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I try to open a project in the PDF format using the Download Button but it doesn't download, it will popup asking me if I want to save it and once I do it saves as an "all Files" not a PDF.

Welcome to the community for Blacksmiths, Knifemakers, and Metal workers! This is a topic forum for people interested in the arts of Forging, and working with metal to make beautiful and exiting projects. In this forum people can ask questions, give suggestions and ideas, and even feature some projects that they may have made! Whether it's a question about normalizing a blade, or a suggestion that may get your creativity sparked; this is the place for makers of the art of Blacksmiths, Knifemakers, and Metal workers. Share your questions, thoughts, projects, and ideas now!

I think this is the place where I can make a reqest... I would very much like to see an e-book about metalworking, smithy, etc etc... You get my point... Having that on this site would be very very very veryyy helpful!

Any suggestions for assembling found objects (cans, screws, bolts, etc.) robot sculptures?  Welding, soldering (if so, wattage for the iron?), other?  Total newbie, but I want to experiment.

Hi, I recently saw some awesome instructables but they all require some knowledge of metalworking. I was hoping if someone could help point me in the right direction to begin metalworking like if you know any good beginner books or articles could you tell me. Thanks for any help. P.S: I'm not sure if this is the right section to post this, sorry if I posted it in the wrong place.

I was cutting an iron L rod, and the cutting disk began to produce red sparks, instead of these habitual bright orange. Simultaneously, its cutting effectiveness was down dramatically. I searched in the web, and learned that this phenomen is named crystallization,and it is due to overheating. Now, my disk is a new one, I want not throw it to the waste. Any idea how to get it back? THANKS IN ADVANCE!

I've been searching and reading on how to etch aluminum.  I've tried the photo paper toner transfer numerous times, but the toner does not stick to my aluminum plate.  I've gone over with my iron so many times while putting extreme amounts of pressure on it, but no matter what I cannot get the toner to stay on my aluminum plate.  Can someone please help me, or let me know a better way of doing this!! Thank you!

have always been making things from instructables, but i was limited to office warfare type things knex etc. I have always taken interest in what my dad is doing in the garage. From making me bb gun targets to welding brackets on my bmx bike. My dad was really happy when i started to take an interest in welding. I welded for the first time tonight. He was impressed with me. He said that i can already weld better than a lot of people he knows. this was just something i tacked together.

I want to make the can flat and not have the raised worls ALTOIDS on it how can I do in

I want to engrave a design into a block of aluminum with my Dremel. It needs to be about 1/16" deep and 1/16" wide and consists of curves and lines. What is the best bit to use?

What could be more personal for your DIY wedding than making your own wedding rings?  If you happen to be in New York you might check it out the workshop. http://www.newyorkweddingring.com/

I have 2 very boring old brass spittoons I'm converting into planters. Is there chemical compound or something else I can apply to the brass to change the appearance?  I'd like to jazz them up without using paint. Any ideas?

I have a stainless steel filing cabinet painted khaki. I want to remove the paint and give the underlying steel a mirror finish. Removing the paint is not a problem. The problem is I don't know how to give it a mirror finish. The finish I want is so that I would be able to see my reflection just as if I were looking in a normal mirror. Here's an example of what I'm trying to achieve, starting from an old, painted filing cabinet. If I could make it look that good or better, I'd be satisfied. I have tried several methods which I found on the internet but none of them seem to be working. I have tried sanding by hand starting at 60 grit and going up to 220 with regular sandpaper. I have also tried using emory sandpaper which says it is for metal. I used coarse up to fine. Neither of these are resulting in a mirror finish. With the regular sandpaper, after using the 220, I can sort of see my face if I get really close and look at it from exactly the right angle, but can't make out any features. I also tried using various dremel tools attached to my electric drill. These give a much different finish than what I am trying to achieve. It ends up looking like brushed aluminum. You can't see a reflection in this because it's too diffused. Then I tried using a sandpaper wheel attached to my angle grinder. The sandpaper wheel was made up of many sheets of sandpaper, shaped into a wheel. It sort of worked, but was very uneven. I could see my reflection in little parts but most of the rest of it was scratched up.Then I tried using a belt sander, using paper from 50 up to 120. The result was similar to a stainless steel refrigerator, but messier. There were a lot of lines or grooves, and they were not straight. So the best I have achieved so far is a finish close to that of a new stainless steel refrigerator or stove, where you can't see your reflection, but the sanding grooves are clean and straight. I got this through a combination of the angle grinder, the belt sander, and hand sanding from 60 to 220. I also tried a small section purely by hand, using regular sandpaper from 60 to 150 and got slightly better results - meaning there are fewer lines. But the reflection is still barely visible; it's still way too cloudy. These results could look nice but they're not what I want. I'm really trying to get the perfect mirror finish. I've tried to upload pictures of what I've got so far. Don't know if they will make it into this question or not.

