You don't need to harden it, it will work fine as it is. Indeed, hardening it, if you could do it, would only make it brittle, unless you could temper it and you don't have a large enough heat source, to do either of those things. Also, it's mild steel, low carbon, so it wouldn't harden much anyway. I would however, as some of the commercial hitches have, which you showed, I'd wrap a metal collar around the base of your eyelet, just as insurance, on the chance of the eye opening, though I don't it will but it would be easy to do and it would make a nice decorative touch. When making your bends, you could have made your life a lot easier by keeping a oxy set or propane and oxygen set handy, to keep the metal hot, to help you bring your bends around. Also stop cutting your steel, like timber, you should keep your steal as long as you can, for as long as you can - it's all about heat and leverage. You also need to have everything ready to go, no searching for hammers etc - strike while the irons hot, not lukewarm. Other than that, well done.
I agree about it being mild steel, quenching would be a waste of time. Also definitely make a full collar for the eye, it will add years of lifespan especially when it's well greased. I'd also put a decent size of chain attached to the bar infront of the eye and make a link attachment fixed to the tow hitch on the vehicle. Just gives abit of assurance that the tow bar won't jump or slip over the ball.
I agree with @WildBoreWoodWind but would add that it is very likely that your steel is a low carbon type and therefore could not be hardened by heat treatment anyway. I imagine it is similar to BS970 080A15 (old school EN32, or SAE 1020) and as such will have a tensile strength around 400 Newton per sq mm (approx 26 tons per sq inch) and, more importantly, a yield strength (the stress at which the steel takes a permanent bend but not break) of approx 300 N/^2mm. More than strong enough for your project. FYI the 'Half Hard' version you were offered would have been 'hardened' by cold drawing (not heat treatment). This would have made the original bar stronger but heating it to forging temperatures would have destroyed this effect, so you made the right choice.
your channel is definitely in my top three favorite. your problem-solving skills unique projects and the aesthetics of your workspace really take me away from the boringness of the typical garage workshop. not to mention you have a very soothing voice.
I love the fact you admitted right at the end to all the 'in between' attempts. Amazing result for a newbie to metal working. That was not an easy project for sure and it looks really good. Thanks for sharing and please keep up the good work!
A metal collar is a must. Dismiss hardening it, there's no point. Not for this, BUT, the collar you have to do, otherwise the forces involved when you steer the mahoosive thing about, will eventually snap it and all that work will be undone. If you feel like you don't want the collar, you can always just weld the underside, discreetly. Nobody will ever know. edit, if you insist on hardening it (and it's gonna be a big undertaking) then only harden the front most part of it, do not harden the hourglass area. And to do it on that scale, go buy carbon powder, make a fire pit with a blower pipe under it and put a hair drier at the other end. You'll want to wrap that area of the loop (front) with fire resistant plaster and fiberglass wrap (car exhaust tape wrap) and heat only that area. As airtight as you can make it, so that the metal sucks all that carbon into itself. Then clean it, heat it until it's no longer magnetic and dip it in car oil. You can do some tests with those discarded pieces. I say used motor oil because there's a lot of carbon in that oil as well, but also because it stops rust. Again, do not harden the hourglass portion. You want that to be parent material. So only dip the "bulb's" top.
- For what it’s worth - Forge Shops, UK Industrial. I worked for an UK aerospace company that required large forged components. The UK has some of the world’s best forgers. Your project and production of larger components is identical. Quality steel, heat, hammers or presses, fixtures / dies and experienced (brave) labor, no glory. You sure have the skill and will to finish the project…good luck buddy.
