Hand forged tongs from rebar

[ryancrowe92]

22 hours ago, ianinsa said:

dependent on location but it seems like a lot more of one and a lot less of the other!

yeah we had fun with that and the cap pistols and grenades and what not.

Ok everybody status update 

The forge is nearing completion with only $6 invested in it.

yesterday I finished cutting the angle iron into plate about a 1/4 inch thick and welded it to the rotor 

I also took the truck and pulled out the old lawnmower and got the deck off and ready to weld the rotor in.

and I didn't notice but this mower deck is almost perfectly circular I did some sheet metal work to the deck but didn't finish it  almost done. 

ive got to cut the hole out in the plate I welded but I need to get the plasma to it up at my dads shop. the rotors hole is 3 inches the pipe I have is 2 inches. 

I got to cut the pipe with the sawzall and how do you keep the blades from bending I cut thru that angle iron with it but bent a blade, but I have a couple more. 

one I cut the hole I need to weld the pipe to the thing and weld the rotor to the deck. and make a frame. 

Now tomorrow is a community service day which is required by the charter schools but not by the state which means we don't have to go tomorrow. so more free time

so have a good Monday I will be watching your posts.

 

[JHCC]

Sounds like progress. Pictures?

[Buzzkill]

1 hour ago, ryancrowe92 said:

ive got to cut the hole out in the plate I welded but I need to get the plasma to it up at my dads shop. the rotors hole is 3 inches the pipe I have is 2 inches. 

I got to cut the pipe with the sawzall and how do you keep the blades from bending I cut thru that angle iron with it but bent a blade, but I have a couple more. 

one I cut the hole I need to weld the pipe to the thing and weld the rotor to the deck. and make a frame. 

I'd recommend bolting the pipe to the rotor rather than welding.  You may find it tricky to get good welds.  Also, you may want to take it apart at some point to move it or replace parts and bolts make that easier to do.  If the hole in the mower deck is the right size you don't need to weld there either.  The rotor has a built in "flange" which will allow it to sit in the hole without falling through.  Welding the rotor to the deck could be counter-productive since the welding may warp the mower deck and the rates of expansion between the steel of the deck and the rotor are likely to be different, especially at the different temperatures each will experience.   Keep it simple here.  You're just making a table with a hole in it to fit your fire pot.  As long as you make sure the table is sturdy and the fire pot will stay put you're fine.  You'll probably want to add clay or bricks to get a level surface higher than the lip on the fire pot anyway, or raking coal in could be a little more frustrating than is necessary.

[ryancrowe92]

1 hour ago, Buzzkill said:

I'd recommend bolting the pipe to the rotor rather than welding.  You may find it tricky to get good welds.  Also, you may want to take it apart at some point to move it or replace parts 

yeah I thought about it but I don't have bolts. and I didn't get the flange the hard part to it is getting the pipe aligned. 

2 hours ago, JHCC said:

Sounds like progress. Pictures?

Pictures are a maybe I have to get my phone charged up and that could be tomorrow. 

 

1 hour ago, Buzzkill said:

Welding the rotor to the deck could be counter-productive since the welding may warp the mower deck and the rates of expansion between the steel of the deck and the rotor are likely to be different, especially at the different temperatures each will experience

I'm wondering about this but its the only way I have unless I rivet the deck to the flange.

 

1 hour ago, Buzzkill said:

  You'll probably want to add clay or bricks to get a level surface higher than the lip on the fire pot anyway, or raking coal in could be a little more frustrating than is necessary.

Yes I have thought of that but the bricks are expensive. and clay well I don't want another dirt filled nightmare again. ill think of something.

[Charles R. Stevens]

"As for clay I don't want another dirt filled nightmare" 

I wish you luck in your endevers, but I am done. 

[ryancrowe92]

Kool see ya around hope to close this thread within next Monday.

[Buzzkill]

3 hours ago, ryancrowe92 said:

yeah I thought about it but I don't have bolts. and I didn't get the flange the hard part to it is getting the pipe aligned. 

You can always use your sawzall or a hacksaw and cut 4 vertical slots in the pipe.  Then you can bend the 4 tabs this creates out and down at a right angle to the main portion of the pipe.  This will be easier if you have a decent torch.  Clamp the pipe in a vise, set the rotor on the tabs so you line up with the holes in the rotor and drill in place or mark and drill the holes.  Taking that mower apart should have given you a few bolts to work with.

3 hours ago, ryancrowe92 said:

I'm wondering about this but its the only way I have unless I rivet the deck to the flange.

The rotor has the surface which the brake pads grip in use right?  That's a larger diameter than the "bowl" shape which has the holes in it.  You make the hole in your table (mower deck) large enough for the bowl portion to fit through, but not the outer ring of rotor.  Then you can just set it in place without fastening it at all.

