MoleDoc Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 :mad: I've been forging every staurday since spring and i can't seem to finish a pair of tongs without burning the the steel. I was making a pair of bolt tongs this morning for 1" bar stock that id like to make into candle sticks. I had the reins formed and even pulled off making balls at the ends that looked as good a my store bought pair. I made the twist on the jaw and put back in the fire to take some tool marks out of the boss area and the whole mess went up in a shower of sparks and i ended up with an molten blob of crud on the end of the reins where the twist in jaw was supposed to be. several hours of what I thought was good work down the drain, and I'd be fibbing if I said it was the first project that ended that way. Does anyone have advice on how to not burn the steel after youv'e worked it down? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbob Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 are you using an electric blower? if so turn the air blast down ...I guess your using coal you didn't say Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 Either too low in the fire, insufficent fuel around the work or too much blast. What you are experiencing is the same basic thing that an acetylene torch does to a piece of steel - heats it to melting and then introduces enough O2 to make it burn. If it starts burning and you catch it fast enough, you can plunge it in the slack tub and sometimes arrest the burn but you'll have to grind away the oxides before continuing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hill.josh Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 keep an eye on it.. or don't let it heat for long. you can use a dull red heat to remove marks and other small screwups. just lightly hammer it, all your doing is moving the face of the metal not really forging even black usually has enough heat for this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoleDoc Posted September 28, 2008 Author Share Posted September 28, 2008 I was using coal, Elkhorn brand to be specific. I started the piece on the student forges which are hand cranked blowers and was doing fine but I had to breakdown my fire so the next class can come in to cold forges and make their own fires. I moved to the demonstration forge in the frot of the barn and it has an electric blower and thats when I made my sparkling puddle of goo. I didn't know the electric blowers would burn your piece up so fast. Thanks to all who responded. I appreciate the help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coltpax Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 yea, just put plug up about half of your blower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Browne Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 Too much air will do it all the time. The blower should have an air valve or be controllable so you can reduce the air. Otherwise, heat one thing at a time and don't take your eyes off it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratel10mm Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 A good piece of advice I received when I was burning small, thin items was to lay it on top of the fire, not in it. That way, you can keep a good eye on it, and it'll heat up more slowly, thus giving you some breathing space. It works well for me. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 IForgeIron.com > Lessons in Metalworking > Blacksmithing > LB0007 Seeing colors If you just want to iron out the wrinkles (planish) in a piece of (mild steel) metal low red to medium red will work, if you want to move metal in forging high orange to yellow works. Choose the color of the heat of your metal as you would choose any other tool for the job at hand. Planish: to give a smooth finish to (metal) by striking lightly with a smoothly faced hammer or die. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutchmancreek Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 I have had trouble being distracted by shiny objects and burning my work. You always have to watch it. Some things that might help... 1. Have an air gate or rheostat to control the amount of air from the blower. 2. Run your electric blower power through a foot switch so that when you step away from the forge, the air blast goes off. I use a switch that used to be the foot control from a sewing machine. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoleDoc Posted September 28, 2008 Author Share Posted September 28, 2008 2. Run your electric blower power through a foot switch so that when you step away from the forge, the air blast goes off. I use a switch that used to be the foot control from a sewing machine. Steve I repair old sewing machines for my wife all the time. That is a great idea as I'm sure my wife has a few extra foot switches. Thank you and I love this website.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutchmancreek Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 MoleDoc....remove the resistor (or rheostat, or whatever it is) inside the foot switch so that it is only "on" or "off". Then wire it up. I even have a foot switch on a belt grinder so that I can put the work piece in place and then start instead of pushing a piece into a moving disc or belt. It keeps from screwing up a delicate piece when I'm wanting to put a flat surface on a handle scale or something. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith Jim Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 Make the important part of the piece first.... So the jaws if you are making tongs.. That way if you burn them off after the jaw, you can just weld on reins, and if you burn off the jaw, better start over.. But mainly I think you just gotta pay attention. I burn off pieces when I get to talking with people and forget about when my piece went into the fire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fat pete Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 why do I crank my blower? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Browne Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 Lot to be said for hand crankers :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fat pete Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 (edited) sometimes it looks real nice and convenient to have a little blower...i mostly see it good for lighting the fire or re-banking it mid stream....but i like to crank, it makes me one with the fire....i still burn stuff...but it is mostly because of my inaccurate placement of the metal or a distraction...it really is strange when i go and use the propane forge after using the coal forge...waiting or the metal to heat up and no coal to move around...and way cleaner...but i digress Edited September 30, 2008 by fat pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easilyconfused Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 One thing I've learned, don't let your significant other into the forge to help/ watch if you're doing something important. So easy to get distracted even with a hand-crank, let alone an electric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan king Posted October 5, 2008 Share Posted October 5, 2008 have a practice with some scrap material which you dont mind being burnt up you will soon get used to the amount of time it takes to heat it basicaly play around and you will get a natural feel for the heating times of diffrent thickness of material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 It's a fire management problem mostly. Try to keep the fire adjusted so that you have just the right amount of heat for your work. A really bright fire is only needed for large irons and/or welding. Even for large irons reheating takes only a little time because there is still lots of stored heat in the piece from the previous heat. So watch your iron VERY carefully when you have a high fire and an already hot iron. It's best to cut your blower off for a while and use the coals without blast till they get too cool to do the work. Of course thin or small irons can burn in an instant if your fire gets just a little overheated... be extra careful with them. Fire management seems about half the skill to me... don't underestimate your need for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valentin Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 Or you can build a gas forge It;s faster it;s cleaner it's loweder it's easy to see where the flame is and i have never melt a piece in there ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 I have melted a piece in a gas forge just recently and a friend melted an entire billet in his; not too hard if you've tweaked your forge for welding. One historical suggestion for "timing" once you get a feel for how long a piece takes to heat tie that to a song or something---I tend to use the monk's chhant from Monty Python's "Holy Grail" movie. Also if you are singing or chanting you are not talking to other people and letting your piece burn up from inattention! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnr Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 The monks chant! Cool. I tend to hum Scotland the Brave while I'm hammering. The tempo is perfect. Finnr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divermike Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 The song of the munchkins in the wizard of oz always rings in my head while hammering. Most folks think they are saying "oh wee oh, wee oh". But in reality they are singing to the dead witch. They sing" Holy One, The Old One" these things take on a life of their own. It also makes a good rythym for the mashing of hot iron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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