Hi Carl. This is where I blow my own trumpet, appologies for that. I'm known as a Golden Arm which is a 'Specialist Welder'. What this term means exactly is, for those who do not know. I'm fully qualified in all aspects and techniques of welding. I use all types of equipment, setups, and gasses. For example Mig, Tig, Arc = (stick), Oxy-gas, Plasma, Electron, and Laser welding plus several other types mainly known within the welding community. I'm also a qualified engineer and fabricator, which means I work with most metals. Although I'm not a smithy, that is a mild steeel you are working with. Therefore, attempts at hardening it will prove fruitless because of its composition and your setup. You seem to have wasted a lot of steel, and I get that. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, right Carl? So, in the future, if you have the necessity to make another towbar or a set of iron gates, for example, there are a few things you need to take care of first. 1. BIGGER Forge. I'm sure in the future you will need to make bigger things. Things used in old buildings like barns. Things used to secure or hold walls together as an example. Hinges, nails or stakes. So why not consider buying a mobile coal forge on wheels. They start from around £200 to £4,000 depending on age and condition. They use three ingredients, coal, charcoal, and oxygen, the latter provided either by a hand crank blower or an electric one. Hand blower is probably best for you and cheaper too. I recently purchased a mobile forge built in 1904 for £350 which needed some work including a new hood. I spent £260 on sheet and steel bars. Then, 3 weeks of evenings and weekends getting it back to good working order. I've been taking blacksmith lessons for the past 9 weeks to add to my many other talents, and it's harder than it looks. Having the background knowledge that I do has helped me immensely. Why smithing, you may ask? Why not, I love working with metal. 2. The right set-up in place beforehand. You have a good workshop, but it's better if you alter it without that gaping hole. Try adding barn doors. Good smithy work is achieved by working in a constantly controlled environment. When you see smiths red faced and sweating buckets, it's not through strength or brute force of hammering steel on the anvil, but the heat of the forge. Ok, that last part was tongue and cheek, a joke. Smithy work is hard work and extremely skilful. Its not just a matter of heating up metal then hammering or bending into shape. It's a skill learnt over years, not days, not weeks, or months but years. My blacksmith teacher tells me his apprenticeship was 5 years, and he's still learning 17 years on. 3. The right tools to hand. You need to have more than just an anvil, a hammer, and a pair of tongues. 4. A constant heat source. That is where coal forging is best, so im told. Better for the environment, better for forging iron and steel. Of course, gas forging is almost instant but just because you turn on the tap, then a few moments later the iron is hot, dosen't mean its the best way. Worthwhile tips: With your set-up, consider having an oxy acetylene torch on standby. When heating the steel, you are changing the molecular structure. Therefore, you would do best to try and keep the steel a cherry red colour throughout your bending period. Either return the steel to your forge or use the oxy set-up to reheat the work piece. My final tip would be to watch some blacksmith videos on RUclips. Most are American channels but watch the two top or most popular British ones first, then compare them to the top four American channels. Instantly you will notice a difference in techniques. Its your choice which to follow but my choice, as is my teachers, was to follow the British ones. Why, simple. The British guys put all their effort into actually teaching everything there is to know about the trade. Whereas the Americans concentrate on their image and presentational skills, rather than actual smithing. I've not explained it well because I'm finding it difficult not to come across as insulting, rude, or ignorant towards the American guys. The top four channels are, just watch them and see for yourself Carl. Lastly, great work mate. What we must not forget is that this is your first time at blacksmithing. Yes, you had a few hiccups along the way, but learn from your mistakes. Don't cut off the mistake just because it went wrong. Reheat that mistake and bend it back again. Keep the steel hot at all times. You will find bending that much easier. As with a lot of things in life. Practise makes perfect. Last of all, no, seriously, I really do mean it this time. We see you using water to keep the steel cool where you didn't want it to bend. How did you know about this, Carl? That was a good thing to do, but with the steel you are using, if you were to say, plunge the red hot steel into a bucket of water. You would not harden the steel as most people think it does. You would actually make it brittle and, therefore, useless as a towbar. I'm looking forward to watching the next instalment. ⚒️🏴
On a cold evening, a dog’s position in front of the fire is sacrosanct. They have worked for it, they deserve it, and that patch of disturbed soil under the rhododendrons has _nothing_ to do with the missing furnace.
Carl, you never cease to amaze me with your talent. you're a hard worker and you don't give up. Hello to your dad and hoping he's well and enjoying his life in France ... i am !
This was awesome, very skilled. When I was young I was taught to soak the steel until it was cherry red hot, cut the oxygen back (or off) and cover the part with acetylene soot. This adds carbon to the surface. Then quench in water to lock the carbon into the structure. It would case harden the part, otherwise give you an outer surface that is locally hard for improved wear resistance but still retain ductility in the middle for toughness. They make carbon powder I've seen but I've never done that. I think that would work good for your forge setup. You could locally case harden the hitch eye and also the mounts at the back. But I've also seen old tractors with pivot pins on the frame that have gone thousands of hours in the field and only are a36 steel type hard (rockwell B scale). I will generally replace them however with 4130 or 4140 steel rod as they are worn down pretty good.
