/blacksmithing general/ - cant get this damn coal to light edition
Got inspired by the old thread, finally got my setup and spent a wonderful 2 hours learning how hard coal is to light. then right as it started burning good I turned on my hair dryer and burned it out in 3 minuets.
anyways, lets have another thread so newbies like me can learn the basics.
Start with a real fire in your coal pit. IE, sticks and shit. Kindling level, 1/4 inch around (or 1cm for the luckies that aren't stuck with a centuries old defective system of measurement). Put a few coal pieces on top of it. Let it burn down, slowly scooping more coal into the fire from the edges of your pit. Coal will smother itself if you try to light it too fast, since the tar ooze will make it form into huge masses with no airflow. When you add new coal, add it to the edge of your fire to let it start burning down, and move it to the center only when the tar is burned away.
Yes, it takes forever. There's a reason people use propane.
>>1003876
Also, dont use a hairdryer. The air probably blows too fast and blows too much of the heat away, and it also makes your fire oxygen-rich so you metal corrodes faster in the fire. You want a large vollume of air moving at a slow speed.
If you can make your own charcoal and build a small oven out of fire bricks that works really well. You have great control over the heat. I've tried all kinds of fuels and i greatly prefer it, especially for smaller pieces and knives.
>>1003900
Yeah, this is the second hair dryer that I burnt out trying this. Gonna call it quits until I can save up for a real blower to put in, because my /diy/ attempts at making one have all been less than successful and the idea of coals flying at me at 230mph keeps me from sacrificing an old leaf blower. I'm also going to look into building a new forge, currently it ends up choking itself out with ash and the only way I can get air into it is through a 1/2" piece of pipe.
Figure if I rebuild it with a bigger pipe I will be able put a T in and let it act as an ash trap as well.
I spent a few hours nigger rigging up a 3" jawed post vice.
I sort of do this for a hobby so I know a few tricks. This is a desk lantern I made a few weeks ago before I finished it. Blacksmithing isn't very hard to become proficient.
>>1003920
I recently found out that I really like lanterns and such because they're really calming to me. That being said, nice lantern!
>>1003920
I'll be honest, on it's own it looks a bit crap - but individually you've shown some really good skills here. Great stuff.
>>1003981
It's a bad angle, it looks better in person.
>>1003914
Put the tuyere coming in from the side instead of the bottom, 1/2 to 1 inch above the bottom of the pan. It's called a French tuyere, dunno why, but it keeps ash from falling in.
>>1003881
Or acetylene.
Sweet. I live this shit.
All hammer and forge, except the insulators, of course
>>1004497
Man that's fucking beautiful. I'm thinking of quitting college and starting metallurgy apprenticeship, got any more crafted stuff to coax me into it?
as a bladesmith, I'd just like to say how pleasing it is to see a thread that's actually about blacksmithing, instead of bladesmithing, given the two are so different, and yet people seem to get them mixed up so often.
keep up the good posts. Look forward to seeing more blacksmithing work.
>>1004545
>bladesmith attention whoring
That said, how the fuck do i stop my blade from curving up every single fucking time?
I just want to make one little knife for my cousin who does a lot of innawoods shit, but i keep fucking up.
>>1004182
>Or acetylene.
For spot heating maybe, but for running a forge propane is much more economical and a fair bit safer.
>>1004813
Use a wooden mallet to beat it back into shape. The wood is too soft is deform the edge yet there is still enough force to bend it back down.
>>1004813
Not bladsmith-anon, but I've done a few knives. It's a lot easier to get the shape right doing stock removal, but if you want to forge it that can be a lot of fun.
Have a look at my shitty MSpaint drawing, does your blank look roughly like this when you go to shape the blade? As you form the edge the material along that side gets longer and thinner, by starting the blank from here when you form the edge the curve should bring the point roughly in line with the center-line between the edge and the spine.
>>1004545
I have a friend who is a fairly well known bladesmith, old guy, and he complimented the fact that I forged my own tongs as most of the other bladesmiths he knows can't forge anything, much less a pair of tongs. I am planning to be a bladesmith, but I can see that many of the skills useful for bladesmithing can developed by learning Blacksmithing, so that's what I'm doing.
>>1004828
I start like that, but I always end up with the point about 15° from the flat line.
I'm trying to avoid going the stock removal route because all I have is an angle grinder, and it would be a bitch trying to do fine work with that.
Finally got the forge working and got everything set up after not forging for a year. Made a little spike, just as practice drawing out. Comment on how terrible it is!
>>1005788
You need to round off your hammer face or work on your hammer control. That would have 4 smooth sides.
