Frosty

My memory lost the details and I don't recall if I saved the links. It was of interest at the time when we were discussing various refractories. We saw a lot of people telling us about using plaster of Paris and perlite as a refractory. It was a popular urban myth at the time and I don't know if it still is we haven't seen it brought up in a few years though. When I was first building a propane forge I mixed damp sawdust with fireclay to make light refractory for a cylindrical forge. I rammed it hard between sonotubes with an annulus of about 1 1/2 inches. The idea being that once dry I'd fire the dry clay cylinder and have an insulating fire clay liner! Oh yeah like that worked. Okay I'm back did a search and like the Britannica entry about Portland cement without reading a bunch of hits. https://www.britannica.com/technology/cement-building-material/The-major-cements-composition-and-properties Burnt lime cement and concrete are ancient, the Roman Colosseum is mostly concrete and many ancient Greek ruins contain burnt lime concrete and mortars. Pompeii was a main source of the volcanic ash necessary to make good cement but not the only one. It's a fascinating topic if you're into reading . Frosty The Lucky.

How large a forge do you wish to make? While you probably COULD make a viable shell from this particular recipe what is the advantage? It will take a considerable length of time more than using thin sheet steel or a found cylinder. Things like propane old cylinders can be had for scrap price and are more than large enough to make a way too large first forge. Another issue is how do you plan on shielding the aircrete from the dragon's breath at the openings? None of his "tests" demonstrated it would take more than maybe 500f. There is nothing in his formula that prevents portland cement from burning and reverting to quicklime. Glad I went back and re-read your post before posting a reply. How do you plan on getting refractory clay to set like Portland cement, the main ingredient in this aircrete video? There are plenty of proven forge designs in IforgeIron's Forges 101 section and we spent a LOT of time discussing refractories of all kinds. Unless I'm mistaken the consensus was "Kastolite 30 li" water setting high alumina bubble refractory was the favorite. If you just like to tinker, have at it but you'd do well to read some vetted material rather than watch a guy who makes a living posting youtube how to videos. Frosty The Lucky.

I'd like to see a chemical analysis of the inside of the socket on the Bident. Bident is a pretty general term meaning literally 2 teeth and is as much a descriptive phrase as anything. What residues may remain on the inside of the socket could tell a person exactly what it was for. It reminds me of similar bident tools that were used to turn wool in the dye vats. I don't think it's quite the right shape for a wool dying fork thing but it COULD be. My bet it is something similar though who knows what needed turning, twisting, maybe for dragging curious sheep stuck in burrows out without tangling so badly they can't get the bident off. Hmmmm? I'll Bet it's an instrument for a Roman Conjoined Pixie brass horn duet. That's my guess and I'm sticking to it. Next? Frosty The Lucky.

Your work is as masterfully beautiful as always Alex. Looks like a beautiful walk in Gatchina amongst the lights. 5 liters! Deb and I couldn't get outside that on a party night. I'd actually enjoy half a litter on occasion. Maybe some day we can tip a glass together. Happy New Year and a Merry Christmas. Frosty The Lucky.