Hi Carl! i was so excited when you started this project, looks really good! i build and restore living vans and shepherds huts for a living, along with various other things including being a blacksmith. Ive made a few draw bars in the past, 19 to be exact, ive found for me the best was to put 2 full twists in the draw bar behind the eye, however, you would really need oxy propane and superheaters for this, so not practical for you, but a collar behind the eyelet is also a traditional thing to do, its also worth welding in a spreader bar near the widest point, they do deflect a lot in use. wonderful to see you making such a lovely job, really keep it up! P.S. see if you can grab yourself a 'nato' hitch for your landy, or a large pin hitch, much safer when moving things around, if you mount it to a separate drop plate for your hitch, its just remover the pin and swap over.
Tu canal es mi favorito de todos los canales de contruccion, carpinteria, y cualquier tipo de bricolaje. La razon es que ademas de que eres muy habil, tus videos son muy dinámicos y nunca aburren en ningun momento porque explicas a la vez que trabajas a diferencia de otros que se pasan la mitad del video hablando sin trabajar(sobre todo los franceses jajaja), y ademas me gusta mucho la fotografia y la musica de fondo.
Very admirable. Love the trial and error and the result is simple and beautiful.The single curved piece is so much more aesthetically pleasing than the examples you researched with welded components. Thanks for sharing. Cheers.
Perhaps you could get some tips from Maximus Ironthumper - this sort of project would be just up his street and he's also a Land Rover enthusiast so there's that.
Good job Carl. Brilliant ingenuity to work your way through that project. I’d have probably fabricated something out of angle or box steel with a modern hitch for the tow ball. Your solution is way more elegant and rustic, if tricky as all get out to make. Love your work.
Just found you again , a whole year. What a surprise and the projects are beautiful. Thank you for sharing your life and talents with us. I wont lose your page again. Loving every single project.
not saying that you weren't already planning on doing this, but make sure to put some rubber or a shock absorber on the loop where it attaches to the tow hitch. That trailer is going to be very heavy, and the backlash of stopping and starting on the defender will wear out the transmission fast. Having some shock absorber or impact dampening will go a very long way. The steel could also be tempered and allowed to flex on the trailer itself to utilize the springiness of steel to aid with the shock absorbing too. Great project.
Live and learn. Cool role model, Carl Rogers. Timely and welcome dad-assist. The trial runs are Greek to me but you figured out, novice and all, what to correct/try/create to achieve your goal at this stage. Good on you, boy-o. Fascinating watch beginning to end.🎉😊💪💯🖖
It's fascinating watching this, without you having the benefit of hours of training as most blacksmiths presumably have. It must also be so for the blacksmiths watching! Very encouraging to see what can be achieved by careful thought, research and ... chutzpah!
Great effort! As someone a couple years into my welding I am intimidated by forging or smithing, and that was awesome to watch. Makes me want to build a forge along with the shop coming soon! I only did a cursory look to see if you have any videos of welding, but I just wanted to give you a shout of encouragement if you're considering trying it out. Start with flux-cored wire on a mig gun and you can start hotgluing metal together in an a day. It's ridiculously easy, at least, much easier than you'd think. And the ability to add and remove material much more like clay than like woodworking is revolutionary for one's fixing and doing. It's literally made anything in the realm of creation feel possible for me, and changed my life in a few ways. The welder paid for itself in a week or so of adding things to a buddy's work truck, and then went on to make me some seriously decent money doing some handrails and business-patio-grade projects for folks. You'll be able to make really strong and functional tooling to make other projects easier, as well as fix or modify the metal things we find ourselves surrounded by and reliant on. Thanks for the great vibes and entertainment. And if you do put your welds on RUclips, remember the fools giving critique aren't learning a damn thing, learning on camera is heroic. Cheers!
the harder you make that the more intense any failure will be. that's actually one of the most desirable qualities of steel, that it can be made to be hard and tough enough to hold up literal tonnes of cement but also soft and pliable enough that it will bend a lot before it fractures. that being said with how thick your tow bar is I would wager on it still being usable after a car crash so you shouldn't have to worry about its hardness too much
That definitely did not look easy to make! The end result is awesome. It takes courage to try something you have never done before so hats off to you on a job well done. Love the vids!
