Well, We went to the HABA meeting yesterday in College Station and my Son was fascinated by the RR spike knives. He didn't believe me when I told him that he could probably make one in a couple of hours.

So I pulled out the forge and anvil, gave him a few pointers and let him go to town.

I intervened  a couple of times to keep him out of the ditch but probably 90% his own work. I was proud of him and he is proud of what he created.

Next time I think he could do it all on his own.

The blade looks almost as good as the smile on your boy's face. It's really hard to beat a little quality time with Dad and if it involves playing with fire and hitting things so much the better.

Now you need to teach him to weld so he can put a HC bit in one for a blade that will hold an edge well.

You might want to experiment with twists, guys like pineapple twists as handles where the ladies really prefer something smoother like a cable twist. Either make dandy spike knife handles.

Frosty The Lucky.

ya.......I like the pine apple twist. But wanted to keep it easy and achievable for his first try. Nothing builds confidence like success. 

I plan on making a spring swage for rope twists when my power hammer shows up. Then we'll give that a try.

 

If I ever figure out how to weld myself I'll be sure to teach him.

I agree, always set the new folk up for success. Twisting is a great beginner project, the transformation on the steel is dramatic and very tactile. It takes a little practice to actually feel the steel move under the hammer or through tongs but twisting lets you actually feel it resist and yield to you. The heat is right THERE and in your FACE, hot scale falls on your hands and feet and you can smell your hair burning and gloves toasting. VERY visceral folk love twisting at demos too.

Welding isn't very hard, it's like so much else, follow the steps and it works. I usually have students make a forge weld first session. Welding has such a great mystique a good weld is a serious confidence builder. It also gets my point about a little knowledge and a lot of practice across nicely.

I'm looking forward to seeing his next project.

Frosty The Lucky.

Welding isn't very hard, it's like so much else, follow the steps and it works.

​Thats what I keep hearing. I'm self taught for the most part and I'm pretty sure what ever it is I'm doing wrong can be easily corrected......once i identify the issue that is.

I need to try again. I think that I may not be recognizing the welding heat colors.

I'm pretty sure that my gas forge gets hot enough.......though I dont like what the flux does to the fire brick.

When I've tried it in the coal forge I know dang well its hot enough. Looks like a little sparkler. Maybe a atmosphere issue......duh no

I know I use to think you had to beat the crap out of it but I know better now. Gentle taps are what is called for. The flux i'm using I got from Centaur forge.....couldn't find any 20 mule team borax.

Walmart caries it In the laundry soap, roach proof is boric acid.

 

Walmart caries it In the laundry soap, roach proof is boric acid.

 

​Thanks......I'll check that out

I try to do my welding and brazing in a charcoal foge. Saves my gasser

Are you using lump charcoal.......or regular forging coal?

 

Coal gives me a sore throat. I use charcoal made from construction waste. Hard wood lump works fine, but I find it produces more ash and " fire fleas" 

the gasser lives in my shoeing rig, and I have 3 charcoal rigs at the moment. 

Edited February 23, 201511 yr by Charles R. Stevens

Lawman,

 

   If you cant find 20 mule team at Walmart, Dicks food store carries it.

What color does your gasser reach? Does it have a little dragon's breath and what color if it does?

How about lining out the steps you're following?

What weight hammer are you using?

Frosty The Lucky.

Bright orange/yellow. The koawool on the walls pretty much glows white. I can crank up the gas and shoot about 12" of dragons breath out the front but normally run it where its about 1 1/2 ".  Flame coming out of the burner is a pale blue. Dragon breath is mostly orange with some blue mixed in.

My favorite hammer is a 1000g peddinghaus german pattern......but i've used every thing from a ball peen to a sledge.

Been a while since I tried but last time I did it, I cleaned the metal to remove rust and scale, got it up to dull orange heat, fluxed it, put it back in the forge bought it up to what I would call an orange/yellow heat, pulled it out, went straight to the anvil and beat it. My first attempts I beat it like it owed me money.........but I learned after that that all it was suppose to take is gentle taps. That may well be true but it dang sure ain't all it takes.......what ever that something is I am missing presently. 

Edited February 23, 201511 yr by lawman

Lawman,

 

   If you cant find 20 mule team at Walmart, Dicks food store carries it.

​Thanks.......I will have some pretty soon then.

 I use charcoal made from construction waste.

​By construction waste do you mean yellow pine drop offs,  2 x 4's and such? If you don't mind me asking, how do you go about reducing it to charcoal .....beyond the obvious "Burning it".  That material seems to get consumed pretty quickly.

