well and can certainly keep welds from taking unless you get everything to near melting temp. After cleaning the joint I just warm it a bit, Borax melts at less than 200f. the water boils out at 212f and 230f. takes care of hygroscopic moisture. (loosely bound molecular H2O) Remember the hotter the steel is the faster it oxidizes and you're fluxing to prevent oxidizing. Fluxing at around 200f. provides a coating of borax that prevents oxy from contacting the steel. Then closing the joint, bringing it to welding temp and setting the weld with light blows does it for me. Frosty The Lucky.

Welcome aboard Jon, glad to have you. I don't know what kind of advice I can offer you already put your general location in the header, hooked up with the regional organization, found your tools and such. <sigh> Pics! I almost forgot pics, we LOVE pics: tools, projects, shop, family, pets, homestead, dinner. . . Most any pics suitable for a family forum are welcome. Frosty The Lucky.

Eseemann: You're really over thinking the things. Tongs I make still look pretty crappy but I don't make "show" tongs they just need to do the job. Heck I was drawing the reins down on my last pair and let it get too cool and broke the screws holding the die in my LG. My bad but I learn from my mistakes. . . Well, some folk don't think so and they MAY be right. Maybe I should've said I try to learn from mistakes I just have to know what I did wrong. Anywho. Forget the CADD, forget "perfect", heck, forget good looking, just go make tongs. It'll come to you if you do but you will never learn if you don't. Maybe we should ask some of the old masters hanging out here if they have pics of their first couple pair of tongs. Frank, Brian, John, got some pics guys? I'd ask Metalmangler, Mark but if he has his first pairs they'd be so buried under the mounds, and walls full, buckets, etc. it'd take an archaeologist and gvt. grant to find them. <not really joking. grin> Mark's tong demos are legendary and very popular amongst us who don't make tongs rather than find the right pair. Frosty The Lucky.

Sweet tea, <shudder> WAY too sweet even when I want a little sweet in my tea. Folk from the high & low desert know the only good tea is sun tea and Red Rose is it. The bummer here is I can't find the restaurant tea bags so I have to use 9 regular bags and the "midnight sun". A shadow box is a common solution, I often use the shadow under my forge. However, there are other ways to judge forging temperatures: The feel under the hammer and through your holding hand being the main ones. Your ears, but you gotta listen to the music. These are my main indicators at the anvil. In the forge is another matter, my gasser is a known quantity so judging how the steel looks compared to the forge inside is all I and the guys who learn from me need. In a solid fuel forge, judging temp in the fire is harder and if you're working in the sun, harder still. With your brake drum forge just drag the piece across the edge of the drum. This does two things, before long you'll learn to interpret the sound and feel correlated to working temperature. It also serves to scrape scale off the work so you don't drive it into the project under the hammer. You can also give it a light tap against your fire pot drum. (fire drum?) It won't take long and you'll know the steel's working properties from the sound and feel. Heat treating is another horse color entirely. I just don't heat treat outdoors unless it's extremely basic and a non critical application. I'll do a fire striker outdoors at demos but wouldn't even consider a struck tool or blade, the consequences of a failure are too important. So, that's my 2 bits. forging temps outdoors is a matter of practice to develop your judgement. Heat treating is a DON'T DO IT outdoors in daylight. Frosty The Lucky.

I started reading this thread because I've been driving myself nuts trying to get my old card to print on this hideously over complicated with bells and whistles Windoz 8 computer. Its a really basic card, a blurb about what I do and contact info, Ive been handing it out for a good 30 years only contact #s have changed. I'm not in business but it's good to have a card so folk can get in touch. I mostly only teach anymore. It's killing me, the templates cut off the bottom of the last row of cards or if I reduce the # it removes the upper margin and cuts off the tops of the first two rows. Okay, enough whining, sorry. I'm seeing some great ideas, embossed cards and logo shaped fridge magnets are killer ideas. One I thought up seeing as I may have to completely redo my card is adding a little color to the graphic and holographics are getting to the really inexpensive stage so flickering forge fire may be a good way to keep a person's attention on the card. Sorry about the rant I'll go beat on some poor steel and remind myself of what actually counts. Frosty The Lucky.

