OddDuck

Nosy neighbors are always a problem. Again, find out what the specific ordinances are. If they allow barbecue grills, they should allow forges. It's not an open fire, it's not a burn barrel or something. If the Nazis are going to give you a hard time, make 'em work for it. The laws are there to protect you and your property rights as much as your neighbors. Knowlege is power. If you find out that you have the right to do it, know the paragraph and subsection so that you have proof the next time they show up. Do your homework. As far as noise, do something to muffle your anvil. Build a windbreak to direct the noise away from your neighbors (check codes on this as well, perhaps make it moveable and portable so that it isn't a permanent structure.) Don't make noise late at night or early in the morning, be a considerate neighbor. Remember, you have rights as well. You are not harming anyone, you aren't doing it in your neighbor's yard, if there aren't covenants or a neighborhood association they have little say on what you do in your yard. It sounds like you are still living at home with your folks. As long as you have their permission and their full knowlege of what you are doing I would insist on your rights. Build a propane forge, build a forge in an old barbecue and see what they say. Make the person who told you to stop cite the relevant law, and get it in writing. It shouldn't just be their opinion, it has to be a specific ordinance. Unless you are doing this to sell stuff, aka a business, this is just a hobby. Commercial statutes shouldn't apply. Now, for a disclaimer, these are my opinions. Your mileage may vary. You are not powerless, you have rights too. I don't suggest building anything (especially something involving fire) on someone elses property, aka the "primitive forge" idea. This could get you in more trouble, and you could lose your equipment as well if whoever owned the property found out and hauled off your stuff when you weren't around. Your best bet, short of finding someone elses forge, would be to do your research and find out exactly what you really can and can't do. Check the town code enforcement office, check the zoning office, check with the fire department. Know more than the idjit that told you to cease and desist.

Just out of curiosity, what do the ordinances stop you from doing? Are there restrictions on open fires or is it a noise ordinance? Do you live in a rural area or are you in-town? I would check very carefully and ask the local authorities if certain uses are allowed, such as blacksmithing. I would think that if you can have a barbecue you can have a forge, the noise ordinances would be a little more difficult to deal with. There are ways around just about everything, I highly encourage you to do it legally, however. If you are an apartment dweller you may have a tough row to hoe, however.

Just what I needed, another project. Went to the saturday session at my blacksmith's association this weekend at what I thought was the member's time, but they were running a class. If anyone is curious, here's the blogspot for it, http://fieldspondblacksmithing.blogspot.com/ . I got talking to the director and they had an old rivet forge that is in the museum's collection that they wanted to fix up, and, me being a new member and trying to be Mr. Helpful, I volunteered to try and fix it. I figured where my main hobby is foundry work, I was in the best position to reproduce some of the broken parts. It was made by Boston Forge, at least that's what the blower says. Everything is free on it, all the parts turn, but it has some serious issues that make it unuseable. Here's a few pics of the blower: You can see the damage to the blower shell in the second one. I am going to clean off the welds, and use the repaired old one to cast a new shell (or two) to use. That's not the big problem, though. This is the first time I have seen one of these close up, and I'm not sure what the complete mechanism looks like on a working one. The other main problem with it is this: The arm got broken off at some point and the ratchet pawl was modified somehow, it still engages and turns the wheel, but the ratcheting action doesn't work. Is there a spring that holds the pawl against the wheel, or is the arm in the wrong position? I am planning to re-cast the arm as well and would like to know what the broken part originally looked like. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Well, since a few others from the Great state of Maine have chimed in, I might as well too. Looks fine, works great, Glenn and Company, keep up the good work! I'm sure you are running backwards and juggling the flaming chainsaws just as fast as you can. I got twitchy not being able to check the site, I like free. Free is good. Valuable free stuff is near priceless. Valuable free info is even moreso.

FWIW something similar to Dragon's Lair's story, an insurance inspector shows up at my house ("But we sent you the paperwork about this 6 months ago...") to check it out. I failed due to roof condition, an outbuilding that was in seroius disrepair, and no railing on my front steps. He asked what my foundry furnace was, and I was completely honest with him about it, he thought it was pretty neat, and insurance-wise didn't bat an eylash, but then again it's out underneath my carport that isn't attached to the house. Go figure.