Hello to everyone who took the time to read this update/list. So I have not forgotten about my promise to upload the Solidworks files and cutting plans. However that will be taking a backseat to finals until summer break. I will however go ahead and list off the items finished, in progress, on hold, or currently only in Solidworks form. Finished -6in Axe: 3lb head on an oak clad 1/4in steel flat bar about 20in long total -3in Tomahawk/Axe: 1.25lb head on a para cord wrapped 1/4in steel flat bar about 20in long total -27in BoneSplitter: 3.2lb aluminium reinforced steel construction. -18in BoneCracker: 2lb aluminium reinforced steel construction. -18in All steel BoneCracker: 3.5lb steel reinforced steel construction. More square handle and better center of balance than previous version In progress -10in Bearded Axe: 3.25lb head. To be mounted on oak clad 1/4in steel flat bar handles 18in, and 30in long. -10in blade Pugio: Model made of mild steel for practice and training. Needs to have bevels, and fullers ground plus handle and guard mounted. -8in blade Pugio: Model made of mild steel for practice and training. Needs to have concave edges, bevels, and fullers ground plus and guard mounted. On hold -14in Blade tester: Simple test bed modeled after BoneSplitter to test viability of various band saw blades(Metal and Wood cutting) for use as cutting edge for mild steel blade carriers. On hold due to the band saw blades being too hard to drill through. Only existing as Solidworks files --27in Revised BoneSplitter: 4.5lb Aluminium reinforced steel construction. Better center of mass and more square handle than MY           previous version. --37in blade Bastard sword: Aluminium reinforced steel construction. Should be very close in terms of center of balance and stiffness when compared to its hardened steel companions.  --20in blade Stacked steel Gladius: Twin riveted steel support plates with detoothed metal cutting bands saw blade used for striking edges.  --blade Hispaniensis Gladius: Single piece of metal for the blade. --blade Cinquedea: Single piece of metal for blade. Multi fuller blade. --8in blade Pugio curved: Same as other 8in Pugio except for the convex curved dagger tip --14in blade Spear from Fullmetal Alchemist: May upload the variant of this in which the "wings" are separate pieces of metal. --3.25in square Warhammer: 8.5lb head Assembled from 13 1/4in steel plates pinned together. Front is covered in 3/8in spikes poking through a steel striking face to prevent separation of the plates. Back end is a 4in spike. --5.25 square Warhammer: 16.25lb head Assembled from 21 1/4in steel plates pinned together. Front is covered in 3/8in spikes poking through a steel striking face to prevent separation of the plates. Back end is a 4in spike. --Straight edged War Axe: 7lb head Inspired by Ironclad Industries' Riftclaw. Made from 7 1/4in steel plates pinned together. I am aware that the riveted and pinned construction of these items makes them inherently less durable and less corrosion resistant than single piece construction. However I am a college student who is working with mostly scraps and whatever has to be purchased. Since mild steel thick enough to carve the Warhammers or War Axe is not common scrap material around the college's machine shop the only way to economically create them is to use stacked plate construction. As for the BoneSplitter, BoneCracker, and Bastard sword the stacked plate construction is used to both reduce the weight of the item and stiffen it at the same time.  

