ThomasPowers Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 Hence my trick about running the coal forge up real hot and then turning off the air and sticking the stuff to be welded in it to come up to fluxing heat in a totally reducing atmosphere and walking away from the forge for several minutes, (pit stop, getting a drink, etc), then coming back and wirebrushing and fluxing and starting up the air again and going for a weld. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted April 5, 2018 Author Share Posted April 5, 2018 When I was much younger I would move much faster.. While the work was good.. I am far more picky now.. I am also slower so maybe the 2 go hand in hand.. Or maybe the lights are still on and the rent is paid.. Charles I am planning on taking a journey at some point,, There are a few here and there that I'd like to meet and perhaps spend a little time forging with.. Not saying it will ever happen, but if it does.. Id be honored with a visit.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 Lovely lady we would be glad to have you at our table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 Will you make it to Quad-State? A lot of the original "Blacksmith's Virtual Junkyard folks meet up there and eat together and generally hang out, some camp and others daytrip too. We've had a lot of other folks join in over the years...lederhosen are NOT required! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted April 6, 2018 Author Share Posted April 6, 2018 In this one we explore nail making.. This was the second items made with the hammer.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc1 Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 How curious, I saw that hammer at my local hardware less than a month ago and bought it straight away. Among a sea of claw hammers, mallets and ball peen hammers this stood out like a sore thumb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted April 6, 2018 Author Share Posted April 6, 2018 Nice, How do you like it so far? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc1 Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 Have not used it yet ... i am working on a very challenging ( for me anyway) gate and don't want to experiment with new hammers. using a Hofi 3# and a rounding 4# at the moment. The Fiskars feels nice in the hand. Will give it a go when I make some fish tail scrolls. I like the shape of the pein. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted April 6, 2018 Author Share Posted April 6, 2018 15 hours ago, Charles R. Stevens said: Lovely lady we would be glad to have you at our table. Very kind of you.. Thanks.. 15 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: Will you make it to Quad-State? A lot of the original "Blacksmith's Virtual Junkyard folks meet up there and eat together and generally hang out, some camp and others daytrip too. We've had a lot of other folks join in over the years...lederhosen are NOT required! The big adventure this year is going to the ABANA conference.. Will be my first.. I have a wandering spirit but hate to go anywhere.. I've got a best friend who lives in TX who I am due to visit and it would afford a perfect time to do a meet and greet.. I am such a home body it's not even funny but the idea of roaming and seeing is appealing.. I do lederhosen.. it's all good.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 Know the feeling, I have a buddy down in sanintonio and another in iawa I haven’t seen in 15 years. Might I suggest the dirndle as aposed to the lederhosen? Not to be sexiest but as I remember they are quite fetching... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 Less spark-resistant, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 If you head through southwestern PA and are in the neighborhood let me know. I'm a home body too. Probably because I'm at work all week and everything fun to me is right there. The longest trip I've made on my own was to visit another blacksmith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 JLP, did you ever make your own horseshoe nails? How do these nails work compared to store bought? I know the square shape is better, but I was wondering how well they drive into the wood - do they bend easier? I take it that they were made from mild steel, not some HC alloy. The only nails I have made were a set of beryllium copper crucifixion spikes for my Halloween costume. And with those the heads did not want to upset without cracking _needed bigger starting stock_ so I ended up making heads and silver soldering them onto the forged spike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted April 6, 2018 Author Share Posted April 6, 2018 Big gun Dr. I have made horse shoeing nails.. I have never actually used any of them.. The old fashioned hand made nails unless made from wrought iron are tough to use.. Modern horse shoeing nails are made from a very soft steel so are easy to clinch.. They are also sheared on their tips so they are very sharp and this controls where the nail will come out.. If you are asking about hand forged nails... Or just plain old hand forged nails vs horse shoeing nails there is a huge difference among all the different types.. Horse shoeing nails are very sharp and will drive into pine or other soft woods pretty easy as they are very much the same consistency of hoof wall.. Hardwoods on the other hand the nails just bend.. Again they are designed to bend in use.. The nail is driven into the hoof and then is strategically bent over (clinched) is a special way as to ensure a good grip.. Ideally a clinch should be square in shape when finished.. Anyhow, If you are looking for just a square shank nail or a nail with a fancy shank Square, triangular.. or rectangular it is very easy to make a header for just such a thing.. Old hand made shoeing nails depending on the type of shoeing might have a raw head or a swaged head depending.. If left raw you can be just about certain they were wrought iron as they would mush to fill the punched voids.. Beryllium Copper is a very hard copper alloy.. It is a high heat alloy and used for high temp/ high current applications.. The only way I have ever found to do anything with it is to machine it.. Be aware the dust is supposed to be highly reactive and cause cancer.. If you are referencing just a square shanked nail as a horse shoeing nail, they are 2 different nail types and designes.. The latest video on using the hammer is on nail making.. The Nail making video on this subject is covered pretty well on the JLPservicesinc youtube channel.. With hand forged square shank nails the nails are designed for the materials they are going into.. If a wrought iron nail is used on hardware and will be clinched on the backside they are left completely soft.. If they are going into dried hardwoods the shanks will be cold forged to make them work hardened, There are spade tipped nails vs just pointed, spiral nails, roofing, slate, etc, etc, etc.. If you want more info let me know.