Pk, the milk was from what I had read on different sites, if I gave out bad info I apologise, I read through the links that you put up and it more or less concurs with the rest that I knew about it. Long and the short of it is like anything else related to hot metal, know your materials and the hazards associated with them, use proper techniques and equipment, and pay attention to what you are doing. Clean the surfaces before welding, don't overheat the melt, more than adequate ventilation, don't rub your eyes after picking habanero peppers, etc. etc.

Darton, for run of the mill got-it-at-a-yard-sale-from-India brass (which is pretty much what I use) the major concern will be zinc, if you badly overheat it. Large amounts of white smoke will be produced and if inhaled can (if you are silly enough to stand in the plume and continuously breathe it) can cause a condition known as "zinc-fume fever", the symptoms are similar to a mild case of the flu, fever, chills, and just a general crappy feeling. This is temporary, and goes away in a day or so. If you get it,******************. I can't speak from personal experience, I have never had it, and I have had the lovely column of dense white smoke erupting from my furnace on more than a few occasions. Keeping an eye on things and a cover flux of either charcoal or borax will help. If you are really worried, get some non-zinc bearing silicon bronze, such as Everdure or a similar alloy. I would still only do this with a lot of ventilation, I concur with the others that common sense and a few simple safety precautions, and a healthy respect for really hot stuff will serve you well. As far as BeCu, I'm not even sure where you could get it, I've seen the conversation come up a few times as well and I don't want to mess with it. Kind of why I use yellow decorative brass, looks good, casts reasonably well, and more or less known hazards.

You already have the main piece of equipment if you have a forge. For small amounts of brass the only other thing you would need is a crucible, and that can be just a large black iron pipe nipple with a cap. I'm sure that's how blacksmiths did small brass parts in years gone by, your forge will definately get to those temps easily. As far as a mold material, for duh-simple try lost foam. Get some blue insulation board type foam, carve your bolster/guard/brass knife blank and attach a sprue to it with a bit of hot melt glue. Bury this in dry sand and pour the metal in the sprue. The metal vaporizes and displaces the foam, and voila, a cast piece. Easy peasy. Just be careful, before you know it you will have another hobby. I'm coming at this from the other way, I have been metalcasting and am trying to get started in blacksmithing, I think they will compliment each other nicely.

Don't worry too much about things Eric, at your age and in this era instant gratification is expected, and things that take time are frustrating. That being said, A: good for you trying to find a positive outlet for your creative energies instead of getting into trouble, and B: patience and planning will get you a lot further with your folks. Be patient with them, if they are working a lot they probably have stress of their own that makes it hard for them to accept something that is kind of out of left field for someone your age. Be calm and rational with them when you discuss it, make sure they understand that this is not a passing fad, and that you will gain valuable skills from practicing it. Read, use some of your budget to purchase books (or more frugally, get them from your local library). The more knowledgeable you are about the subject the more you can answer their inevitable questions in an intelligent way. Lindsay's Technical Books is a good source for inexpensive books about forge work (and a lot of other neat stuff). See if there are classes nearby and put your mony into that, let someone else supply the tools while you learn. Plan your forge to fit inside a couple of large plastic totes, use one for tools and supplies, and use the other for stock and other "junk". Don't get hung up on what you don't have, and maximize the utility of what you can get. If cavemen could figure it out using rocks, you can smith with a chunk of rail and a claw hammer. And make sure you leave your work area cleaner than you found it, nothing will turn your folks against the idea like tripping over a mess every time they go out into the backyard. Start practicing before you ever get your first real tools. Go to Walmart and buy some non-hardening clay and start practicing blacksmithing techniques with that. Supposedly it behaves exactly like hot metal, and you won't get burned, or set the patio on fire. Practice with a book on hand, so your folks will see you actually applying the knowlege, if they have a minute, let them try too and teach them a few things. This will set your budget back all of five bux for the clay. Get creative on the hammer and other instruments of destruction. Make replicas out of wood for the clay practice, use dowels to make chisels, etc. Once you can make something that is recognizable, show your folks. Start with scrolls and leaves instead of a katana, they will be more impressed with decorative objects than sharp pointy ones, and less worried over your intentions. Again, Planning and PATIENCE are going to be your friends, whining and frustration won't. Good luck, and have fun.