>>1005804
It's hammer control that I need to work on for sure. Like I said, it's been atleast a year since I've done any forging.
Any exercises you can recommend to practice to build hammer control?
>>1003914
You could try and get a set of bigass bellows instead of a blower, might actually work better because you'll have more control over the air
>>1003876
so does any one have a good tutorial on how to make a propane burner because Im using a weed burner right now and its just not hot/efficient enough for my current set up
At the technical center i attend for masonry/welding i fix a bunch of tools. Mainly shovel and hammer handles, stuff like that. So im pretty chill with most of the teachers.
Anyways. The carpentry teacher pulled me aside and asked me to follow him with no explanation, be brought me to a shope and had a few boxes full of tools and he said
"Go ahead and pick whatever you want, and as much as you want. And we'll have more for you tomorrow when it gets here."
I have never owned a tool in my life other than a claw hammer some screwdrivers and a wrench.
>>1006215
I think you meant to make a new thread with this, but since it's here. Grab all the planes especially the big one, the bits with the brace, and the flatter right below the bits those are expensive for some reason from blacksmith supply stores, anything else is up to you. If it were me I'd grab a tarp and load them all in it Nd make off with my new horde.
>>1006222
Nah, i posted it cause it had the flatter, also cause there was another tool that im not quite sure about what it is. Also there was another tool that i think -may- be related to the subject, but i forgot to include a picture of that alone. And depending on what i get tomorrow ill show more assuming it's relevant to the thread.
Also just so you know, those are the things ive brought home.
But this is the tool
>>1006228
>>1006264
Ah okay, could you tell me the proper name or tell me what its use is?
>>1006299
It's a planishing hammer, it's used to smooth out dents and to bend sheet metal
>>1006215
10/10 would take everything
>>1006404
That is what i took.
Ill post a picture of everything if they have more new stuff for me and y'all can advise me on what to take. Phones nearly dead though so ill have to charge it when i get there.
>>1006620
Nice haul then. I'm looking forward to getting an outbuilding built so I have a place to keep tools and work on things. Until then I have to sorta behave myself whenever I go to a flea market or an estate sale because I don't have the space for all the tools I want.
>>1006620
Phone died and i couldnt take pics while i was there. Heres what i brought home, had to leave some stuff there cause i could only take what i could fit in my backpack, gonna need a ride and put everything in the car.
Flatters for days.
>>1003876
Did you have the hairdryer on the cool setting? Mine blew a circuit because the air resistance caused the heat to build up in the hair dryer. I used BBQ charcoal lol
>files knives
>>1006892
I didn't do any real forging, just annealing and hardening.
>>1006896
>First attempt
>>1006899
the result lmao good times
>>1006900
Way too hot boss
>>1006931
Luckily I salvaged it to make the knife bottom right in >>1006892
I normalized it several times before hardening. It's got a chisel bevel for simplicity. Definitely made it easier for my first knife. Lining up two bevels is hard with pic related, a handheld belt sander turned upside down. I had to hold down the trigger with one hand while shaping the blade with one hand.
>>1007152
> I had to hold down the trigger with one hand while shaping the blade with one hand.
I foresee bloodshed in your future.
Seriously. that is an accident waiting to happen.
at the absolute minimum, please, for the love of all remaining fingers you have, at the least set up some sort of jig structure that will provide you with a toolrest that the blade spine can be placed against (that will prevent it snagging and going flying. A rest will also ensure you're pressing evenly, and that helps prevent belts glazing over), and ideally, which can be rigged up with some sort of cam-action lever or toggle that can switch the thing on, so that you have both hands free and its a bit safer....
(yes, the pic is an overly flash looking toolrest. but a basic one isnt hard to make, and may well save you ripping a fingernail right off..)
>>1007281
I'll definitely have some kind of rig next time I try this. I was just bored and stoned and working with what I could find in my buddies garage at the time. I was surprised I could get any sort of bevel consistency with one hand.
So, I've never done any sort of working with metal before, but I was just given a whole bunch of metal rods of unknown composition. Later on I could give a total weight and everything, but could I melt them all down to have a big chunk of solid metal?
>>1007714
I would take 3-4 and tie them together with some steel wire (not galvanized), repeat until you have several bundles, then tie those bundles onto a steel bar and hammer weld that stuff together.
Doubt it would make for useful steel, but properly etched it should at least be pretty.
>>1007714
Make sure none of it is Galvanized before you heat it. When heated up the zinc from Galvanized steel will turn into fumes and be toxic, and it can even kill you.
