taking shape

[MushiSushi]

ooooooowwwwww i am so excited ....... i have started making the mould for my gas forge ... internal dimensions of the tunnel are ........ 280mm wide X 220 high X 620mm long ..... and i am making it so as i can add another foot or so incase I want to make swords :D

[PS_Bond]

Photojournal?

I was using my brickpile forge happily last night - it doesn't hit welding temperatures (hard firebrick), but certainly hot enough for sorting out the metalwork for the new forge.

[MushiSushi]

Photojournal?

I was using my brickpile forge happily last night - it doesn't hit welding temperatures (hard firebrick), but certainly hot enough for sorting out the metalwork for the new forge.
I'll try and take a picture or 3 when i get it all shuttered up ready for pouring the cement. I am doing it in 2 sections, a flat base slab that will have the grooves to hold the blades and the burners moulded in and an arched roof .. I've just finished making the form for the arch and I need to get some more ply to make the mould box this weekend. Then a few coats of wax and ready to pour.
how do you mean "sorting out metalwork for the new forge"? just curious as to what needs forging to make a forge

[PS_Bond]

It's rather like the old one of needing a pair of tongs to make a pair of tongs.

I'm heating & bending some strap iron to use as legs for the forge body. Seemed easiest. I ended up playing with the makeshift forge rather more than I'd intended to get a feel for gas the first time...

[MushiSushi]

Tongs!! ... I need Tongs!! ....... :banghead: ..... hehehe

BTW Peter, did you get your reply to that e mail you sent me? ... I just hit return and it suddenly occurred to me that it might not function that way as you emailed from here.

[PS_Bond]

Easy tongs: http://www.anvilfire.com/iForge/tutor/gc_tongs/top_index.htm

Sorry - I've just replied to your email (been lax on checking mine).

[MushiSushi]

that's funny you should post that link ...... because i had already bought some 20mm x 6mm steel strip ... to do just that :biggthump

I think I made my first mistake cutting 6mm O1 today ........ I was sweating away in this stupid heat with a hacksaw and thought :censored: this ... I had some progressor steel cutting jigsaw blades and thought I would give them a go ..... worked great!! ... only trouble is ... I got 3" cut in about 20 seconds and thought I would stop and check the piece ... the metal was :censored: hot!!! :banghead: ....... went inside for a drink of water ... was getting through a pint glass every hour...... came back out to start again ..... didn't manage to get 2mm further in ......... thought ... "WTF is going on here?" looked at the jigsaw blade and it had no teeth left ... tried another one ... still no joy ... another 2mm and then no teeth... I don't think I should have stopped the first time around :banghead:

[MushiSushi]

hopefully cobalt jigsaw bits will cure the problem :D

[bagman]

you teach it a lesson mushy :D

I have only used cobalt steel drill bits not jigsaw blades but the drill bits rock :AR15firin but they are flippin expensive

[MushiSushi]

40 quid for a double pack of jigsaw blades :yikes: they better last better than the progressors .. and this time i will try and keep the steel a bit cooler so i am not hardening the :censored: bit that i am cutting!

[PS_Bond]

Cutting & tapping fluid helps (could be messy with a jigsaw) - although it sounds as though you've successfully hardened the steel...

I use TiN coated bits generally - great in the drillpress, but I still don't like drilling steel with a hand held.

[bagman]

40 quid for a double pack of jigsaw blades :yikes: t i

flippin heck and I thought the drill bits were expensive, IIRC a 6mm one was about 8 quid.

[MushiSushi]

£9 a set of 6 from screwfix, from 1.5 to 6mm

[MushiSushi]

Cutting & tapping fluid helps (could be messy with a jigsaw) - although it sounds as though you've successfully hardened the steel....
yeah that was my deduction too ...... :banghead: .. though only in the vicinity of the cut as it stands ... I hope :rolleyes:
All a learning curve :D ;)

[MushiSushi]

Now That's what i am talking about :biggthump :super: ........... first blank cut out with 1 blade in less than 5 minutes ..... and hardly a mark on the cobalt jigsaw blade ... I think these cobalt blades are gonna last me through a fair few profiles :approve:

[Colin KC]

40 quid for a double pack of jigsaw blades :yikes: they better last better than the progressors .. and this time i will try and keep the steel a bit cooler so i am not hardening the :censored: bit that i am cutting!

