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Cool  I was more just seeing if it was possible to do than actually go ahead and do it. It's summer here and I can't go lighting any fires at the moment - every thing is dry and tindery.Thanks for the information on duty cycle, too. That explains why my cheap rear end chinese stick welder can only weld for about 5 minutes using 2.5mm rods. One of these days I'll get myself a MIG and a decent anvil (farm clearance sales are great), and make a propane forge. I love those railway spike knives you make Slung Blade,and I'm really enjoying watching you set up your shop. I was having a brain dead moment when talking about welding and forgot the term for forge welding. Now I'll go and restart my brain and see what happens.
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Nov 24, 2010 04:45
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Hey is AnomalousBoners still around? I was reading back in the thread and found out he lives like 45 min.s from me. Any chance you'd wanna be engineer buddies?  For instance, I'm building a robot arm, and I will totally let you look at it. And I won't rape you either. edit: ehhhh.... I promise to do my best not to rape you.
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Nov 24, 2010 05:39
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He's still around. Mostly posts in AI though. Check the tools thread and Ultimateforce's projects thread. LeeJam: hey, thank you
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Nov 24, 2010 06:43
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'Nother blacksmithing question- What are some basic, fairly-common pieces of scrap which are ideal for smithing? I've heard about the leaf springs from cars being good for swords or tools, but beyond that I don't know much. I figure I might as well start keeping an eye out for raw materials, even if I'm nowhere near actually being able to use them.
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Nov 24, 2010 16:40
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Ambrose Burnside posted:'Nother blacksmithing question- I'm also interested in this question. I hear lot of good things about leaf springs, and I wonder if concrete form stakes are also good? I have access to a lot of those...
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Nov 24, 2010 16:42
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Any carbon steel is good for blacksmithing, but it depends what you want to do with it. Tools need higher carbon so they can take an edge or maintain their shape better through use. Examples of higher carbon steels are springs, shafts, generally steel that has been milled has higher carbon. If you don't have a reason to use higher carbon steels, use mild steel as it's cheaper, easier to find, and easier to work. I made a cold chisel recently out of an old shaft of high carbon steel, where as my bottle cap opener I made out of scrap mild steel.
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Nov 24, 2010 19:18
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If it's solid, yes, by all means use it for smithing. If it's hollow, well, you can use it, but it's for more specific purposes, like candle snuffers or candle holders. I also hear that leaf springs are good, but I think if you want to use them for blades, you have to anneal them before you start smithing with them. Heat em up and bury em in sand overnight. That should do it. Then go to town on it, and heat treat it again once you're done. I use more 3/8 round rod than anything else. It's pretty cheap to buy new, provided you have the ability to transport it yourself.
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Nov 24, 2010 19:34
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jovial_cynic posted:I'm also interested in this question. d'you mean rebar? Now that my Scavenger-Vision's on, it's the closest thing to a steel blank that you see a lot. Strikes me as just about the right size for pounding into knives and such.
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Nov 24, 2010 20:30
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The Scientist posted:Hey is AnomalousBoners still around? Yea that sounds pretty cool. I am just getting into microcontroller poo poo. What are you using to control your robot? Heads up though I am super busy with school-work-goon gf. Do you go to UCF?
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Nov 24, 2010 20:56
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Rebar is pretty unreliable as knife material. Not only do you usually have no idea how much carbon is in it, as it varies depending what they put into the mix (it's made from scrap) it's usually low quality as well. I have seen "higher carbon" rebar before that made some pretty nice tools, but it's rare. Leaf spring and coil springs both make pretty good knife material. You can anneal it first if you want to, but I generally just start working with it in a forge right away.
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Nov 24, 2010 22:07
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I have machined rebar before and you can usually see layers of carbide just sitting in it.Its seriously the lowest quality possible of scrap metal.