>>1004813
Before you hammer the edge/bevel, hammer the metal over the horn of your anvil so that it is concave where the edge will be. It will straighten as you hammer the edge.
>>1007809
>and it can even kill you.
Not if your healthy. If you have infozima or have pneumonia or some shit it may exacerbate that shit and lead to death. I got zinc fever before, let me tell you its this rank ass smell you know you should not be breathing it. Got a little bonus and an extra weeks paid vacation because they fucking made me do it and did not want to put me down as being out for workmens comp or some shit.
>>1007152
With my saw table i got a small Velcro strap which goes around the trigger. Then you can use a footswitch to activate, much easier with two hands.
You could do it with a ribbon come to that, but you really need a footswitch to keep it safe.
>>1007714
>but could I melt them all down to have a big chunk of solid metal?
No.
sell them as scrap, use the money to buy larger barstock.
>>1004813
Maybe a dumb question, but are you striking each side equally when working the metal? Working one side with a hammer more than the other will almost always make the metal favor one side.
Any tips for forging Tongs? I am planning on forging my first pair and I'd like to have them actually work.
>>1008049
Good idea. I thought about tying the trigger down but knew it would be dangerous without some kind of safety mechanism.
>>1007915
>infozima
Lol. Thanks for the chuckle. Emphysema, for future reference.
>>1009181
Check out this guy, does a few different types.
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCRYLF0akxMww1roAEAGVwoQ
Ok, I'm making a gas forgeand I'm having trouble with the burner. I would like it to be a blowerless double burner. Ehat am i doing wrong? No, i won't buying one.
>>1003914
Get a floor fan at your local hardware store. The kind used for floods. They move lots of air because they use a turbine instead of a fan. If you put it on low setting it works amazingly
>>1009272
That's some of the best welding I have ever seen in my entire life anon. You should go apply to work at NASA or SpaceX.
>>1009407
It's 316-L too.
>>1009359
...
>>1006176
https://www.abana.org/ronreil/design1.shtml
Just make a reil or ez burner. They're cheap and simple to make. And definitely go with a tweco tip for your jet.
Once you fiddle with one of those you'll easily be able to make one however you want. They're not complicated in the slightest.
>>1003881
Any reason to use coal over propane?
>>1006176
I was thinking about following this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO8NwseRxSA
Anyone know if I'm gonna blow myself up doing this?
I figure I can use it for my foundry and I can set something up for forging too.
Anyone know how to make step wedges?
or where to buy them in large amounts?
>>1009860
http://beaver-tooth.com/collections/wedges
Found a place with a decent amount if them, hopefully this will be helpful to people who dont have alot of wedges or people who cant make their own,
>>1009407
So if I live in the middle of a city with foliage around, what are my options in finding a place to work?
Should i get a section of railroad track for cheap and use that while i save up for a real anvil?
14 inch section with a fairly flat face for around 60$
Pls dont die
>>1012698
Forgot about this thread
Yes, why shouldn't you, 60 bucks is a drop compared to the bucket of a good anvil
I have recently taken an intrest to Blacksmithing and have been very lucky, a friend of my dad's sold us an old industrial turbine for the coal pit, we got ten gallons of coke free, we have a lot of scrap metal, and a train rail cutting factory let us have two pieces of scrap rail for free
Also, we just use a propane torch to light it
>Pic related
Planning on forging one of these ghetto spring fullers tomorrow. Any tips?
I'm interested in blacksmithing, but don't know shit. Where can I get started?
>>1013199
Use Google and youtube, download pdfs of books and infographs ( ex. edge of anvil and a temper color chart), understand where you can get steel (junk or proper [ie NJ steel baron] ), read forums, research anvils and brands that meet your needs( high quality ones are, refflinghaus and peddinghaus or you can get a u.s. made ones that are much cheaper cause no importing but are cast steel and have softer faces ), research the types of tools/ steels you will use, determine if you want coal, charcoal, or propane forges( coal makes a ton of smoke but is the hottest usually, charcoal is less fucky to breath and use around other people and pretty close to coal, and propane is stealth mode but is sometimes less hot).
>>1009573
I've used propane and I can say it's kinda annoying. You can't control the fire very well.
It should be easier to locally heat up parts of the steel if need be with a coal forge.
Also depending on your build the propane forge can use up lots of propain.
>>1013199
Basically >>1013220 this as well as just getting started. Watch youtube videos, build a small furnace, try stuff. It took me about 3 tries to get a pair of tongs that worked well enough for my purposes.
Not beautiful tongs, but working ones.
Steady progress my friend. Steady progress. Even if it's slow.
