New here, a few pictures to show.

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Hello all,I have never been taught how to weld. I got a Lincoln 225 AC Machine many years ago and have taught myself how to weld with it.  Not as nice as most welds I have seen here but I KNOW they won't break. Let me know what you think of the weld in the second picture. How can I improve?Here are a few pictures of things I have made. Just want to share a little.Here is the sign I had made for the door of my shop.Here is a weld I did on a treadle hammer. Pointers/opinions? This is 1/2" thick steel plates, I even tapped the weld for a grease fitting (not that easy).Here is the headache rack I made for my truck (obviously I make knives)Here is a weld I made without a welder. I welded about 10 layers of different steels (alternating 5 of one kind and 5 of another) together at one time using Borax as flux and then using my homemade press to make the weld. Then hand forged it into the shape of a railroad spike then forged it into a knife. I etched it in ferric chloride to get the pattern.BobNear Dallas TexasLast edited by Bob Warner; 08-24-2006 at 09:26 PM.
Reply:Awesome knife, I think your welds look just puuurrrrrrfecto!!!!Miller blue star 2eLincoln 175
Reply:i love the sign on the door!!!and that spike knife looks cool as all get out!welcome aboard
Reply:From the looks of the welding I would say . ... Like everyone else here will surely tell you, looks like you understand the process ... so practice..practice..practiceAs for your handmade Railroad Spike knife ...fantastic job fine workmanship.. Kudos ............Washman
Reply:I would like to know about the borax stuff...Cause that knife looks awesome!My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:yeah, thats pretty neat. More about the knife making process please.Bill
Reply:Here's Bob's home page.  http://www.warnerknives.com/He's one of those blacksmith types. For the newbies, back in the day blacksmiths used to take weldor's money on a bet about welding steel.  Basically it went like this:  blacksmith would be the weldor he could forge weld two pieces of half inch plate together better quicker than the weldor could.  Blacksmith would start with a cold forge.Weldor would jump on it like a hen on a June bug.  He's bevel his plates and then start laying passes.Blacksmith would start the forge, get it hot, put his two pieces of plate in the fire.  He'd pull them out one at a time and hammer his bevel.  Then he'd pull them both out at the same time and hammer weld them together, perfect weld.  Weldor would still be laying passes.A perfect weld happens when two pieces of metal are welded into one.  This happens as a liquid process.  The weldor does it with his puddling.  The blacksmith does it by making the two edges to be welded wet and then they are hammered together squeezing out the impurities when done properly.What the blacksmith sees when his metal is right is the same color and texture the weldor sees in his puddle.A good blacksmith can make it look so easy.Not I, I'm to forge welding what a newbie is to stick welding 7018 up.life is good
Reply:I love the sign!I love that knife too, you don't see any damascus blades any more, well not real ones anyway. Very nice.
Reply:good stuff.. and no it wont go anywhere.....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:I just went to your site, and wow! Lots of great info there.You do amazing work, by the way.
Reply:Thanks guys you are very kind.The "Borax Stuff" is basically borax soap that you can buy at some grocery stores. It is laundry detergent. Actually it is flux that ALSO works as laundry detergent.First you need a forge, either a coal forge or in my case a propane fired forge (home made of course, including the burners). You grind all the steel bars clean (unless you've been at it a while like I have) on both sides. You then stack them up alternating the steel types. Wrap them with bailing wire to hold them together. Get them up to orange heat and sprinkle borax(flux) on them and put them back in the fire. Bring them up until the surface turns "Sweaty" and the borax is bubbling like butter in a pan. You pull it out and swing it rapidly towards the anvil. All the trash, dirt and scale fly off during the swing if you did it right. All you have to do to weld the stack together is to tap the steel together. If the steel is CLEAN, it will stick to other CLEAN steel. You just tap them together to make them touch.  The flux is used to CLEAN the steel, it acts kinda like acid when it is hot.There are rules to follow, the heat has to be hot enough or it will not weld. You have to tap it together within a couple seconds or it will not weld, etc........After it is all welded into one solid piece of steel, I twisted it (hot and fluxed). After I had it like I wanted it, I hand forged it into the shape of a railroad spike.Then I forged it into the shape of the knife.This is all VERY time consuming. I have over 40 hours in this knife. Making the steel was about 25 of them.It is easier and cheaper to practice on REAL railroad spikes to get the knifemaking process down.  The steel is not good for knives but they make good mantle pieces.Here is one from a regular spike.Here is one from a regular spike but the entire thing is polished (not chromed like I am often asked).You also need to learn how to heat treat properly or it is all a waste of time. Here is a knife differentially heat treated. The blade is hard steel and the spine is softer steel. Heat treating is the key ingredient to making a quality knife.Hope this all makes sense.Bob
Reply:Man nice class....I love your work. You might wanna send some to OCC to replace that knife that Rick put on his chopper lolKeep posting such neat stuff!My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:Nice run down on the processes you deal with Bob. Excellent craftsmanship too.