In this case (bearing in mind that it's O1 you're cutting) I supect that you didn't so much harden the O1 as inadvertantly remove the temper from the jigsaw blade:rolleyes: (cheap :censored: blades)

[MushiSushi]

perhaps ... but that doesn't explain why the second blade hardly made any head way brand new... when the first blade cut 3" as a doddle before I decided to take a break.
But anyway ..... the Cobalt blades rock

[Colin KC]

Never liked jigsaws for cutting steel, they go too fast, they drag at the same speed as they "cut" That's just asking for trouble if you ask me. & what does explain the second blade going too is the manganese, tungsten, chrome & vanadium in the O1 which all go to help it work harden a little bit:twak:

[MushiSushi]

Ahh ... so NOW you are saying that I DID harden the O1 slightly ;) ... so if you are gonna twak me I am gone twak you back :p :smashfrea ... have you given the cobalt jigsaw blades a go Colin? 13"s of 6mm O1, profiled in minutes ...(I know you are in favour of labour & sweat saving methods)... variable speed jigsaw that can cut real slow, none of your B&D or B&Q ones ... and if a jigsaw is too fast then what about a dremel? ... slightly faster I would have said ... as to dragging, the cheap blades did do that a bit ... but not the cobalt ones ... and as I started off on the tang ... it just means that the tang in gonna be slightly narrower than I had first planned. :banghead: no big deal

edited to add

you have one of those B&Q grinders don't you? ... as I recall the belt is 686 x 50 ..... are you just using the standard ALOX belts or have you been able to find Zirconia belts for them?

[Colin KC]

Mushy, 'course I did say a little bit:rolleyes::twak:

Haven't tried the cobalt jigsaw blades, probably won't (slow bandsaw next;) )

A dremel does cut a bit faster, but, that is using cut off discs, they're a tad different to HSS jigsaw blades:rolleyes:

Nah, still using ALOX:mad: (useless stuff, prob'ly working out WELL expensive, might have a look for some better ones)

[MushiSushi]

This is for hitting me again .....:smashfrea :nutkick: :cussing:

I am gonna be on the phone to IAW today to order p60 Zirc' belts for my proxxon... I might ask if they have Zirc' belts for 686 x 50 as I have one laying around somewhere and with all the other things i am doing .....the BYO grinder is ............ Waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy down the line :rolleyes:

[MushiSushi]

I have decided ............ BYO and Zirconia belts are a must .......... as satisfying as it is to be grinding the bevels ..... and one side complete :biggthump and the other side nearly done ... just a bit of fine tuning ... it's taken the best part of a day .. ALOX and underpowered units are a RPITA... though i made it easy for myself and cobbled togather a jig so I could just leave it grinding while I did other things ....... I am seriously contemplating a BYO if I am going to take this seriously ....... and adding a motor to oscilate the blade as well ... so I can just let it grind and take care of itself :D
What do you recommend on thickness at the edge prior to HT? ... I was thinking around 0.7 mm

[Colin KC]

Mushy, beat me some more:approve:, I like it:D:lol:

Show us your jig, please do, oscillating bldes? :261:

1/32" (whatever that is in foreign;) )

[MushiSushi]

Unfortunately I am without Digital Camera ...... but it is basically a wooden frame in front of the grinder with..... a 600 mm x 14mm stainless rod (something left over) held in the frame ..... then I got some 5mm x 14mm flat iron about 400mm long... heated it up and bent it around some steel tube with a 15mm ID ... put a couple of bolts through the end to clamp the blade and the blade travels up and down the rod holding the correct angle for the bevel ....... that's the jig

To oscillate ......... my thought was to fix the blade clamp to the rod and attach the rod to a motor with a pivoting arm ... so the motor takes the blade back and forth across the grinder .. virtually leaving it so you would just need to keep an eye on it now and then. ... the lazy man's way to grinding ;)

1/32" = 0.78mm

and just for you Colin
:nutkick: :smashfrea :nana: :nutkick: :smashfrea :nana:

[Colin KC]

Err, sorry Mushy, my eyes glazed over, just past:


"Unfortunately I am without Digital Camera ...... but it is basically a wooden frame in front of the grinder with..... a 600..."


