cottonmouthforge Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 it can be done but most likely not by you my anvil is cast iron made in some factory in China. so they are pumped out by the thousands. so yes it can be done but most likely not by you. if i absolutely had to i would legally mix a 3 to 4 ratio thermite and ignite that and have the motlen iron flow into my cast. i would not do this because not only would it be hard to mix all that any thing could go wrong. and the words thermite and oops don't mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBower Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 (1) Cast iron is a very different material from steel, both in terms of its mechanical properties and in terms of is casting properties. (2) Thermite generally produces close to pure iron, which would make a poor anvil. Adding alloying elements is very tricky (but not impossible). A great deal of experimentation would be required to get a useful product. (3) There would be many problems with making and safely using a thermite charge large enough to create an anvil sized lump of ferrous material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evfreek Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 The thermite idea is very interesting. I once saw some appropriate technology research being done in in India which stated that thermite based reactions were the only scalable method of providing tool steel in poor rural areas. Of course, the researcher was familiar with puddling, Bessemer and blistering processes. Unfortunately, his report cost more rupees than I was willing to spend. Interesting concept, nonetheless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBower Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Poor, rural areas in India can get or make meaningful quantities of powdered aluminum, but they don't have leaf springs? In any event, please don't feed the troll. Thermite is not a practical one-off method by which an inexperienced person can produce a useful 130 kg anvil. There many problems with this idea. We're talking about a 600+ pound thermite burn. Just think about that a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 I volunteer to babysit your tools while you are away with Homeland Security! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 Good Morning, Do Not Play with Thermite!!! It is a heck of a fuel source to cut your teeth on, Don't Play the game. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 Thermite, even in small quantities is VERY dangerous stuff. Not only does it burn at up to 2500 degrees C, it is very hard to put out once ignited. It is nothing to mess about with. Be afraid, be very afraid, particularly of internet instructions on how to make this stuff. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deimos Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 4 hours ago, George N. M. said: it is very hard to put out once ignited. Kind of an understatement, does the reaction not create its own oxygen? So the only way to stop the reaction is either wait or remove the heat (good luck doing that) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 Are we resurrecting this thread for funsies? The most recent date stamp is 2011. Yes, the iron oxide supplies the oxygen to the aluminum and is itself then reduced into relatively pure iron hot enough to burn holes in whatever it's on. I can only imagine a 600+lb. thermite burn, be something to watch through a telescope from half a mile or so. I would be interested in how deep it would vitrify dry sand. I don't know how you'd calculate the silica that was outright vaporized though. Weigh a sand dune before and after? If a burn that size were attempted by someone who'd "researched" it watching a youtube video I don't think 1/2 mile would be far enough. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 I think someone posted just before Thomas replied, but that post has vanished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 I dont see anything hidden, and I can see them when they are taken offline. Thomas, was there a post before yours that someone deleted? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 7 hours ago, Steve Sells said: Thomas, was there a post before yours that someone deleted? I'm not Thomas, but yes there was. About inadvertently using thermite iirc. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 thanks Pnut, Generally we do not delete anything except duplicate posts, the rest are taken off line, hidden from public view, but saved just in case, so I was confused Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 No problem. I just happened to see it yesterday when I checked up on new activity. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 I would not advise a telescope from even 1/2 mile as I remember the guy using thermite to alloy steel over at Sword Forum International (not present anymore) who stopped suddenly when he was told he was going blind even with the high grade protective equipment he was using! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobody Special Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 Just once, I'd love to see a post that said, "Hey, just wondering guys, if anyone knew if it was possible to get with a reputable foundry and for $30,000 or so and cast a small run of double horn anvils using H-13 or some other air hardening steel. If I could participate in some small way outside of design, that would be fantastic!" Instead, it's always, "Hi guys, I saw a YouTube video, and I was just wondering how to go about melting the souls of my enemies, unicorn tears, and some rebar by buddy Joe gave me into a useable three bladed sword made of Valerian steel using a Balrog and two salamanders. Could you please hurry? The Balrog is getting hungry, and ate one of the salamanders. If that doesn't work, I've got a popcorn tin casting furnace made of cement and as fuel, a mix of fulminated mercury and potassium cyanide. Has anybody else tried this?" Response - "Hi, Welcome to IFI. Thank you for your interest and could you please post your location? What you're doing is illegal and moderately dangerous to the entire state of Nevada, and you may want to take this minor and cheap safety precaution, like approaching Balrogs only in the presence of Gandalf the Grey, or wearing safety goggles." "Nah, I'm good, I've rethought the whole thing. I saw another video by the **** that said you can use plaster of paris and ANFO instead." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 Nemo get's my "this week's Best Friday Post" nomination! (Though did you try fluxing with the bones of your enemies? I did try some experiments with bone meal and blood meal about 35 years ago...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 I would bet that both the age and experience level, not to mention any discernable instinct of self preservation, of the balrog herders are both pretty low. That is one of disadvantages of Youtube, there is no filter or any safety warnings. Any darn fool can post anything. I sometimes wonder how many attempts at producing a youtube video have ended in disaster. The person in Nemo's example will probably get his salamander back since, traditionally, salamanders are fireproof. I don't know the digestive cycle of balrogs but this, too, shall pass. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 They grow some chili peppers out here that would make even a Balrog sit up and take notice---and as Sandpile once said" "They'd make you store the toilet paper in the deep freeze!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 Balrogs are susceptible to heartburn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 6 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: I would not advise a telescope from even 1/2 mile as I remember the guy using thermite to alloy steel over at Sword Forum International (not present anymore) who stopped suddenly when he was told he was going blind even with the high grade protective equipment he was using! Someone posted a link to a video of his, he was watching from maybe 30' away and wasn't flipping his welding shield down before the video camera was washed out by the flare. The inverse cube law says my spotting scope won't pick up enough energy to do damage before the entire anvil casting experiment heads for orbit and I can watch the tracers without visual enhancement. Really HOT chili peppers demand Silvadene infused wet wipes. I hear an aloe vera high colonic doesn't do it. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobody Special Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 On 11/27/2020 at 10:29 AM, ThomasPowers said: Nemo get's my "this week's Best Friday Post" nomination! (Though did you try fluxing with the bones of your enemies? I did try some experiments with bone meal and blood meal about 35 years ago...) I thought about playing with bone meal as a flux or to play with old style case hardening...and then I remembered what it smelled like whenever I heated up bone or antler for burn ins, to drill pin holes, or to cut it down for handles. Smelled like burnt hair run through a full litter box in a crowded chicken coop in August. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 Working bone always reminds me of visiting the dentist! Note wear PPE as bone/antler dust does NOT play nice in your lungs!!!! Funny I picked up an old band driven dentist drill to do some bone work---someday! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 You know you can buy bone black it's a paint and ink pigment. Or you could buy graphite, art supplies carry it in the paint section. PPE against bone or ivory dust!! It's bad stuff it can kill you eventually and you'll be in miserable pain the whole time. I've lost two Alaskan Native friends to it. Carvers and scrimners, both of them: Ivory, bone and antler though it may have been the jade that got one of them. Good respirators are soo inexpensive and the discomfort of wearing them is nothing compared to dieing of any mesothelioma type lung disease. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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