I have googled and searched on this site, but just can't seem to find the info. Does anyone have an idea what kind of steel piston wrist pins are made from? Would it be medium or high carbon? I'm guessing they would be pretty high in chromium as well. I just dissassembled a bunch of lawnmower engines and had a thought that sliding a mild steel rod into a wrist pin or two and forge welding them together might make for an interesting pattern-welded knife billet. Worth a shot or more trouble than it's worth?

Just a thought, if you have a forge and a lathe, and were thinking of doing the idlers out of aluminum anyways, there is no reason that you couldn't cast the idlers. The only other ingredients you lack are a crucible of some type, some fine dry sand and a metal bucket, and some styrofoam (or the building insulation type foam). Make a blank on a mandrel from the foam, sand it to shape on the lathe, shape it like a WWII German grenade, with the idler on the end and a three inch or so handle. The handle part is the part that you will use to chuck it in the lathe to bore the through hole and the bearing recess. Make a crucible from a large piece of threaded black pipe and a cap that fits it. Bury the foam in the dry sand with the handle pointed up, and using your forge as the heat source, melt enough aluminum to fill the mold and a bit extra. Voila, an idler that only needs a bit of machining and some cleanup. This is well within the skill range of the average blacksmith.

The moral of the story is, that as soon as you idiot-proof something, they come up with an improved idiot...:rolleyes:

I am using a chunk of track as my first anvil as well, I went the stand it on end route. I am attaching a pic as to how I set mine up. Works pretty well probably nowhere near what an actual anvil would but it does work. The chunk I have has nice square ends so I didn't have to grind the working face and it sets on the stand nice and square. You can also radius the rib portion if set this way to use as a fuller or hardie. Small working face, but for small projects it beats nothing.

Oh, I think it should live, as well. They're more trouble dead than they are alive. Supposedly they make great pets if they are de-scented, and they are kinda cute. Unfortunately, it is illegal in most places to make a wild animal into a pet, so take that with a grain of salt, and good luck de-scenting it. Wear old clothes and have a supply of tomato juice on hand. One of my Aunts told me she semi-domesticated one when she was a kid and fed it eggs, it never sprayed her, and it only stopped when my grandfather found out about it. And I suppose you guys are right about the food additives, Fluffy or Spot will be the one who thinks it's a tasty treat and eat it first, so scratch that idea. And Murphy sez that if it did work the little bugger would find the one hidey hole you missed.

It's the season of the 'finding a home for winter' and 'fattening up' up around here, so they're all over the place. I took a bag of trash out to the bin in the carport this weekend, lifted the lid and heaved the trash bag. Just as I let go I spotted the little black and white head poking up out of the shredded remains of the rest of the trash bags in there, in the direct path of the flying bag-o'-trash. I slammed the lid back down and beat a hasty retreat. I don't know who was more suprised, him or me. I let things settle for a minute, and took a broomhandle and lifted the lid from a distance and propped it up, thinking that the critter would take the hint and vacate. He didn't. Started digging down into the pile to try to make me think he escaped. I had my son go and get the BB gun. He was excited and asked "Can I kill it dad?" and I thought for about a nanosecond and said "Hmm. Shoot a skunk with a less than deadly weapon twenty feet from the back door in an enclosed area. I don't think so. I'll do the shootin'." I didn't want to kill it, I just wanted to persuade it to move. So I pumped the BB gun up just a couple of times and (making sure the business end of the skunk wasn't pointed in my direction) popped him one. He jumped, so I know it hit him, and probably stung a bit. Took a couple more careful shots but he got the hint. Luckily he didn't associate the people with the sting. I checked carefully to make sure he was out and weighted the lid down so he (and/or his brethren or sistren) couldn't get back in. Now I've just got a bin-full of skunky smelling garbage to clean up. Yay me. So you have my sincere sympathies, and good luck. Mebbe a little d-con mixed in with the critter bait will fix his little wagon. Make sure all the places he could crawl under and die are blocked up first.