>>1007809
do you work in a closed space and let the coal fumes in your room then the CO2 would be a bigger problem
I need an anvil, I've been looking at almost every type from almost every company that makes one, there's obviously the rolls Royce anvils like refflinghaus and peddinghaus, but they cost a lot per lb. However there are a lot of American made anvils like rhino, hoffman, fontinni, blu, carroll to name a few. Does anybody have any experience with the American made ones, considering they are much cheaper and from what I've seen, generally good quality.
>>1013193
Spring fuller done! Not pretty, but I think it'll work for now.
>>1013411
This. If you can find a cheap acetylene regulator it'll do wonders on save gas.
>>1013723
I know there will be lots of people on here telling me I'm retarded and for you not to listen to me but hear me out. I bought some 2" square stock off a buddy who had some left over from a project and i found a flate piece of plow steel to make an anvil. I cut the square stock i to 4 pieces and welded them together with some 7018 and cut the plow steel to fit the top. All in all cost me about less than $100. Next I'm going to torch and grind my old track anvil down to horn and just have the horn and anvil separate. I'm finishing up the anvil now ill post pics in about an hour.
>>1013945
Pic as promised.
>pls, no bully
>>1013963
It's not pretty but I assume it works.
>>1013977
We will find out how well tomorrow.
>>1013942
I'm not using any acetylene at the moment now, but it certainly a thing I'll have to look into.
Also the forge design itself makes for a different economic all together. If you can make a lid you should, at least with a small hole in it, to conserve and deflect heat from escaping...
>>1013963
Aesthetically that thing is horrible. An atrocity to be honest. However I am kinda interested in how well it works out. Just imagnie if you could use different steel layers, therefor changing the properties/capabilities of the whole thing.
That would be really interesting.
>>1013963
Cool. I would suggest heat treating the thing, normalize and harden the face... Might be alright. How much does it weigh?
>>1013723
I would go antique. Seems like a lot of American anvils nowadays are for farrier work, usually a bit light for general smithing. Go find an old hay budden and fall in love...
>>1013193
Whoah nice anvil, what are the stats on that thing?
>>1013963
A-are you gonna pretty it up at all?
>>1007714
If its steel you're going to have a hard time melting it and when it is it makes a lot of sparkle.
But if youre still up for it "the king of random" made a mini arc furnace that melts steel but it does seem dangerous to make unless you're not a shitter like me and know how to discharge a capacitor.
>>1014192
This is a hobby in the making for the past year for me, I've looked all over the internet for anvils in my area and about 100 miles, I got farms everywhere by me and no one has any anvils. Used is not my destiny it seems.
>>1014222
where do you live? im from louisiana and was able to find a few around here byt the farther north i went(away from the salt water) the more i have seen. we bought 3 from a guy in missourii that all he does is buy old blacksmith shops before they are torn down and re sells them he must have had 30-40 anivils of various sizes and makes, the thing i hated is that he doesnt even smith he just buys and sells the stuff. if ypouare serious, save up some money(between 25.-.75 cents per pound for a chiped or broken anvil or 1.00-4.00 per pound for a good anvil the upper end is for new anvils) and look on ebay, then take a trip to pick it up. They are expensive but if you take your time you can find a gem. Also check antique stores. I see a few in them every now and them
>>1014274
I dislike it but im just glad that he gets it all and sells it to people who are actually interested in the craft.
>>1014274
I'm from central Jersey and it blows my mind I can't find a Damn anvil, like holy crap the iron foundries that made Jersey such a big deal in the industrial revolution are like 40 miles away.
>>1014364
Class A parenting.
So I have this barrel lying around and I thought I might be able to convert it into a nifty little furnace. The only thing putting me off at the moment is that I'm uncertain the steel would hold up against the temperature of the charcoal fire.
Anybody know if a standard steel barrel top can handle that kinda temperature without getting damaged? The barrel would make for a great build since it's pretty easy to process.
Tell me how to safely set up a propain forge. I'm planning on making a coffee can forge, and I've seen people use tanks of propain instead of just a little blow torch angled in the side.
>>1014678
Open the propane tank valve and light it with a bic lighter. As the fire shoots out the tank put a steel tub over it into a steel bucket. Heat metal in the bucket.
>>1014681
This is standard procedure for loosing arm hair. Really clean shave.
Best use one of them rather far away lighters, not those you use to light smokes.
>>1014766
It's a troll post mate
>>1014907
Oh right. Sorry I don't have much sense of humor...however...I usually light my propane by putting a pack of thermite around the valve. Works like a charm.