Ok, so it's that time of the year - picking 9th grade courses. I'm signing up for all gifted (higher than honors) academic classes, but am stuck on my electives.To get into universities and colleges in Georgia, I have to take 2 sequential years of either French or Spanish. My mom says Spanish is easier, like I'm sure most people would. I don't really care about speaking fluently in either language; I just need to go to college.What would you say would be the easiest to get through?So, I guess all of y'all know that I aspire to go into the mechanical engineering field. High school is a good place to start out, but I've come upon another bump in the road: Should I go with the metalworking classes, or the engineering (and technology) ones?I've always wanted to be able to weld, and I'm sure that's a major skill when it comes to engineering. Classes that my future school offers include Intro to Metalworking, Arc Welding, GMAW and GTAW (which I won't take), Intro to Milling (which includes using a lathe and a CNC machine), and a sheet metal class. The engineering class covers things like CAD, CAM, CNC, robotics, audio and visual productions, and other technology things.I think the metalworking would be best for me - I'm more of a hands-on person; i.e., I like tangent things, not doing "theoretical" things on a computer, though I know all of the CAD stuff would be very useful.I'd like to take all of it if I could, but that's only possible by going to summer school (which costs $180 per class).Any help would be appreciated!

Our beloved Instructables members, allow us to introduce you to a New York City area resource for makers, creators and dreamers. If you haven’t heard of 3rd Ward yet, they are a member-based art and design center in Brooklyn on the forefront of creative workspace and education. Check out the recent profile in New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/03/arts/design/03third.html Just like the community that you all find on Instructables.com, 3rd Ward is a place for you to realize those DIY dreams within a supportive network. The main engine of 3rd Ward is the Memberships, which are open to all and offer discounted or free enrollment in their multidisciplinary class series. Classes are taught by industry professionals, ready to school you just in time for that new project. You can choose to craft an electronic sculpture from start to finish in Handmade Circuits, bring rock and roll back to life in Electric Guitar Rescue, bring out your inner bad ass in Night Welding or 150 other paths to creative bliss. Check out the full class catalog at http:// www.3rdward.com/classes/. 3rd Ward is already a hub for New York area artists and craftspeople. Now, they’re inviting you to join the movement. As an offer to Instructables members: when you sign up for a 12-month Membership with 3rd Ward before November 20th- your first month is FREE. To claim your free month and schedule your tour of 3rd Ward, visit http:// www.3rdward.com/takeatour and enter promo code INSTRUCTABLES. 

I've switched over to everything metric, but one problem still remains: I can't find metric drill bits. Is there a good set of metric drill bits that are on par with Dewalt's Titanium or Cobalt Drill bits? I mainly work with stainless steel and 6061 aluminum. 

I have been looking around and am unable to find any instructions on how to make axes from scratch (i.e. making the metal part, probably with sand casting or forging and working) I dont mind what sort of axe whether it be full sized two handed, or a small hatchet type. Can anyone do an instructable or give me a link to one that I may have missed? Thanks

I have this industrial turbines and fan motors. They are 3 phase (I have 3 phase), 3/4hp and 1,5 hp respectively. Do you have any ideas? Thanks! I'm new to the forum, I'm from Argentina and work doing industrial installations. Love metal and woodworking.

I'm trying to build a "on body" harness rig and I need to find some sort of joint connector that allows the steel tube to rotate up and down. It should rotate like a beach chair or the lid on a laptop, but I need it to lock in place where ever I stop rotating it. The circumference of the steel tubing is about the circumference of a finger.  The steel is also lightweight and almost feels like aluminum. Does anyone know where would I find a steel tube joint connector that would do the trick?

I found a website that most of us will find very useful. It is the Encyclopedia of Homemade Tools (homemadetools.net). It has lots of projects for do-it-yourselfers. 

