More Do It Yourself Propane Burners Bill Gilmour 2015-11-26 | Here is another way of making a high output propane burner for the mini foundry furnace. There are only two parts to this simple burner. By adding a screen, these can burn at good power outside the furnace. Two forms of air assist are shown, blower and compressed air.Be careful when working with propane. Make sure that connections do not leak anywhere. A soap test should be done to verify leak free assembly of the whole system from tank to burner orifice. Have a fire extinguisher, bucket of water, and a bucket of sand nearby when doing burner or foundry work.
My DIY HHO Generator And Torch Setup Bill Gilmour 2019-04-10 | Here is a video of my HHO generator and torch. The power supply, cell, reservoir, bubbler, and torch with fuel bubbler are shown. Also some examples of brazing, glass, and rock melting using the torch.
How To Make Sodium Silicate (Water Glass) Bill Gilmour 2018-12-15 | It is fairly easy to make sodium silicate and I use it for refractory purposes. It is expensive locally so I began to make my own. In this video I use silica gel cat litter and liquid lye sold locally as BBQ cleaner. You can use lye crystals (sodium hydroxide) and silica gel from the dry packets that come with electronics. The usual mix is 200 gm lye and 300 gm silica gel with maybe 100 ml water. Note that mixing lye crystals into water liberates great heat. Add lye slowly with stirring when making a lye solution. Use gloves, eye protection, and good ventilation.
How To Stop Spray Foam Can From Sealing Itself Bill Gilmour 2018-12-15 | Here is a way to stop a can of expanding foam from sealing itself shut after one use. The cans say on the label that you will likely only get one use. This is not good enough. You will need lacquer thinner or acetone for this procedure. No more wasting a nearly full foam can.
Casting More Aluminium Skull Heads And A Failed Hand Bill Gilmour 2018-09-21 | Cast some more nice skull heads from the dollar store plastic decorations that I use as molds. Tried to cast a skeletal hand, but the plastic was too thick and it did not work. Got a skeletal palm ... The skulls came out quite nicely.
Casting A Skull Head From Aluminium Bill Gilmour 2018-09-21 | Got some Halloween skull head decorations at the dollar store. These are thin and hollow, have good detail, and look like good patterns for casting. So, lets cast skull heads ..
Stone Handle For Dagger From Striated Limestone - Part 2 Bill Gilmour 2018-09-21 | This video shows the dagger made with the limestone handle blank prepared in the first part. Also shown are some kitchen knives with stone handles, another dagger, a letter opener, and some stones prepared as knife display holders.
Stone Handle For Dagger From Striated Limestone - Part 1 Bill Gilmour 2018-09-21 | This video shows the steps in making a stone handle for a small dagger. The material is striated limestone. This will be a hidden tang design with brass guard. Part 2 will show the finished result and some other stone handle knives and daggers.
New Casting Furnace Melting Aluminium Scrap Into Ingots Bill Gilmour 2018-09-21 | I made a new casting furnace to go with my new forge. In this video the new furnace is used to melt aluminium scrap into ingots and muffins. These will be used in upcoming videos to cast various items. Casting the scrap into bars allows it to be cleaned up so that items made from these bars will be of good quality.The furnace is made from a 5 gallon steel pail lined with firebrick and refractory cement. The burner is a forced air type. The blower came from an old microwave oven and its speed is controlled by a variac. The crucible is a piece of steel pipe with a bottom made from steel plate welded on.
DIY Electric Ignition Mod For My New Forge Bill Gilmour 2018-07-26 | Today I added electric ignition to my new forge. Now instead of sticking a propane torch into the forge to light it, I just press a red button and the forge lights. This mod worked out perfectly.
New Gas Forge And A Stone Handle Dagger Bill Gilmour 2018-07-26 | I recently made myself a new single burner propane gas forge. It gets tested in this video as I forge a dagger and put a stone handle on it.I also made the burner. It is forced air, uses a MIG tip as a gas orifice, and has a stainless steel flare. The blower speed is controlled by a variac.
How To : Determine MOT Output Voltage Bill Gilmour 2018-07-25 | Here is a way to be able to figure out the output voltage of a microwave oven transformer. Basically we hook up the mains AC to the HV secondary of the MOT and measure the low voltage coming from the primary of the MOT. Dividing the two voltages gives us a ratio. Multiplying the line voltage by this number will give us the MOT output voltage.Warning : The output of an MOT is lethal. Do not work on these unless you are experienced with electricity and are able to work safely with high voltage.
How To Make Ferric Chloride For Etching Bill Gilmour 2018-07-25 | Here is a way to make ferric chloride that is used for etching steel by blacksmiths. You need hydrochloric acid (muriatic or pool acid) and steel wool. Reacting steel wool with pool acid gives ferrous chloride, which will turn to ferric chloride with exposure to the air. This must be done in a well ventilated area due to corrosive fumes. You should use gloves and eye protection.Do not use an aluminium pot or container. The acid will dissolve it. Use pyrex or other heat rated glass.