As someone who has made literally many hundreds of eyes,staples, rings etc for harbours and quays for ship's moorings and whatever, I can attest to your achievement in manufacturing that. I had the luxury of big, flat steel work benches to weld pegs and stops etc. to and oxy-acetylene to direct the heat precisely. Give yourself an almighty pat on the back for turning that out with your available resources. A big well done.
Hi Carl, not a blacksmith but I am a mechanical engineer. For what this tow bar will do, you could look at case hardening the eye. Very simple process - heat up eye, apply case hardening powder to surface, cool.
You got it done and that was where you wanted to be, when using a gas forge you can get the steel up to a white heat with out burning it up. At a white heat you will have a litter longer to work , never try working steel when it is to cool. With a bar that size just because it may be red on the out side doesn't make it red all the way though. You have a good start and will only get better the more you do it. Take care and keep enjoy Blacksmithing.
You are talking about hardening the part but I think it only needs to be toughened. Consider hard facing using something like satellite rods to put runs of weld on the inside of the loop only. Identify where the loop touches to neck below the ball by running the loop around theball inside and getting witness marks. Going out shallow depressions where themarks are then make good with hard facing rods welded up to the original dimensions. Polish up with a grinder and hay presto, tough and ductile just as the engineer ordered.
Since you´ve bought what is probably unhardenable steel, and you want the axle to be flexible anyway you probably don´t need a hardened one, as stated by WildBoreWoodWind already. Stock that´s this width keeps heat longer than thinner pieces, but working faster means less times running back to the forge, and having less problems with parts bent so out of shape, that they don't fit into the forge anymore. I´d also advice to go for a safety cable when you´re putting the trailer on the car, just in case your axle jumps up. Also as a little sidenote, hit the material only with some strenght when you´re sure that it lays down flat on the anvil / surface, so nothing jumps back up on you. And when the stock is that thick, give it some spice, so it´ll take shape faster. Oh, and if you have a welder, build jigs out of scrap metal, so things move less and you can change them easier than wooden ones. Great job coating the forge, and with the outcome aswell ! Just do yourself a favor and wear eye protection when scrubbing off the forge scale- escpecially when doing it on eye height. Don´t want to be the safety sheriff, but working 7 years as a blacksmith i´ve been 3 times to the eye doctor. The last time even wearing glasses, but you can never trust metal shavings and grinding sparks^^
You're going to need some method of stopping the towbar bouncing off the tow ball, also you might want to consider the all up weight, your landrover might be up to it but what about the the towball ? The chassis looks quite heavy already and is unbraked, depending where you tow it when finished you may find yourself being pushed downhill
Cool project and nice skills. Just a thought, what will happen the eye when descending an incline when the wagon will be pushing against the jeep? Will the eye open or want to ride up and over the ball hitch?
Geesh! And i thought i was A.R. Nice n’ fussy. Well done. What about getting a pintle hitch for your hitch receiver - it will fit right into where the ball receiver is now. Would keep the hoop popping off
Now that you've got that forge, I'm guessing you won't resist the urge to decorate your shepherd's hut/van with all manner of beaten and curled ironwork. Nice video. You start out making something almost good enough and then end up with something that exactly meets your goals.
I wonder if you could do this with a old fashioned mighty bender type tool I have used one for 1/2” rebar with no heat but double the thickness might have to be the next model up plus concentrated heat with oxyacetylene at bending points along the way would help as well Persistence and patience payed off and well executed another set of skills for you I think it turned out well
You'll likely have to harden it in two steps. Build a long trough about 254mm wide X 254mm deep X (overall length) and fill it with water. Get three OxyAcytelene torches going (with some help) and heat half the whole thing to red hot. Quench in the trough. Repeat to second side. Repeat a third time specifically to the hitch loop. Temper the whole thing in one go with the torches again, bringing it to a straw color. You could also likely send it out to a heat treating facility to do it in one go for you, but that could get expensive. It would probably run $1500+ and 3-8weeks wait time in the US. I feel like you'll also want to add in some cross bracing so that it doesn't flex or bend (the tempering will help it return to straight, but it will still bend) when you're turning while towing it.
There is insufficient carbon for hardening, however you heat or cool it. Even if you could achieve a little, the amount would be pointlessly trivial. Anyway the last thing you want in a tow bar is hardening as it is subject to flexing and shock loads.