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Nov 25, 2010 00:21
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Protip: If you go to Lowe's or Home Depot or something, and look in the cabinets where the keep the bolts, you can get some big rear end Grade 8 bolts - let me cite my Grainger catalog, which is about twice as big as my phone book and they give away for free: Grade 1/Property Class 4.6 - Low strength Grade 5/Property Class 8.8 - Medium strength Grade 8/Property Class 10.9 - High-strength alloy steel Grade 9/Property Class 12.9 - High-strength alloy steel Grade 9 you probably won't find anywhere short of a specialty store, but today at HD I picked up some #8 1/2" nuts for the robit's claw mechanism, and they look awesome, like a copperish-goldish dull colored, but shiny metal with that cool anodized look (I think that's the word I'm looking for - where the metal has color changes and is blueish like after you heat something up to the point of changing it's molecular structure). Anyway I've digressed a lot here but my original point was that if you bought some, say, Grade 8 1/2"x8" carriage bolts, that'd be one hell of a both convenient and cheap source of good steel. Especially compared to what appears to be the price of bar-stock. Caveat: It apparently comes Zinc-plated. Uncaveat: It'd be pretty easy to remove the zinc plating in exactly the opposite way as it was applied; that is, via electro-plating. You know electrolysis? You know how you can either remove rust from the metal that has one polarity, or "apply" rust to metal attached to the opposite pole? Well, electro-plating, as I understand it, is similar. One pole is a pure Zinc electrode, and the other pole is the material you want to plate. Ionized zinc molecules are attracted to the metal of the opposite pole, thus adhering to its surface. Imagine if you zinc plated something, and then switched the polarities. The zinc ions would move in the opposite direction. (This is a gross simplification of something I admittedly don't have a perfect understanding of). So, imagine this scenario. You've smithed something cool, and want to put a coating on it to protect it from corrosion from the elements. You take a nice big #8 carriage bolt, attach it to the correct pole (which off the top of my head I can't remember if its the anode or the cathode) and attach the workpiece to the other pole. You simultaneously electro-plate one while readying a nice piece of alloy-steel for smithing. Now, zinc is a very soft metal so if it was, say, a blade, you'd want to leave the sharp edge of the blade above the surface of the water. AnomalousBoners posted:Yea that sounds pretty cool. I am just getting into microcontroller poo poo. What are you using to control your robot? Heads up though I am super busy with school-work-goon gf. Do you go to UCF? Yeah, that's funny I'm into microcontrollers too, I'm actually an EE/CS major. I bought this kit from radioshack that comes with a microcontroller mounted on a board with a solderless breadboard next to it to fool around with and a bigass lab manual. The robot is at the moment all analog. Not even stepper motors, just geared down small dc motors. Probably just gonna build a push-button circuit and put it in a panel. But about UCF, no, basically all of my friends go there but I have one class to finish at Brevard Community College, then off to a University (not entirely sure which one).
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Nov 25, 2010 01:16
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Please don't use galvanized steel (zinc coated) for blacksmithing or anything that involves heating to high temperatures. Metal poisioning is a very real thing and it would be a shame to get sick and die that way.
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Nov 25, 2010 01:41
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don't people take zinc supplements?
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Nov 25, 2010 01:50
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Different form of zinc. I'm sensitized to organic zinc compounds from too much time not using a fume hood in labs in college. The more you know! Also, to do the electroplating deal, you hook a car battery charger up to the depositor and the receiver (anode and cathode, respectively). Hook the positive (red) up to what you want to put on the receiver, and the negative (black) onto the receiver. Immerse both in a slightly acidic bath and let it roll. Heads up though, this will produce gaseous hydrogen and oxygen, which is a bad thing in an enclosed space. I work in corrosion control and engineering, so if you guys have any questions, fire away!
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Nov 25, 2010 03:26
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Well thank both of you gentlemen, that's definitely good to know. Interestingly, isn't the chemical reaction inside of a wet-cell battery galvanic? Using galvanic reactions to produce galvanic reactions :metal: I used a diode-bridge (its a network of four diodes-electronic components) hooked up to a power chord plugged straight into a wall outlet (actually it was a power strip with a surge protector just for an extra breaker along the circuit). This rectified the AC into DC, and when I compared it with my multimeter to the current I was getting out of the lawn tractor battery that's on my rider mower, it was like 3-4 times more current - which I assume means more "work" in the form of oxidizing metal (or plating or removing rust if I had chosen to use those methods). Another thing that affects the amount of current and therefore "work" is resistance, and along with making the water as acidic as safety allows, spacing the electrodes as close together as possible helps. But I'd be kinda hesitant to use a wet-cell battery, cause I guess we're essentially creating a short with a lot of current flowing through, and like I mentioned earlier their is a galvanic reaction both in and out of the battery, so as a battery produces current, a byproduct is, again, hydrogen. Sometimes old batteries will look like they're bulging. Or, if you shorted out any battery, even a brand new one, for a prolongued period of time, hydrogen will build up, and if the connection between a terminal post and the cable makes even a tiny spark it can explode and shoot acid in your face. My dad's friend lost an eye this way. That's why you always clamp on of the alligator clips of your jumper cables onto the frame of the car. :c001: Company Mime posted:I work in corrosion control and engineering, so if you guys have any questions, fire away! Awesome, man. I'll probly have a couple over time, but for starters, would my reverse electro-plating idea work, and is their any way for an amateur like me to be able to tell if I've gotten all the zinc of a piece to be able to safely work on it? Also, is doing machine work on a piece with zinc safe? Thanks brotha
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Nov 25, 2010 04:12
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You can machine galvanized stuff (though I cant think of any galvanized thing you would be machining)because the zinc should stay deposited on the chip. Also you can simply grind zinc off the area (well past the heat affected zone) to be welded and weld in a well ventilated space. Its a hell of a lot faster and easier. Also I am sending you a PM. EDIT: No i am not you cheap bastard. Do you have AIM or Facebook?
