What did you do in the shop today?

[ThomasPowers]

I thought it was the Blue Bird of Happiness from "Yellow Submarine".

[Les L]

Thanks Das, the lady it is for is named Robin, he requested that I include one. 

[Jobtiel1]

Very nice work Mark and Les! 

I spent the day trying to forge an axe again, since the forge weld popped open on the last one. It was too bad that after a couple tries this one didn't weld at all. I think the problem was that the metal was too cold, I tried to weld an old file to a 4140 body, and heard that welding temps were lower for that kind of steel. So in my inexperience in welding I think I didn't heat the metal enough, thinking that it was fine.

I'm trying again tomorrow!

~Jobtiel

[Pat Masterson]

On 8/30/2021 at 7:18 PM, Ted Ewert said:

I like the clear enamel better than the clear paint, but both work for me. The enamel dries faster and is a harder finish. I use whatever brand is at the hardware store.

Thanks for the detail Ted. I do hit almost all of my stuff with a wire wheel before applying finish but a flapper wheel and a good cleaning I have not tried. 

8 hours ago, Les L said:

I finished this special request from a friend for his wife the end of last week, just in time to start prepping for a visit from Ida.

This is really awesome. Do you cut the shapes for the roses out yourself or use precut blanks? My first attempt at a rose doing the former didn’t go so well - looks more like a poppy flower (thank you Thomas Powers for that- at least I have a type to call it instead of just a “flower” now). If you cut your own what gauge material are you starting with?

My mind is going a little crazy trying to figure out how you did that bird - amazing. More pics if it’s not a pain please!

 

[Les L]

Thomas, you gave me a good laugh, as usual.

Pat, I use 20 gauge sheet and cut my own. I’ll pm you a pattern the next time I’m on my computer. The bird was made in several pieces and welded together, unfortunately I think that’s the only picture I have. I’m terrible about pictures and usually think about them after the project is gone. I have to make some more roses as soon as I can get through cleaning up after the hurricane and I’ll try to remember to take some pictures and send them to you showing the steps I use 

[ThomasPowers]

Well we're getting some rain so what I'm doing smithingwise this evening is swelling a wooden bucket to use at the SCA metalworker's guild Saturday. It usually takes several days to swell water tight and so it's sitting in the dripline of my smithy's roof.

I found that buying old ice cream makers with wooden buckets was a lot more economical than to buy wooden buckets from re-enactment suppliers...

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

You sometimes can get jack Daniel’s barrels or half barrels cheap to

[ThomasPowers]

US$3 ?  (and they are way too big for a travelling kit!)

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

I don’t remember exactly but I think I got one around $10 usd, I didn’t think about needing them to be portable though, your right they are definitely to big to pack around 

I don’t use that one anymore I gave it away and started using  a 12 gallon cast iron cookin pot I found, ive also got a 25 gallon cast iron cookin pot now to. 
Got the 12 gallon free for hauling off some junk and got the 25 gallon free when someone passed away an the family was cleaning up, 

I like them better because the oak barrel had to stay full all of the time or it would start drying out agin, the only down side to using the big cast iron pots is winter time you gotta keep a trough heater in them or dump them out because they’ll freeze an crack, 

But again that probably wouldn’t be good for a portable one unless you could find a small one 

[TastefullyPeenedIronWorks]

On 8/28/2021 at 7:54 AM, Rojo Pedro said:

Nice. Whats the twisted ends for?

They were gonna be steak turners but, seeing as it’s September, they might become fire pokers 

[Pat Masterson]

Thanks for pm Les. 
 

 

[ThomasPowers]

I don't usually have open water in my smithy anymore. We pack in a 5 gallon bucket if needed for a project and empty it on the tree shading the west side of the smithy when done.    However I will be doing a Penannular Brooch class Saturday at an SCA metalworkers guild meet and will need to anneal  a lot of copper (heat till barely glowing quench in water.)

[bluerooster]

Ya'll are doing some excellent work. I've not been at the forge for a while now, and am having withdrawal symptoms.  Went to TX last Saturday to work on Dads house. (getting it ready to sell) Just got back yesterday, (Ida got in the way of my return trip)  But I did manage to come home with a few items not blacksmith related.

Now I have to catch up on work around the house before I can get back to the forge.  Oh, the guy liked the gas keys, and may order more.

[Frosty]

 

I love the robin and flowers sculpture Les, It's killer beautiful!