Looks like an excellent bench vise Bill. Does it work smoothly? The jaws look to be in pretty good shape, are they parallel, close completely? It isn't a vise for hammering on except for light work. Think straightening nails or bending sheet steel strip. It's for benchwork, sawing, filing, drilling tapping, twisting, etc. Just not heavy hammering. How's the mounted height? I mounted mine way too high, I'm going to have to unload my bench and cut 3-4" off the legs or my big Wilton isn't much use. <sigh> A bench vise needs the top of the jaws at working height, around belt level on whoever's using it. I built my bench just a tad high so the Wilton is a good 3-4" too high and it really limits it's uses. Frosty The Lucky.

A thin plate within reason will last quite a while because the air draft cools it so clinker can't weld itself to it. Another trick is to taper the slots or holes wider at the bottom. With the openings tapering wider all you need to do is give clinker a good rap with the poker and as soon as it moves it'll just fall through. Frosty The Lucky.

No Glenn, that's a ghost! I think I'd tie into the culvert with a horizontal box section like Uri Hofi's side draft. (Is it the "super sucker?") Anyway, his set up draws like a champ and will work a treat just tied into the vertical culvert where it's convenient to the forge. If you're in a high wind area use the steel tubing guy members. They're easy to install, sheet metal or wood screws and they're not going to need tightening like wires. Most folk over tighten guy wires and that can really mess things up, especially if one breaks. Oh I almost forgot to render my opinion. I think that stack is really going to SUCK. Frosty The Lucky.

See, I told you it'd only take a little tweaking, glad I could help. Now the only thing missing is a pic of it at heat. Frosty The Lucky.

That ought to work fine. If/when it breaks or burns through make a copy but use 1/2" rd. bar stock with 3/8" - 1/2" gap between them. It's a popular air grate among some of the old timers here because it works well and is cheap. Frosty The Lucky.

Yeah, slit and drift first, it's the step most likely to fail so not investing any more effort than you have to before it fails is . . . Gooder. Frosty The Lucky.

They're almost undoubtedly close die forged. If they are indeed cast then they are NOT shock susceptible and I'd take a lash at forging them in a heart beat. Wear appropriate PPE though, if something shatters under your hammer the shards WILL be moving fast, Fast, F-A-S-T, don't get punctured it hurts. Frosty The Lucky.

Phil: Your experience is good info, thank you. It also makes sense to me that a radius in the pin part of the die would indeed impede the extrusion. A square/sharp edge will sheer while the radius will force the steel to TRY to compress when forced in. Steel sheers much easier than it compresses. That's just my intuitive reasoning and is worth what supposition often is. A short while ago a video was posted, "History of the Forging Industry." In the first video the example of closed die upsetting pretty well covers exactly this subject/project. A closed die hardy upsetting die should produce a product needing only final sharpening and factory/brand finish. The section of the dies forming the shaft on the parts had sharp edges at the transition from large diameter (cluster gear?) to shaft. Frosty The Lucky.

I'll bet a resourceful blacksmith could make one from hacksaw blades and really be able to do a file's, sen's work fast. Cool tool, thanks' for bringing it to the forum. Frosty The Lucky.