@@RicktheRecorder you absolutely can harden milds steel. There 1000% is enough carbon in it. It's freaking steel not, iron. You 10,000,000% need to harden and temper something like this because there isn't a chance in fuck that it will hold its shape while towing what will eventually be like 6+tons of weight. That 1" steel bar will stretch and bend instantly if it's not hardened and tempered. Tempering it is key as that is what will allow it to maintain its ability to retain its shape and absorb shocks and lateral forces. I promise you, you are wrong here.
Having done a bit of metal work over the years, slow cooling in your case would probably be the most beneficial. Bury the work in dry sand,that would slow down the cooling
As a farmers and qulifted metal worker you should be dam proud of yourself mate well done. I wouldn't worry about Harding the hitch not like you use it every day.
You don't need to harden it, it will work fine as it is. Indeed, hardening it, if you could do it, would only make it brittle, unless you could temper it and you don't have a large enough heat source, to do either of those things. Also, it's mild steel, low carbon, so it wouldn't harden much anyway. I would however, as some of the commercial hitches have, which you showed, I'd wrap a metal collar around the base of your eyelet, just as insurance, on the chance of the eye opening, though I don't it will but it would be easy to do and it would make a nice decorative touch. When making your bends, you could have made your life a lot easier by keeping a oxy set or propane and oxygen set handy, to keep the metal hot, to help you bring your bends around. Also stop cutting your steel, like timber, you should keep your steal as long as you can, for as long as you can - it's all about heat and leverage. You also need to have everything ready to go, no searching for hammers etc - strike while the irons hot, not lukewarm. Other than that, well done.
The metal collar is a must, indeed.
Very interesting. Thanks 🙏🏻
I agree about it being mild steel, quenching would be a waste of time. Also definitely make a full collar for the eye, it will add years of lifespan especially when it's well greased. I'd also put a decent size of chain attached to the bar infront of the eye and make a link attachment fixed to the tow hitch on the vehicle. Just gives abit of assurance that the tow bar won't jump or slip over the ball.
I agree with @WildBoreWoodWind but would add that it is very likely that your steel is a low carbon type and therefore could not be hardened by heat treatment anyway. I imagine it is similar to BS970 080A15 (old school EN32, or SAE 1020) and as such will have a tensile strength around 400 Newton per sq mm (approx 26 tons per sq inch) and, more importantly, a yield strength (the stress at which the steel takes a permanent bend but not break) of approx 300 N/^2mm. More than strong enough for your project. FYI the 'Half Hard' version you were offered would have been 'hardened' by cold drawing (not heat treatment). This would have made the original bar stronger but heating it to forging temperatures would have destroyed this effect, so you made the right choice.
Case harden.
your channel is definitely in my top three favorite. your problem-solving skills unique projects and the aesthetics of your workspace really take me away from the boringness of the typical garage workshop. not to mention you have a very soothing voice.
which channels are the other two from the top3?
ha ha, Laura Kampf and Scott Brown carpentry. both great escape channels.
@@debandmike3380 please you must visit the ishitaniforniture, is an amazing RUclipsr carpenter
@@debandmike3380Scott brown is great. Andrew Camarata is great too but he doesn’t post much anymore. Ima check Laura’s channel out
Carl,
As a retired metallurgical engineer all I can say is "great job"!
All the best on this project!
I love the fact you admitted right at the end to all the 'in between' attempts. Amazing result for a newbie to metal working. That was not an easy project for sure and it looks really good. Thanks for sharing and please keep up the good work!
A metal collar is a must. Dismiss hardening it, there's no point. Not for this, BUT, the collar you have to do, otherwise the forces involved when you steer the mahoosive thing about, will eventually snap it and all that work will be undone. If you feel like you don't want the collar, you can always just weld the underside, discreetly. Nobody will ever know.
edit, if you insist on hardening it (and it's gonna be a big undertaking) then only harden the front most part of it, do not harden the hourglass area. And to do it on that scale, go buy carbon powder, make a fire pit with a blower pipe under it and put a hair drier at the other end. You'll want to wrap that area of the loop (front) with fire resistant plaster and fiberglass wrap (car exhaust tape wrap) and heat only that area. As airtight as you can make it, so that the metal sucks all that carbon into itself. Then clean it, heat it until it's no longer magnetic and dip it in car oil. You can do some tests with those discarded pieces. I say used motor oil because there's a lot of carbon in that oil as well, but also because it stops rust.
