JHCC Posted September 26, 2020 Share Posted September 26, 2020 No sacrificing infants to it! A few cheap goodies from the flea market; $7 total (the soldering iron was free). (Several of the files are Nicholson; at least one is a Black Diamond.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmithingWitch Posted September 27, 2020 Share Posted September 27, 2020 Had a real time hauling this lot out of various bushes and unbolting off various rusty stands today with my dad, and in case anyone ever wondered how much rusty iron will fit into the back of a Subaru Forester: Im not sure, but at least this much. Four jackshafts off of old circular saws, babbit bearings, with the pulleys. One flat belt driven grinder, in great shape (cleverly hidden under years of rust and grime) and the real jewel: The biggest (and heaviest) post drill Ive ever seen. Expect it to have its own post as I need to pick some brains on here as to the type but suffice to say its enormous, and appears to originally have been made to run off a flat belt with fixed/loose pulleys from the factory rather than modified after the fact like some ive seen. the bearings and pulleys will be reused on countershafts for running tools off a line shaft setup, which I hope will run the grinder as well as two others ive picked up each set up for different tasks, and the drill press is going to be getting a total restoration and brought back into service as well. Not shown, the few dozen mosquitoes, barn spiders and gigantic black and yellow writing spiders who all seemed to want to crawl over the strange people loading up parts of their homes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted September 29, 2020 Share Posted September 29, 2020 Hey, more mail! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 On my way to pick up my son from school, I noticed a farrier’s truck parked at one of the local horse farms. I stopped to ask him if he had any old horseshoes or files he was trying to get rid of, and he gave me these. Apparently I was the second person to ask him that today, otherwise he would have had a lot more. The lady who owns the farm also gave me a few rusty ones she had in the basement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shabumi Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 Saw some pitch dripping from one of the pines, so I started gathering for a batch of homemade repousse pitch. 20 minutes and I had a large salsa container full. I have an old brick I can crush and some beeswax. I think I'll try the recipe I copied from "on divers arts" Grind a piece of brick or tile very small and melt some pitch in an earthenware dish and add a little wax. When these are both melted, mix in the powdered tile and stir it vigorously and pour it out into water. When it begins to grow cold, dip both your hands into the water and knead it for a long time until you can stretch the composition and draw it out like a skin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 Shabumi: Let us now how it turns out. I suspect that you need to add enough wax to keep it from being sticky. And if you are kneading it underwater you are probably incorporating some water into the mixture. It would be interesting to know if the species of pine makes any difference. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shabumi Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 This is all ponderosa pine sap, 3 trees worth. I can go and check if the sugar pines and bull pines on the property are weeping too. When I read the water part of the instructions my mind instantly went to seeing mozzarella being made. Though with mozzarella you don't want to overknead or you'll get a rubber ball, which is what I think im supposed to be aiming for here. I don't belive that pitch and wax are water soluble, and vitrified clay is alot less soluble than its base form, so maybe the kneading works the water solubles out like working slag out of wrought-iron when you fold it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 The actual chemistry is beyond me but I suspect that there is some sort of polymerization going on and the kneading is helping to form long chains. I'm a little surprised that there isn't more heat involved but what works, works. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goods Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 My latest salvaged scrap from work. Mostly all 1045. The shafts in the bottom though are 2”dia 4340. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 You’re going to have some good trading stock next Quad-State! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goods Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 I’m not sure it will last that long. I like to bring different, goods stuff for iron-in-hat for our meet-ups. I’m already put one of the 6”dia press rams back in my car for next weekend. Guess I’ll just have to keep my eyes open for more! David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
