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I Forge Iron

Slack Tub ??


Charlotte

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Years ago I stockpiled a number of 5 gallon metal buckets that have served me well in a wide number of roles.

This afternoon the last bucket with out a hole sprung a leak. No more slack tub. I've been in shops that used every thing from galvanized laundry tubs to garbage pails, Cut off steel drums and Plastic barrels get quite a few votes I've seen quite a few whiskey and wine barrels used. If you are lucky some times one of the stainless steel beer barrels turns up available.
A lot of it the better items rely on being at the right place at the right time.

I'm tending toward the wooden barrel solution but wonder if anyone has plans that address this with out completing an apprenticeship in cooperage?

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I have a half barrel but use a 15gl grease barrel, it's tall enough I can cool the holding part without trouble and being narrow doesn't take up a bunch of room.

I dropped a piece of 55gl drum cutout in the bottom to make it harder to poke a hole in it and made an expanded metal basket so I don't have to go fishing for small things that fall in.

Frosty

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Years ago I stockpiled a number of 5 gallon metal buckets that have served me well in a wide number of roles.

This afternoon the last bucket with out a hole sprung a leak. No more slack tub. I've been in shops that used every thing from galvanized laundry tubs to garbage pails, Cut off steel drums and Plastic barrels get quite a few votes I've seen quite a few whiskey and wine barrels used. If you are lucky some times one of the stainless steel beer barrels turns up available.
A lot of it the better items rely on being at the right place at the right time.

I'm tending toward the wooden barrel solution but wonder if anyone has plans that address this with out completing an apprenticeship in cooperage?


Thought about soldering the holes? I did that with a small oil can that had rusted through in several places...not sure why it rusted! I have a collection of old soldering irons and used a couple of them to do the job, hated to just chunk the oil can as it was the perfect size for what I wanted. Just a thought, may not be worth the time/trouble for you.
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I bought a "garden drink tub" with stand at walmart last fall, it is like the washtubs they sell, but this one has a stand, I think it is probably 20 gallon. The regular price at walmart was $29, and I got it for $20 last fall. I like it for the height, I only wish I had put a drain in it, so I could change it more often. I did however drop a block of hot steel in it and the corner punched a small hole in the bottom, but that is what RTV silicone is for....:)

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I am here in cattle/horse country and there are lots of feed supplement tubs for livestock that just happen to be perfect for slack tubs. I have used the supplements for my livestock in the past and now use a plastic one that is esentially 1/2 a 55 gal barrel for my slack tub.

Look around for a rancher (don't call them farmers) who has those barrels out in their pasture. Stop by and ask if you could trade for an empty one. You would be surprised what good friends you can make.

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Thomas,
I looked repairing but it is not just an isolated pinhole. I did think of doing a quick polyester fiberglassing of the whole thing. However, my glassing resin and catalyst had gone bad and so gave up on that Idea.

I'm toying with buying some cedar fence pickets making a "faux" wooden bucket outside and then glassing the inside with new resin. I haven't done a demo in years but it would be kind of cool as a demo piece.

I'm looking for the cut off barrels. Rt now I'm using the old bucketil as a liner for a plastic diaper pail. I need to make a bunch of s hook plant hanger scrolls before saturday. Could do cold but where's the fun in that?

I follow George Dixon's maxium: "Every inch of every piece of steel I sell is passed through the fire"

Edited by Charlotte
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I don't use water in my shop save for when I need to control exactly where a heat goes. A 5 gal plastic pail with a dipper does fine. Carry it out to the shop when I go and dump it on the mesquite tree when I'm done.

When I need to let a part cool down we toss it out into the desert.

With A36 you can get unfortunate unintended consequences when quenched so I avoid it and with knifemaking you don't want a water quench anyway!

For demos when I need to cool down a piece to hand around I use an old coopered wooden icecream maker bucket---buy them at the fleamarket for a couple of bucks; remove the metal work and run a 3 strand rope through the holes near the top and you have a great old-timey wooden bucket dead cheap.

Of course out here I have to start soaking a bucket a couple of days before a demo to get it water tight.

Half a barrel takes up a lot of floor space and is a tempting target for the smithy gremlins to drop a hot piec of HighC in. We're no longer forging straight mild steel or real wrought iron where a quench was a standard end to the hot phase of a project so why do you need a large slack tub?

Edited by ThomasPowers
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My old well tank sprung a leak in the bladder, so I saved it to make a smoker. That project never came through, so I cut the top off to use as a slack tub. This was a tall, 40-gal, tank and I wanted the height for long stuff. One problem was the bladder was attached on the other side of a partial metal dome. Since I was already into this, I popped the dome out with a chisel. It wasn't all that much work, as only weak welds held it in.

The tank has a nice base and I put a basket in, like Frosty, for dropped stuff. And if I need to empty it, I just might hook a hose up to the outlet and drain away.

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may as well chime in, I have a 3 gal wooden barrel I took one end off for my demo' and like Thomas I need to soak it a few days before I need it to get it to seal. and I am ashamed to say drywall bucket in the shop. easy to dump out or move between the grinder/forge areas.

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I caught a nasty infection once from a half whiskey barrel I used as a slack tub (because I also wash my hands in them). I found out the hard way that all sorts of bugs will grow in wooden barrels - so I switched to a galvanized tub that holds about 40 gallons when full.

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Thanks for all the suggestions. I haven't made my mind up yet but I think 20 gallons will be about right for my needs. Counting costs a small galvanized looks like it will be the ticket if I can find one. The price of resin and glass has gone up a lot

I like to have a good sized bucket because on one or two occasions I've started small fires when using a cutting torch. and I got used to having a lot of water around when I ran a coal forge. The water was important to building and maintaining the fire.

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Thanks for all the suggestions. I haven't made my mind up yet but I think 20 gallons will be about right for my needs. Counting costs a small galvanized looks like it will be the ticket if I can find one. The price of resin and glass has gone up a lot

I like to have a good sized bucket because on one or two occasions I've started small fires when using a cutting torch. and I got used to having a lot of water around when I ran a coal forge. The water was important to building and maintaining the fire.


Charlotte look at Tractor supply they carry a couple that are about that size ...one looks like a small garbage can the other looks like a bushel basket
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Thomas I love the idea of the old ice cream bucket especially for demos Thanks that is a great idea.
James I was given a used keg and I cut to top off but I use mine to boil wort for making beer or making a large batch of chili for mens retreats. Great cooking vessels.
I use a 5 gal. plastic bucket in the shop I have to dump it after every session or the feild mice come in and drown
William

Edited by triw
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I have a big blue round open top cooler I use, the kind they fill with ice for bottles and cans. I like it. Holds about 50 gallons of water and has a spigot on the bottom for easy draining. Sits right next to my gas forge over a floor drain. It's tall enough and round enough that just about any piece can be fully submerged if needed. For knives and swords I have a 3" capped iron pipe about 40" long filled with oil.

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It really is dependent on your available resources and what your quenching. I like metal, since it's nice and leak-proof (to an extent) but then again I like wood cause it can take some pretty bad impacts. So I got an old metal bucket and dropped a cedar bucket form some lawn and garden store into it, and viola. Fit pretty good.

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