>>1014364
It would still be a good idea to give it an even heat treat, especially after welding it up. If it isn't uniform you are liable to have a piece fly off when you strike it. And if you heat treat it you would want to re-harden your carbon steel face for durability, else it will deform fairly quickly.
So I bought this copper table fan hoping it would develop a nice patina, but it seems it has some protective coating. What are some good tools for brushing it off? Will sandpaper work?
>>1014584
You must coat the inside of your barrel with something to insulate it.
A 50 plaster of Paris / 50 sand works well and there are other options.
If you simply put charcoal in it, the barrel will heat up first taking making it pretty much impossible to get metals to melt but your steel won't melt thats for sure.
If you decide to coat it though, there are chances youre crucible will melt though but it won't be hot enough to efficiently melt steel or iron.
>>1015233
Maybe bathing it in acetone? Works on most stuff. It is kinda a god amongst solvents.
>>1015318
Figures. I have electrical cement and like a shitload of old other cement I don't really know the composition of (I really hope it isn't asbestos).
Also I might have not been quite clear. I just want steel to get white hot for blacksmithing if need be. I have a propane furnace already and it works - well kind of - but ... fire control ... annoying the neighbours... etc.
Think I'll cut up the barrel tomorrow.
So I guess I'll build up some ring rig, put a wooden dowel into the barrel entry / exit holes for airflow support (I hate galvanized stuff btw. I really hate it). Then wait till it's dry and try it out.
The question remains how do I get it to make as little smoke as possible. I can't smith in the middle of the night because of loudness, but also not in the day because smoke and shitty neighbours. Just can't wait till they file a complaint. That reminds me I need some more of that KCl03....yes....
>>1013220
Why do people reccomend NJSB?
A little bit of googling found me similar dimensions of metal types on various small time blade making shops for much cheaper--best of all, the other sites actually had shit in stock.
Is there something I'm missing with NJSB?
>>1015454
Cause the owner Aldo is like everyone's favorite uncle, his stuff is usually cheap, clean, and great quality. Mostly he has stuff for knives tho, however if you are looking for steel stock that isn't for knives look elsewhere.
>>1003920
Nice... are those spot welds, could the body be done as one piece... but it is cool
>>1015467
I can understand if the owner is a decently known advocate of the hobby. He's selling 4'x2"x.25"flat stock 1075 for about $7 more than I found it after a good amount of searching online--if he regularly has that stuff in stock, and is good at maintaining customers, I can understand doing repeat business.
I was looking at 5160, and he's out of stock. Maybe that's an oddity.
I would *like* to do business with him, but ultimately I was turned off by how his website is set up. I don't know if he has what I'm looking for in stock till I go through a bunch of dropdown menus.
Does his site have a better way of browsing?
>>1015521
Many people don't use the website to make orders for material, a bunch call him for ordering, that being said I don't think the website is all that good and would recommend giving him a ring.
On a separate note, I've had a strong urge to make my own files, is that a possibility, I mean people did it before modern tech. My googlefu has failed me and I can't find anything explaining how to make files other than patents for old mass production methods
>>1013963
i...im laughing with you
>>1015425
make an electric furnace then maybe ?
I'm quite new at this but i'm sure you could get it hot enough to whiten steel.
It might not be as cheap as a coal/propane forge but at least you might be able to smith without having the cops at your door.
>>1013963
Not blacksmith but doesn't the horn want mass behind it too?
>>1015646
Yeah. People under estimate how much punishment a piece of metal can take.
>>1015638
That takes knowledge in electricity and circuits and stuft. I do have a basic understanding of that. But with electricity...idk. You can call me a caveman now.
>>1014187
>and here is my anvil... it was folded 1000 times by japanese blacksmiths
>>1015638
>>1015819
An induction furnace would be really interesting
>no smoke
>no flame
>no fuel
DIY would be over my head though
http://inductionheatertutorial.com/
I was also wondering, whether an induction cooking plate could be repurposed for making a furnace
>>1015819
Nawh its not that hard, its simply getting the right voltage/amperage to go through some sort of cable that has a high resistance to heat and electrical currents.
It will cost you money thats for sure though.
You could also try the induction furnace some other anon mentionned, it seems a bit bulky but reliable at least. I dont know much about these though so I can't really tell.
>>1016077
magic
>>1016077
Ones 1/3 as powerful as the one in your link are $30 on ebay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182034335241
Hey so, anon from /k/ here,
What gear should I try and purchase if I want to start smithing?
I'd like to start doing knives and whatnot.
>>1016722
depending on your budget, how big you want to make knives, other projects that you want to do there are several paths.
