|
Post by Matt993f.o.d on Feb 17, 2008 22:20:49 GMT
Went to a classic/retro car show at the royal Bath and West showground today, and did some serious shopping.
I managed to get myself a 4 pound sledge/lump hammer, a set of cold chisels, a brass brush for burnishing, a copper and hide mallet for whacking steel on the hot-cut and a gorgeous new blower for the forge.
It is from a small sportscars heater assembly, but is easily large enough to feed the forge. It blows a nice draught even when wired up to a small 6v battery. I plan to run it off a 12v car battery. The volume it shifts is governed by a massive butterfly valve in the air inlet. I really wanted a mains powered blower, but this will do for now.
I will take some photos of it and post them when I have access to a PC that isnt s**t.
|
|
|
Post by Brendan Olszowy on Feb 18, 2008 5:41:47 GMT
sweet. Good work. Those copper hammers are damned expensive new.
|
|
|
Post by Matt993f.o.d on Feb 18, 2008 16:36:21 GMT
Got it for a mere eight pounds. It is brand new. I want to make a hot-cut hardy out of an old halfshaft, and need a good hammer to whack it with. The copper face will prevent the cutting tip of the hardy from being damaged by the hammer when I cut through the metal.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2008 17:03:59 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Matt993f.o.d on Feb 18, 2008 17:09:47 GMT
Ah, Uri Hofi. An astonishing fellow, but I wish someone would edit those blueprints to make them easier to follow.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2008 4:10:39 GMT
WHAT DO YOU MEAN EASIER TO FOLLOW? They could not be easier?!?!
Jesus helps those who help themselves, and gets SUPER FRIGGIN PISSED WHEN THEY DON'T:).
|
|
|
Post by Dan Davis on Feb 19, 2008 21:05:28 GMT
Hey Sam, they COULD be a little easier. You and I read them well enough, but we know what we are looking at.
Matt, does it help to know that Uri is an Israeli and not a native english-speaker?
You need to read the description at the bottom of the series of pics, then go back up to the top and re-read again as you go down through the sequence of photos.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2008 22:01:21 GMT
Hehe I know Dan I was only kidding, they are a bit hard to follow if you don't recognise the steps and processes involved, alot of people over there complain about the search function, but I have NEVER had a problem with it.
|
|
|
Post by Matt993f.o.d on Feb 20, 2008 9:42:27 GMT
From Israel, eh? That explains it. Wherever he's from he is a magnificent smith. I have been reading through those blueprints for a while (I havnt read all of them by a long stretch), and it seems that when two blueprints are made on the same topic (by different authors) they rarely say to do it the same way. Also, all of the books I have read so far often have different techniques in them as well. I'll try em all out and see which I like best, I think. Books I have read include "Basic Blacksmithing" By David Harries and Bernhard Heer "The art of Blacksmithing" By Alex W Bealer and "The complete Blacksmith" by Lorelei Sims. I've also nearly finished "The complete Bladesmith" by Hrisoulas. Just in case yall thought I was slacking on my homework! ;D Here are the pics of my blower, by the way. That was the motor. It runs off a car battery, as the whole thing was from an old MG Midget. That was a view down the air outlet, showing the vanes of the rotor. That was the butterfly valve in the air inlet. And this was the whole blower, in aspect. What do you think? Not bad for a tenner, eh?
|
|
|
Post by Brendan Olszowy on Feb 20, 2008 12:18:19 GMT
Sweet, the butterfly is going to be great for moderating your blower - did you see how I have to moderate the blower on mine. Im cranking it up again early tomorrow, I'm excited, I love getting the forge cranking.
I want to do a simple forging after I heat treat the knife, what should I do?
|
|
|
Post by Dan Davis on Feb 20, 2008 13:30:51 GMT
From Israel, eh? That explains it. Wherever he's from he is a magnificent smith. I have been reading through those blueprints for a while (I havnt read all of them by a long stretch), and it seems that when two blueprints are made on the same topic (by different authors) they rarely say to do it the same way. Also, all of the books I have read so far often have different techniques in them as well. I'll try em all out and see which I like best, I think. All of us do things a little differently and not all of us use the same tooling. For instance, my hardie cutter bears only passing resemblance to the one Uri is using; I have found that I tend to destroy that type of cutter. In the end you will find a method that works best for you and it will likely be combination of all the techniques you try.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2008 14:55:09 GMT
All of us do things a little differently and not all of us use the same tooling. For instance, my hardie cutter bears only passing resemblance to the one Uri is using; I have found that I tend to destroy that type of cutter. In the end you will find a method that works best for you and it will likely be combination of all the techniques you try. Yeah, there are a million ways to do one thing, the only right way? The way that works for you. Brenno, what do you mean what should you do? Just heat up your steel and bang away.
|
|
|
Post by Brendan Olszowy on Feb 20, 2008 15:17:31 GMT
Brenno, what do you mean what should you do? Just heat up your steel and bang away. Ha ha, sorry, let me rephrase, what should I make? I do plan on just trying it out and learning through experience. I thought I could try a very small blade for a start, maybe 3".
|
|
|
Post by Matt993f.o.d on Feb 20, 2008 16:22:46 GMT
I don't plan to start with a blade as a first forging myself. High Carbon Steel should only be forged within a tight temperature range, and I want practice with mild steel (which is a lot more forgiving in this respect) first. Also, High Carbon Steels provide other problems which can take the inexperienced like me by surprise. It burns at a lower temperature and has problems with grain growth if overheated. I want to practice on mild steel to get used to controlling the temperature of the workpiece to avoid these problems.
Of course that is just what I would personally do. If you must make a blade, I suggest reading "The Complete Bladesmith" by Jim Hrisoulas, which is devoted exclusively to forging blades. It will point you in the right direction.
|
|
|
Post by Matt993f.o.d on Feb 20, 2008 16:24:37 GMT
By the way, isnt it ironic that my new blower says "Smiths" on the top?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2008 1:14:26 GMT
Brenno, go for a drop point hunter, your most basic easy to forge blade.
Matt, LOL definatey a blower made specifically for forges clearly!
|
|
|
Post by Brendan Olszowy on Feb 21, 2008 1:24:06 GMT
Brenno, go for a drop point hunter, your most basic easy to forge blade. Matt, LOL definatey a blower made specifically for forges clearly! A whato what? I'm clearly not the scholar that matt is. Too late anyway; here it is: /index.cgi?action=display&board=swordmaking&thread=1203556841
|
|
|
Post by Matt993f.o.d on Feb 21, 2008 15:46:44 GMT
Crikey!
|
|