jcornell

Start small and then work your way up bigger.

Here's a very simple plan: 

http://www.zoellerforge.com/simplegasforge.html

See also the freon can forge by Ron Reil 

www.abana.org/ronreil/minifor1.shtml

I'm not a big fan of the Reil burner - I think the sidearm and T burner are easier for most beginners to fabricate, or the one made using a Wye reducer.

Whatever  you do, seal the ceramic insulating fiber, you'll not have to breathe particles if it's sealed.

So, Frosty, if you had 1/8" schedule 80 (available from McMaster-Carr or Grainger, I might add) how would you do it differently?

​Use another piece of stock to push it, or use some terrible cheap pliers to hold it.  Crummy pliers with slices are much better than fingers with slices.

The three file blades were all stock removal.  All normalized first.  Motor oil was heated before blades quenched.

I often wonder if I'm quick enough moving from forge to quench pail.

Normalize and trial again, I guess.

Before posting this I went back and re-read the stickies on HT - well done, Steve Sells.

I've done heat treating before, but it's my least favorite part of making a blade.  I have about 10 blades in various stages of completion right now, so I took time over the weekend to move some towards the finish line.

I did  a heat treat on three file knives (Nicholson) and a large blade made from a rail road clip (approximately 1055ish).

Took all the blades up past magnetic (I did them one at a time).  I use a propane forge.

Quenched the files in non-detergent motor oil (40 weight if memory serves correctly). (The other knife was quenched in water - it had already failed a HT in oil)

Dipped them up and down like I was taught in class.

After cooling and cleaning the oil off, I tested them all with a file - and the file bit into the knife edge.

Any clue on what I'm doing wrong?

At this point I'm tempted to cut the 40 weight oil with some ATF fluid and try again.

Suggestions, oh wise bladesmiths?

Get two INSULATING fire bricks to put under your forge and you won't have scorching problems.  In the alternative, if you have a tire rim, cobble together a way to mount your diamonback to the rim (I'd do machine screws) and again, with that much space, I'll wager a doughnut that you won't have scorching problems.  Insulating Fire Bricks (IFB) is kind of like Styrofoam, very light, and  can be carved with wood tools.

Between his business and his health, he's not the most prompt guy in the world for returning e-mail, but he's a great resource and a good supplier.  Be persistent.

the current project in mind is a fire poker which will be either 1/2" or 3/8" square stock.

In the long run, I'd like a jig, but in the short run, some HF crescent wrenches and bolts will indeed make a usable tool.

Thanks for helping expand my thinking.

I played around with reverse twists for a christmas project this year (actually last year, given that it's now 2015).  I saw this tool in a book:

Now my question.

Is anyone making these for sale?  I have no welding capability beyond what I can do in my forge, and the wonderful fabricator I used to trade with is no longer attending my church.

Surely someone, somewhere is making these for resale.

Any hints, o wise smiths?

Noob question here.

I got a vibratory tumbler for Christmas - the smaller type that is usually used to clean brass casings for reloaders.

I've got it loaded with crushed walnut shells and a bit of brass polish and I'm vibrating 3" rings that I've made (Christmas ornaments) along with some split crosses.

How long do I let it tumble to knock off all the scale?  I reckoned that this would be safer than the wire brush on the bench grinder (which works well, but scares me).

As a practical aside, don't leave the bag of walnut shells outside - a local squirrel attacked the bag, scattering it all over my driveway.  He must have figured that there was a nut in there somewhere!

Would I be better off using another abrasive - say glass for sandblasting or something else?

The problem being, I'm not sure what parts I'll need.  I'm in the USA, so the 20# tanks have a #2 POL connection.  I would like to buy the kit that Larry Zoeller sells, but he's not answering his e-mail.

What parts do I need, and where can I procure them?

Thanks in advance.

Do a google search for coffee can forge.  Sand and plaster is a heat sink, you need an insulating and reflective material, and a hotter torch.  There's a very good example of what I'm talking about at www dot zoellerforge dot com

I've done lots of fairly big stuff in my very small forge (I have a pass through hole in the back).

So am I to assume that the piece in the middle is spring steel or something comparable to give a decent edge to the blade?