First you need an anvil. there are a bunch you can get, and size does matter. if you want to work solely on knives and small projects then you don't need such a large and thus expensive anvil. As a hobbyist the largest you will ever really need is around 250lbs which is the happy medium size unless you want to work on huge shit that needs a lot of weight to keep stable. most new anvils today are cast instead of forged liked they were in the past, but the quality is difference is negligible
anvil brands I recommend from cheapest to most expensive at ~250lbs (details in parenthesis)
>rhino, papa rhino (U.S. made/cast/ good starter/ 52-56 hc) ~$1250 the horn comes with a blunted end so you wont be able to do really tiny work
>Blu (good based on specs but relatively new product/U.S. made/cas/t 54+hc) ~$1500
>Nimba( made in U.S./ cast/50-52 hc)~$1800
>Peddinghaus ridgid model 12( forged/ made in europe) ~$2000 but ive seen it for about 1500 on the plumbersstock website,after this point these are some of the best you can get
> refflinghaus( cast/ made in germany/59 hc) ~$2400 I consider this the rolls-royce of anvils even if it is a cast anvil, probably wont need another one of these ever again unless you want another one or a bigger one.
Hammers dont really matter too much you just need some of varying weights, crosspeen and ballpeen, also you can make your own eventually.
Tongs are necessary but you can use big vice grips and shit until you buy/make your own.
Leather aprons, gloves, foot protection, eye protection and hearing protection(if you don't mount the anvil properly). coming from /K/ you should covered on the last two/three, these are optional but I know I like my eyeballs without metal shit in them and no eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee when i try to sleep at night, my toes not melted/ crushed and all my clothes not singed by sparks.
>>1016722
cont.
steel suppliers( nj steel baron, mcmaster carr, etc.)
since you wanna do knives you should prob get a belt sander, but i dont know enough about those to help you.
next big thing is the forge, you can make your own or buy one (consider the differences between coal, charcoal, propane) recommend charcoal only cause you can go innawoods and make your own.
im going to end it here cause I have shit to do, and hopefully someone else can finish up what I started before i get back
>>1016829
>since you wanna do knives you should prob get a belt sander, but i dont know enough about those to help you.
Best ones are for 2x72 inch belts, you can get 1x42 inch belts too. Smaller ones wear faster and are less adaptable generally. KMG grinders, or their clones are the best for general use, you can buy them from anything between 300 and 1,500 dollars/euros/pounds/shekels. You can make one as a DIY build, and save more, but it'll require some fabrication skills - mostly plate metal cutting, and welding, and some screw tapping. Accuracy of thread cutting is a pretty significant area on them so that all tracking and drive wheels run true.
for a 1x42 inch belt a 1 to 1.5hp motor is sufficient. the wider the belt the more power you need. for a 2 inch wide belt, consider a 2hp motor to be absolute minimum, and 2.5kw/3.3hp to be ideal. A lot of belts are designed for industrial grinding, and if used too lightly tend to glaze over. to counter that, you should use more force and lean into the grinder - however a low powered motor, under 2hp is more likely to stall in that sort of situation.
Direct drives with inverter are far more adaptable. I use a optridrive invertek inverter, and its fantastic. Allows me to run full speed with 60 grit Cubitron II to chew right through steel, but if I wind it down, I can use a belt end-grain on wood, or even perspex without burning the material.
Full-face masks like a 3M 6800 series should be considered an essential with a belt sander, they will throw up dust, and unless you want to have silicosis of the lungs, you need breathing as well as eye protection.
How many times do you have to make tongs before you make a fully functional and reliable set?
>>1016872
Linishers can be pretty pricey things, if you're on a budget and need to make an accurate bevel- file jigs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9iNDRwwBQQ
Pro's are they're dirt cheap, don't overheat the metal and are a good way of seeing exactly where the metal is being removed
Cons are they're fucking hard physical work, slow and don't have the utility of a linisher- which you can also use on bolsters, handles, scales etc
You can also get linisher adaptors/attachments for bench grinders as well which tend to be 'ok', (for around $100-150) most run into trouble by not having a variable speed and often their belts are too wide (3-4") which causes the velocity to slow down on contact and kind of hard to work with. Also a couple will have guards or guides on the side or in the way which stops the blade from being pressed into the backing plate and ends up all wonky. So shop around and inspect them closely to make sure they will actually work.
Upside there is they still have a grinding wheel, which is handy and can also be replaced with a buffing and polishing wheel which is a fairly important part of having a finished product.
