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Actually, I believe that "gage" is more correct in this context. Sort of like grey and gray. They're both the same thing. But in my line of work I believe I see "gage" more frequently. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

I ran one large line (size 2, two conductor and a ground) and installed a subpanel in the shop with breakers for different circuits. The one relatively large run has minimal voltage drop for most of the loads I'm using, and the breakers in the subpanel protect the different sized wiring in the shop.

You will get better results if you have less of the cutter protruding from the flycutter. Preferably no more than 1/2". That may mean needing a larger flycutter body. Also, use the largest lathe bit you can. Long and skinny = bad. Short and fat = good.

You seldom get 100% pearlite or 100% martensite. If it read 62 as quenched you'd have a problematic mixture of both. If it reads 64.8 you did good. You might get that last little bit with better agitation or a faster oil, but I doubt you'd be able to tell any difference without using a...

The plunge cutting ability is cool. They show it cutting a file in half. Though they don't show the teeth afterwards. I'm pretty familiar with cutting tools, I'm skeptical that any tooth material is going to tolerate much of that. I wonder if replacement blades are reasonable?

Huh? huh1

A good rule of thumb is, if it was used to cut stuff, it will make a knife. Perhaps not a great knife, but it should be at least workable. Name brand files will probably be good. The steel in the carbide tipped saw blade did not cut stuff. Nor does a pry bar. 4140 4340 4150 will all get hard...

1095 that is testing under 60 HRC when tempered at 350 doesn't sound right. Either your tester is out of calibration or you have a pearlite problem. 1095 should be around 64-66 out of quench and should still be in the low 60's with a 400 deg temper, so I suspect you didn't get full martensite...

O1 isn't picky about oil type, but it needs a good soak at temp. Once the oven is at temp, the steel needs to hit temp. After the steel is at temp it needs to soak at least 10 min. Don't worry about over soaking it, you could leave it in there all day at temp. I'd leave it in an oven that is at...

That is a nice looking anvil. Fantastic condition. Great score. I've heard one good way to check the rebound is to drop a ball bearing on it and look at how high it returns. Good anvils are 75% rebound or better. Or so they say...

D2 isn't the best steel for forging. It can be done - but you can also teach a pig to sing... If you're not prepared to address what happens to the microstructure after forging heats, you're probably not going to make a great blade this way. If you're not prepared to address retained...

I like the medium Scotchbrite belt the best, and I think it is probably the most commonly used. It is green. Example of finish:

I my opinion, a 3HP 3PH Baldor is about ideal for a knife grinder, assuming your shop has the juice to power it. Nice score.

You shouldn't need a hammer or heat to straighten O1 from flatground, it is sphereoidized annealed tool steel, not an old leaf spring... You can usually straighten it with your hands by bridging it across two point and pressing down on the peak. Any nasty kinked steel should be returned, but...

That is probably going to be too thin. Even twice that thick is probably too thin. 1" is a good thickness, though 1/2" would probably do.

Yeah, you're gonna need to go back and look at that picture again... "Okay" isn't completely the right word here. How about "I'm glad you didn't actually lose the end of your thumb there" Damn, talk about a nail nick. .. BTW, nice vice...

Cool thread man.

4140 can not be hardened very hard. I was considering using it for some high performance hammers, but further research led me to use 4150 which is very happy in the low HRC 50's. 4140 is a medium low carbon alloy steel used for high toughness applications such as shafts like axles and other...

Oh my Cow you wouldn't believe how many people can't wrap their head around this. Yes! This is very true. This is a real issue with a drilled hole. Drilled holes are not for precision applications. In school you're taught to: 1 Spot drill (this gets the drill started accurately - the lip...

Yup, I looked it up - mid 60's if done perfectly. Ultra fine grain, too high or too low of an austenitizing temperature, too short a soak, or too slow a quench all reduce the hardenability. Large grain improves hardenability, but it is not normally done due to the detrimental effect on...