Dunno if this helps, this is the second blower housing I cast, I was actually thinking about putting a kit in the tailgating section if there was sufficient interest. The first housing I cast using this method is the one that runs my forge. It pushes plenty of air, it's ten inches in diameter and the internal width is about 2". I'm mentally working on the design of a casting for using this as a hand cranked instead of a motorized blower. I can even cast your forge name into the side. Shipping would be pretty reasonable, it should fit into a large flat-rate box. The casting for the impeller base would be included as well. Trades would definately be considered. Sounds like the problem you are having is the gearing setup, though. Have you thought about using bicycle or motorcycle chain? Might be a tad noisier, but you can get the chain and sprockets easily nearly anywhere, and would definately be a very positive drive. Might make the search for bearings and shafting easier as well.

Work Bench: A large planar surface mounted on rickety legs (one normally uneven no matter how many shims are put under the other three), designed and used to collect large amounts of stuff, also a local nexus point for wormholes in space, specifically attracted to small tools and pencils (I know I just set that d#$@ thing right here!) returning them after its intended use is over or a replacement is found. Reputed to have a surface somewhere under all that stuff.

As long as we use a period correct shovel...;)

No, no, just tounge in cheek. Tweren't serious. I can't see a gasser at a historic event either. Sorry for the confusion.

Oh, I dunno about not being able to use it historically speaking. Gassifier technology has actually been around for 150 years or more. In my (admittedly limited) research into gassifiers some of the first IC engines were designed to run on gassifiers. Would it look funny for a colonial setup? Probably. You'd get more "What the heck is that?" questions though. And "Eww"s when they found out what it ran on.:rolleyes:

This might be a case where building a gassifier to heat the forge would make sense. A little more Rube Goldberg than would be strictly neccessary, but then you are using the burning gas instead of that particular fuel directly. A largeish hopper on the gassifier would ease the need for constantly adding fuel. Free is good, but sometimes it costs almost as much to get free working as it would buying new.

Yeah, that would be about as good as a chocolate gun barrel. My furnace is cast iron capable, and I might eventually go that route, I wanted to try simple first. I didn't want to mess with the extra plumbing yet. I have a mullite sleeve at the house that may be perfect tuyere fodder for this. Worth a shot, anyways. This is not a permanent setup, I'm sure I will be rebuilding it many times.

Stainless wouldn't stand up much better at those temps. Iron is iron and it would still be eaten away. On the metalcasting forums almost everyone at one time or another has the great idea to use stainless steel crucibles of some type or another. They wear out just as fast if not faster. Stainless is not a miracle substance, its properties are more or less the same as other steels. Yes, I have had the thought ever since I started looking at this forum that it would be neat to replicate old blowers and other parts for folks. I re-discovered an old technique that makes casting things like blower shells fairly simple. If there is interest maybe I will sell the raw castings so those who would like to could build their own blower. Maybe even personalized with their forge name.. Hmm. This is what the raw castings of the sides of that blower looked like fresh out of the sand. They are a little rough, this is the first attempt at casting them. The thing in the middle is the impeller.

Thanks, guys. The tongs do work, to a point, but I think I can do better. I don't do a lot of iron casting yet, but from the sounds of it there may be some interest, so production might have to ramp up a bit. Let's see if I can actually make a hardy and/or swage first. Great. One more project. Oh well. :)

No problem, Frosty. It's shorter than "Eccentric", and I'm not rich enough to be called that. I chose "Odd Duck Foundry (and now forge too!)" because it describes me pretty well, I'm the guy that buys the car that's built on the one tuesday of the month that they put that unique part in instead of the regular one, I have varied interests, etc. etc. It just fit. The liner is sand/kaolin(EPK) at 2/1 ratio and just rammed in place. It's about 2" thick towards the edges and about an inch in the center depression. I wanted to try it this way (just to be different, please check name...) because I thought it would be a little less challenging to build this way, and I don't own a welder. I haven't used it much yet, only fired it up a couple of times, and I think I have come up with a solution to the tuyere burning away. I'll have to try it tomorrow.