Just never use a bench grinder or buffer on an assembled blade, if it grabs hold it'll spear you with the force of a 100 angry virgin weeaboos
Barrel dude here. Here is what I'll use as a bellow. It's basically a stripped down hair dryer which has diodes and a 12V DC motor. The whole thing will have to be powered somehow. If only there were a way to use the excess heat of the forge...
well...since a normal hairdryer is usually way too high rpm this one got down regulated using an LM317, a potentiometer and a piece of an old motorbike motor cooling rib (the motor was pretty much scrap anyways, kinda died after being used since the GDR). Currently I have a 3.3 Ohm Poti in it, should get one for 2 because at the moment is a bit sensitive to twist and I don't want a spark explosion like when I tried it with the unmodified hairdryer.
Think I'd still get warranty on this one? Probably not...
Will update with pic of barrel, I almost am finished with it - it does still need the cement / plaster mix though.
Also I am in dire need of a fume hood, I think of scavenging one of those old kitchen fume hoods and putting a metal fan into it - luckily I still have one from around 1940 or something.
>>1017749
Top kek wrong image. Stupid phone ... this could've been way worse though.
This should be the right image lol.
Barrel will be posted soon. :-D
>>1017749
>If only there were a way to use the excess heat of the forge...
Hmmm... what about, you get a sheet of copper or brass and hang a couple of TEG's off it to power your fan?
>>1017752
Barrel here. Cut off top piece and "welded" that onto the bottom piece. I'm shit at welding so forgive my shitty welds. also don't pay attention to the markings inside, it was from planning (back when I wanted to make the original "gas forge from an oil barrel, there's a thread about that in some forum) The idiomaticness in this prototype build is that when you open the hatch the airflow hole (originally that hole where you put your high performance mineral oil coolant into) is directly in the way of the inner space.
I will use the already existing hole and maybe a steel tube with a few holes in it for airflow. And to keep the whole steel stuff from melting through or such, I'll use plaster of cement / sand mix (is there a shorter name for this stuff? We should come up with one if there isn't).
The iron piece in top is what I'll use as a handle down below, still have to finish forging it.
Only one hinge for the hatch, worst practice, but I did not have more hinges around here. And it was available so meh. Might add two small ones once I get some.
Now how to get that fume hood...hm....
>>1017756
I'm not much of an electrician, the fan build up there I did with my dad (who interestingly enough knew the whole schematic from heart). Can those things supply steady 12V for my fan? Would be really cool!
>>1017760
It might need a bit of a regulator to keep it constant, but do some hunting around on thermoelectric generators and see whats out there for the price/voltage in your area. They do drive fans though.
That's sort of what got me thinking as there's a companies out there that sell little camp stoves with a fan blower on the side that can run it, charge a phone, usb devices etc. Lot of commercial products out there as well which do it now that 'off the grid' types get into on their cabin stoves.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbSjWEHhO8c
I think its worth looking at, just from a simplicity level that the wasted heat can be used to do something to make more heat. Kind of like turbocharging :)
>>1017762
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbSjWEHhO8c
Thank you based anon. I'll look into it. My main concern is not the whole "turbocharging" thing, but that I need steady airflow for the forge and I really don't want more cables going from it than necessary. Using the heat of the forge would also make it semi-mobile, which would be pretty awesome. I usually see mobile forges using like these comparatively huge motors and stuff which I find it weird.
If I can find some good TEC elements and probably the right dimensions of a cooler (I think I have a big ass passive CPU cooler somewhere around) this thing might work out, which would be really really cool.
Speaking of turbochargers, I still have to build that turobjet engine I wanted to try using as a furnace for shit and giggles.
>>1017764
Turbojets are fucking scary, helped a friend of mine with one about 7-8 years ago who got a turbo off a Nissan Patrol and somehow managed to scab up a combustion chamber from an old Rolls Royce Dart someone had lying around.
Oh and your neighbours within about a 2km radius will hate you, a lot
>>1017769
You don't think they already do? The louder, the better. Gotta get the property prices down here so I can buy this villa style apartment on the other side of the road >:)
Just a quick question: i have an anvil made of railroad track. Can i Barden the surface? Read somewhere it cant be done with some anvils.
>>1017814
Sure you can, hell I think there's a video on YouTube on how to do exactly that. You just put it in a bigass fire and heat the too piece of the track up to the temperature where you would quench, drop it in a bigass barrel of water and agitate it or get a high pressure high volume water hose and blast it. And then you gotta temper it. I'd assume you'd have to use a blow torch carefully to do it but idk
>>1018596
I probably should do that before using the anvil. Thank you, kind anon.