Welcome aboard, glad to have you. If you put your general location in the header you'll have a chance of meeting up with members living within visiting distance. Handling ANY molten metal is dangerous, even the ones with liquidus below room temperature. For example, ONE drop of 212f water expands 1,600 times when it changes phase to 212f steam. The greater the temp the more it expands, aluminum has a pour temp around 1,100f IIRC and molten aluminum oxidizes instantly on contact with atmospheric oxygen. The grey lump your spoon of once pure aluminum turned into. What you tried won't, can't work and you didn't want to pay for a good crucible let alone build or buy a melter. This isn't a dis but you're like a blind man trying to cross a freeway by feeling for the cross walk lines cane. There is NO WAY I'm about to try and instruct you in casting aluminum in a few days let alone minutes. ONE mistake can have your melt splattered on YOU and lighting fires around you. A single mistake casting can put you in the hospital, main, cripple and or permanently disfigure you WHILE it burns your house down or lights a forest fire, etc. The absolute BEST advice I can give you and still look at myself in the mirror in the morning is. Take a class from someone who is certified and insured to teach casting. Seeing as you've only got a few days buy your Mom something nice for Christmas. $40.00 USD is more than enough to put a big happy smile on a Mother's face. Compare that to the look on her face when she visits you in the hospital burn ward where you face disfigurement and possible death because you wanted to cheap out on her Christmas gift. And Please, PLEASE, PLEASE, do NOT try teaching yourself casting by watching Youtube videos, reading blogs, etc. They are mostly empty to downright dangerous gum flapping by people who don't know diddly and live for clicks on their channel. There are exceptions made by people who actually DO know what they're doing but you just do not have the basic knowledge to tell the difference between dangerous mythinformation and honest expert information. Be wise, Be well and live to make beautiful things. And post pics so we can enjoy your accomplishments. Frosty The Lucky.

Asa: I wasn't clear enough. You are STILL asking me specific questions about something I'd spend a day or two evaluating before beginning your project or selecting a known steel for. Sure the sparks indicate it is probably in the medium to high medium carbon range and suggests only ONE aspect of the heat treatment necessary. Other metals in the alloy WILL effect it's heat treatment some significantly. You didn't even tell us if it is a shear pin or retaining pin. Retaining pins are alloyed not to shear and are a different alloy than shear pins which are designed to have a consistent failure point and shear without bending or tearing. Two entirely different purposes and steels. Shear pins are not intended for impact resistance they are DESIGNED to fail under certain conditions. Modern steels are very different than were available even 30 years ago so what someone said in a book published 50 years ago doesn't really apply. UNLESS you can find steel that is analysis graded. Today they are all performance graded so as long as they do what is specified it doesn't matter what is in the alloy. Please forget blogs and youtube videos, the first are just guesses and the second are mostly made by people who's only qualification is a camera and connection. There are a few youtube channels by genuine expert smiths, bladesmiths, casters, etc. But if YOU don't have a grounding in the particular craft how can you tell if it's honest info or ignorant gum flapping. Some youtube videos and channels have been vetted by the Iforge gang often with arguments amongst ourselves. Some are produced by members. Other members have given up on producing videos for being deluged by idjits wanting to argue based on ignorant mythinformation. Frosty The Lucky.

Repousse is a whole different thing in steel, let alone steel that heavy. Any ideas for decorative shapes like hearts, stars, deltas, etc.? Frosty The Lucky.

Have you made tooling for figures or just fluting? Mine was much smaller, made from garage door spring. I only messed with it a little, didn't pursue it. Frosty The Lucky.

I believe there is or was commercial versions of split / vibration damping hammer handles. IIRC there wasn't much kerf, just a thin saw cut with a spacer in the eye and wedged normally. Unfortunately that's what I remember and it's not reliable enough to put money on. I can show you the dent. Frosty The Lucky.

It's all good Paul, everybody gets worked up now and then. If you'd been following the forum you'd know how often it happens to me even though I edit mine several times before posting. I sincerely hope you'll join us on Iforge, we're always looking for contributors and we'll gleefully pump you for what you know. We'll disagree often enough of course but blacksmiths are like that. Ask two a question and get 3-4 answers, it's who we are. Be well Brother. Frosty The Lucky.

If you wanted to you could scratch holes with your fingernails. Frosty The Lucky.

More carbon than you really want for an impact tool like a rock hammer. You'll definitely want to draw the temper down quite a bit or work hardening could cause it to chip. Frosty The Lucky.

A very blacksmitherly improvisation Chad, well done! I wonder about making a shear for a table top nail station sometimes. Or waiting the moment when You shined it John. Play that flute! Frosty The Lucky.

Just describe the sparks, long straight yellow, short sparklers, etc. I don't open videos, just take a still with your smart phone save it, reduce it so it wont exceed the forum file size limit and post it. I'll take a look. Frosty The Lucky.