Reply:Here are a few more pictures of things I made for my shop.This is the grinder I use to make knives.Here is a complete picture of the treadle hammer I made. I showed the weld in the second picture of the original post.Here is my hydraulic press I built for making damascus. This is the new way to forge weld steel. The small forge to the left of the press is what I built to heat the steel. You can heat up a bar of steel until it starts dripping.Here is how I used to do it. Notice the splatter flying out? That is the flux being squeezed from between the metal bars when I hit it with the hammer. That is my ugly mug in there also, nice legs huh?I have not made anything in almost a year due to some SOB t-boning me with his Surburban. He was doing 45mph (about) and so was I. He hit me on the left side. I was on a motorcycle and he wiped me out. He left the scene and was never caught.  That was November 1st, 2005 and I am just now walking. Broke my left leg into over 50 pieces.My son has been helping me redo my shop so I can work soon. I have to rebuild my grinder so I can grind sitting down. I had to sell the press and treadle hammer to make ends meet. I got fired from my job for not being able to return to work, lost my insurance at the same time. Things kinda suck right now.I dug out a hoist I had in a box for a few years and mounted it in the attic so I can pick up heavy things and put them on the welding table that I will need to build. It will be easier to push a button than to tear up my leg trying to pick up heavy stuff.I need to get a new welder. Thinking of a mig but don't know if they will do the trick like my Lincoln 225. May get an AC/DC machine if I can't find a mig that I can afford or trade for.Can anyone tell me the minimum MIG I would need for welding up heavy tools like the press? It is built and tested to handle three 25 ton cylinders. Should I just get an AC/DC stick and blow off the MIG? I have never used anything except the AC stick. I played with a MIG at another guys shop once but just on a couple small pieces of scrap, not sure how they would hold up on bigger stuff.Anyone in the Dallas area? If so, do you know anyone wanting to get rid of a welder I could use for my kind of welding?
Reply:Hey, Bob, have you ever vistited Montana on a motorcycle?
Reply:No I have not. I bet it would be a great ride.
Reply:Originally Posted by Bob WarnerNo I have not. I bet it would be a great ride.
Reply:Great tread, I love seeing things that come out of the forge.  That is true craftsmanship.  I made a forge but have never used it, I don't think it;ll work very well.  I don't have an anvil either.    I hope you get your shop rolling again and turning out these wonderful knives.DewayneDixieland WeldingMM350PLincoln 100Some torchesOther misc. tools
Reply:Wow Bob what an interesting post. So much skill and quality involved here.  Some of the best quality I've ever seen. Really enjoyed seeing the tooling you made and as for the welding, I had the same welding machine your using at one time and those welds are fantastic compaired to the ones I had with the same machine. Very interesting to see all you work. Welcome aboard. Look forward to seeing more of your work in the future. PaulMiller 302 Trailblazer/Custom TrailerMillermatic 350P/Spool gunMillermatic 252Miller Spectrum 875Miller Dynasty200DxHypertherm Powermax 85Tracker CNC 4X8 Pro Table (Down Draft)Visit us @ www.specialtyrepairscustommods.com
Reply:Excellent craftmanship, Bob. Do you make knives from old,rusty steel wire rope? I worked w/ a guy 15 years ago who made knives from it and he made beautiful,very durable knives from it. I don't have time to go to your site right now, but you can bet I will.                     MikeOl' Stonebreaker  "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"Hobart G-213 portableMiller 175 migMiller thunderbolt ac/dc stick Victor O/A setupMakita chop saw
Reply:Bob,your knives are real beauties.  I wish I had that kind of artistic tallent.  I live near a railroad repair station (where they dump thier used spikes, plates, and stuff).  Now, every time I go by there, I am going to see a big pile of knives.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:Wow  Bob  Very Nice   Job Well Done
Reply:wroughtn_harv:We only live about 6 miles from each other. I am in the country between Nevada and Lavon.elvergon:Did the Borax explaination make sense?littlefuzz:I would be interested in seeing your forge. Maybe I can help you make it work  right. Have you tried using it at all? Maybe it is already perfect. Why do you not think it will work well? As for an anvil, what do you plan on making? You may not need much of an anvil, especially if you want to make knives. Let me know your goals, maybe I can help.mla2ofus:Yes, I have used wire rope. I forge welded about 30 pieces (about a foot long) together once and then cut the end off. That left a piece of steel that looked like a honeycomb on the end. I then made a stock removal knife out of it. It was really cool. The crud, grease and dirt all burn out in the forge so it really is not much of a concern except to flux it relly well to get the crap out.  During welding you go from one end of the piece to the other and squeeze the remaing crap out as you go. If you are lucky you get no inclusions of crud in your piece.
Reply:Bob,Welcome aboard. I am east of you. You really do good looking work. Looking forward to seeing more of it.Rick
Reply:Very impressive Bob, blades have that Damascus steel look to 'em. And your weld looks o.k. to me.   Burn -n- Learn!WeldtekYouve got some nice stuff there,,Im curious about your home made "grinder",,is it a linisher or a grinder,,and why didnt you just buy a commercially made one????Theres no such thing as scrap metal,its all good.