Again, do not harden the hourglass portion. You want that to be parent material. So only dip the "bulb's" top.
Great tip about the used motor oil. Thank you.
Change your tow hitch to a pintle / locking ring type used on industrial trailers for moving diggers and the like.
- For what it’s worth - Forge Shops, UK Industrial. I worked for an UK aerospace company that required large forged components. The UK has some of the world’s best forgers. Your project and production of larger components is identical. Quality steel, heat, hammers or presses, fixtures / dies and experienced (brave) labor, no glory. You sure have the skill and will to finish the project…good luck buddy.
Thank god the UK is still good at something :D.
@@RetiredRhetoricalWarhorse we are great at taking in the homeless. And any other phucker come to think of it.👍🏻
Hi Carl. This is where I blow my own trumpet, appologies for that.
I'm known as a Golden Arm which is a 'Specialist Welder'. What this term means exactly is, for those who do not know. I'm fully qualified in all aspects and techniques of welding. I use all types of equipment, setups, and gasses. For example Mig, Tig, Arc = (stick), Oxy-gas, Plasma, Electron, and Laser welding plus several other types mainly known within the welding community.
I'm also a qualified engineer and fabricator, which means I work with most metals. Although I'm not a smithy, that is a mild steeel you are working with. Therefore, attempts at hardening it will prove fruitless because of its composition and your setup.
You seem to have wasted a lot of steel, and I get that. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, right Carl? So, in the future, if you have the necessity to make another towbar or a set of iron gates, for example, there are a few things you need to take care of first.
1. BIGGER Forge. I'm sure in the future you will need to make bigger things. Things used in old buildings like barns. Things used to secure or hold walls together as an example. Hinges, nails or stakes. So why not consider buying a mobile coal forge on wheels. They start from around £200 to £4,000 depending on age and condition. They use three ingredients, coal, charcoal, and oxygen, the latter provided either by a hand crank blower or an electric one. Hand blower is probably best for you and cheaper too. I recently purchased a mobile forge built in 1904 for £350 which needed some work including a new hood. I spent £260 on sheet and steel bars. Then, 3 weeks of evenings and weekends getting it back to good working order. I've been taking blacksmith lessons for the past 9 weeks to add to my many other talents, and it's harder than it looks. Having the background knowledge that I do has helped me immensely. Why smithing, you may ask? Why not, I love working with metal.
2. The right set-up in place beforehand. You have a good workshop, but it's better if you alter it without that gaping hole. Try adding barn doors. Good smithy work is achieved by working in a constantly controlled environment. When you see smiths red faced and sweating buckets, it's not through strength or brute force of hammering steel on the anvil, but the heat of the forge. Ok, that last part was tongue and cheek, a joke. Smithy work is hard work and extremely skilful. Its not just a matter of heating up metal then hammering or bending into shape. It's a skill learnt over years, not days, not weeks, or months but years. My blacksmith teacher tells me his apprenticeship was 5 years, and he's still learning 17 years on.
3. The right tools to hand. You need to have more than just an anvil, a hammer, and a pair of tongues.
4. A constant heat source. That is where coal forging is best, so im told. Better for the environment, better for forging iron and steel. Of course, gas forging is almost instant but just because you turn on the tap, then a few moments later the iron is hot, dosen't mean its the best way.
Worthwhile tips:
With your set-up, consider having an oxy acetylene torch on standby.
When heating the steel, you are changing the molecular structure. Therefore, you would do best to try and keep the steel a cherry red colour throughout your bending period.
Either return the steel to your forge or use the oxy set-up to reheat the work piece.
My final tip would be to watch some blacksmith videos on RUclips. Most are American channels but watch the two top or most popular British ones first, then compare them to the top four American channels. Instantly you will notice a difference in techniques. Its your choice which to follow but my choice, as is my teachers, was to follow the British ones. Why, simple. The British guys put all their effort into actually teaching everything there is to know about the trade. Whereas the Americans concentrate on their image and presentational skills, rather than actual smithing. I've not explained it well because I'm finding it difficult not to come across as insulting, rude, or ignorant towards the American guys. The top four channels are, just watch them and see for yourself Carl.
