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I Forge Iron

It followed me home


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Das,

Granite produces some nasty dust. (one component is silica (silicon dioxide) that can cause silicosis (disease))

Granite's range from 20% - 80% silica.

Dolerite is harder still. If you can get some.

Basalt is another good choice.

Jade, both varieties,  ( jadeite and nephrite) would work really well but their cost would prohibit their use. 

Jade has interlocking grain which make it tough and very hard to carve.

Just sayyin.

SLAG.

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Slag: Did you know the interlocking crystal structure of Jade in all it's varieties is just like asbestos because they're the same chemically? The difference is the molecular water content, just like soap stone and talk, asbestos breathing hazards all.

Just because something was used in antiquity doesn't mean it's a good idea, folk a couple thousand years ago didn't live that long on average so who knew what was killing them. Alaskan Natives who carve soap stone and ivory both tended to die pretty young from lung problems till recently and they started using dust masks.

A nice fine grain gneiss is pretty stable and tough enough not to make a lot of dust. A fire grain maphic or ultra maphic make really good anvil stones, much better than basalt.

Frosty The Lucky.

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Common mafic rocks include basalt, diabase and gabbro....wikipedia

While granite when crushed does produce silica dust; how much crushing will be done?  Might have tracked in more silica on his shoes from sand in the riverbed...  Work the steel HOT and don't miss with the hammer and I don't think it will be much of a problem.

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I had success forging on a chunk of cut granite. I'm mainly curious about some more local mountainous river rocks. Starting to learn that rocks are dangerous. :o

Honestly didn't know about silicosis. Same could honestly be said about handling enough coal with black lung. 

I'm not planning to do this exclusively or long term. For me it's " if I was out in the wild, what would it be like to do "this". I know its been done. This is one of those things I want to try out. Most of these hazards are long term exposure and there are respirators to mitigate inhalation of rock dust for now. 

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Fine grain maphic and ultra maphic, didn't think you'd let that pass unclarified Thomas. ;)

The only real hazard I can think of for using granitics is laying HOT steel on them, it can cause spalling which might crush into powder. Provided you don't spend a lot of time beating directly on the anvil with your hammer that is. I'd think giving the stone a wipe with a damp rag every once in a while would mitigate the dust hazard. 

Uh Das. . . STARTING to learn rocks are dangerous?:blink: Never get in a rock fight as a tyke? In my neighborhood we were using slings by time we were 10 and I based a rock thrower on the atlatl I saw in the "Have Gun Will Travel" episode that inspired me to blacksmithing. 

Yes. . . Rocks . . . .ARE. . . .Dangerous. :P

Frosty The Lucky.

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22 hours ago, Frosty said:

Uh Das. . . STARTING to learn rocks are dangerous?:blink: 

:rolleyes: Meant as an anvil. Of course we got into rock fights, or climbing them, or them falling, or landing on them or tires kicking them up off the road, or trucks dumping them while hauling them........

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Don't forget that coal is radioactive too!

Living in Ohio I had to source mafic and ultramafic rocks from Glacial deposits---I had to get and test rocks for cooking demo's for our Irish Living History group.  Once we got a huge soft maple chunk and cut a hole in it and boiled a 15 pound roast in it by adding hot rocks; very tasty! (and I'm not going to even attempt the old Irish spelling of that technique!  OK Irish Archeology site had it: fulacht fiadh )

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2 hours ago, Smoggy said:

Something tells me I should recognise that, it's not a fly press stand is it?

Hmmm, I don't know for sure just what it's initial use was for..  or what the hole was cut into it for..  under the 3/4" thick top it has several heavy cross braces going back and forth ..  I can not lift one side of it... it cost me $100.00 USD must weight a few hundred pounds..

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20 hours ago, JT said:

Hmmm, I don't know for sure just what it's initial use was for..  or what the hole was cut into it for..  under the 3/4" thick top it has several heavy cross braces going back and forth ..  I can not lift one side of it... it cost me $100.00 USD must weight a few hundred pounds..

well I got this home today.. not out of my truck yet !! lol  this thing is HEAVY !! half ton truck and it made it squat some.. its actually 46 1/4 " X 39" X 27 1/2".. I thought the top was 3/4" thick but its a full 1" .. the webbing underneath is 11/16" thick.. I can't even budge it to lift one corner or even slide it...  even on a bed liner.. I will weight it tomorrow at work .. I'm guessing in the neighborhood of 800 lbs. + --….  hope my little 1000 lb. rated forklift will lift it !! lol   JT

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Got the beginning of some tongs torched out, and shown some love with a grinder. (10 pieces of each size)

(To quote my dad:”well, we made a functioning pair each. Time to speed up the process”)

 

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JHCC: can you tell us how good is that Art Deco book? I was watching it for a while on the net, but didn't buy it. Could use some trustable opinion on the topic ;)

 

This hasn't yet followed me home, but I MUST brag, ehem, share... :) I'm so happy!! Won on an auction, yippee!

Thank you Wpearson and JoelOF for your help - couldn't do it without IFI!

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Bests:

Gergely

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10 hours ago, Gergely said:

Could use some trustable opinion on the topic ;)

I'm sure you could, but you'll have to make do with mine. ;) 

It's pretty good. Lots of good photos of Brandt's work and some good discussion of his design and construction processes. Lots to think about and lots of inspiration for things to try. There's another book on Brandt by the same author that I think may focus more on the work as such and thus might have some more photos; I'll have to ILL that one too, to compare.

What little formal training I personally received in smithing was in the Philadelphia College of Art/Samuel Yellin tradition, so I've always thought of ornamental smithing primarily in a medieval European/Gothic Revival context. Seeing the work of someone who was very much Yellin's contemporary but who took his artistry in a totally different direction is fascinating and mind-expanding. 

Nice fly press!

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A bunch of hack breaking hauling followed me home. 

Got a deal to clean out any and all metal from an estate. Good bad and ugly. My buddy found me the deal and this is a tiny part out of a shed. Next weekend is the big haul. Some I'll use some I'll scrap and some I'll sell. 

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First family fathersday trip to the fleamarket. I showed Ayana how to find some good stuff but she wasnt interested and slept most of the time. :rolleyes:

But I got some heavy hammers( around 12-14 lbs ea.) Some pipe wrenches for scrap art, an old hand crank grinding stone and other stuff. 

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Anyone know what that size gauge thing, left of the hammers, might be for?

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looks like some of the two hole pins I've seen for pipefitting Das. Mine are tapered and screw together, but I have seen some that are stepped like that and just slip into the bolt holes. I could be wrong, but that's kind of what it looks like from what I can see in the photo.

Similar to these.

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Got this post vise and logging hooks for $10.   I thought the repair on the post vise as interesting - if you wear out the threads on the first part of the vise, simply insert a bevel gear with. Shoulder to move the bad thread out.  Going to clean up and keep it this way for conversation.  The hooks look like they may be wrought 

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