Reply:This grinder is called a belt grinder. I bought the wheel assembly and the frame for the grinder pre-made and built the rest. The cost of belt grinders is very high and I don't like spending a lot of cash on something I can build or "Finish" building or something I can modify for my use.Burr King, Wilton and bader are popular knifemaking grinders but all come with very high price tags.
Reply:ok,thanks for that.Ive never seen anything quite like them before,yours is pretty cool.Youve done some very nice work,,your pics are great.Ive been thinking of making a throwing axe one day,,youve inspired me further.Theres no such thing as scrap metal,its all good.
Reply:hey Bob good to see you out and about more ..... welcome to the other forum!!good bunch of guys over here. ... glad I am not the only pounder of shap and pointy thing here any more.MPHeat it and Beat it!!!http:www.Fallinghammerproductions.com
Reply:Hey MP,Still having a heck of a time doing the physical stuff but learning from others here will get me ready if I ever get healed up enough to start building stuff again. It may have to be small stuff but I will get back out in the shop and get productive. My goal is to build something useful before I pass my one year aniversary. I will probably have to sit 90% of the time but I will do something. It has been 10 months, I am getting anxious to DO SOMETHING.Bob
Reply:Bob Nice work,Lots of good info i have been welding for 22 yrs and never knew much about what a blacksmith did in the earlier days of metal history you have explained it well thank you.I have been thinking of getting an anvil in my shop as i dont have one are the ones sold by gizzlt tools any good do you know?Or has anyone here bought one ? thanks for any replies in advance
Reply:I am not familiar with the Grizzly anvils but I know the Harbor Freight ones are bad.It really depends on what you want to do with the anvil. If you want to forge knives or other small items you can just use a large hunk of steel from the scrap yard. I have a piece of steel that is about 6" thick and 8"x8" (odd shaped but that is close) that would work as a makeshift anvil.A railroad track works fine for a LOT of knifemakers and other small forge projects. Just mill the top flat.As for real anvils, Peter Wright anvils are maybe the most popular but hard to find. If you live in the country you can get them from farms at estate sales sometimes. If you live in the city it will be hard to get one.I heard that John Deer stores sell them but am not sure of the quality.A good anvil will run about $3.00-$3.50 per pound (or more lately) so they get expensive very quickly.Anvils on ebay have proven to be terrible. Every person I know that bought an anvil on ebay are disapointed. Mostly because they did not do their homework and bought a hunk of junk. If the "Face" of the anvil is not flat, look for another. If there are broken chunks missing, pass on it because it was abused or "Shot" into the air at an anvil shoot. Which is placing an anvil upside down and filling the void below (Carved in) with black powder then placing a second anvil on top then ignighting the power and SHOOTING the anvil upwards. Not good for anvils.Anyway, tell me what your goals are and maybe I can help you decide what you need and help review any prospects you may find.I'd trade my like new 75lb farriers anvil for a welder if I could. It is valued at $300 because of its condition. I need a new welder and don't need the anvil anymore, my forging days are over I think. I may change my mind after a little more rehab but it does not look promising.
Reply:I have a railroad track anvil. My grandfather cut it many years ago. He even managed to make a nice point on one end. I thought it was cool, and it gets beat on alot. It's kind of neat to find out that track anvils are actually acceptable to a blacksmith .
Reply:Bob,I looked at the grinder it looks just like the KMG grinder from Beaumont Metal Works, did you copy his design??  I was thinking about making one too. If so, did you right down any of the measurements.  I've tried to figure it out from pictures of the product off of his site.The knives look good.  I dabble a little in making knives but really need a good belt grinder.Michael
Reply:Very nice work. I had a welder working with me last year that made some nice knifes as well. Here's his link. http://www.crookedcreekknives.com/
Reply:Michael,It is a KMG. I bought the wheel and body (the basic grinder) and I added the motor, controller, built the stand and set it all up myself the way I wanted it. A lot of people just buy the whole shootin match from Rob.There is not that much to it but without a lathe, you may as well buy it. The contact wheel, the drive wheel and the tracking wheel are all different so you have to buy them all or get them made somewhere (if you don't have a lathe). Then you have to have the contact wheel covered because I do not know how to do that (Yet).  By now you have spend almost enough to buy it from rob. That is why I bought what I did, it was cost efficient.Bob
Reply:Thanks Bob,That's kinda of what I was thinking.  I happen to have enough aluminum plate to make the basic grinder along with a motor on the shelf.  I really just need the wheels and the tracking assembly.  Think I might be doing the same.Michael
Reply:I always liked that question " why didn't you just buy one". Because I needed it to make the other things that were almost perfectly what I wanted,almost.
Reply:Oh ya, and very nice work. Waiting to see more of it.
Reply:I think my first project back in the shop will be a wood burning heater. I have designed a heater that I think will heat my 20X20 shop the majority of the day with only one firing. I think I figured out how to store the heat and release it slowly and also avoid the heat spike you can get during the burn. We will see how this goes. If it works as designed I will probably sell an inexpensive CD on how to build it.Maybe a ring roller after that.Got to get a better welder first.