Yep, a 9 kilo gas cylinder to sacrifice as the body of the forge, another gas cylinder to run the burner, and an air compressor to fit up a fan nozzle to and use as a blower to get things on the inside of the fireclay lining REALLY fucking hot.
these videos are good, but i'd recommend not using an air compressor for a blower. what you want for this kind of application is high volume, low pressure. high volume because you want as much air supplied to the fire as you can get, low pressure because if the air is moving too fast it doesn't have a chance to burn and you end up losing heat. this is pretty much just academic if you're melting aluminum because it melts at such a low temperature, but i built a blower for my forge out of a $12 bathroom fan from home depot and i'm happy as hell with it
Which explains why my previous attempts at backyard forgery haven't been quite as successful as I would have liked at controlling steady temps for heat-treating.
Well I missed last weeks welding class where they learnt TIG on mild steel so got to go straight into TIG welding aluminium this week. And it was ok. Needs more practice but not bad for a first attempt.
Then had a little play on MIG again but haven't done that for a couple weeks now and seemed to have forgotten what I was meant to be doing.
Oh well, if I'm doing it at my new job I should get enough practice quite quickly.
+4
Blake TDo you have enemies then?Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.Registered Userregular
Essentially what we want to do is make some of our own DnD coins, because we are gigantic nerds.
Ok, so that'd cover the foundry.
And I guess with casting I can make a simple mould with plaster of Paris.
It obviously works with aluminium, and if I'm making coins that would substitute for silver, and copper would be fine for brass (I could always find some zinc and make actual brass)
So would the temps be high enough for copper?
And does anyone have any suggestions for a gold substitute?
The final question would be, how could I stamp them?
Essentially what we want to do is make some of our own DnD coins, because we are gigantic nerds.
Ok, so that'd cover the foundry.
And I guess with casting I can make a simple mould with plaster of Paris.
It obviously works with aluminium, and if I'm making coins that would substitute for silver, and copper would be fine for brass (I could always find some zinc and make actual brass)
So would the temps be high enough for copper?
And does anyone have any suggestions for a gold substitute?
The final question would be, how could I stamp them?
To stamp any metal, you're going to want that metal to be annealed dead soft. Not too difficult to do if you have a forge. Then it's just a matter of having a die and dolly machined out of steel (and hardened!) so you put the coin in the dolly, pop the die on top, and either use a hydraulic press to crush it, or belt it with a substantial hammer. You could home-brew anodize aluminium in a range of colours to make them look silver, bronze, and gold.
You could actually just punch and stamp coins out of annealed aluminium sheet with the right press and die setup.
Essentially what we want to do is make some of our own DnD coins, because we are gigantic nerds.
Ok, so that'd cover the foundry.
And I guess with casting I can make a simple mould with plaster of Paris.
It obviously works with aluminium, and if I'm making coins that would substitute for silver, and copper would be fine for brass (I could always find some zinc and make actual brass)
So would the temps be high enough for copper?
And does anyone have any suggestions for a gold substitute?
The final question would be, how could I stamp them?
You can just do aluminum and anodized it to a gold color with dye. It's how Apple gets gold iPods, but the process is simple enough to do at home. There's a few places that sell kits and dyes for aluminum annodizing.
0
Blake TDo you have enemies then?Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.Registered Userregular
Essentially what we want to do is make some of our own DnD coins, because we are gigantic nerds.
Ok, so that'd cover the foundry.
And I guess with casting I can make a simple mould with plaster of Paris.
It obviously works with aluminium, and if I'm making coins that would substitute for silver, and copper would be fine for brass (I could always find some zinc and make actual brass)
So would the temps be high enough for copper?
And does anyone have any suggestions for a gold substitute?
The final question would be, how could I stamp them?
You can just do aluminum and anodized it to a gold color with dye. It's how Apple gets gold iPods, but the process is simple enough to do at home. There's a few places that sell kits and dyes for aluminum annodizing.
Awesome, and I can make the other coins space grey!
nothing about them is correct, they're extremely rough, the reins are too small and they took about three times longer to make than they should've, but i am happy with them just the same. next ones will be much better
knitdanIn ur baseKillin ur guysRegistered Userregular
I sometimes think about the first person to forge certain tools, like tongs . Like some dude figured out, "it'd be real convenient if I could manipulate my work while it's still hot, without getting burnt." And then figuring out a way to do that, without having tongs in the first place.
