SLAG Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 Yves, You may be able to get a wooden barrel or half barrel from a micro brewery, brew pub or small winery. Is the Montreal, Molson's brewery still in operation? If so, they may sell you one. Putting some denatured alcohol in your slack tub will lower the freezing point. Other alcohols will work but they are poisonous. The same applies for antifreeze. {Propylene glycol is not very poisonous), but ethylene glycol is very toxic. The latter glycol sweet and animals love it and can die. Your block heater idea is brilliant. And most cars in Canada have them. But Americans outside of the north do not. Aquarium heaters would work. (I have not used them). Some hot tub heaters may be usable. Salut. SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yves Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 Salut, In fact wooden barrels are easy to find in my area. The probem is with the through heaters for animals. They have wires. I just can see myself dunking a piece of hot steel on a wire and cutting it. Sometimes I think of the next step in the work. That is not, how shall I say … conducive to me using a contraption with a wire immersed in the tub. You got me thinking. I could install some plumbing in the side of the wooden barrel and use the block heater in that plumbing. As for Molson, they have been, for a long time, brewing beer in vats large enough to go canoeing in. And if there were any wooden barrels from the old, very old days, they would be a collector's item around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 I use a small 500 watt thermostat controlled immersion heater in my slack tub, it's set to come on at 35°f off at 40°f. When I'm forging in cold weather I just unplug it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 Here’s my Molson slack tub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 Anti freeze???? There are several different variety.. Automotive variety's, Welding varieties.. JHCC, I love that.. I gotta get me a few.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yves Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 On 1/20/2019 at 5:06 PM, JHCC said: Here’s my Molson slack tub: I thought you had ment wooden barrels from Molson. Still jealous ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 SLAG was talking about getting a wooden barrel from Molson. I just happen to have a stainless steel Molson keg that a coworker found in the garage if a house she’d bought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 At 4:30 this afternoon it was 71 degF here. After the fleamarket and grocery shopping this morning I went and helped my mother plant trees....Day 3 of not running the furnace at the casita. Pushing fluids to make sure I'm up to see the eclipse of the moon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 10F outside right now.. At 1023pm 6-8" of frozen snow, sleet.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelonian Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Same situation for me, but I'm going out to look at the eclipse no matter what! (the weather makes it so I can't forge anything though, since my setup is outdoors ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Ewert Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 I use one of those big stainless steel milk cans for my slack tub. I have three more sitting unused if anyone in the Bay area is interested. I made my first corkscrew with a Valentine's day theme. I need some practice on twisting the screw (and twisting it in the right direction!), but I like the general design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre1886 Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 hey everyone, first post on this thread, Although Ive read through this thread in its entirety. Yesterday i made some split crosses, a heart and a little rune with the symbol of the shield maiden on. Theyre not much but for my first projects im fairly proud. I had difficulty with the round bar as i just have flat jaw tongs unfortunately. I plan on making some hooks and a troll cross later today, then move onto leaves. I hope i did the attachments correctly. Apologies in advance if not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 7 hours ago, Ted Ewert said: I made my first corkscrew with a Valentine's day theme. I need some practice on twisting the screw (and twisting it in the right direction!), but I like the general design. It is the right direction - just left-handed ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cincinnatus Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Finished my Flatter. Made the head about a month ago but finally got around to making the handle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Looks pretty good.. Is this a set hammer or flatter? Flatters usually have a larger face than center mass so the distribute the force more evenly across the whole material thus leveling the surface vs forging it. Smoothing as it were.. A set hammer on the other hand has the face centric with the body so it will drive into a corner and isolate the force in creating a shoulder or seam, etc, etc.. it could be used for flatting, but not typically unless the surface is that uneven.. This picture is of a flatter recently forged, if you search or reference on flatter this is more of the image you will see.. In my shop I'd call what you made a set. So languages being what they are.. I'm just checking to see if in deed what you meant was a flatter vs set hammer... Next "how to" video will be on making a set hammer...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cincinnatus Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 2 hours ago, jlpservicesinc said: You are correct - typing one thing but thinking about something else. It is a set hammer, working on a flatter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 5 hours ago, Andre1886 said: Theyre not much but for my first projects Very nice work for your first projects. Deffinately get, make, or modify some tongs to properly hold the material you are using. It saves a lot of time, frustration and potential injuries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre1886 Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Thank you, i bought around half inch square bar (i cant remember exactly) to attempt some wolf jaw tongs soon, i've watched many videos on tong making and have a pair of straight jaw i can use as reference. They will be my first larger project, I expect i might not do too well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Freshen up on the steps, take it to the forge and make them. Then go back and watch the videos or read up on it again with a better understanding of it. My first tongs weren't very good and thats what I did, it made more sense to me and the second pair came out much better. Not saying your first attempt won't work. They might turn out great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 2 hours ago, Cincinnatus said: You are correct - typing one thing but thinking about something else. It is a set hammer, working on a flatter. Did you check out the "How to make a flatter video".. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cincinnatus Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 jlpervicesinc - I will check it out tonight - thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 thread is here.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexandr Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 Continued. The future fireplace decor and wall clocks. It remains to do iron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexandr Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 The parcel with the fireplace screen got to Billings Montana. Customer satisfied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobasaurus Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Wow, that's a great fireplace screen. I made this crazy-looking jig today. It's roughly copied from one I saw in a Black Bear Forge video about forging a dragon head. It allows the head to be supported in the vise and be supported from below (at an angle) while chiseling the facial features. Hopefully it works, may have to reinforce the top lip. I used random stuff around the shop instead of buying the proper materials, but it was fun to practice welding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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