If you go online, you can download the HF manual.  The last pages of the manual, you'll find a parts list and an 800 number for ordering parts.  I've never ordered any parts from HF, so I can only say "good luck, and let us know how it comes out."

It's very historically accurate.  In prior times high carbon steel was a scarce resource, so a high carbon bit was often welded to an iron or mild steel body.  So, the answer to the question is yes - it's easier to work with low carbons steel, it's usually cheaper, but for the most part, it's the historic way of doing it.

As you continue you will eventually have more than one forge - a little forge for small stuff, a flux resistant forge for welding, a general forge, and then perhaps a modular forge (or a coal forge) for larger or odd shaped stuff.

I've built and retired 3 forges (I'm on #4 right now) and getting ready to build my flux resistant forge.  As I've built all of mine, I have no opinion on the commercial models.

^^^ Cool, thanks for the help.
I've been having this problem with the pvc,
I can't seem to get it fully flat.
Am I supposed to leave it the boiling water until it softens or for how much longer?
By the time I clamp it down it's already half stiff.

I made a press out of two nestled pieces of angle iron - I've got bolts with wing nuts holding it in place.  The press and the pvc goes into the pot of boiling water.  I then pick up the whole (press and pvc) and smush it in a vise.  When cold, it's quite flat.

As far as gluing the layers of pvc together, you can use PVC glue or you can use epoxy.  Both have their uses, but epoxy is a better bet for the long term.

YMMV

PVC pipe has promise - it can be glued in layers to make various depths.  It can be softened in a pot of boiling water and then shaped into almost any shape you can think of - but I usually just smash it flat.

The pre-printed lettering comes off with pvc pipe cleaner or a little sanding (wear a mask).  When people ask, I tell them that it's Appalachian Ivory.  No elephants were harmed, but some hydrocarbon molecules were seriously inconvenienced.

I'm familiar with most of these except for the Claydon Knot - any hints on where I can find an explanation for that one?

If you have some spare kaowool (or comparable) the stuff the burner holding tube to insure a seal.  Burners that are top dead center may have a problem with hot air from the forge floating up the burner holding tube.  When this happens, you end up getting hot, low-oxygen air into your burner, which means your burner starts "chuffing" and sputtering.

I've had good luck with a brass wire wheel on a bench grinder (remove the abrasive disc and substitute the brass wire wheel).  Upon occasion you'll have the object being cleaned/polished flung somewhere at high speed if you get the wrong angle (forget about grip at that point) but there's a doable learning curve for this technique.  YMMV

This does snap open with a satisfying "snick" but it's not really a locking blade.  I rounded both corners of the blade to make it open easier - I'd leave it more square next time.

Next iteration of this will have a more shallow loop to prevent the possibility of sticking a finger through the loop whilst the blade is there.  It's not quite pocket safe, but compared to the original Huston folder design, it's an improvement.

While I really like the Huston style folding knife, it has a drawback - it's not very safe in the pocket.  So I set out to tinker with the design.

I originally thought I'd bind the blade to the frame with a permanent rivet, but ended up using a small machine screw and nut.

This one is made with a spring steel frame and blade.  The spring is an old McPherson Strut donated to me by one of my daughter's friends.  He ended up with the knife as a thank-you.

The next variation was made with a spring steel blade (toyota) and a mild steel handle.

This is inspired by a Chapman design, but I went through a number of prototypes before I had something I was happy with.

This is my every day carry knife.

The frame is made from the wire that holds up political signs - it's mild steel that welds nicely.  There's primary elections this month, and as I drive around town I tell my son that I live in a wonderful country where people deliver steel to my neighbor's yards.

I'm a noob when it comes to grinding blades, so a year from now I'll probably cringe when I see this blade, but it works for now.  Heat treated and quite sharp.

Another cheap solution is to flip the work over while you still  have some heat and planish.  The working side of the piece is way more bumpy than the side that's against the anvil (assuming that you have a flat anvil face), so turn the piece over and tap the flat side lightly to use the anvil face to work those bumps flat before returning the work back to heat.  It's a lot easier to do it now, than to do it later with a sander, grinder or file.

J