Frosty

GOOD score you lucky Old Rascal! An inch or so of rammed clay or even split fire brick is plenty of liner to save it from localized heat. Generally claying or lining a solid fuel forge is to disperse the heat more evenly. Cast iron doesn't like very much heat differential, especially a small zone in the middle of a large general area, it can make them crack. Even sheet metal likes even heat, though it won't crack it can sure warp. So, a layer of clay slows the penetration of heat and disperses it over a large area. how it's lined isn't so important so long as it disperses the heat. Something that isn't crumbly is good as it'll keep the iron cleaner. You can simply dig clay out of the garden, river bank or pick up a bag of fire clay at the local concrete plant. I like just enough moisture in it so it'll clump when squeezed in your hand, then I hammer it in with a mallet till the mallet bounces. Then I burnish it with a little burlap, the smoother the surface the less clinker will stick and the less dust ends up on your work. All that and the easy route is brick, easy fast and reasonably bullet proof. Frosty The Lucky.

Hollis, got it. I know a H. Woolridge from Texas so coupled with the TBI I can blame it on the TREE! Now I'm wondering if THAT Harold IS in Texas. <sigh> Oh NOW I feel soooooo smart, doing my final reread before hitting "Post" I see how you spell your name. Now I don't even have an excuse. <DANG!> Frosty The Lucky.

Welcome aboard CBM glad to have you. Most of the charcoal smithing I've done has been around a campfire in the bush. there's not a lot I can add except to extend my own offer to answer whatever I can and If I don't have a good answer, make up something entertaining. I believe all the basic warnings have been rendered so I'll give you a break. Just don't think that because you're used to working with fire you'll always be ahead of the game. Fire can surprise you, sometimes long after you're sure it's out. Charcoal especially can be deceptive, most places fire code says you are responsible for a wood fire for up to three 3 days AFTER you "put it out." Coals can lay barely smoldering for day under a layer of ash and be revived by just a breath of air or a shift in the ash covering it. Frosty The Lucky.

Okay, that makes sense Harold. No impeller blades don't HAVE to be shaped. Some are cupped, some are curved like scoops but I don't think it makes much if any difference in a hand crank blower. My champion 400 moves the same amount of air no matter which direction you turn the handle. One direction turns the impeller blades tangential to the air outlet and the other is of course the other direction. Same amount of air. When I discovered it didn't seem to matter I couldn't believe it so I gave it a little test. I pointed the flex pipe so it pointed straight up and floated a light inflated ball on the air stream. Same cranks per second to float the ball. I think what's happening in my blower is the blades actually make a low pressure zone behind them, draw air in from the center and there's no place for it to go but out the outlet. I think it's more important for the impeller blades to fit close to the sides of the casing than have a particular shape. Of course that's just my thinking . . .<grin> Frosty The Lucky.

I don't or should say I've never sold "letters" I have sold a few address placards, one for the front of a house and a couple for mail boxes. I've done so few I used my "one off" pricing formula. (formula? snicker) They were all pretty simple, name and number from strip stock. the mailbox addresses were 3/4" x 1/8" bend on the flat with a little gentle hammer texturing and finial ornamentation and like yours but less. The house address was larger stock, 1" x 1/4" as I recall, again bent on the flat more worked finial. I estimated the time, added maybe 10% and figured in the stock. The second mailbox number was more like profitable. Had I done more I'd have had the time down and been in the black. I wish I had better advice but that's what I have. Make your best estimate and adjust as you go. The more you do the faster and better you'll get so profit will go up. If it's a one off project you may have to charge time and materials, it's what makes one off projects so much more expensive. Frosty The Lucky.

You're on your WAY Nank! Those are mucho improved tongs. I agree with Neil, a little more meat where the reins meet the rivet boss is a good idea. Heck, that's the place to over design tongs if you feel the need to over design anything. Sweet hardy, well done! Frosty The Lucky.