The Inside View - Microwaving a UV Fuorescent Tube Bill Gilmour 2018-04-30 | A small UV sterilizer tube with a bad filament gets a turn in the special microwave.
The Inside View - Microwaving A Metal Halide Bulb Core Bill Gilmour 2018-04-30 | The core of a 1000w metal halide bulb gets a turn in the inside view microwave.
Air Rifle vs Wacky String Bill Gilmour 2018-04-30 | A can of wacky string gets shot with a .22 air rifle.
Air Cannon #133 - Caulking Tube Launcher Bill Gilmour 2018-04-30 | I had a bunch of old caulking tubes around the shop so I made up an air cannon to launch them out into the field. The cannon has a 64" barrel that fits the tubes very well, 3/4" 120VAC solenoid valve, 2 litre air reservoir and handheld firing switch. I am using 120 psi shop air in this video. The cannon can take up to 350 psi. The tubes are quite durable and can be recovered and fired again.
DIY Motor Mod on 2 x 42 Belt Grinder Bill Gilmour 2018-04-29 | I have a General brand 2 x 42 belt grinder in my shop and the motor blew recently. The start winding shorted and took out the cap as well. I was going to fix or replace the motor but instead I used a treadmill motor and controller that I had salvaged. The new motor and variable speed certainly are a big upgrade for this machine.
Thermite Casting A Blade Shape Using Lost Foam Bill Gilmour 2017-08-26 | In a previous video I tried casting a blade shape with welding thermite. The idea worked but I had used a lousy mold and got a deformed result. Today I used the lost foam method and got much better results. I have a casting but it seems to have a very large crystal structure as cast. Hopefully I can do some normalizing in the forge and then see if the casting can be forged to shape. I will show the attempt at normalizing and forging in another video.
Capacitor Bank #87 - Random Junk Gets Blasted Bill Gilmour 2017-08-21 | Some random shop junk including light bulb, speaker, and other odds and sods get blasted by 6400 V from 75 uF of capacitors.
A Century Old Nail Puller Tool Bill Gilmour 2017-08-12 | A friend of mine got this old tool at a yard sale. It is a nail puller. I removed the dirt and rust. Then new handle scales were made up from spalted maple. The original stamping can be read. One side has "The Bridgeport Hdwe Co USA", the other side has the patent date, "September 29 1908" stamped on it. This tool is now in perfect condition at 109 years of age.
Trying To Cast A Blade Using Welding Thermite Bill Gilmour 2017-08-12 | I made up a small crucible with a hole in the bottom and also made a crude blade shaped mold from a hard firebrick. The idea was to get liquid steel from the welding thermite to flow onto the firebrick mold shape. This did not work perfectly as one side of the guard did not form. I will try this again using a proper cope and drag sand mold. A good mold should provide a far better result.
How To Make Pressure Cap for Exploding Pop Bottle BB Gun Targets Bill Gilmour 2017-06-26 | This is how to make a cap for a 2 liter pop bottle that allows you to pressurize it with a bike pump or compressor. When shot with an air rifle or BB gun, the bottle explodes. The pressure cap is of course reusable. You may have seen these in other videos and you can purchase these online but they are simple and quick to make yourself.
Forging A Railroad Spike Shoehorn Bill Gilmour 2017-03-25 | An ordinary railroad spike gets turned into a shoehorn.
Forging A Small Dagger Bill Gilmour 2017-03-24 | I had a short scrap of 5/16" drill rod so I decided to forge a small dagger from it. The finished dagger has a 6 3/4" blade and is 11" overall. Guard is brass and the handle is teak wood.
Forging A Railroad Spike And Horseshoe Toilet Paper Holder Bill Gilmour 2016-10-29 | I took an old horseshoe and a railroad spike, making them into a toilet paper holder.
Forging A Railroad Spike Coat Hook Bill Gilmour 2016-10-29 | A railroad spike gets forged into a coat hook in this video.
Forging A Railroad Spike Beer Opener Bill Gilmour 2016-10-28 | This railroad spike got forged into a beer bottle opener.
Forging A Railroad Spike Corkscrew Bill Gilmour 2016-10-28 | Starting with a railroad spike, I made a corkscrew. This video shows the various steps involved in forging this corkscrew. The result is an attractive and interesting functional piece.
Thermite On A Dead Laptop Bill Gilmour 2016-08-22 | I had a dead laptop to dispose of and wanted to have some fun with it before it went in the bin. About a pound of welding thermite was put in a coke can and ignited on the laptop. This was not sufficient thermite to burn through. I will use more thermite on the next laptop.
Thermite On An Old Printer Bill Gilmour 2016-08-15 | I had a dead printer to be discarded so why not have some fun with it first. About a pound of welding thermite was placed in a small cola can. A sparkler was provided as an ignitor. The thermite had no problem melting right through.
Hydraulic Squash #12 - Wrist Watch Bill Gilmour 2016-05-12 | An old casio watch gets thinned out in my 20 ton press.
Hydraulic Squash #11- Small Electrolytic Capacitor Bill Gilmour 2016-05-12 | A 33 uf 160 V capacitor gets the yellow juice squeezed out of it in my 20 ton press.