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted April 6, 2018 Author Share Posted April 6, 2018 8 hours ago, Daswulf said: If you head through southwestern PA and are in the neighborhood let me know. I sure will.. I believe I will be going down 84 to 78, 81.. Not sure of which day I'll leave as I'll be spending about a week with family.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 Could be a bit out of the way. I'm right off Rt. 70. looking at a map just a touch east of right under Pittsburgh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted April 7, 2018 Author Share Posted April 7, 2018 Yes that is a little bit out of the route.. I was out there a few years ago picking up the 368HB anvil.. Nice country out that way.. I was so surprised to see all the gas lines everywhere and gas just burning on the side of the road.. Maybe it saves on electrical costs vs a street light.. Waynesburg is where it was. Just really beautiful.. I was also surprised at all the mountainous terrain and then the top of the mountain around the corner was missing.. I really like driving through the country side out that way.. Really just some pretty areas.. Your terrain is much different than around here.. On my way back I noticed i was riding the rim of a valley and it was a clear enough day i could just about see to the other side.. Must have been 25miles across easily.. On the way back the GPS sent me south into W VA an then back up into PA.. Me and the HB.. Loaded into the back seat of the Audi A4.. When I showed up the Guy and Gal who sold it to me said and I quote" Your crazy.. That anvil is nearly as big as your car.. How you gonna lift it in there? How far yah come? Good luck with it.: And God bless as I closed the door and headed off.. that little 1.8L turbo wasn't happy on all the hills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Yeah Lots of hills and valleys here, plus the mountains are not far. Summit on RT. 40 has Taxed many of my vehicles lol. Going up the mountain and watching the gas gauge go down and the temp gauge go up, in the older vehicles I always drove, I always hoped neither would go too far to the extremes. I go offroading in the mountains of West Virginia closer to the PA boarder and it is just beautiful out there. My area is all hills and valleys and still nice aside from all the gas wells tearing it up and road construction more recently. It's sad to see so many old barns and buildings getting torn down to "make way". There is still a lot of nice old area left. My area right along RT 70 has been about decimated for expansion of the highway. Things have changed so much since i was a kid. Lol I like the anvil story. I can imagine what they were thinking. If you ever out this way the invite stands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted April 7, 2018 Author Share Posted April 7, 2018 Yup, Crazy yankee girl is gonna get herself killed.. To get it into the car I walked it up a 2X12" oak plank I brought with me.. LOL.. I put the back seats down walked it up onto a piece of plywood and used the seat belts to strap it in.. We have rolling hills here.. We call them Mounts when they are big enough or just interesting.. But where I was out there it would have taken a day to walk up them. It was really Beautiful.. Here unless it's MT washington or another 4000footer up north .. We can walk in pretty much any direction and run into another road in maybe 20-25minutes if you know how to walk straight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 18 minutes ago, jlpservicesinc said: and used the seat belts to strap it in.. LOL Oh here you can do the same walking and hit a road. Out around the mountains not so much. better take essentials if you go for a long walk there. The rivers out there are amazing too. I dont kayak rapids (only smoother waters) otherwise it would be a great experience. I get to see enough offroading there. It's so isolated in the mountains. I love it. The history around here is fun too. I live right in the area of the whiskey rebellion and the French and Indian War. There are some neat spots here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Not really trying to be annoying; but the highest point in PA is about 1000' down from ground level out here and I can see the bump on the mountain that's the Magdalena Ridge observatory that's at 10000 feet (sometimes I'm be in shorts and see the snow up there) and if you are willing to drive a bit you can see some Mountains... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 How's the forests, rivers, creeks and farmlands out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Lets see New Mexico exports lumber, we are famous for our trout streams and our chili, onions, cotton, pistachios, Pecans. Don't think much of that grows in PA (Save for the trout of course and you probably have a lot more of that.) From my front porch I see thousands of acres of cotton fields and pecan orchards, Ranching is big too; friend of mine owns a ranch that's about 10x11---miles that is. (Of course carrying capacity may be 2 sq miles per cow...) Now true that for lumber and streams and creeks you have to go up in altitude; but once you are above 6000-7000 feet or so it's very different than the desert where I am at. Remember "Smokey Bear" was from an occurrence in NM near Capitan. Of course you can walk out my back door for 50 miles straight and never hit a paved road. (I've lived in NJ and OH and VA so I'm familiar with that area. I like it out here!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Yep, “4wheeling” or “off roading” is very difrent in the south west. You try very hard not to break your rig as the walk out may be 100 miles. Here in Oklahoma it means “how bad can I tear up my truck”. I mis AZ. 2 hours from pine trees to pallo verde. If I didn’t have commitments here I would summer on the rim and winter in the valley. new Mexico style Mexican food is to die for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Guys with here measure how much fun they had by how much it cost to repair their 4x4. Some are jacked up so high I do't see how they keep them from tipping over in a wind. Oh well, when I was young it was getting gobs HP out of an engine, glass packs for loud and slicks. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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