How do you control the air to keep from burning it all up.

This interests me because I don't have a good local source for coal and shipping sux pretty bad.

Buying lump charcoal works but I can blow thru it Quick.

Go to the forges section under solid fuel forges and look at the pinned items at top of section and look at charcoal retort.  Good job on the spike . Another one corrupted to the sharp and shinny side.

  Nice!  That's a keeper for the future!

Honestly, one of my forges is a trench type bottom blast and can convert wood to charcoal like most forges convert coal to coke. The othe one not so much, this time of year a nice rosy fire provides coals and heat lol. But I am experimenting with retorts. I must say that I've sean a couple intended for making charcoal for black powder that I want to build to make meta logical charcoal with. 

Lawman,

 

   If you want to see a retort in person Goliad Forge has one set up at Mr. Bluntzers shop in Ander.

 

Russell IMG_0404.MOV

Very nice, much more substantial than the drum and sheet metal ones I've seen/used. Is it wood or gas fired?

 

Edited February 25, 201511 yr by Charles R. Stevens

Lawman,

 

   If you want to see a retort in person Goliad Forge has one set up at Mr. Bluntzers shop in Ander.

 

Russell

​Yes sir.........I would like to see that. One of the main reasons that my coal forge don't get used as much as the gas forge is that  getting coal shipped down here is expensive. If I can make it, that would be way much more better.

 

 

​

Bright orange/yellow. The koawool on the walls pretty much glows white. I can crank up the gas and shoot about 12" of dragons breath out the front but normally run it where its about 1 1/2 ".  Flame coming out of the burner is a pale blue. Dragon breath is mostly orange with some blue mixed in.

My favorite hammer is a 1000g peddinghaus german pattern......but i've used every thing from a ball peen to a sledge.

Been a while since I tried but last time I did it, I cleaned the metal to remove rust and scale, got it up to dull orange heat, fluxed it, put it back in the forge bought it up to what I would call an orange/yellow heat, pulled it out, went straight to the anvil and beat it. My first attempts I beat it like it owed me money.........but I learned after that that all it was suppose to take is gentle taps. That may well be true but it dang sure ain't all it takes.......what ever that something is I am missing presently 

 

​Any words of wisdom for me Frosty?  I'd love to hear em.

Edited February 25, 201511 yr by lawman

When I use wood I just toss it onto the forge, and light it off. It becomes coals soon enough, and works fine.

 

 

​Any words of wisdom for me Frosty?  I'd love to hear em.

​

I replied already or thought I did. Your forge looks good, the orange tinge in the dragon's breath means it's reducing as it should be. Yellow orange is hot enough.

To weld a bit in a blade, I slit the blade and forge the bit to a slight wedge full length. I clean both as shiny as I can get them.

Then I flux the blade lightly and begin warming it, when the flux begins to melt I add a bit more and drive the cold bit in and gently close the join. Brush and flux then return to take a welding heat.

Once at what I call a "watery yellow" (it'll have a flickery almost wet appearance kind of like a flickering flame) I pull it and take it to the anvil. I hit it firmly with as dead a blow as I can. More than just a tap but hardly a smack, my main "trick" if you will is to try to keep the hammer from recoiling off the work at all to hopefully prevent the joint from bouncing or shearing.

I don't know quite how to describe when I decide it's done for the setting weld but at a minimum I've made a pattern across the entire joint.

To check to see if it's set, lay one side against the anvil and allow it to cool a little, 10-15 seconds should do. Then look at the joint edge on, if the color transitions smoothly from the hot to cooler side, it's set. However if there's a defined change, hot on one side, darker on the other it has NOT set.

In either case, brush, flux and repeat the welding process. If it did NOT set, repeat a setting weld. If it did set then it's time to start hitting it harder and faster to refine the weld. This is a refining weld.

Reflux and repeat the refining welds twice after setting then I like to forge the join on the corner to see if it's a solid weld.

You can lay a sheet of SS on the floor of the forge to protect it from the flux.

Here's hoping this one makes it or I don't screw up and lose it.

Fingers crossed, Frosty The Lucky.

Nice looking RR Spike Knife, my son has made a few hooks will have to see if he wants to try one. 

Forge welding, I just pick up some Irionmountain flux for my gas forge and been happy with the results. 

For the bottom of my forge I have a 2900 F Super Duty Firebrick it helps protect the bottom of the forge.