Or stuff like locks. What kind of intuitive leaps does it take to design even the simplest lock?
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
+3
Blake TDo you have enemies then?Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.Registered Userregular
Well it was probably, I don't want to put this rock against my door.
i'm not even sure there was one dude who first figured out tongs or a hammer or other simple tools. most of the design of them is a function of what they need to do, and there are a hell of a lot of regional variations even in the simplest tools
it's really cool seeing the various ways that different cultures have gone about solving the same problems
knitdanIn ur baseKillin ur guysRegistered Userregular
Oh yeah, definitely. I didn't necessarily mean it was just one person, it's just interesting to me to think about how technology progresses and how you'd create a new tool if you didn't have one to start with.
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
i been thinking about making a copper axe like the one they found on Otzi, as true to the original as i can make it. like, i doubt i'd be able to use hide glue or animal sinew, but casting the head and everything in as low-tech a manner as possible could be fun
Oh yeah, definitely. I didn't necessarily mean it was just one person, it's just interesting to me to think about how technology progresses and how you'd create a new tool if you didn't have one to start with.
I think about this stuff all the time.
Related thoughts: who ate the first oyster? Why? Did they like it? Or did they dare the next person to eat it?
I sometimes think about the first person to forge certain tools, like tongs . Like some dude figured out, "it'd be real convenient if I could manipulate my work while it's still hot, without getting burnt." And then figuring out a way to do that, without having tongs in the first place.
Or stuff like locks. What kind of intuitive leaps does it take to design even the simplest lock?
As someone who's built a handful of locking mechanisms without commercial locks, my thinking tends to go from "Alright, I need something to make sure this is closed and will stay closed." to "Alright now I need some way of opening it from the outside." to "Alright but now I need a way of making sure I'm the one who is opening it."
That took me from crossbars, to lever latches with an external component to the latch, to a lever latch with a removable external component to the latch. Or to be more specific "piece of wood that fits in a slot", "piece of wood that swings on a pivot and can be accessed from outside the container", and "Piece of wood that can only be accessed with a removable object (Magnets! How do they work?)".
I'm onto a pair of socks now, as I've been promising @Wyborn some since forever. Also, they're much easier to knit while focusing on something else, and that's what I'm doing as I watch him play through Witcher 3.
Oh yeah, definitely. I didn't necessarily mean it was just one person, it's just interesting to me to think about how technology progresses and how you'd create a new tool if you didn't have one to start with.
Ok, so there's this dude named Henry Petroski and this is basically his field--the history of engineering development
I particularly enjoyed The Evolution of Useful Things, and am working through To Engineer is Human, but he writes a LOT
+5
ceresWhen the last moon is cast over the last star of morningAnd the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderatormod
I'm onto a pair of socks now, as I've been promising @Wyborn some since forever. Also, they're much easier to knit while focusing on something else, and that's what I'm doing as I watch him play through Witcher 3.
I wish I could knit at all so I could make that exact thing and live in it forever.
And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
It's never too late to try! The pattern is ~$6 USD: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/orchid-thief/. But I'd definitely recommend starting out with a few simpler patterns first, as it's definitely an intermediate level design.
This one looks simpler and yet so elegant with the beads... and yet I vowed not to start buying beads, as that is a hole I reaaaaaaally don't want to fall into.
ceresWhen the last moon is cast over the last star of morningAnd the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderatormod
They all look terrifying to start.. I have a hard time getting knitting for some reason. I can do basic knit/purl stitches, but getting complicated things to come together in my head is really difficult for some reason.
And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
I bought a sketchbook today, I'm going to try and start drawing/sketching outside of uni to get better, and now I've nearly finished until summer. I hear all the time its best to draw from life, is this true?
+6
ceresWhen the last moon is cast over the last star of morningAnd the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderatormod
Very much so. I usually go to youtube for all things crochet, but for knitting I'm not sure that would be enough.
