Urthman Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 Progress! Now the fun part: driving a square peg into a round hole... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasquatch447 Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 Looks good. What type of steel are you using for the Anvil? I've been thinking about making one myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urthman Posted November 9, 2016 Author Share Posted November 9, 2016 It's all mild. Top plate is 6"x14", 3" thick. Hope my coal forge is up to the challenge of heating it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 Preheat in a bonfire? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urthman Posted November 9, 2016 Author Share Posted November 9, 2016 HAHAH! That's.... well, actually not a bad idea... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 Rather traditional for heating large items cheaply. You already have the rods attached for moving it, I'd suggest digging a trench forge in the back yard to do the final "all the way up to temp" step. I've used an old shop vacuum blowing into a chunk of black iron pipe with *lots* of holes drilled along the top 1/3 of the length. Controlled the airflow by how coaxial the pipe and the shop vac hose were with an air gap between their ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubalcain2 Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 i've done that same thing for large culvert pieces. it worked well for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-1ToolSteel Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 Wow, I never cut thicker than 1/4" plate with my jigsaw. What kind of blade did you use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urthman Posted November 9, 2016 Author Share Posted November 9, 2016 I used the same Bosch T118A's (HSS) that I use for sheet metal. Looks like they are rated for steel up to 1/8" thick. I may have been pushing the boundaries a bit with 1" plate... But hey- they got the job done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-1ToolSteel Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 Thanks! How many blades did it take you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urthman Posted November 9, 2016 Author Share Posted November 9, 2016 An old tired blade (missing a few teeth) got me about 3/4 of the way done before snapping. A new fresh blade finished the job. Oh, and I used a good dose of cutting oil. Also: as you can probably tell, I drilled the corners first, and used a cut-off wheel in a grinder from both sides to get me started. So the jigsaw didin't have to work through the entire 1" of thickness for much of the cutting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-1ToolSteel Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 I'm impressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackdawg Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 4 hours ago, Urthman said: It's all mild. Top plate is 6"x14", 3" thick. Hope my coal forge is up to the challenge of heating it. So why will you be heating it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urthman Posted November 9, 2016 Author Share Posted November 9, 2016 I need to heat it to complete the hardie hole in the 3" thick plate. Right now it is a 1" drilled hole. I want to drift it to 1" square. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-1ToolSteel Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 Just use a jig saw! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urthman Posted November 9, 2016 Author Share Posted November 9, 2016 LOL! Just slower, and more oil, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 Well, I feel bad for you, but I would have (for the base plate that the striking anvil will be welded to) torch cut a hole with a O/A torch seems like it would have been much easier, but that depends on your resources I guess. The hole in the base plate doesn't have to perfect or neat, as the hardies wont be making contact with it, but instead with the striking anvil. Also I would recommend tapering the end of the drift some so that it will go all the way through the anvil and when it gets to the end it will just fall out. I am currently working on a striking anvil, made from 2 3/4"x5" by a foot long, and will be interested in seeing how yours turns out. I have been told that for the legs to not have them at more than a 10 degree angle, as they begin to flex. Here is a video by Alec Steele from a while back, may help a bit. I heard him mention, that when drifting the hardy hole to stop and remove the drift when it gets black around the hole to let the heat wick back into it, or else it will bend up. Doesn't sound like fun straightening out a hunk of steel that large! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4bLHkpnKYE and another more recent one he made, a more informational video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2jFtCjZHVM Littleblacksmith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urthman Posted November 10, 2016 Author Share Posted November 10, 2016 Thanks for the links LBS. Those two videos are actually what prompted me to start this project. Hope to finish it this week. (fingers crossed...) for the record: I cut the angle of my legs at 6 degrees, which seems pretty good. I'll let ya know how the drifting goes! -Jeremy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urthman Posted November 11, 2016 Author Share Posted November 11, 2016 Hey Thomas- I'm going to take your advice on the pit forge. You guys think this will suffice? Should I make the sides steeper? I think if I start with wood, and then load it up with enough coal, it should do the job... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 11, 2016 Share Posted November 11, 2016 The air holes and blower may need to be adjusted to work the best. I don't think you need a U walled, V should work remember you want hot coke over the top of the workpiece too---or chunk charcoal can work as an insulating top cap for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbo7 Posted November 11, 2016 Share Posted November 11, 2016 Rotate it often so's you don't burn the edges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urthman Posted November 11, 2016 Author Share Posted November 11, 2016 Success! Wow. I can hardly believe that worked. From stone cold to done in 1 hour, 45 minutes. I preheated with an oak fire, then slowly added coal. I used a bath exhaust fan at first, but it didn't move enough air. Switching to my shop vac did the trick. The handling rods turned into hot noodles, so I doused them with water to firm them up before handling. If I could have gotten it hotter (and I was more in practice with the sledge), I believe this could have been done with 1 heat. But I took it slow and careful- let's call it 'two and a half' heats. I'm pleased. Thanks for the advice folks... -Jeremy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted November 11, 2016 Share Posted November 11, 2016 Man, now I wish I hadn't sent mine to a fabricator to have it milled (even though it was free) out so I could try this! Looks like ya'll had fun! Littleblacksmith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urthman Posted November 12, 2016 Author Share Posted November 12, 2016 It was pretty epic. Success is always most enjoyable when you're *really* not sure of the outcome. Oh, here's a goofy horribly-unedited video of the process if anyone is interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 1:25- I saw that one coming! Great to see that ya'll had fun AND accomplished something! Littleblacksmith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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