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I Forge Iron

Trouble forging 1in square stock


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Pnut: This is just a test piece to see if the stock was large enough for what I had in mind. I will try to carburize this edge but in the future I will weld in a steel bit.

As I said, I have access onoy to 4mm 1075. I dont know if thats too thin but I suspect it might be...

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$3.5/kg is a good price. (I just paid ~$8.8/kg for a load of structural steel, but I’m hoping we are currently in a price bubble, almost everything has increased in cost. Of course I’m in a completely different market on the other side of planet.)

4mm stock is really small even for blades. You could use it for bits in axes, but you will probably want to have the form of the axe drawn out before welding it in.

Learning to forge weld especially for axes will serve you very weld. In modern smithing forge welding isn’t really needed due to the availability and low cost of high carbon steels. But, once you hand forge an axe from solid high carbon steel, you will understand the benefit of forging out the body of the axe with mild steel and forge welding a bit in. Honestly, for me forge welding bits into axes is one of the easiest types of forge welding.

David

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Be careful, you might be painting yourself into a corner. Seems you can't get the high priced spread and don't want to deal with the rest.  And if you had been working on your forge welding from the time of your first post, you'd be well on the way! 

Just giving you a bit of a hard time,,, with a grain of truth.  ;)

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The slack tub is where the occasional mouse and scrap projects are left to rust in peace.. Drinking from such a body of water might cause some intestinal distress :D 

Great for cooling ones arms and neck though!

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I think someone switched addresses on the weather; here in NM it's cloudy rainy and cool, 70's where 2 weeks ago it was in the 100's degF and last week it was in the 90's degF.  I think the NW got our weather and theirs was misdelivered to us!  (Thanks; send more!)

The down side is that the electric CoOp that was supposed to hook up power to my shop doesn't want to do it in the rain!  There goes my 3 day weekend with a powered shop to play in!

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Hey Dan, I haven't had consistent success with forge welds in the past and have avoided them as a result.

Nevertheless, I recently tried building a hardie cutoff tool with a leafspring insert. It sort of worked as the steel around the insert holds it in place, but the weld is highly questionable. 

The point is that I now know what not to do and look forward to trying it again. It's not difficult, and it's a simple way to get a hard edge on a mild steel tool. A flattened out piece of coil spring would probably work too. 

 

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4 hours ago, anvil said:

Why do you think it's called a "slack tub"? A reeel blacksmith never gets thirsty.  :)

It's an alternative spelling of "Slake," synonymous with quench. 

I don't need to be thirsty to enjoy a good slaking. 

Frosty The Lucky.

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It's been quite hot around here, especially on days when my work and home schedules have enough flexibility to let me get into the forge!

Before last Sunday's session, I picked up a two-gallon insulated water jug to be the shop drinking water supply. I have now decided that such an item is as important a part of the basic forge setup as an anvil, a hammer, a forge, and a pair of tongs.

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On 6/29/2021 at 8:55 AM, JHCC said:

I've come to the conclusion that a large insulated water jug should be at the top of every beginning smith's shopping list.

At the end of last summer I had a case of pseudo colitis from taking antibiotics and tried to forge in the heat before I had recovered 100%. I was trying to drink plenty of water over the course of the illness but it only took about thirty minutes of exertion and I woke up staring at the sky. I went to the hospital and due to the pseudo colitis I was so dehydrated my kidneys were shutting down.  Please STAY HYDRATED. Especially in the summer heat or if your health is even slightly compromised. 

Pnut

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On 6/29/2021 at 6:13 PM, Ted Ewert said:

The point is that I now know what not to do and look forward to trying it again. It's not difficult, and it's a simple way to get a hard edge on a mild steel tool. A flattened out piece of coil spring would probably work too. 

 

Thanks, Ill try my best the next time I get the chance.
Id work in the night no problem, since I cant sleep anyways, but the neighbors wouldnt find that quite polite of me :D

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13 minutes ago, Dan_the_DJ said:

Thanks, Ill try my best the next time I get the chance.
Id work in the night no problem, since I cant sleep anyways, but the neighbors wouldnt find that quite polite of me :D

I have the same problem with my neighbor. If I leave the garage door open after 5 pm she'll be at the end of my driveway glaring at me until I close it. She's the only person in the neighborhood my dog barks at. Dog won't allow her past the driveway. Good dog.

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NO killing yourself pnut! B A D pnut, no cookie! 

Water's really important stuff, just plain old clean fresh water. I forgot to drink enough at the Scottish Highland Games last weekend and paid with cramps on the drive home. I knew better, my bad. Magnesium supplements is an excellent way to avoid cramps if you get them very often. I get them when I mistreat my old bod.

We had a PITA neighbor that actually shot herself down being so nasty. I won't tell the story again.

Have you tried glaring back? OR if she really annoys you enough to alter your activities standing there glaring, make a point of looking at your wrist watch and dialing your cell phone. Speaking loudly enough she can hear you. I'd like to speak to the police please, (your address,) the stalker is back, standing at the end of our driveway staring at the house again. 

Bummer you can't just sic your dog on her but that'd be a bad thing even at the turn of the last century. 

Maybe stand in your garage with a video camera while she's glaring? Lots of time stamped stills might do it. 

I'm a butt head, I'd probably start moving things out into the driveway to spite her, maybe even onto the lawn. Have some unsightly stuff you can share with her? Put it right away as soon as she leaves of course. 

Heck, teach her blacksmithing, she obviously has too much time on her hands and nothing worthwhile to do! That would be a much more positive solution, might make life more pleasant for others in the neighborhood!

Frosty The Lucky.

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Ted by closing your door she wins.

As to H20 in the shop.  I keep several quart and a couple of 750 ml water bottles in several places around the shop. With them around the areas where I do most of my work its easier to grab a quick sip and stay hydrated.  People get busy and even though they are thirsty they'll refuse to walk across a house or across a shop to get water.  I use quarts/ml to keep track of how much water I've drank. If on a hot day, or during forging,  I haven't emptied a couple of bottles I know I'm  dehydrated.  

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In "Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos"  the title comes from a testy old lady who's neighborhood association has banned her  "tacky plastic Pink Flamingos" from neighborhood front lawns.  So she has a set made up by the protagonist, a lady smith who is horrified by the request but does such a great job that she is mobbed by orders for them.  (And uses the classic blacksmith ploy to get out of doing any more of something they don't want to do; by raising the price to outrageous levels---Only to have her bluff called.)

I think I would set up a folding table and have tea down at the end of the driveway.  Living well is the best revenge!

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I think Tea Time for Nosey is perfect. A: comfy chair, side table, casual reading material. Music?

Which way do you point the chair? I think I'd angle it so I'm not looking at her but not directly away, a "cold" shoulder angle would, I think, be my choice. Maybe a great big parasol on sunny days. Oh yes, good gaudy colors!

Frosty The Lucky.

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