Well, I made my first lost wax casting yesterday using lead, and a Plaster of Paris mold. It worked great, except that I didn't have enough lead. But, after searching on the great web, I realized that the wax I used was much harder than what the sculptors use. Why is this? Is it a different type of wax? I searched Google, and couldn't find anywhere to get the wax I needed. Maybe I typed in the wrong name. I don't know. I'd much rather use my own wax, as my mom has a stockpile of large-er sized candles that softened and deformed in the Florida sun. How would I soften it, other than heating it in water? Is that water method thing how they normally do it? I'm really into melting metal, and want to do more casting, so can someone help?

Hello to anyone who follows me. Yes I am still alive. Now the reason I am posting this is because I feel like I need to give back to the community I have been using/involved with for years now. Not the craft community but the Knex community here. Many of them have moved on from Knex since starting college and so have I. Mostly do to the lack of space and already messy room. So in order to give back I have come up with a better more interesting method. Instead of using Oblivitus's method of making the Knex guns in a CAD program I will instead be giving you the plans and basic instructions to make weapons/props inspired by Nonleathalbychoice.  This being said unlike the Knex guns these items are going to be less accessible, more difficult, and dangerous. To do these things it will help to have a computer with Solidworks 2014 on it. Later I will post PDFs of the cutting plans in order to reach a wider audience. That being said  some of the projects were  and will be inspired by scrap metal I found and will be costly and wasteful to replicate. However I believe that the raw materials for 4 of the projects came in at under $100 total. So still cheaper than many of the larger Knex guns. Also I probably wont be posting these things as step by step instructions since most of these items are made by just cutting out sheet/bar metal. Any advanced instructions will be noted. The time frame for these instructions is going to be very slow due to college. Expect maybe 1  a month if even that.  I will try to inform you of changes and fixes as soon as they become apparent to me.  Also I am first writing this after only an hour of sleep. So if any of you spot grammatical errors please point them out to me.

What kind of respirator would be good for filtering the fumes from melting aluminum? Would a regular paint one work?

Hello everybody, I was just wondering who would be interested in a tech shop/ space starting in Alberta, Canada. I live there and am looking to start a business possibly just looking for interest. It would include metalworking ie water jet and lathe work, woodworking ie table saw band saw and router, 3d printing and cad design team, laser cutting with its own team, teaching about coding and Arduino and micro controllers. If you are interested comment below. Also, anyone interested in funding a kick starter comment too :)

When I got a new can of propane, for my torch, it was $9. At wally world, it was $4. Then, when I went to get a can of cooking stove propane from the camping department (at wal-mart), I notice that the tank was $3. After getting home, I noticed that the threads were exactly the same, and that the torch head would screw onto the neck of the "camp propane" bottle. So, as anyone would do, I fired it up, and it worked! Of course, it would shut off it you tilted it too far, but what the heck! $3 for a can of propane. But then I thought "Why is this so cheap, and why haven't I heard of this before? Is ther something wrong with this? Will I blow myself up?!?!?! Anyway, I'm all for saving $2, or $6 (depending on where I go), so is this actually a reasonable way of saving money?So what I'm asking:-Is this way safe? I haven't fired it up since, in case it did something bad.-Why is it so cheap to but it that way, and so expensive to buy regular tanks?-Has anyone else done this?If anyone can help, it'd be appreciated.

Is it possible to to color pain houper tube by anodizing?

I'm trying to make a sculpture by soldering copper/brass rods together, but when I try to make one joint, it melts all the surrounding joints. I tried putting on some heatsink tweezers but they weren't effective. It's going to be quite complex, so clamping the whole thing and soldering all the joints at once won't be practical. Any tips for making a better heatsink? Should I just solder faster? At the moment I'm letting the metal get really really hot because I guessed it would make a better joint, but maybe I'm overdoing it?

Every day on my way to and from school I have to walk a long way to the bus stop, and i often come too late because i miss the bus. the way is asphalt-only, but there are some small stones on the sidewalk too. I was wondering if I could build a jig attachable to any shoe that had 3 or more wheels on it, so I could skate to the bus stop and not be late. The wheel jig should be able to hold quite some weight because of my backpack and should be able to fit inside it for me to take it to school. I cant take a skateboard or scooter because I don't have any and it's not allowed to chain it to the bus stop and I don't even have a lock or a bike. I have access to the local skateboard shop as well as the hardware store and a Tailor and carpenter too (if leather or string or even wood is needed), and also to the local supermarket. Thanks!!