Hydraulic Squash #10 - Keychain Battery Tester Bill Gilmour 2016-05-12 | An old gimmicky battery tester gets flattened in my 20 ton press.
Hydraulic Squash #9 - Exploding Capacitor Bill Gilmour 2016-05-11 | This 250 volt 100 nf mylar type capacitor did not take kindly to being crushed in the 20 ton press. It exploded ... twice !
Hydraulic Squash #7 - Lithium Battery Bill Gilmour 2016-05-11 | The 20 ton press squeezes the guts out of a faulty lithium ion cell.
Hydraulic Squash #6 - Small Circuit Breaker Bill Gilmour 2016-05-10 | A small 1 A circuit breaker gets crushed in my 20 ton press.
Hydraulic Squash #5 - Keychain Light Bill Gilmour 2016-05-10 | A broken led solar charge keychain light gets squashed in my 20 ton hydraulic forging press.
Hydraulic Squash #4 - Relay Bill Gilmour 2016-05-10 | An old relay has 20 tons of pressure applied to it.
Hydraulic Squash #3 - Electrolytic Capacitor Bill Gilmour 2016-05-09 | My 20 ton press squashes the ooze out of a very old 1800 uf 28 V electrolytic capacitor.
Hydraulic Squash #2 - Toy Cellphone Lighter Bill Gilmour 2016-05-09 | My 20 ton press is used to slim down an old defective toy lighter that looks like a flip phone.
Hydraulic Squash #1 Bill Gilmour 2016-05-09 | When the press (20 ton) is not being used for forging, I will squash other things. Some AAA batteries lead off this flattening video.
Testing A New Sword On A Can Of Coke Bill Gilmour 2016-03-28 | A new sword that I made gets tested by cutting a full unopened can of coke. Slow motion recorded at 480 frames/sec.
Do It Yourself 20 Ton Hydraulic Forging Press Bill Gilmour 2016-03-28 | I needed a press for the shop to use for blacksmithing. A local store had a 20 ton air assist hydraulic jack on sale and I had a lot of thick wall steel tube, angle iron, and steel plate around the shop. Within a few hours I had welded up the press shown in this video.
Testing The DIY Big Bore Air Rifle - Slugs, Balls, And Batteries Bill Gilmour 2016-02-01 | Taking a few shots over the chronograph with the DIY slam yang air rifle. Ammo used was cast lead slugs, cast round balls, and AA batteries. Firing pressures ranged between 270 and 360 psi.
How To Etch Aluminium Bill Gilmour 2016-01-13 | Here is a fairly simple way to etch aluminium. A 12 V battery charger, vinegar, salt, cotton pad, sharp pick or other tool to scribe design with, nail polish to act as etch resist, and of course a work piece will be required. A light etch is produced in 30 seconds, several minutes will give a deep etch. You can use a dremel polishing tip instead of the cotton pad. If the whole work piece is covered with etch resist nail polish, it could be dipped in vinegar and salt solution, the negative would be connected to a stainless steel electrode of some sort, such as a strip, rod, or bolt.
How To Etch Steel Bill Gilmour 2016-01-11 | Here is a fairly simple way to etch steel. This method does not use ferric chloride since this is not always available easily. Instead, we will use vinegar and salt as our electrolyte, and a 12 V battery charger will supply the needed power. The steel piece is masked using nail polish as etch resist and the design is scratched through the dry nail polish with a sharp pick or a large needle. The red (positive) from the battery charger goes to the steel to be etched. The negative goes to a small cotton pad moistened with vinegar and salt. The pad is touched to and moved around on the area to be etched. Don't stray off the nail polish with the pad or you will etch unintended places. 30 seconds will give a light etch, several minutes will give a deep etch. Make sure that the nail polish layer is thick, or put two coats to be sure. After etching, clean off with acetone or nail polish remover on a rag. The process is shown on two work pieces, a stainless steel ruler, and a utility knife that I made from O1 steel.
Do It Yourself Coffee Can Mini Foundry #7 - Melting Aluminium And Brass Bill Gilmour 2015-12-01 | The coffee can mini foundry is set up on a small stand welded up from steel scraps. The shelves are ceramic plate. Metal could be used. The furnace is lit and some aluminium scrap is melted and cast into ingots. Then some brass was melted, enough to pour one ingot. Melting metal can be dangerous. Make sure that you have a fire extinguisher, sand, and water at hand. Wear appropriate protective gear. Welding gloves and a face shield will be needed as a crucible of molten brass throws off a lot of heat. Do this outside, or in a shop environment with proper ventilation. My setup was right near a roll up garage door at the side of my shop.
How To Make A Propane Burner For The Coffee Can Mini Foundry Bill Gilmour 2015-11-25 | This is the first of two videos of more powerful burners for the mini foundry. The burner shown in this video can be operated on propane or mapp gas.Be careful when working with propane. Make sure that connections do not leak anywhere. A soap test should be done to verify leak free assembly of the whole system from tank to burner orifice. Have a fire extinguisher, bucket of water, and a bucket of sand nearby when doing burner or foundry work.