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Nov 25, 2010 04:16
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Metal is an interesting subject and this post never contained sensitive personal details
whose tuggin fucked around with this message at 04:28 on Nov 25, 2010 |
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Nov 25, 2010 04:24
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Adam is fat and gay for pay
AnomalousBoners fucked around with this message at 04:34 on Nov 25, 2010 |
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Nov 25, 2010 04:26
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Bobbing in with a quick question. I'm trying to cut a (hardened steel, I'm assuming) bike spindle, which is basically a 3/4" rod of metal, in half. 24" bolt cutters do absolutely nothing. I tried a hacksaw, and that barely made a dent. Hell, I've taken an axe to it and still nothing! What's a good way to cut thick metal bits? (I saw a few pages back that someone had a similar question, but that stuff didn't seem applicable) e: worth mentioning that I'll literally consider anything at this point. I don't intend to keep any part of that spindle, I just need a way to get rid of it. AveMachina fucked around with this message at 04:52 on Nov 25, 2010 |
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Nov 25, 2010 04:47
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Go to harbor freight and buy the cheapest angle grinder and some cutoff wheels. I bought mine from there on sale for $10.
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Nov 25, 2010 04:54
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Sale: http://widgets.harborfreight.com/ws...52&keycode=0000 shamelessly stolen from the AI tool thread which I didn't know existed until today.
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Nov 25, 2010 05:07
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The reverse electroplating will work fine, it'll just be hard to tell when you've got the zinc off and are just eating steel. Best offs are to look for rust forming. While you're doing this, it'd be best to have welded a steel post to whatever you're trying to un-galvanize so you can submerge the whole piece. I'd use copper as an anode and wait until it was zincified to try and tell. There are tables floating around for your material loss per amp per time period, but I don't have those at hand at the moment. As long as you're in open space, I frankly wouldn't worry too much about it. Over time, zinc poisoning can be a concern, but as I've shown, not necessarily a big problem for the occasional work.
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Nov 25, 2010 08:19
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Ambrose Burnside posted:'Nother blacksmithing question- Several good answers already but, here's another one: Go to your local flea market. Look for people selling rusty old tools. Buy them! Many are made of hardened tool steel and you can often get them for super cheap. Especially if they're damaged in some way. Sometimes you can get a whole toolbox full of ancient rusty tools with broken handles for a couple dollars. Of course, some of them are still functional and just need the rust taken off or a new handle, which is also great. Also, flea markets are just great, anyway.
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Nov 25, 2010 19:23
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AnomalousBoners posted:Go to harbor freight and buy the cheapest angle grinder and some cutoff wheels. I bought mine from there on sale for $10. Elskling, you have made my goddamn day. Go buy yourself a drink.
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Nov 25, 2010 21:25
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Just started up a new thing with my welded figurine projects: First, I figured out that a metal rolling toolbox makes a decent workspace for my welding. The drawers also work great for me to store the pliers and small hammers that I use to shape the sheet metal. The top doesn't seem big enough for a standard work space, but because I work with small pieces, it's actually a perfect size. The only thing that's a problem is that the toolbox, plus the casters, plus the 4x4" square tubes I use as the work-surface makes the whole thing a little too tall. I'm going to knock off the casters and install some smaller ones, and maybe go low-rider with them so they're tucked under a bit.  The cool thing that I added was a PVC structure that holds a webcam, which allows me to stream myself welding, live. So now whenever I'm welding up a commissioned piece, anybody (including the client) can watch me weld it up. It also allows me to chat about the process, which is fun for me, too. If you're interested in joining the fun, go here: http://newprotest.org/welding/tinychat.htm And if you're interested in setting up your own video feed and need the webspace to host a "I'm online" page, let me know. I can set something up for you (I'm also a web-coder on the side as well). jovial_cynic fucked around with this message at 19:31 on Nov 26, 2010 |
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Nov 26, 2010 18:48
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jovial_cynic posted:Just started up a new thing with my welded figurine projects: good work but terrible anvil stand. get something more solid, preferably a solid chunk of wood the correct height. look into a piece of tree trunk from a cut tree
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Nov 27, 2010 07:55
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iForge posted:good work but terrible anvil stand. get something more solid, preferably a solid chunk of wood the correct height. look into a piece of tree trunk from a cut tree Anvil stand? What are you talking about? I don't even have an anvil. I only work with sheet metal, so any pounding that I do on metal doesn't require much at all.