And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
+1
#pipeCocky Stride, Musky odoursPope of Chili TownRegistered Userregular
So my wife still has a concussion (4 weeks at home, now) and she still can't really watch TV or play games or use a computer or even read for very long, so to kill the boredom I bought her a whole bunch of puzzles, model kits, craft projects and the like including this guy
And because she's a wood working nerd, she's spitting in the face of the 40 minute estimated build time on the box and finely sanding, staining and finishing every piece, cleaning up all the joins and glues and really making something of it.
Later she intends to carve tiny skulls out of clay to launch and also she plans to launch cat treats across the room for funsies.
I bought a sketchbook today, I'm going to try and start drawing/sketching outside of uni to get better, and now I've nearly finished until summer. I hear all the time its best to draw from life, is this true?
This is definitely true for understanding shapes and light and shade and objects really look/work.
Another technical aspect that's important for architects and engineers is linework development, and I'd suggest that here it might be helpful to look at pictures and sketches from other artists. Observing their choices can lead you to understand the effects of different kinds of mark-making. Also trying to draw from life AND get your fine-motor skills to behave can be frustrating, so one option is to also copy other drawings or sketches from expert artists. This means they have done most of the hard work for you (ie reducing a complex 3D scene/object to 2D lines), but it's not a bad exercise for training your hands to be able to reproduce what your brain wants.
Seriously though if any of you have any good ideas for simple, fun, long projects she can do with hand tools I'm all ears
I dunno about super long, but I had an old illustrated version of Robinson Crusoe when I was a kid which had a very comprehensive guide to making your own completely wooden crossbow. (To the chagrine of 8-year-old me, and the heartfelt thanks of everyone else, my parents wouldn't give me any material for the string which could be adequately tensioned to provide any serious force, and I wasn't psychotic enough to eviscerate a local cat). Anyway, I'd probably look for similar projects (online perhaps) which have detailed instructions but don't come with pre-built kit. She'd probably find that much more satisfying if she's into woodwork anyway.
Posts
Which explains why my previous attempts at backyard forgery haven't been quite as successful as I would have liked at controlling steady temps for heat-treating.
Then had a little play on MIG again but haven't done that for a couple weeks now and seemed to have forgotten what I was meant to be doing.
Oh well, if I'm doing it at my new job I should get enough practice quite quickly.
Essentially what we want to do is make some of our own DnD coins, because we are gigantic nerds.
Ok, so that'd cover the foundry.
And I guess with casting I can make a simple mould with plaster of Paris.
It obviously works with aluminium, and if I'm making coins that would substitute for silver, and copper would be fine for brass (I could always find some zinc and make actual brass)
So would the temps be high enough for copper?
And does anyone have any suggestions for a gold substitute?
The final question would be, how could I stamp them?
Satans..... hints.....
To stamp any metal, you're going to want that metal to be annealed dead soft. Not too difficult to do if you have a forge. Then it's just a matter of having a die and dolly machined out of steel (and hardened!) so you put the coin in the dolly, pop the die on top, and either use a hydraulic press to crush it, or belt it with a substantial hammer. You could home-brew anodize aluminium in a range of colours to make them look silver, bronze, and gold.
You could actually just punch and stamp coins out of annealed aluminium sheet with the right press and die setup.
For a friend who's taking a high school group on a London-Paris trip this summer, I made these for the groups' suitcases:
wish list
Steam wishlist
Etsy wishlist
I am fucking keen to melt some shit!
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better
bit.ly/2XQM1ke
You can just do aluminum and anodized it to a gold color with dye. It's how Apple gets gold iPods, but the process is simple enough to do at home. There's a few places that sell kits and dyes for aluminum annodizing.
Awesome, and I can make the other coins space grey!
Satans..... hints.....
You can make then any colour you want, really. Purple, green, brown?
Totally missed that part of your post, I'm a dork.
But yeah, anodizing or anodizing with a dye work wonders.
i forged tongs!
nothing about them is correct, they're extremely rough, the reins are too small and they took about three times longer to make than they should've, but i am happy with them just the same. next ones will be much better
hitting hot metal with hammers
Or stuff like locks. What kind of intuitive leaps does it take to design even the simplest lock?
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
Satans..... hints.....