671jungle Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 Good finds everyone has been sharing. I am especially interested in the pitch experiment. These machined out tong kits came home with me from the event in Kanab UT. $15 each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 Need a pitch bowl? (My personal worst: went to the scrapyard and brought home 865# of steel; I'm broke until November's allowance shows up!) about 28" outer diameter and 1.5" thick. about 400 pounds apiece, yes there are 2 of them! Intended use: firepits, bell---(awesome resonance goes on and on and on!); pitch bowl? Not shown is a chunk of dozer that had a series of nice scallops in the edge---will make a nice set of swages! Also several 7/16 rods, stainless steel outlet cover, small reamer, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 Mail! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wirerabbit Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 (edited) 20 cents a pound at the scrap yard. Some mild, some spring. I have 12 ft of 5/8 " sucker rod and what I think is at least medium carbon bar over 1 inch. I started salivating when I saw the spring (~2") in the bin. Shredder blades probably mild steel but will make a great bolster plate for me. Odds and ends to play with. Edited October 5, 2020 by wirerabbit Resize pictures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shabumi Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 5 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: Need a pitch bowl? Sure, if they fit in a single rate box from the post office. Otherwise I'll need to wait till I'm in your neck of the woods. I got the brick crushed and I managed to get the pine sap strained. It was harder than it sounds. I managed to ruin a sieve in doing so, luckily I bought one at a thrift store just for this purpose. I'll start a new thread for the mixing process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 At 400#'s a piece they are a bit heavy for the 70# limit on a flat rate box.... also 28" across...Some folks used large stainless dog dishes as they have a much larger base than mixing bowls and can still be heated. (Also cast iron Dutch ovens---the ones without feet...) Back in the old neo tribal days a lot of folks were making their own cutlers' resin using pitch and PHD, Powdered Herbivore Dung. Sure smells *better* than epoxy does! Some varieties of trees are supper sappers---like pitch pine and will produce a lot of pitch. I remember wandering around a park in Ohio that had been planted with a wide variety of trees and finding some that had "pitchsicles" from minor trimming. Others with a much harder pitch. Theophilus' tile dust would probably be a lot like terra cotta pot dust, a lower fire clay than todays porcelain clay tiles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 I have some very crumbly early 19th century brick that I salvaged from a demolition job a few years back. I remember seeing a historical film about a group of First Nations people in Canada making a canoe. One thing that stuck out was that they put all their gathered pitch in a burlap bag and put that in a pot of boiling water. When the pitch melted, it flowed through the bag and left all the bark residue behind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goods Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 Shredder blade? Made out of mild steel? I would think it would be at least medium carbon steel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 Modern shredder blade is probably going to be 4140, certainly not mild. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 I was wondering if the blade would be one of the boron steels like are used for brush/bush hogs blades. (Not good knife alloys!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 Thomas, some advice please....I have three bush/brush hog blades that came from a friend's farm. They are about a foot long, 6'' to 8" wide and about 3/4" to 5/8" thick with a mounting hole on each end. I have had them for about 2 years and keep looking at them, wondering what they would be good for. Reading your above post about the high probability they might be boron steel, and not conducive to anything blade-like, what in the world would they be best utilized for? Any caveats? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 There is one company making brush hog blades for many manufacturers. I found them on the net years ago. For some reason Churchill rings a bell, but that may just be my Tinnitus.... The boron alloy they use takes a very specific heat treat to maximize the alloy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 Items needing toughness; and as BGD mentions can you duplicate the heat treat? (I'd check to see if they were hardenable by simple means first. Older ones were a different alloy.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wirerabbit Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 21 hours ago, Goods said: Shredder blade? Made out of mild steel? I would think it would be at least medium carbon steel. Hey Goods, I know. I changed my picture sizes when I edited my posting, but I forgot to correct my text. I was speculating on that narrower bar below the rotary blades. I was wrong, btw. When I spark tested, it came up at least leaf spring quality carbon. I don't have a collection of known steels to test against right now. Still, that small bar is about 2 inches wide and should make a great bolster plate. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do with those rotary blades yet, but I hadn't thought about making blades. Perhaps a fuller or a butchering tool of some kind. Now I need to go study up on what Boron does in steel. Thanks all for the heads up. I've been trying to locate info regarding steel type, but nothing so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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