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Nov 27, 2010 08:10
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jovial_cynic posted:Anvil stand? What are you talking about? I don't even have an anvil. I only work with sheet metal, so any pounding that I do on metal doesn't require much at all. I am a retard and should learn to read posts better.
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Nov 27, 2010 18:17
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iForge posted:I am a retard and should learn to read posts better. ha. No worries. I know that most people don't think of sheet metal work when they think of a metal-working thread... but that's what I do. I'm the sheet metal guy. For more exposure to exactly what I do, hop over here: http://newprotest.org/welding e: I also updated my video feed landing site. It's much cooler now: http://newprotest.org/welding/tinychat.htm
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Nov 27, 2010 18:57
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Wow dude, I don't know nothin bout nothing, but you are a badass. Nothing but an oxy/acetelyne rig and sheet metal, nails, and wire coat hangers. Please tell me your making a good deal of tool money off those. Also, watch that you don't melt the camera! Welding sheet metal with a gas torch alone seems like a huge challenge. Let alone with nails/coat hangers as filler.
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Nov 27, 2010 19:05
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The Scientist posted:Wow dude, I don't know nothin bout nothing, but you are a badass. Thanks! I make ok money on it. I do it for some side cash, and have a healthy SA-Mart thread (http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2467764) that I've been running for a few years now. The figurines are relatively small (the "people" figurines stand about 4.5" tall), so it allows the artwork to remain affordable. As for it being a challenge - it's not, really. It's only a challenge when you don't want the metal to warp, such as in automotive or ducting. In my case, having the metal become distorted is a part of the appeal, so it works in my favor. I've also stopped using coat-hangers as filler, on account of the plastic coating; the fumes are no good, so I use "bright" (uncoated) nails for all my filler work now. e: about the camera. Yeah. I'm going to build a small Plexiglas shield for it soon, as I've been concerned about that as well.
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Nov 27, 2010 19:24
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'Cause it died in A/T about as fast as I expected it to, and 'cause it's relevant, anyone know anything about harvesting bog iron?
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Nov 27, 2010 22:14
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Get some iron rods about 6 feet long and use them to poke around in your swamp. If you hear it clank against something hard, start diggin. Really depends on the soil around the marsh though. Also, the iron sometimes has to be refined anyway. You might be able to forge refine it if you have a big enough fire chamber and a lot of flux. Wear an apron.
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Nov 28, 2010 00:59
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jovial_cynic posted:ha. No worries. I know that most people don't think of sheet metal work when they think of a metal-working thread... but that's what I do. I'm the sheet metal guy. For more exposure to exactly what I do, hop over here: I love your sheet metal work. I have been looking into making a shotbag for working sheet metal. I dont want to do lead shot because of the potential to release lead dust, and have not got off my butt to look into the pricing for steel shot and laether. What would be a good size to make it and what size shot is best for the job? I don't want to make it too large or too small. The majority of my sheet metal work is pieces 12 inches by 12 inches or smaller but I'd like to be able to work a larger piece if I need to. Any advice is much appreciated.
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Nov 28, 2010 01:18
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I dunno. I've never used a shotbag. I've just used a set of pliers and a small hammer against various hard surfaces to shape the metal.
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Nov 28, 2010 01:25
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Ooohkay, I didn't think I'd be back, but hey. I need to make a headbadge for my bikes--what's the cheapest/easiest way to do this? I wanted to try to melt solder into a mold, but it looked horrendous. What's a good, cheap casting technique I can do on my own that doesn't involve cuttlebone?
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Nov 30, 2010 02:44
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You can carve out wood and melt solder into it pretty easily. The finish is poo poo though.
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Nov 30, 2010 05:19
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You could carve something in steel and use it as a stamp for softer metals or something.
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Nov 30, 2010 08:49
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You will have a hard time getting the detail you want with an open face mold due to lack of head pressure from the molten metal in the non-existent sprues and risers. You'll need to either make a simple headbadge that is castable in a 2 part sand mold, or move onto investment casting if you want more intricacies. In other news... I'm considering the purchases of a new TIG machine and watercooler. I'm doing this with the intentions of starting an official metalworking business, and also using it for "vocational training" in the event I decide to go back into the working world. Oh... and it'll be a fun toy too! I have it narrowed down to the Miller Syncrowave 200 vs the Lincoln Precision TIG 225. Thoughts?
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Nov 30, 2010 14:12
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