Matt Walker

If you want to stay with kaowool, Satanite is much easier to work with. It can be mixed to the consistency of drywall mud and is pretty sticky. Not lumpy like Mizzou, it's much easier to slather on. But the heat and cooling cycles will have it cracking and needing patches occasionally.

Yeah, I thought Kast-o-LIte was just a brand name of a castable refractory? But yeah I had some actual Kast-o-Lite brand in 3000 and 2600. I kinda got it backwards because I poured the 3000 first then realized I needed to reduce the inside volume by then all I had was the 2600 but it has held up great. Point being if I were to do it again I would go for the lighter and I guess better insulating 2600.

I really like my all cast-able for long jobs like making damascus. Still cast floor in mizzou. Never have to patch again. I have a rake that I scrape the floor clean after welding so I'm not picking up junk during the forging periods. It'll rake out a little floor material each time so that has to be added to occasionally. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmunsYUvA_Q

Gem of wisdom!

As a participant in the above mentioned discussion: I hope this happens. I miss Bowie's! So here is a little info about this area in case something helps you decide. Bristol Motor Speedway is 9 miles on the same road (Hwy 11E) as Rocky Mount Museum. I'm not a Nascar fan but I've heard it's the worlds fastest half mile because the track is banked so steep it's like going around in a bowl. Richard Petty driving experience? We won't be picking a race weekend because lodging prices soar and traffic can be an issue. We are close to two true TVA head water lakes, clean e

Read this http://matthewdwalker.com/damascus_notes.pdf then buy the Hrisoulas books.

Good couple of hours this evening. 16 landed, this was the biggest caught by my buddy. Just starting to get the hook jaw!

The photo posted above looks like a copy of this one https://www.anvilfire.com/bookrev/mcdonald/crusher.htm I am curious about the price since I have one I would consider selling but have no idea what they are going for?

Twisting machine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVvFLsFNwu4

Look for nickel wire. We have a local industry that makes music wire. Alan may know more about them. Looks like they are still in business https://www.mapesstrings.com . Way back when things were different I was able to get a small roll of fine nickel wire from them. We used it in damascus but I can't remember exactly how. I kinda remember the nickel was used to wrap the actual strings, like the big string on a guitar maybe. 30 years ago it was easier to just walk in a place and ask for something than it is now.

In that shop you could probably build a improved Kinyon based air hammer and a McDonald rolling mill and have money left over from the price of a Blu!

Is it 12 degrees or 12 to 1 ratio?

Ok, heard back from my guy at Modern Forge. He says the piece is consistent with what he sees there and they use a lot of FX steel. That all seems to fit with the info Alan found so fast earlier. That block would have made for a heavy lunch box on the way home!

Thanks Alan, I have no idea how you come up with stuff like that. This block had some writing on the top but it has been outside and the letters were weathered away and covered with surface rust to the point of being worthless. I sent a photo to a guy I know whom works at MF. He says it looks something that could have come from there. He will ask today what material they use most for that size die blocks. A word about Modern Forge for the rest of this forum: Alan please add or correct as you remember. Sometime maybe 15+ years back our local blacksmith guild was offered

Yeah, a 1" ball bounces nicely, not as good as my Trentons. Perfect guess Alex! Yeah Alan, since I bought it in Elizabethton I figured it most likely came from MF. But I remember the die on their big hammer being about 3 times that big. Remember it had 5 stations and seemed about the square feet of a coffee table? But that has been a long time. I wish I had a photo of us looking at that beast running. I bet we looked as if we were watching the Swedish Bikini Team! I don't guess you remember Harley mentioning what steel they use for die blocks