There are lots of examples of home/shop made blowers in videos from 3rd. world countries on the net, the one that really sticks in my mind is a video of a fellow in Viet Nam who makes blowers from bicycles. The blower blades are slices of pop cans attached in the wheel rim running is a housing made from . . . cans. Some used the chain drives from two old bikes to gear the blower impeller up. There are also good examples of vertical bellows some made by standing one barrel open end downwards in another drum open end up and filled with water. The inner drum has a simple flap valve to let air in and an outlet to the air supply line also probably with a flap valve. A lever arm to lift the inner drum and let gravity sink it sending displaced air to the forge. Need more blast put weights on the inner drum. It's an elegantly simple bellows with a reasonably small footprint able to supply quite a bit of steady air blast. Frosty The Lucky.

Steel sells by the lb. depending on shape. Eg. channel costs more per lb. than bar stock. Most shape is sold by the web dimension and lb/ft. Eg. 6" x7lb. channel or 8" x18lb wide flange. (FYI I just picked those numbers for example's sake, I didn't look them up so don't say AH HAH, he's BSing us again!) Most steel suppliers are happy to give you a reference book for shapes, size weight and engineering data such as tensile, deflection, yield, etc. strengths. If you build much from steel you really need one of these references so a person doesn't grossly overbuild not knowing how much is enough. Most guys I've worked with just build everything twice as heavy as necessary because they don't know how much is enough. A 100% safety margin doesn't sound bad till you realize that using steel twice as heavy as needed is actually a 200% margin and this can get a person into trouble with weight. Frosty The Lucky.

There's a video on the web about the outfit making tactical hawks for guys in the sandbox. The mid east is more a blade culture than more modern folk are used to so big knives or better really effective hawks are impressive. Being able to can opener into a vehicle is big mojo. So, yes, there is a market but it's got at least one fairly large manufacturer forging quality hawks in batch lots. Frosty The Lucky.

Strength wise my concern would be someone using it to help sit or get up but if the TP holder isn't much longer than a roll folk aren't likely to use it for a grab bar. That gets me thinking though, maybe a line of nice forged grab bars would be a marketable item? Frosty The Lucky.

Letting it flow so to speak helps a person to develop skill in thinking on the fly and cooperating with the material. My first impression was of critters talking till you pointed out the negative space crosses. I missed the negative space entirely at first blush. Nice piece, well done. Frosty The Lucky.

Welcome aboard Brian, glad to have you. If you start using the TPAAAT you'll find your anvil and other equipment faster than you'd believe. Just search the IFI site, it's here. My father was a metal spinner and machinist ad I grew up working in his shop so I know how sweet a nice lathe is and how satisfying it is to turn things out. (yeah, pun intended) I'm thinking I expect to see your WIP pics of the steam powered line shop as you build it. Welcome to the affliction, blacksmithing is very addictive and there's no cure so just dive on in and enjoy the ride. Frosty The Lucky.

Backing off the feed pressure ought to do it. I use my band saw all the time and too much down/feed pressure is usually the reason for a straight piece shifting. Tapers need spacers or shims or the vise won't hold them securely no matter how tight. Frosty The Lucky.

Ooooh spooky Jim! I like it, a good bottle opener is a must. Frosty The Lucky.

Welcome aboard Dave, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you might be surprised at how many of the IFI gang live within visiting distance. Instead of using a mallet to break up lump charcoal use the vise OR make a pair of pointy tongs and just bite it smaller. Nice kitten, we used to have a cat who waited on the banister of the stairs to hitch a ride on your shoulder or just perch on your head till you had to get up. Great cat, good memories. Frosty The Lucky.

Take a look in this section. The "T" burner I've been building for a while is there with parts list and a description of how to put it together. At today's prices, not counting necessary tools, drill bits and taps, the regulator, hose, copper tube and fittings, a 3/4" burner costs about $10.00. Right now I feel you should do more reading as you don't know enough to ask good questions or understand the answers. I'm not being mean but you aren't quite to the dangerous level of knowledge and I do NOT want anyone getting hurt if it can be helped. Naturally aspirated burners are simple devices based on air entrainment devices. Gun (blown) burners are simple as well but require less precision to build and tune. Still, it has to be done right or BAD things can happen. Don't go away, I'll be pleased as punch to help but you need at least a little more knowledge and NOT what you're asking about. I hope that isn't as confusing as it sounds but there it is. Frosty The Lucky.