 

3 hours ago, ryancrowe92 said:

Yes I have thought of that but the bricks are expensive. and clay well I don't want another dirt filled nightmare again. ill think of something.

Used bricks are normally cheap/free.  You don't need a pallet full or anything. A dozen is probably more than enough.  Clay just needs to be barely wet enough so it holds its shape and doesn't crumble if you squeeze it in your hand.  If you get it right and ram it into place there should be no dirt filled nightmare.  To me it still seems like you are making this more complicated than it needs to be.   In simplest terms you are making a hole in the ground with an air source.  You are just building a table to get that hole up to a convenient working height.

 

[ryancrowe92]

2 hours ago, Buzzkill said:

  Taking that mower apart should have given you a few bolts to work with.

Yeah bout that... couldn't find ratchets so I took a torch to it to cut It out.

 

2 hours ago, Buzzkill said:

Used bricks are normally cheap/free.

thought you were talking about firebrick

 

2 hours ago, Buzzkill said:

Clay just needs to be barely wet enough so it holds its shape and doesn't crumble if you squeeze it in your hand

Yeah I have to get some pictures up.

 

2 hours ago, Buzzkill said:

Then you can just set it in place without fastening it at all.

That's what ive kinda done already.

I'm gonna look for my phone and charge it so I can get the pics out.

[Daswulf]

5 hours ago, Charles R. Stevens said:

I wish you luck in your endevers, but I am done. 

That is not a Kool moment. 

 

5 hours ago, ryancrowe92 said:

Kool see ya around hope to close this thread within next Monday.

It is neither Kool, Kewl, or Cool. You pretty much, if not entirely, insulted someone that was trying his best to help you. Even after you blew him off several times. 

Charles can forge with a box of dirt " nightmare". What have you forged so far. His concept is proven, even by others, can't say the same for what you are doing. 

You are very reluctant to listen to someone  with many years experience trying to help you out, in your situation, for free. It's like every word he spoke was worthless to you. You just keep doing your thing and ignoring advice, yet ask for it, then come up with a reason why you ignored advice from people with experience. If you want to succeed take Glenn's advice and pick One proven forge and stick with the plans. Once you are forging with it, instead of playing around, then you will know what it can do and its strengths and limitations and improve from there.  In fact I could make your old forge function perfectly in about 10 minutes or so rather then dilly dallying around making excuses. Another half hour make tongs from dreaded rebar. Or, even take what you have available and build a forge in the ground " box of dirt" and build from there. You have blown off way too much good advice. 

 

[Jasent]

Yeah that^^^^^. Done as well. Good luck 

[Charcold]

This whole thread is starting to look like an angry ex member of the site that's come back to troll the community. I don't normally put on my tinfoil hat and get into conspiracy theories but even as a young man when i was seemingly allergic to good advice i'd have never blown through this many suggestion. u couldn't find wrenches so you took a torch to it? Box of dirt nightmare? 

Good gracious...

It's literally this simple: find a design, follow it to a T. That's it. If i read the "i can't spend" excuse one more time... In my estimation you've already wasted a pile of money ignoring advice and being bullheaded. You can't afford 5$ components but already have a pallet of coal delivered? 

I'm no expert, far from it, but I do know one thing. Do what others have shown to work before you. Reinventing the wheel just causes you to spend too much in the end, wasting time going in circles. 

[JHCC]

I'm just hanging on to see if he ever does, in fact, make some tongs out of rebar.

[ryancrowe92]

7 hours ago, Charcold said:

his whole thread is starting to look like an angry ex member of the site that's come back to troll the community

nah I was lucky to find this one the last was dead and like I said I have a bad reputation with online forums but they are helpful.

7 hours ago, JHCC said:

I'm just hanging on to see if he ever does, in fact, make some tongs out of rebar.

I am trust me I got a little closer last time with that dirt box but it wasn't right with the side shaft the whole pipe turned red.

now progress.

Its done just putting the final touches on it like a proper stand to hold it up.

I didn't find my phone also so I'm gonna wait till Thursday and make a YouTube video unveiling the new forge. 

7 hours ago, Charcold said:

You can't afford 5$ components but already have a pallet of coal delivered?

I have not in any way shape or form have paid for the coal. and it isn't going to be delivered I have to pick it up. I have $270 in the bank right now but I have to keep that until I buy the coal and ive wanted to get some stuff but I cant right now cause I still have to pay for it. 

now I'm sorry if I offended anyone in particular, like I said I'm not good at these online forums but I got to get help from somewhere. now I know we've said things and the kool see you around was not intentially bad I was respecting/ acknolging  his leaving. I did not intend for you to take it that way but you did 

I followed your advice for the JOBD and it didn't work It failed horribly. - I will cover that in the YouTube video with explanation.

now if all of the offending and the apologizing is done. - I have realized this thread has gotten way off topic and has drug on way too long. 

