Does it need more airflow (oxygen)?
Could a hair dryer on cold or a hoover on blow be directed at the underside of the grate?
Weather forecast for the next week says 80mph winds, so maybe the chimney will draw better with these.
Floats
- Thread starter steve355
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Does it need more airflow (oxygen)?
Could a hair dryer on cold or a hoover on blow be directed at the underside of the grate?
Weather forecast for the next week says 80mph winds, so maybe the chimney will draw better with these.
niall Y
Established Member
I think this is a case of "suck it and see" . I've easily been able to heat metal up for hardening with a Mapp Gas torch and a few refractory bricks.
Me too, I have done no end of plane blades. And about 10 floats previously.
The difference here is that these floats are quite thick at 1/4” and the cutting surface is long - about 6”. So to get it to a consistent temp across the whole blade isn’t so easy. Ideally the entire float blade would be raised to a consistent temperature.
niall Y
Established Member
I see your point, regarding the size, A larger torch, or even a pair of them should allow you to reach the heat required.
Some large scrapers I made out of 1/4 inch stock i slowly bought to temperature in a coke forge, I improvised. I had a large steel tube that I buried its whole length in the pile of coke which allowed me to easily slide the scrapers in and out of the fire and bring their whole length to even temperature.
EDIT. Just found a photo of the forge used in this way
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Well, I worked it out….
I repurposed the box I made that was supposed to be a propane forge, as a charcoal forge using a heat gun as the air source. Easily got my floats up to 790 C, quenched then into a big vice to reduce any warpage. Job done - tempering next.
I’m sure it wasn’t perfect and any HSE police around would have arrested me, but needs must.
i must make a forge for blacksmithing when the weather gets better, I'm sure its loads of fun.
I repurposed the box I made that was supposed to be a propane forge, as a charcoal forge using a heat gun as the air source. Easily got my floats up to 790 C, quenched then into a big vice to reduce any warpage. Job done - tempering next.
I’m sure it wasn’t perfect and any HSE police around would have arrested me, but needs must.
i must make a forge for blacksmithing when the weather gets better, I'm sure its loads of fun.
Now cleaned up after the hardening process, sharpened and polished - there’s a limit to how beautiful I have time to make them but they are looking fairly nice.
A couple of lessons from the hardening process, I really need to get a proper forge for hardening, it wasn’t really big enough which led to some floats being heat treated better than others. Also, I need a decent pair of tongs.
On sharpening, they are sharpenable with files, but have some spots that are pretty hard. Next time (if there is a next time), I will concentrate more on the tempering stage.
Next, handles.
A couple of lessons from the hardening process, I really need to get a proper forge for hardening, it wasn’t really big enough which led to some floats being heat treated better than others. Also, I need a decent pair of tongs.
On sharpening, they are sharpenable with files, but have some spots that are pretty hard. Next time (if there is a next time), I will concentrate more on the tempering stage.
Next, handles.
niall Y
Established Member
A good job well done. They are looking very nice and tidy. I saw some of these for sale on a website in the USA. They had rather arty, slightly hooked. aluminium handles and were being sold for about $85 each
I’ll finish shaping the handles in the morning and get some finish on them.
Yes they typically sell for about £80 each, and altogether now I’ve made 21! Probably cost me £80 altogether in metal.
Handles all chamfered and the bottom rounded for comfort during use.
I didn’t have any beech, I didn’t want to use oak, so I’ve popped down to my local and bought a small plank of meranti. I think it was a mistake, it is too soft. I don’t know if they will ask very long. Never mind, if they get wobbly, I will replace them with beech.
My finishing stand
I didn’t have any beech, I didn’t want to use oak, so I’ve popped down to my local and bought a small plank of meranti. I think it was a mistake, it is too soft. I don’t know if they will ask very long. Never mind, if they get wobbly, I will replace them with beech.
My finishing stand
Orraloon
Established Member
Great job on the floats and a really good thread with good information.
Regards
John
Regards
John
Thanks John. I should point out, that it’s perfectly possible to make floats using a hacksaw a triangular file, and a lot of elbow grease - rather like sharpening a very thick saw. Traditionally they would have been shop made by hand by the planemakers themselves. Obviously you won’t get the level of accuracy that you get with machining or neatness, But you don’t need to go out and buy a milling machine to make floats. There are a couple of videos on YouTube of people doing this, one in particular by a user called Rough Cut.
The first few floats I tried to make were by hand, the edge floats (like the floats above) were ok, but the side floats, where you have to file across the face of the metal rather than the edge - well, they would be a job for for the apprentice. Very laborious and hard work. That’s when I gave up and started milling them by machine.
Adam W.
A Major Clanger
Is it not the flatness and alignment of the teeth that matters rather than the precise spacing of the teeth ?....If you get my drift?
It is indeed, if your float isn’t straight, your mortise won’t be straight either. In fact one thing I didn’t show above (because it takes two hands to do it I think ) was the step where I jointed the floats with a flat file, then sharpened them and shaped the first tooth on the grinding wheel.
But mine being cut by machine, they were mostly pretty straight. There was a slight bit of adjustment to do at the ends with a file.
