Chris C Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 Okie-dokie, it's been over 24 hours since I put the last of the wood on the fire pit to cover up the spring. The danged thing is still too hot to touch! But I kind of figured it would be. That's why I said previously I'd wait until Wednesday........................but I imagine another 24 hours from now should be enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 If it's only a couple of hundred degF; no problem with cooling it in water to ambient. (Why the critical temperature *is* critical in HT!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 Thanks, Thomas. I'm in no hurry. It's not in my way where it is. Certainly not going to be building another fire in this 104 degree heat! Wife screamed bloody murder when she saw me building the fire yesterday. Wanted to know if I was crazy........................well heck yes, always have been! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted August 13, 2019 Share Posted August 13, 2019 You’re a blacksmith. She has to ask? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted August 13, 2019 Share Posted August 13, 2019 34 minutes ago, JHCC said: You’re a blacksmith. Well, JHCC, you're the first person to call me that! Guess I've "arrived". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted August 13, 2019 Share Posted August 13, 2019 Well to start i had some coal that needed sifted. Bunch of little stuff mixed with a whole lot of dust. Fortunately the twins came for a visit. Grandma was not happy when they came in covered in coal dust. Not identical, the other kind of twins. Re-mounted my anvil, thanks to crazy goat lady on this one. After seeing the way her husband mounted hers i could not believe i did not think of it myself. But thanks CGL. This is how i had it with the turn buckles crossed. Real pain in the...to tighten. Now swithched to this: The angle iron like that makes a nice place to set a punch or chisel or whatever. The 2, actually 4, little screws are there becuase when i first tied it down when i would tighten one side the anvil would move that direction. So i put the screws on each corner just to hold it enough to tighten it all down and never took them out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGoatLady Posted August 13, 2019 Share Posted August 13, 2019 Billy Bones, that's funny. I just happened to be reading this and caught sight of my name. You are welcome for the inspiration. I'll tell Tommie what you said. He's very proud of his work Looks good. Kudos to you for getting the grand babies dirty. They are precious and look like they had fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcus_Aurelius Posted August 13, 2019 Share Posted August 13, 2019 Took a free day to take a spin over to Logan Steel, came back with a nice score. Got a couple of railroad anchors, spikes, and a nice tie plate. A 3inch square tube which may make a nice quench tank... (just need to find a darn welder ), and finally 10 pieces of mystery round stock. One of the employees said anything not directly labeled is A36 but it was in a box labeled chisel stock... Will do a hardness test later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 13, 2019 Share Posted August 13, 2019 The rail clips are nice medium carbon steel and make good impact tools. No telling about the chisel stock though there's a good chance the yard gets regular drops from one factory and keeps it together for "Special" people. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 Thanks CGL, dont look as nice as yours but definitely functional. And if you are wondering it is a 153# mousehole made around 1850. The grand kids love to be with papa in the shop. I was burning green coal a couple weeks ago and one of them said " I never knew fire could smell so good." As far as what i did today, cleaned out the forge. Thought i would be the new blacksmith god, all my clinkers were coming right to the top of my fire. Now that i cleaned a clinker out the size of a football (that would be an American football for my overseas friends) i now realize they were coming to the top simply becuase they had no where else to go. Here is a piece of it, maybe i can sell it as art? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGoatLady Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 BillyBones, sounds like they are awesome kiddoes. Your anvil is pretty awesome too. I can take no credit on my stand. I just wanted functional as well. Clinker Art... you never know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 Nice clinker Billy. Amazing how HOT they LOOK in the fire isn't it? Then you discover why you're steel isn't heating very well is because the clinker is sucking up all the heat. My best one was an almost perfect doughnut about 8" OD. it lifted out in one piece but broke up as it cooled. I was going to hang it somewhere but . . . <sigh> Great pic of the Grandkids, they'll never forget doing things with and for Grandfather the blacksmith. How long do you think it'll be before they're hammering HOT steel? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGoatLady Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 They'd be so cute with their little hammers. I was teaching my little granddaughter how to throw knives. Of course, I made her brother stay about a mile way. You never knew where one would end up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 Oh good suggestion GCL! The little darlings can forge their own throwing knives and hawks! Let's see them get picked on a second time. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGoatLady Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 Haha I LIKE it. I used to wonder about them starting school and if asked about going to Grandma and PeePaws farm. What do you learn kiddies? Blacksmithing, reloading, skinning and butchering. Knife throwing, black soldier fly composting, etc. etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picker77 Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 My kind of kids, my kind of grandparents!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 AMEN!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 16 hours ago, CrazyGoatLady said: Clinker Art... you never know. We have had some really interesting large clinkers that my wife wanted to turn into art, as of yet we haven't found anything that would prevent them from crumbling into tiny little pieces. Tried spray on clear coat...failed, Decoupage/Mod-Podge...failed, polyurethane...failed, short of completely encasing it in epoxy don't know how to preserve it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGoatLady Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 I think that would make for interesting art pieces. I don't have a clue how they could be held together though. I run propane, so no clinker art for me. Frostys donut would have been really neat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picker77 Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 Never had my hands on a clinker, so don't have a feel for how delicate they are to handle, but if they can stand being gently rinsed/cleaned to remove loose materials and contaminants, maybe one could be encased in a block of clear resin. Might make a cool mantle decoration. Google "fire ant art" created by pouring molten aluminum into a fire ant colony and digging out the entire chunk. Of course that process is totally different, but the final amazingly detailed sculptures and shapes are sort of similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 Tried loosening stuck connecting rid pins from pistons once. The piston was aluminum. In not very long some of the piston was gone. Had the dumb idea to just let it melt away after that. Thought it'd just go down in the ash dump as some was dripping out. Well, let me tell you it is no fun cleaning aluminum from the grate and hammering solid "pucks" of aluminum out of the T pipe. Still have the "pucks" tho. Won't be doing that again. "Don't try that one at home" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
671jungle Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 this beauty will be following me home tomorrow. I am extremely excited! It will be my first piece of genuine blacksmithing equipment. $200 localish pickup. From the looks of the pics of the shop and the Ad post, there might be some history I can dig up. I will post more pics when i get it. And enter it into the "Show me your vise" thread once its cleaned up and mounted. I have not been this excited about anything since i first started jiu-jitsu 15 years ago. Like learning new moves, acquiring new equipment and the skills to use them is just as satisfying. I will still build the vise out of the bushhog blades for camping trips and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 2 hours ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said: as of yet we haven't found anything that would prevent them from crumbling into tiny little pieces. You need to apply paleontology and paleoarchaeology stabilization methods. Superglue is popular and effective in the old days thinned lacquer or varnish was used IIRC. The trick using superglue would be NOT gluing the clinker to your forge, it'll burn out but I don't know about the fumes. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 We used fumed super glue to help develop fingerprints. I can say that the fumes are "nasty". Or as others say toxic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 Sorry guys those 2 posts were supposed to be over in the "What did you do in your shop today" section. Woops. I do not know when they will hit hot iron but i have a small ASO i got from Rural King cheap they can beat on. Little pieces of aluminum or copper or what ever they can find to pick up. I do how ever have a shooting range set up for them in the barn. Just a cheap little bb gun but they have fun. Their arms are almost long enough to shoulder it and reach the trigger. One of them can actually do it and hit a pop can from about 30 feet. The night i took that photo i had some stuff to burn. So i got them roasting marshmallows for their first time. Almost 7 and had never roasted a marshmallow. Definitely need more time with papa. I was thinking the clinker could have been covered in polyurethane just poured on real thick like. My grandpa before he passed made counter tops by making a rectangle trough then putting peices of glass, pottery, china, stones, shells whatever in it and covering the whole thing with polyurethane. Made some neat effects, maybe i could collect a bunch of clinkers and do the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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