Looks like you're going loaded for customer, Mark! Hopefully I'll get a chance to meet you at Q.S. in 2022.

On 9/1/2021 at 9:09 AM, Jobtiel1 said:

I tried to weld an old file to a 4140 body,

There's your problem, 4140 contains around: .39% - .8% chromium (just two hits in the search) which makes if very difficult to weld without using a dangerously toxic to use flux containing the element fluorine.

Choose a simple steel for the axe body, Personally I like a medium to high medium carbon steel, say 1050-1070 simple steel. 

Forge welding high alloy steels is an advanced thing, often requiring high end PPE and shop ventilation equipment.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Daswulf]

On 9/1/2021 at 3:27 PM, Les L said:

I’m terrible about pictures and usually think about them after the project is gone.

Don't worry Les. It happens and many of us are guilty of it lol. Atleast you got a picture, and it represents it well enough that i can tell it is a robin. I had thought of asking if you had more pictures of it but hadn't. 

I either get too many pictures of stuff, bad ones, or none at all. Better to have something than nothing. 

I was going through trying to move some pictures in my phone to folders. I have Way too many pictures on this phone. I was getting a memory about full notification so needed to back them up and start deleting some to be able to take more. 

[jlpservicesinc]

Beautiful work Mark..  Very nice.. have you started to use dies under the power hammer for production work? 

[Jobtiel1]

Frosty, I didn't know 4140 is so difficult to forge weld, thanks for letting me know! I have ordered some mild steel and 1095 steel to use for making an axe. So I can try that the next time. Uni starts again next week so it might be a while before I can actually try it out. If that fails too I can order some 1045 round stock to use for the body.

~Jobtiel

 

[ThomasPowers]

What mild did you order 1018 or 1020---or is your steel dealer calling A-36 mild?

What I did yesterday was to go up to Fine Arts and "borrow back" my loaner anvil for the event tomorrow,  About 125# Powell and I was happy I could still pick it up and carry it out to the truck in one go.  Today, after work, we load the 91# A&H, 112# PW and 134# HB anvils plus the Y1K and stake anvils, (+ tools, stock, examples,----I'm bribing the minions with pizza to handle that for me!)  I've stopped bringing anything larger on road trips; they are the "shop anvils" and they stay in the shop!

[Jobtiel1]

The steel I ordered is not exactly 1018 or 1020 I found. It's called S235. It is roughly equivalent to A-36 what I could find, in the way that it is classified by physical property and not specific composition. Thing is, in Dutch Mild steel is called construction steel, and I haven't found any dealer that sells true mild like what you mention 1018 or 1020. However, they do mention that this S235 steel is always plain carbon steel - not alloyed.

The maximum percentage of elements:

 

Is this bad though? Should I look for plain 1018 or 1020 instead? This is what I've been using as mild for nearly everything. Forge welding it went alright. Luckily it is not expensive to get at all. Paid 26 euros for 2 meters of 25mm by 25mm. If I forge all of them correctly that can yield me 20 small axes the way I'm currently making them.

~Jobtiel

[ThomasPowers]

What are the maximums for things like chromium, copper, nickel---the stuff that can make forge welding more difficult?  A-36 tends to be reprocessed scrap and so can vary a lot in some of the "other" components.  If it's working well for you; we can hope the next piece will too---but no guarantee.

[Jobtiel1]

Thomas, I was worried as soon as you mentioned it, however, it doesn't seem like the steel I bought is reprocessed, and I haven't found any information regarding the presence of other metals. I have found mentioned that the S235 steel is equivalent to US A283C steel. All sources I checked mention no presence of any other metals in the steel.

~Jobtiel

[ThomasPowers]

I generally assume all the steel I buy is reprocessed and the grade indicates how well they deal with tramp elements.  Though as the modern research on Wootz shows us; the tramp elements can sometimes have a large effect!

[JHCC]

Almost ALL steel is reprocessed; it’s the single most recycled material on the planet.  

[Jobtiel1]

I didn't know so much steel was recycled, I'll just have to wait and see how it works out then. I have send an email to the company I got it from to ask if they have more information on the presence of other metals in the steel.

~Jobtiel

[ThomasPowers]

It is still possible to buy very clean steels; you just have to pay outrageous prices for them.     Which is why most of us cheap blacksmiths end up working with A-36 and get surprised when a scrapyard find ends up forging like soft butter!