BLACKSMITHing and Metallurgy

    Metalurgical coal is high in carbon, low ash, and low in sulpher. House
    coal is ok for heating/bending but no good for forging. Forging flux is
    white = borax (as in 20 mule team), black= borax  +  iron  filings  You
    need  tongs.  A  good  blacksmith  has  around  100  tongs  for various
    purposes & uses about 6 mainstay units in everyday  use.  Typical  ones
    are  round,  square,box,  floating  head, pipe (O, round with space for
    head of bolt etc. You need a POST VICE, so named for the post that goes
    to the ground from one  jaw  of  the  vice.  The  pounding  forces  are
    transmitted  through  the  post  into  the earth, otherwise the jaws or
    screw would fail if you used a vice like a machinists vice.  The  anvil
    has  hole-slots  for  the  "hardy(?)"  the  forming  die to shape round
    corners and other various tasks.  Ferrule  to  control  hammer  forces.
    Cross-peen  hammer  used to spread metal in certain directions. Hot cut
    hammer/chisel 1.when you want to not use a hacksaw \/  -  hardy  or  /|
    side  -cut  hardy  depending  on what you waant the end to start as. 2.
    Tappering heat/hammer. also  taper  in  a  square,  rotating  stock  90
    degrees,  taper  till you lose heat, always complete the full degree of
    taper in a square. After taper, if you want round, hit sides  to  8,16,
    and  32 sides. Use a mandril to do rounding, hit from both sides. There
    are 3 different hammer blows, shoulder, elbow,  wrist.  For  decorative
    twisting  you need a twisting wrench ( two handle equal distant opposed
    from twisted rod). Scale from heating is about 1/1,000th of an inch  of
    oxidised  metal,  tap  or  brush off. Chain making = forge welding. Use
    chain link tongs for holding curved round  stock.  Clean  the  surfaces
    with  flux (see above for what flux is) Make the chain in sets of three
    links. Make two seperate links and then join with a link.  Lapping  the
    rounded  end,  called  faggot  bond/weld. HEAT TREATING Normilization =
    letting the metal cool slowly next to the  forge.  Quenching  causes  a
    hard  but brittle surface. Good for knives and chisels. Old car springs
    are .7-.8% carbon. Metalneeds to be .4% carbon for annealing. When  you
    quench  high  carbon  steel  it  becomes hard and brittle. Tempering is
    cooling the area, letting it warm up from the heat in  the  balance  of
    the  metal  (warm  as  the  colors  change)  and  then quenching. Blue,
    peacock, straw, and rainbow progression. Quench when straw  colored  at
    end.  PUCNHING  1/2"  hole  in  a 1/2" bar. Either punch which losses a
    small disk of metal, or chisel and punch which  has  no  loss.  A  good
    forge  weld  has  60%  of  metal  strength.  Good book ELEMENTARY FORGE
    PRACTICE - John Lord Bacon. Out of print but good PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF
    BLACKSMITH AND METAL WORK - Blandford.