So I've been experimenting with building a mini foundry made out of steel cans. I've experimented with several different fuels, fuel injection systems, oxygen injection systems, crucibles, and different metals. However, the only metal I've ever been able to melt with it is zinc. (if you don't know, zinc doesn't take alot to melt; only about 700F) My target metals are aluminum and copper, but despite over a year of experimenting, I've never been able to melt either. I would like to know what I'm doing wrong, or what I could do better. Here's the rundown of the furnace's construction: The fuel I'm currently using is propane. The foundry isn't big, (you could fit it in a backpack) so I just use propane canisters for torches with a normal output line on the end. The line runs to a small piece of glass laboratory tubing with a tiny nozzle on the end which is about 1 mm in diameter. The propane shoots out as a stream and mixes with air utilizing the venturi effect. The propane mix then shoots into a large metal pipe about 2 cm in diameter. It then bends up at a 90 degree angle and enters the furnace, which is in essence, a steel can with a hole in the bottom. inside this is a steel can cut in half with a thick wire through it to suspend it above the burner.  So what could be improved? When I run it at full blast, the whole furnace glows orange, but no metal melting happens...

Hey guys/girls, I need some assistance. for my Year 10 metalwork major, im going to attempt to make a jet engine powered gokart. I need some assistance with the plans for it. I need to find a way to make a gokart frame, acceleration and brakes, and a working jet engine powerful enough to propel the kart. any ideas are welcome, no matter how weird :) cheers 

HOW CAN I MAKE A SIMPLE METAL LATHE TO DO HOBBY WORK IN MY SHOP PS. I DONT OWN A BANK AND CAN PRETTY MUCH DO ANYTHING WITH TOOLS ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED CHEERS!

Other than knitting and sewing what would be crafts? I do woodworking ,metalworking as craft ,i do not think that those would quantify for this. Any ideas ? to expand this ie. leatherwork? wood carving? I am the guy that build stuff not the guy that thought it up.

Ive been experimenting with a cone in a barrel type concept for opening, closing the jaws, but its not working,i specify wood because metalwork is not my forte niether is my tooling geared for metal.

Hi, i've been working on a spring loaded arm mechanism and ran into a problem. i need to join metal(1mm thick) onto another sheet in a sort of T shape. Gorilla glue brand epoxy has failed me. Any suggestions? 

I have a reasonable variety of woodworking tools, metalworking tools including a lathe. I'm 18 and consider myself pretty good at practical things, I'm looking for something labour-intensive that doesn't cost very much and I'd like to have something interesting at the end of it. Any ideas are welcome :)

Ha, got yer attention with that subject didn't I?But it's true. Check out Margeaux Lange's site for more pictures. These are strangely gorgeous...Clearly she's got the jewelry-making skills to do a top-notch job but I think someone with as much imagination but less metalworking skill could do a reasonable imitation.

I am interested in making a forge, and I think the pressure cooker would be a good idea. Am I wrong? Any information would be helpful. It is 18 inches across. Thanks EDIT: I am looking for a metalworking forge

Can anyone out there tell me "how to" flatten an ordinary house key??? I have been wanting to do a project for many years with keys flattened like the pennies we used to put on railway tracks. i have asked at machine shops and metal workers and EVERYONE says it can't be done... that of course just makes me want it to happen even more!!! thanks, Karen

On the Chilean TV show Hagalo Usted Mismo (Do it yourself) it is showed how to make a combination of an oven and a grill using a 55 gallon (200 liters) steel drum. Although it is in Spanish, the video shows how to make it step by step. An important note mentioned in the video is that the drum must previously stored non toxic products.