I'm not aware of "grade 8" steel unless he meant the same steel as a grade 8 bolt. Contact the company that makes pins for your brush hog and ask them. Is it a sear pin or a mounting pin? The different uses require different steel. Have you spark tested it against a grinding wheel? It'd probably be faster and more reliable to contact a transmission or driveline shop and ask to go through their drops or scrap bin. Might want to take a six pack of beer and hit them right before closing. A little PR goes a long way you know. Frosty The Lucky.

Oh no, I prefer the full horse size hooks so the local moose can hang out without falling. Frosty The Lucky.

Ooh, nicely done Billy! I like it a lot. Frosty The Lucky.

One tip for a brick pile forge. Do NOT weld the frame together, even the best firebrick needs room to expand during heat cycles a bolt together frame is easy to access bricks for maintenance and gives sufficient room for expansion. These have 8ea. Morgan thermal ceramics K-26 light firebricks. and 2 standard hard split firebricks for the doorways. It is all held together with all thread rod to allow 3D adjustability. The 1/2" T burner is the heat. I took this pic less than 5 minutes after it was lit the first time. None were kiln washed but lots of guys did later. A number of professional bladesmiths in the club put their "full size" forges away and may still be using one of these. I would've done a few things differently but it WAS designed by committee at a club meeting. I'm darned pleased with them Frosty The Lucky.

John posted links to some excellent lock picking and historic lock and key sites a while ago. Lock plates and padlocks tended to use different size and to an extent types of wards and keys. Oh Johhhnnnn where are youuuuu? We could use your educated opinion here. Frosty The Lucky.

You did right Tink, his Iforge family might not be in his official family but we loved him and will cherish his memory. Have you ever read the poem, "The Rainbow Bridge?" It may sound strange but it says it pretty well for me. Frosty The Lucky.

That's a lot better, thank you. I see lots of things I recognize, some are easy like the shears and probably the tenterhooks, chisels, the fishing gear from barbed tridents, fish hooks net weights look clear to me. I think I recognize various knives, choppers and perhaps short swords. Then I clicked and got lost on the tour again. Good thing I have the link! Frosty The Lucky.

One of the real benefits of a multiple orifice "ribbon" burner is the low flame velocity. The flow is still strong enough to use for circulating the heat in the forge and makes serious mistakes in orientation even worse. The way you have the burner oriented in your sketch above is one of those real mistakes, the flame is aimed into a corner which will increase back pressure against the burner orifices and inhibit burner performance clear back to the injector. Orienting the burner upwards invites debris falling into and blocking orifices, reducing the number of flames and increasing back pressure both B A D things. Orienting a ribbon like you show above will work fine if you place it so the flames impinge on the floor on the close side so the flow has a clear path to and then up the far side. Lowering the floor so the cylindrical wall meets at a more obtuse angle will help as well. Ribbon burners actually work pretty well aimed straight down at the center of the floor. The flow will create turbulence rather than a circular flow in the forge but the low velocity still means the flame will remain inside the forge longer. If you can keep the flame velocity reasonable. Frosty The Lucky.

I found the museum with a search and am figuring out the virtual tour. I haven't found a table of contents or index though and the tour is hard to control. Can you link us to the artefact display in your previous post please? I can enlarge my screen display to see details but that makes the tour impossible to follow without getting lost. Frosty The Lucky.

Thank you Davor! I love these kinds of displays, some items are so very recognizable and some not. And of course sometimes we only THINK we know what a thing was. Is there a web site with descriptions and maybe academics best guesses about the stuff? Thanks again. Frosty The Lucky.

Thanks Brian, well said. I was going to but I sounded too much like a rant and didn't submit it. If necessary just highlighting a line or sentence and addressing the original poster gives anybody who wants the details the option of clicking on the quote and reading the original post. What Brian forgot to mention is many members around the world are paying by the minute for internet connections and when entire posts are quoted they have to pay for something they may have already read when just a reminder is more than enough. Make sense? Frosty The Lucky.