BIGGUNDOCTOR

Hey Beth, I guess you didn't fully read my post above As stated the weld cools faster than the cast does which pulls it away from the welded edge. I use an industrial inline needle scaler to spread the weld out. I have found this to be the best method for me. I have the scaler draped over my shoulder, so as soon as I stop welding I can grab it and peen the weld. The multiple needles work the entire weld more evenly, and completely than a hammer does. It also smooths out the welded area, while clearing all of the slag. With method, and good rod, I have repaired exhaust manifolds, a lathe base, table saw frame, and various other machinery parts. Problems can arise when poor grades of cast iron are used, or if the cast iron has a high amount of graphite. It was generally accepted also to do the final weld prep with a burr on a die grinder, or filing, to minimize smearing the graphite over the weld preps like a grinding wheel can.

My question is how does it work? Does it cut well, and hold a great edge? If not then it is a letter opener. A knife is a tool, so it doesn't matter how good it looks if it can't perform. I like the overall design. From the angle of the picture it appears that the blade has a slight downward curve, is that correct? If you can add your location, as there may be some bladesmiths close to you that could help out.

That style of knife is a Kris.

http://www.pagetutor.com/trillion/index.html try just a copy and paste.

I have brazed cast, but I prefer to arc weld it, if it can be. Not all cast iron is weldable, so it ends up being brazed. I have moved away from the nickle rods such as E99. I use other rods that generally cost in the $50 per pound range, and have a good color match. Haven't bought any in some time, as I had some that came in from auctions. The higher price rods run a lot smoother, and have worked much better for me. As stated before you pre heat to too hot to touch, use short stringer beads that you peen while they are cooling, then post heat followed by a slow (overnight) cooling in wood ashes. The problem with cast iron is the weld cools faster than the cast which pulls it away from the cast. Peening spreads the weld keeping it intact. I use a straight line needle scaler to peen with. On the wood stove you will also be dealing with expansion, and contraction while it is being used, which may cause some problems.

When I was in Fairfield taking the blacksmithing courses out at Solano College one of the students got some from a refinery. It was a byproduct of one of their operations. Check with Dave Nourot (new-row) at Solano College. He is a great guy, and a member of the CBA. The class has a big air hammer, and is really well set up.

The mixes were probably to get optimal penetration, and bead. IIRC helium will give better penetration on aluminum than argon. When I did the aluminum it was basically jumping the power up, and slowly turning the wire speed down until it started to spray. The beads were around 5/8" wide, and i had to be careful not to blow through the 5/8" top cap. The pipe had a 1" wall. These were being made into the drums on a rotary labeler for a winery. As to my handle. It goes back about 15 years now when I needed an Ebay handle. I was doing gunsmithing at the time, and wanted something that referenced that. Gunsmith, and its various variations were already taken. My previous business partner came up with BIGGUNDOCTOR which had not been taken yet, so I went with it, even though I am only 5'10" and a fairly slender guy. He mentioned that depending on how it was read it could also be taken as Biggun Doctor . Over the years it just kinda stuck, so I have used that one on all of the gun forums, as well as others that I use. My Dad built 1" to the foot scale models of blackpowder cannons, and I do like to see arty being used. I need to see if the picture of me standing with a Barret M82A1, and an Anzio Ironworks 20MM rifle is still around. The AI makes the .50 look like a .22 I have friends who own some artillery pieces which they occasionally take out and shoot.They also play lawn darts in the desert with their 60MM mortars Some of the joys of living in Nevada.

I differ with the spray arc explanation above. I have done spray arc with straight argon,this was with aluminum. Did you suggest all spray arc welding required a mix, or just steel?