>>1018688
Barrel bro here. I didn't have the materials to make my barrel a forge in itself yet, what I do have is like an already existing forge made from a BBQ I forgot about.
Basically it's pretty simple, where usually the ash tray thing is you add some pipes, best weld em on or something. Then you add your LM317 regulated scrapped hairdryer to a Lab PSU. Put 50/50 PoP/Sand solution into the BBQ after you added firebricks to keep said firebricks secure.
Put some charcoal into the furnace, add a fire starter, slowly regulate upwards.
To my surprise this thing was almost damn smokeless. It heats more efficiently than the piece of shit propane forge I have, and fire control is a wet dream (no pun intended).
Bonus is you can use the lid of the BBQ to cover the charcoal once you're done. And technically you can BBQ or fry something in there. Technically. I wouldn't. That Oil Barrel contained some high performance cooling solution. For reasons unknown I do know how it tastes (disgusting).
The barrel does well in containing the sparks from charcoal. Whole thing cost me maybe 20$ or something for the firebricks I used in the BBQ. Everything else was pretty much from scrap. I should heat treat the anvil though. It's starting to look shitty. Maybe I should build myself some weird anvil mill so I can flat out the anvil when I have to.
>>1019282
Sorry for the horizontal images btw, but meh. I'm lazy. I have anthracite charcoal that's leftover from WW2 or something, but that stuff stinks like hell. Fire gets hot enough to work on stuff securely, greatly easier than it ever was with propane. I am happy how things turned out. Currently in process of making a chisel bit for the anvil so I can separate steel pieces.
I made all of my tools myself so far - from scrap -, with exception to the flat surface of the anvil, which a friend did for me. Feelsgoodman.jpg. Since I don't have that much money to spend I'm quite glad this worked out for me.
Said friend will provide me with old honing equipment. For exercise. Hammer control etc. Should work fine for that purpose. Will make some fire control tools out of em. I need a shovel for the charcoal (putting it in by hand right now), and something to poke around in it without the sparks fucking my arm up.
Pics related you see my shitty homemade tong, they are crude but they work. Now that I actually have like, an actual fire I'll make better ones. The knife is used to regulate the Potentiometer that regulates the fan.
I use the watering cans as safety measure as well as for quenching.
Everything else is self-explanatory, but feel free to ask questions. Old metal ones I found in the barn. Work fine for this, it doesn't get hot enough to give me the fume fever it appears.
How is my first sword /diy/? any tips for a beginner you all could share?
>>1019890
well, I'll be blunt. its a nice, clean profile cutout. but beyond that, I dont actually see much that's sword-like there.
the bevel on the edge indicates its got very little distal taper. that moves the balance way toward the tip - not what swords have.
there's no pommel of any sort, so that makes it even worse in terms of handling characteristics. there are some weapons that can do without - certain messers, some aisian types like parang. the shape you've got isnt one of them.
more significantly, no information at all about the choice of steel, the heat-treat, etc. which is the important part of a sword. So I can hardly even make a good assumption on that part.
so while its cleanly profiled out, that's about it.
>>1019890
i have made some profiling suggestions for you
>>1019890
do this one and give it a really mottled finish and then sell it to nu-males for $500
for tips see 'zombietools'
Semi related, it's an old hand forged sickle I picked up yesterday. Should be able to restore it. One day I'll start learning to smith tools like this one day but one project at a time.
>>1019951
>>1019952
Got a weed remover too but no pics,
>>1019890
I like it. it resembles uruk-hai sword.
>>1019962
Someone finally got what it was!
>>1019890
Needs the handle wrapped in man-flesh and tempered by being stabbed in a live dwarf
>>1019890
I see it's resting on an anvil. Was the anvil used during it's construction?
It looks like it's been cut out of plate steel and ground slightly.
The design looks more fantasy than any sort of practical, if I'm making something I like to take it to the woods and chop, I think I'd do myself an injury trying to use that in just about any way.
As an exhibition piece, it looks clean. It doesn't look like it's been crafted though, other than the handle.
Try making a parang. The shape isn't massively different, the steel looks like a reasonable thickness for that type of project and since toughness is more important than hardness, it makes the heat treat slightly more forgiving.
Also, you'd end up with a practical tool.
Hey guys looking for an opinion. I'm stuck between using anthracite or bituminous coal. I know the anthracite won't coke up and make caves, but the cleanliness of burn and heat it generates makes me think it's a better choice, plus it's easier/cheaper to find for me. If I can't be swayed either way I'll just use charcoal.
>>1020120
I did use the anvil a little bit to make the tang shaped, but mostly cut and ground the rest.