7 hours ago, Charcold said:

u couldn't find wrenches so you took a torch to it? Box of dirt nightmare? 

torch was actually easy. they were rusted too we tried the impact but that didn't work.

now I'm off for the entire week and I have today and tomorrow to get the final touches done on the forge before I go and pick the 1600 lbs. of coal to use and my brother.

I have made great progress. I'm going to find a mount for the anvil and when that's done I get the coal and poof I get to work on the tongs. 

and from this point on we stay on the topic of making rebar tongs, or the work involved. 

7 hours ago, Charcold said:

"i can't spend

this will be the last time I say it Promise,  from now on ill say I can buy it but it will have to wait until next Friday. - not an smart xxx comment don't take it that way 

 

 

[Charcold]

The thing is when you say "but I got to get help from somewhere" that's not exactly what's happened here. You've ignored or discounted MORE advice than you've followed. And as people have said this is a blog about school and work, not rebar tongs. 

In my estimation, and i could be off, you seem like the type of person who cannot follow a plan. you NEED for it to be your design, your way. This will lead you into a lot of projects that don't turn out. If you made the box of dirt and it didn't work its because you didn't follow the directions perfectly. The pipes too big or small. the blower is too big or small. the parts u used arent the kind listed, etc. Much like a recipe you can't make substitutions on the fly and hope it turns out the same. If you're making fried chicken you can't use rib eye. 

realistically i REALLY think you need to read a book on blacksmithing. that has been clear since you said you plan to cast your own power hammer base. 

[Daswulf]

53 minutes ago, ryancrowe92 said:

I didn't find my phone also so I'm gonna wait till Thursday and make a YouTube video unveiling the new forge. 

Please do others looking at YouTube ,trying to learn, a favour and do not title it "how to make..." You don't even know how well it works until you have at least a year or so into using it. There are too many misleading and uninformed " how to's" on there already. 

58 minutes ago, ryancrowe92 said:

I followed your advice for the JOBD and it didn't work It failed horribly. - I will cover that in the YouTube video with explanation.

Obviously you did not follow it properly or it would be working. So again please do not say that a JABOD forge does not work ( they Do),  just that not following instruction on making one did not work the way You did it. 

 

[ryancrowe92]

1 minute ago, Daswulf said:

Please do others looking at YouTube ,trying to learn, a favour and do not title it "how to make..." You don't even know how well it works until you have at least a year or so into using it. There are too many misleading and uninformed

Not making how to videos. just showing work I do 

fount my cellphone letting it charge 

4 minutes ago, Daswulf said:

Obviously you did not follow it properly or it would be working. So again please do not say that a JABOD forge does not work ( they Do),  just that not following instruction on making one did not work the way You did it. 

probably so ill cover it in the video

 

[ryancrowe92]

waiting for my phone to charge so I'll be available for a while. 

[JHCC]

Ryan, before you do anything else, could you please do us a favor?

POST SOME PICTURES.

I'm serious about this. To be blunt, your descriptions of what you are doing are very hard to understand. If you post some pictures, the people here (who WANT to help you!) will be able to look at what you have done and make suggestions on what you can do better. 

If you really want our help, HELP US HELP YOU.

 

That said, I have to repeat what was said above about the JABOD. It's a proven design, and if it wasn't working, it's because either (A) you did something you shouldn't have, or (B) you didn't do something you should have. Once again, pictures would help.

[ThomasPowers]

Forgot (C) Both!

[JHCC]

D'oh!

[ryancrowe92]

as promised

Mod Note: Post edited to add photo captions

what I took off the deck 

 

 the sheet metal work I did/ still have to do 

 

 the rotor 

 

 the lawnmower I took apart 

 

 the pipe and the whole thing 

 

[JHCC]

15 minutes ago, ryancrowe92 said:

as promised

Good. Now go back and some captions, so we know what we’re looking at.

[ryancrowe92]

the first is what I took off the deck 

the second is the sheet metal work I did/ still have to do 

the third is the rotor 

fourth is the lawnmower I took apart 

fifth and 6th are the pipe and the whole thing 

[Glenn]

The "Box of Dirt" does work. The box of dirt is simply the he hole in the ground forge, which has been used for thousands of years, placed into a box and raised to a convenient working height. 

Your lawn mower deck forge is very similar to the original bottom blast 55 Forge, modified to use a brake rotor. That same 55 Forge design was modified to be a side blast forge very similar to the Box of Dirt.

[ryancrowe92]

yeah but I cant get the pipe where it will not burn