Must be something to do with the letters...


mm, mm, mmm, mmmmadsir, dddeaf an mmmad;)

[MushiSushi]

Converted for the lazy fuddy duddy

Unfortunately I am without Digital Camera ...... but it is basically a wooden frame in front of the grinder with..... a 22 " x 5/8 " stainless rod (something left over) held in the frame ..... then I got some 3/16 " x 5/8 " flat iron about 15" long... heated it up and bent it around some steel tube with a 11/16 " ID ... put a couple of bolts through the end to clamp the blade and the blade travels up and down the rod holding the correct angle for the bevel ....... that's the jig

To oscillate ......... my thought was to fix the blade clamp to the rod and attach the rod to a motor with a pivoting arm ... so the motor takes the blade back and forth across the grinder .. virtually leaving it so you would just need to keep an eye on it now and then. ... the lazy man's way to grinding ;)

1/32" = 0.78mm

and just for you Colin
:nutkick: :smashfrea :nana: :nutkick: :smashfrea :nana:

[Colin KC]

Gotcha, why din't you jus' say so inna first place:rolleyes:

[Colin KC]

won't work:p:

[MushiSushi]

won't work:p:
and why not? ... it's exactly the same motion as I was doing manually ... except for changing the angle for the transition point where the blade goes to the point

[MushiSushi]

http://www.britishblades.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=140
Well there are a few subtle changes ... the grind is slightly different, not so deep on the blade, as well as the false edge and generally not quite as angular looking .. and I haven't put in the little serrated bit at the back because I am thinking it might be a bit gimmicky .... but that was kind of what I set out to do create a gimmicky knife to practice grinding and get a feel for doing different things with the steel, kind of a tester .. it's down to fine tuning now and a bit of work with 240 grit .. as soon as I get a chance ... I will post a pic :biggthump

[MushiSushi]

Some lessons I have Learned;

Don't grind while wearing flipflops and bare chested.. even if it is :censored: HOT!
Stand to the side of the belt when grinding .. just incase you get a load of flying belt hit your bare stomach.
Don't place blade that you have just smoothed to 240 grit into the vice and clamp without something to protect the surface :doh:
Don't rush too quickly in to the finer papers and then discover scratches that you never saw before and have to go back to the coarse stuff. :crying:
I think I could get in to this, seriously :yikes: :biggthump
I've got the profiling, grinding bit going pretty good, all that remains is for me to get the forge sorted out and screw up the heat treat.. and until then .. this almost finished blade will sit on the shelf waiting.
When it's all done, I might send it out to a few people here for critical appraisal (better get it back though :p).. except Wayne! . as he will probably try and kill a few Hot Dog tins with it! :yikes: :yikes:

edited to add;
umming an ahhing about doing something else on the back edge as I don't fancy the idea of serrations any more .. thinking that perhaps it needs a beer bottle opener (it's my bottle opener occifer! :27: :cop: )

point of balance is currently 3/8" up the blade with no handle as yet, so allowing for weight of handle, I figure the balance will come down to the guard, from guard to tip is just shy of 8", total length 12 1/2" ... gotta get a piccie up

[MushiSushi]

a quick sketch of the jig i made up for keeping the angle while grinding ...... the 2nd motor is the idea for being able to leave the blade grinding away while I do other things .. the belt is at a 45 angle so using the weight of the blade and the full movement from tip to ricasso automatically adjusts for where the tip angle changes slightly .. different cam lengths would accommodate different blade lengths

[Colin KC]

a quick sketch of the jig i made up for keeping the angle while grinding ...... the 2nd motor is the idea for being able to leave the blade grinding away while I do other things .. the belt is at a 45 angle so using the weight of the blade and the full movement from tip to ricasso automatically adjusts for where the tip angle changes slightly .. different cam lengths would accommodate different blade lengths

You are, of course, completely barmy:rolleyes:;)

[MushiSushi]

You are, of course, completely barmy:rolleyes:;)
Takes one to know one Sunshine ;) :twak: :flipa:

[Colin KC]

Wasn't gonna tell ya how much of the prior post rang as distant (& some not so distant, sandals:doh: ) memories:rolleyes:

[MushiSushi]

that jig seems to be coping with a 14" blade just as well as it did with an 8 incher and keeping the bevel nice and constant :biggthump