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
Hey I've mounted these brackets on my door and walls to put a beam in->
Hey maybe I can use a smaller beam and just have it slide over when I want to block the door~>
Hey what if I use metal cause it's stronger~>
Damn this metal is heavy, maybe I should find a way to make this mechanism smaller~>
Oh hey I can use this for all sorts of things!
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
it's really cool seeing the various ways that different cultures have gone about solving the same problems
hitting hot metal with hammers
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
hitting hot metal with hammers
I think about this stuff all the time.
Related thoughts: who ate the first oyster? Why? Did they like it? Or did they dare the next person to eat it?
Now to just get my stubborn earlobe to cooperate so I can wear them and show them off!
Democrats Abroad! || Vote From Abroad
As someone who's built a handful of locking mechanisms without commercial locks, my thinking tends to go from "Alright, I need something to make sure this is closed and will stay closed." to "Alright now I need some way of opening it from the outside." to "Alright but now I need a way of making sure I'm the one who is opening it."
That took me from crossbars, to lever latches with an external component to the latch, to a lever latch with a removable external component to the latch. Or to be more specific "piece of wood that fits in a slot", "piece of wood that swings on a pivot and can be accessed from outside the container", and "Piece of wood that can only be accessed with a removable object (Magnets! How do they work?)".
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/SilverWind9/orchid-thief
I'm onto a pair of socks now, as I've been promising @Wyborn some since forever. Also, they're much easier to knit while focusing on something else, and that's what I'm doing as I watch him play through Witcher 3.
Switch: SW-7603-3284-4227
My ACNH Wishlists | My ACNH Catalog
Enchanting
Intoxicating
Mesmerizing
Super Duper
Well Done
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
Switch: SW-7603-3284-4227
My ACNH Wishlists | My ACNH Catalog
One baby blanket
One adult beanie
One adult blanket
Set of placemats
Knitting practice scarf thing
And nothing is holding my interest! Argh.
Democrats Abroad! || Vote From Abroad
But I did teach a crochet lady the knitting basics (basic cast on, knit stitch, basic cast off) at our weekly group last week. That felt good.
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
Ok, so there's this dude named Henry Petroski and this is basically his field--the history of engineering development
I particularly enjoyed The Evolution of Useful Things, and am working through To Engineer is Human, but he writes a LOT
I wish I could knit at all so I could make that exact thing and live in it forever.
This one looks simpler and yet so elegant with the beads... and yet I vowed not to start buying beads, as that is a hole I reaaaaaaally don't want to fall into.
Switch: SW-7603-3284-4227
My ACNH Wishlists | My ACNH Catalog
Very much so. I usually go to youtube for all things crochet, but for knitting I'm not sure that would be enough.
And because she's a wood working nerd, she's spitting in the face of the 40 minute estimated build time on the box and finely sanding, staining and finishing every piece, cleaning up all the joins and glues and really making something of it.
Later she intends to carve tiny skulls out of clay to launch and also she plans to launch cat treats across the room for funsies.
Need some stuff designed or printed? I can help with that.
Need some stuff designed or printed? I can help with that.
This is definitely true for understanding shapes and light and shade and objects really look/work.
Another technical aspect that's important for architects and engineers is linework development, and I'd suggest that here it might be helpful to look at pictures and sketches from other artists. Observing their choices can lead you to understand the effects of different kinds of mark-making. Also trying to draw from life AND get your fine-motor skills to behave can be frustrating, so one option is to also copy other drawings or sketches from expert artists. This means they have done most of the hard work for you (ie reducing a complex 3D scene/object to 2D lines), but it's not a bad exercise for training your hands to be able to reproduce what your brain wants.
I dunno about super long, but I had an old illustrated version of Robinson Crusoe when I was a kid which had a very comprehensive guide to making your own completely wooden crossbow. (To the chagrine of 8-year-old me, and the heartfelt thanks of everyone else, my parents wouldn't give me any material for the string which could be adequately tensioned to provide any serious force, and I wasn't psychotic enough to eviscerate a local cat). Anyway, I'd probably look for similar projects (online perhaps) which have detailed instructions but don't come with pre-built kit. She'd probably find that much more satisfying if she's into woodwork anyway.