Welcome aboard Ser, glad to have you. If you put your general location in the header you might be surprised how many of the IFI gang live within visiting distance. There's nothing like working with an experienced smith to shorten the learning curve. I think your question has been covered. Wrought iron the material is available depending to two major factors, where you are and how much you want to spend. Some places, here for example don't have much wrought available for scrounging so we get to spend bunches if we really want to use it. Some places it's laying pretty much all over the place if you know where to look. Another meaning of "Wrought Iron" is the noun. Steel that's been worked to look like it was made in olden days, think shelves of "Pier One," etc. Most "iron" is mild steel or A36. Tool or High carbon steel is more expensive, takes more skill to work successfully so most folk only use it where it's properties are needed, say knives, flint strikers, hot/cold chisels, etc. Sure most of us know the answer without thinking about it, the length of the replies is a sign of exactly that. Most of us don't think about what steel/iron is, we just pick what the job calls for and go to work. Good questions on the other hand make us think about just WHY the heck we do IT this way, call IT that, etc. So, thanks for the question Ser, you got lots of guy's juices flowing. Making me think about the WHY/WHAT of things is one of the main reasons I love teaching the craft. Frosty The Lucky.

NO PVC Randy! Around 300f it turns pretty liquid but that won't be a problem because it will have turned to warm taffy and fallen off the forge first. Black iron plumbing parts are suitable. A pipe T, three nipples and a floor flange. The floor flange screws, bolts, etc. to the bottom of the pan. You may have to make an adapter if it's too small to cover the bolt holes so you can drill matching holes. An adapter is as simple as a piece of sheet steel large enough to mate to the forge pan with a hole for the air supply and holes for the floor flange. Then you screw a longish nipple to the flange, then to the T, the second nipple into the T so it's pointed straight down for the ash dump. Lastly the third nipple screws into the T so it's horizontal, it will connect to the blower and be the air supply. The ash dump should be as simple as you can manage, a crew on cap works but is a hassle, especially if you need to dump it and it's full of hot coals. I used an exhaust flap cap like you see on Semi stacks. They clamp on and upside down are balanced so the counter weight holds them closed till you tip the with tongs, poker, whatever. I extended the counter weight so it's close to the edge of the forge table. The Tuyere I made for my forge is semi exhaust pipe, the vertical is 3" dia, the horizontal is 2". I cut the T hole with a hole saw and welded it up with my little (mig) wire feed welder. The flange was another bit of 14 ga. sheet steel cut with saber saw and hole saw, welded to the pipe and drilled to screw to the forge table. I'm a real fan of the exhaust pipe air supply but I'm set up for fabrication, have the tools and years experience. I'm betting just a drawing will let virtually any exhaust shop make you one but you'd be spending more than plumbing parts. Another thing I like about exhaust pipe is it's thin enough the air blast is more than enough to keep it "hold in your hand" cool. I also get all I want, as scrap or drops from a couple local shops where I'm known. Frosty The Lucky.

It's looking pretty nice Nicole. I'm not a big fan of patination on mokume but that's a matter of taste. You might consider looking into Raku pottery glazes. They are copper compounds that color by various levels of oxidization is the glazing process. They paint on the glaze, heat it in a low temp kiln and put it in a container filled with material that will smoke. News paper is common, straw, cloth, etc. etc. I played with the heat it and put it in a reducing environment technique on some forged copper pieces I was messing with. Results were very unpredictable but some were spectacular. I'd resume this avenue of experimentation were I to get into Mokume, I like spectacularly unpredictable but that's me. Frosty The Lucky.

Is, "clay before using," cast in the pan anywhere? If not you might still want to ram a layer of clay in the pan anyway. It helps prevent localized heating of the cast iron and cast iron doesn't like localized heating, especially if you use a water can on the fire. I use the clay liner to make a "duck's nest" for the fire and increase or deepen the fire with fire bricks. It's a darned good looking rivet forge, she'll work a treat for you. Frosty The Lucky.

Welcome aboard Ewalker, glad to have you. If you put your general location in the header you might be surprised how many of the IFI gang live within visiting distance. Getting together with folks with common interests is a good thing on all counts. Frosty The Lucky.

Welcome aboard Dahlia's Daddy, glad to have you. Clay's power hammer design is discussed here pretty frequently. You might want to check out the power hammer build sections on IFI. The guy's have been building them and tweaking the design for some time now, lots of cool tricks have been posted with pics. Frosty The Lucky.