Ah good, now we know where you went Eric! I'm afraid I haven't made much of anything cool recently, been busy with life stuff. I've been trying to keep at a tire hammer for Tristan but doing it a bit at a time. You REALLY need to make the AABA meet and get in touch with the guys you now live near. Harold is a great guy, fun character and excellent smith. Thomas and I've been online friends for quite some time now, I don't know anyone with a better historical blacksmithing and iron in general library. Definately the guy to ask about doing period work. Arizona is a favorite state of mine but you gotta like the desert in all it's faces. Frosty The Lucky.

Thanks for the confirmation Pat, it sure beats relying on MY memory. I'll see you there and I believe Tristan is bringing a new young man with him. Jer

Heat colors can be really stunning and you've gotten some dandies. There are other tricks, one I think I've mentioned here before. Putting heat colors on copper especially is very much the same process as raku pottery glazes. The oxide depth alters the defraction and makes different colors. I had some serious fun and cool colors by heating the copper to fast oxidizing temp and then playing it in and around different smoke makers like saw dust, leaves and sticks or moose poop. The smoke deoxidizes the copper and can make for some vivid colors in interesting combinations. Another technique I toyed with briefly was using a hot iron instead of a torch or fire. The copper will draw heat out of a hot iron surprisingly quickly. I really liked the effects I got fro a piece of 1/2" rd. I put a rounded point on. It retained enough thermal mass to work for a while but the point allowed some fine marks. Don't get it too hot though or it'll gall or even melt the copper. Keeping the colors intact for any length of time isn't something I've had much luck with so I'm paying attention. Frosty The Lucky.

Looks good Geoff. How's it work for you? Getting a good work area is usually a process and can take a long time. Some were lucky enough to learn in someone else's shop and learned their ways. Not that it's necessarily better to use a "master's" methods but like so much else it can really shorten the learning curve. Thanks for sharing. Frosty The Lucky.

Welcome aboard, glad to have you. I'm confused, you have a CAR in your garage? That just doesn't seem natural. <grin> Bealer was more a historian trying to keep the craft from disappearing, the book has some things that just ain't so but it's well worth having on the shelf. I have two copies. Pick up a copy of "The complete Modern Blacksmith" by Alexander Wygers. Being a welder fabricator you'll be able to use Wygers book to it's fullest. He was an artist in many media and traveled the world but didn't bring his tools. When he found something he wanted to use he'd set up a field expedient blacksmith shop and make whatever he needed. He did a lot of wood and stone carving and was a master at starting from whatever was around. It's one of my favorite books. There are lots of other very good books I'm pretty sure there is a list on IFI somewhere I just don't know where. We LOVE good questions and brainstorming problems. WE LOVE pics more though: projects, shop, tools, family, scenery, dogs, food, you name it. Frosty The Lucky.

Eric moved from Anchorage AK to some undisclosed location in Arizona. He's a teenager so expect confusing. Frosty The Lucky.

You have my sincere sympathy Thomas but it's trials like these that strengthen us. Frosty The Lucky.

In olden days logs were let float for a long time before milling to prevent checking. I've had success on smaller sections boiling it to remove the sap and pitch. Once rinsed out it dries faster with very little chance of checking. I have NO idea how long a person would have to boil a large block like yours but adding a little detergent helps a lot, Dawn dish washing detergent worked a treat for me. I used to collect and treat burls for little projects, the largest was a spruce burl 15" x 21" that got turned into a punch bowl. It doesn't have to be kept boiling, that just speeds the process up considerably. Frosty The Lucky.

Ayup, those look like fine useful tongs. Well done. Frosty The Lucky.