Promethius was strapped to a boulder to have his liver pecked out by a vulture every day … It would grow back … Woodgas Fever … M
Forgery! It didn’t work out very well for things longer than 6 inches because of where the drain hole/air nozzle is placed in the bowl of the sink. I have another forge design that I’m going to try that provides more consistent heat to whole pieces of longer stock. My camera didn’t want to pick up the deep pink and purple flames I was getting at one point.
Thanks Wayne,
Been icing up for most of the day. We will be staying put for the weekend. I’m still in the learning curve on the wood stove. I built a beautiful fire to keep the wife warm and went on a arrand. I come home to find all the doors and windows open while ice and sleet is blowing around the yard. I guess it was a little too HOT in there.
If you want to watch tree harvesting and drama, check this out http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/big-bad-wood/
As noted back HERE, I got in a car accident a while back which damaged the radiator. My first radiator that I ordered online was stolen off of my porch before I noticed the box and because it was “delivered” I was SOL for the cost.
I thought I’d looked at local parts stores and they had been twice as expensive as the online one I’d bought (>200$ vs the 90$ I had paid) so I couldn’t afford a new one. It turns out, AutoZone had one available for 120$ with next-day delivery from their warehouse to the localish store (20 miles up Island), which I bought.
I ended up standing hunched over in the cold (34-37F all day) and wind for several hours today to take out the old one, install the new one, try to bang/torque/yank/jack/wrench on the various body parts to get things to START to fit right. Hood isn’t anywhere near fitting right yet and might never be. I think with some distilled water and coolant, and some way of holding the hood closed, my car might be drivable.
Unfortunately, it looks like the entire front end might have gotten tweaked a few inches to the driver’s side, which makes sense because the bumper took all the hit from the passenger side and the bumper is integral with the structural frame. Even if my car is drivable, it could very well try to pull strongly to one side and/or burn through a set of tires every 100 miles for all I know.
It was too dark to get pictures by the time I was done.
Today I did some more smithing, this time I used some of the high-carbon spring-steel from a truck leaf-spring and also some high-carbon tool-steel from an old bent lawnmower blade.
The spring-steel is 3/8ths inch (9.5mm) thick and I’d previously used my grinder and cut-off discs to cut it length-wise into 3/8ths wide tines for a broad-fork. I had 3*6" (15cm) long pieces but I had one drop down my sink-forge drain. DOH! >_< I’m hoping to make a set of small wood-carving knives for my roomate who does lots of wood work. I got one forged into a straight-chisel which I sharpened on the bench grinder but needs some fine-stone time to really shine. The other started as the first piece of steel in my forge which had that nice bend in it so I forged that into a side-pull gouge. That is going to need more work to get sharpened… Also, I heard elsewhere that veggie oil is far better than water for quenching most high-carbon steels and I have to agree that my Canola oil filled soup-can did the trick on these carvers.
I also took another piece of Mild-steel 1/8th inch plate, about 2" by 4" and used my cold chisel to split it 2/3rds of the way up. I then pounded the “legs” into round rods and curled them into a double coat hook.
I was going to make the lawnmower blade into a FROE but the middle of the blade has a crease/crimp to strengthen it and I can’t get my heat to the right area to flatten those out. Maybe I’ll use a wider piece of leaf-spring to make my Froe…
I had far better results using chunked wood instead of kindling sticks. First I spent about a solid hour splitting mixed Fir/Alder firewood down to roughly 2"x2" square logs and another hour cross cutting them into 2" cubes on my tablesaw.
As I’d mentioned to a blacksmith friend, my sink-forge previously wanted to make a pear-shaped zone of forging heat about 3" across by up to 5" deep, if I have enough charbed, but the zone is wedged against the back wall where it is hard to get access to with longer stock. If I constantly stirred and turned the charbed, I could make that heat zone about twice as wide but not as hot, only “Apple Red”=1,300F=700C, instead of an orangy=1,700F=925C.
Using chunked wood, I can get a “mushroom” shaped zone about 6" wide by 6" deep zone of easy high-oranges=2,000F=1090C and a core of yellows=2,300F=1,260C.
Once again, I was working on that stuff until well after dark and forgot to take picture when I had good light. Hopefully I’ll remember to take pictures tomorrow.
I smithed 1.5 Froes/bush knives out of some of my spring steel today. First 3 pictures are just angle grinder sharpened (sanding flap disc) and the final shaping. The last picture (on paper towel) is after my hand/stone sharpening though it could use more. This is really hard steel so it will be interesting to see how long it holds the edge.
I bulked up my smithing anvil so I can work heavier stock easier. I also added a more evenly rounded horn face for making smooth curves. I think my total mass of the anvil is around 40 lbs now. It also sort of looks like a starship or something… Flat workface is a 12"L x 5"IW (6"Upper width) x 3" T U-channel upside down and welded to the I-Beam. The rounded workface is 1/3 of 4" long piece of 4"ID x 7/8" thick pipe.
I made a metal salmon for my dad out of a barrel top. He went to college for Fisheries. Yes, he has a Master’s Degree in salmon. A field just flooded with jobs. 9_9
" what else is going on "
Not a lot to report , the 94 Ram is running good. I have been averaging about 50 miles a day with a lot of the miles in the mud.
BBB
Wayne
Merry Christmas to everyone, and thanks Wayne, for the gift that keeps on giving. SWEM ( Even if I did have to pay for it myself! HA! )
Merry Christmas brother Carl and everyone.
I understand there will be another biomass powered vehicle zooming around tonight carrying a lot of toys.
To all a wonderful Christmas.
The Keith Family
Howdy Mr Wayne,
Top of the Season to you and the Family !
I forgot to ask ya the other night about the tennis ball relief valves on the RAM…
Have ya had any backfires to see if they are working?
I’ll be doing the air cleaner in the next few days
TerryL
Merry Christmas Everyone …I agree with Carl ,thanks for the Wayne Keith gasifier …
May all your stockings be filled with chunks of wood LOL …
Yes, ditto!
A Merry Christmas to all my DOW friends!
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas to all!
I thank you all for the gifts of knowledge I have already received from you all and what I will receive in the future.
An extra thanks to Wayne and Chris for this website.
Bill S
Thanks to all on a fine Christmas morning.
My blessing have been too numerous to mention but as I am about to fire up for the day and do a few must do jobs around the farm I reflect back to the fish vs the fishing knowledge .
I am so thankfully I have been thought to fish .
Wayne
Happy Holidays to All
Best regards
Steve Unruh and family
Merry Christmas Everybody! I second that Bill!