Okay my cousin runs a back alley street racing competition and i've been test driving some of the racers for off road and my cousin wants me to enter but his car got smashed up pretty bad and we can't repare it so in need to build one  

My skills include: Woodworking, Metalworking, Music, Programming, Science, Electronics What I'd like to make for someone: https://www.instructables.com/id/Build-Your-Own-816-bit-Sculptures/ One of those I'd be willing to make this size gift package for someone (choose all that apply): S, M, L I'd be willing to receive a smaller or larger size gift package from someone than the one I make for someone else: Only smaller or equal to. What I like: Woodworking, Metalworking, Music, Programming, Science, Electronics What I don't like: Plants, anything made by Apple, Knex I absolutely can't have: No obvious weapons (knives, guns, etc.), pointer type laser devices (No pen shaped ones.), due to Aussie customs Type of thing I'd love to receive: High voltage sparky things, Lasers,  anything with pretty lights or functionality. Would you be willing to ship to an address outside your own country? Sure! Confirm that are at least 18 years old or, if not, that you have the approval of a parent or guardian: Yep, got permission from my parents.

My friend that weighs 300+ pounds wants me to make him a bike. I have been looking around on the web and have been having trouble finding some plans that are not to complicated. In the end i would like to put a 5hp motor on it. I have about 3 years experence of highschool metalwork and mechanics and the ability to weld. Please help!!

A friend forwarded this job posting, figuring Instructables users might be interested!It sounds like a fun place to work:Lick-Wilmerding is a pretty cool high school in San Francisco. Bothour daughters went there. They have a full mandatory shop course forall students -- woodworking, metalworking, glass, architecture, etc.This is a job posting for a new tech director.Job posting info here. They also have listings for English, History, and Math teaching positions.

Its a very small lathe which seems to be used for detailed metal work, my dad found it in the dump years ago( not his current job, it was years ago) and i decided to take a look at it. i have the original box with the original tools ect and it works! so if someone could give me a value on it or any lathe projects ( for one of this size) i would be very thankfull.

Just thought it was worth asking with the wealth of expertise and knowledge on here if anyone could offer any help/idea, or any words of wisdom in regards to getting me back on legs and out of my wheelchair, I will gladly consent to being a guinea pig (within reason obviously! lol).   O.K. a little bit of me & my background. I'm a 46 year old male living in the U.K, 12 years ago through no fault of my own I was ploughed down a street by a car. this left me with a compound fracture of my left leg that developed a further complication that resulted in me losing the leg below the knee the resulting infections meant it wouldn't heal . the right leg suffered 14 breaks between the knee and ankle, the ankle was broken and most of the foot. the metalwork in the leg had problems it eventually bent. i put every penny into an operation to remove a large chunk of my lateral muscle to be transplanted to the left stump to get it to heal and to have the faulty metal top of the metalwork replaced, but and I kid you not, the bolt in the right leg had the head taken off!! meaning the bolt would have to be drilled out but that would shatter the leg meaning i'd lose that leg too, the op on the stump was a failure. so what i'm hoping is some of you super brains could help design/devise a kind of prosthesis and a caliper type erm... thing, for the other leg. well I'll upload some pics and a bit more about me tomorrow. thanks for reading guys & girls.

I have this really cheap-y bowie knife I bought on a whim that I hadn't really used before now.  At first I was all happy because I had a giant bowie knife to swing at trees, but then I started to realize just how cheap-y it is: with a hard swing and something(dead tree, for example) the blade tends to bend a little..just wondering, is there any way to harden steel that would be plausible for this knife?  The blade needs work anyway so if I can harden the steel I'll just add that to the list of things....I mean I can deal with a cheap-y handle and a cheap-y guard but a cheap-y blade is kind of a problem...

I just wanted to say SOMEONE HAS TO MAKE ONE OF THESE :DAt first glance, this looks like a very well-to-do neighbourhood. One in which Formula One racing cars, private jets, speedboats and the kind of equipment that any fledgling rock band would be proud of are left lying around in the garage.In fact, these utterly realistic images are printed on plastic sheets which are stuck on garage doors - the latest craze for home owners who want to not so much keep up with, as totally freak out, the Joneses.The weather and fire-resistant prints are designed to disguise that boring, flaky, greying metalwork. Held in place by industrial strength Velcro, they are easy to change and virtually indestructible.Source