A Fisher is a good anvil, and quiet compared to a forged steel anvil. I have one that my Dad had bought, it is a 260# Fisher made in 1907. Even if the top is rough you can still do a lot of work on it. I would cruise on over there, and look it over really good for damage. You can always offer less, say $100 and see what he says. An anvil for around $1 a pound isn't too bad nowadays. One thing though, if you make an offer make sure that you have the money on you. A crisp new Benjamin Franklin can do wonders sometimes ;)

The labor only jobs were things like broken bolt removal, small weld repairs, machining customer supplied part (IE;cutting a keyway) etc these were nontaxable. If we sold parts,material,built an item, etc then the parts,material, and the completed item were taxable. As for the billion that Washington overspent. That is a drop in the bucket compared to what our current "leaders" in Washington D.C. are spending--TRILLIONS. If you want to get an idea of what is being talked about look at this. My link After looking at this, and realizing how much they have spent,want to spend, and adding the pallets up it gets pretty mindboggling We all better get fully involved in the next elections, or the Chinese may end up foreclosing on us......

I wouldn't. Motors like that use brushes, and will more than likely not last very long under long loads in abrasive environments. There are plenty of other motors around for free to inexpensive.

CA used to be trailer weight no more than 10K, and a combined weight of no more than 26,000. Otherwise a CDL was needed. The reason I mentioned the weight was that I have a 01 4X4, diesel, 1ton,and the CGVW is 21,300#. The truck curbs around 7,300#, so that leaves a 14K trailer load.I know that I have been well over that with some of the trips I have made, but never ran it across any scales to check. It is easy to overload the new trucks with diesels. Doesn't matter really how much I throw on the trailer, that 5.9 Cummins will get it rolling. Now getting it slowed down on the backside of the Tehachpies, or Halloran Pass can be fun. Looking at an exhaust brake to get more whoa.

When I had my shop in CA, labor was nontaxable. I had not heard of any labor being taxable. If we did a repair, and all that was involved was our labor, there was no tax charged.

Could you guys post some pictures of your vises? I had not heard, nor seen one of these before. I take it from the name that you just step on a lever to close?

You won't be welding it if it turns out to be cast. Bolting would be a good option.

1; By gosh,and by golly 2; eye 3; experience 4; go with the flow till it looks good :rolleyes:

I believe that you were far more than that for the trucks CGVW, probably closer to 10K over. You start getting that far overloaded, and braking can be real fun :o

Curious about the step at the bottom of the blade. Was it decoration, or did it have a purpose?

I still say just clean the top, and use it. Now something else you could do is paint a number on it, stick some stickers like STP,crane cams,mallory, etc.. and say it was used in a NASCAR pit by Jr Johnson,or King Richard Petty. Hmmmm it is pretty close to the old Petty blue. Yep, paint a 43 on the side of it. :D

Fire bluing is a thin oxide layer, while hot bluing salts actually rust the surface in a controlled way creating a long lasting tough finish. Hot bluing also provides some rust protection.

Clean the working surfaces off, and pinstripe the body with yellow. An anvil doesn't have to be black. A little color in the shop is nice.

So is the soapstone the one that you hit the clothes with, or the one the clothes get draped over? I have seen entire woodstoves made of soapstone. They radiate heat long after the fire is out. Sooooo, watcha waitn' fer? Forge some stone carving tools, and get to carving. There was a guy at some of the gem and mineral shows back in CA who had a vase made out of soapstone. Parents could drop the kid off for awhile, and he would let them file an area that he had laid out. I worked on a bunch of grapes. That soapstone worked like, well, like soap. Could carve it with a knife it was so soft. I'm thinking a polar bear for the large piece. One of the items I am pulling out of the folks estate is the Timberline woodstove. It was used as an insert, but it doubles as a freestander too. That is how I will use it. It is so much more efficient than a fireplace it isn't funny. I could keep the house 70 all day on a couple of cut up pallets. That stove weighs around 400#, and when it is fully heated up it will still kick off a lot of heat after it is shut down.

Paul42's fire can't be that hot, look, he has icebergs on either side of it. Yep, I play with fire too. I was a scoutmaster, and the scouts were constantly playing in the campfires, so I think it is a universal thing,especially with guys.

I have done hot bluing when I was was working everyday doing gunsmithing. I have a friend who does a bit of Parkerizing which is a military matte finish that comes in grays,black, and can be made green too. Just requires a boiling in the solution for just a few minutes.

Also with the economy there are a lot of unemployed welders. I went to one shop which told me, " I turn welders away every day,I have a hard time finding good machinists though." BTW they were paying $23 per hr.