Lastly, great work mate. What we must not forget is that this is your first time at blacksmithing. Yes, you had a few hiccups along the way, but learn from your mistakes. Don't cut off the mistake just because it went wrong. Reheat that mistake and bend it back again. Keep the steel hot at all times. You will find bending that much easier. As with a lot of things in life. Practise makes perfect.
Last of all, no, seriously, I really do mean it this time. We see you using water to keep the steel cool where you didn't want it to bend. How did you know about this, Carl? That was a good thing to do, but with the steel you are using, if you were to say, plunge the red hot steel into a bucket of water. You would not harden the steel as most people think it does. You would actually make it brittle and, therefore, useless as a towbar.
I'm looking forward to watching the next instalment. ⚒️🏴
I've been following you the entire time, and I believe your father is proud of you. 🌹
I truly appreciate your ability to say “why not”! Keep it up!
1:40
I laughed out loud at your Dog's suspicious glare at the Furnace ...
On a cold evening, a dog’s position in front of the fire is sacrosanct. They have worked for it, they deserve it, and that patch of disturbed soil under the rhododendrons has _nothing_ to do with the missing furnace.
I thought he had the mid-watch.
Carl, you never cease to amaze me with your talent. you're a hard worker and you don't give up. Hello to your dad and hoping he's well and enjoying his life in France ... i am !
This was awesome, very skilled. When I was young I was taught to soak the steel until it was cherry red hot, cut the oxygen back (or off) and cover the part with acetylene soot. This adds carbon to the surface. Then quench in water to lock the carbon into the structure. It would case harden the part, otherwise give you an outer surface that is locally hard for improved wear resistance but still retain ductility in the middle for toughness. They make carbon powder I've seen but I've never done that. I think that would work good for your forge setup. You could locally case harden the hitch eye and also the mounts at the back. But I've also seen old tractors with pivot pins on the frame that have gone thousands of hours in the field and only are a36 steel type hard (rockwell B scale). I will generally replace them however with 4130 or 4140 steel rod as they are worn down pretty good.
All the test pieces is just giving you more experience and knowledge. I enjoy your work and videos. Cheers from Philadelphia
Hi Carl! i was so excited when you started this project, looks really good! i build and restore living vans and shepherds huts for a living, along with various other things including being a blacksmith. Ive made a few draw bars in the past, 19 to be exact, ive found for me the best was to put 2 full twists in the draw bar behind the eye, however, you would really need oxy propane and superheaters for this, so not practical for you, but a collar behind the eyelet is also a traditional thing to do, its also worth welding in a spreader bar near the widest point, they do deflect a lot in use.
wonderful to see you making such a lovely job, really keep it up!
P.S. see if you can grab yourself a 'nato' hitch for your landy, or a large pin hitch, much safer when moving things around, if you mount it to a separate drop plate for your hitch, its just remover the pin and swap over.
I always enjoy seeing your trial and error approaches to your projects, Carl.
Tu canal es mi favorito de todos los canales de contruccion, carpinteria, y cualquier tipo de bricolaje. La razon es que ademas de que eres muy habil, tus videos son muy dinámicos y nunca aburren en ningun momento porque explicas a la vez que trabajas a diferencia de otros que se pasan la mitad del video hablando sin trabajar(sobre todo los franceses jajaja), y ademas me gusta mucho la fotografia y la musica de fondo.
Dude, you are some kind of genius! I love the way you decide to do your own thing when what's available doesn't suit you. Please...keep on keepin' on.
Very admirable. Love the trial and error and the result is simple and beautiful.The single curved piece is so much more aesthetically pleasing than the examples you researched with welded components. Thanks for sharing. Cheers.
Awesome that you will try to do anything. That how we all learn.good job
Perhaps you could get some tips from Maximus Ironthumper - this sort of project would be just up his street and he's also a Land Rover enthusiast so there's that.
Plus he’s a total legend
Good job Carl. Brilliant ingenuity to work your way through that project.
I’d have probably fabricated something out of angle or box steel with a modern hitch for the tow ball. Your solution is way more elegant and rustic, if tricky as all get out to make.
Love your work.
You are a talented young man… not afraid to take on anything. My husband and myself love watching your videos. Thanks for putting them out there 😊
Just found you again , a whole year. What a surprise and the projects are beautiful. Thank you for sharing your life and talents with us. I wont lose your page again. Loving every single project.
not saying that you weren't already planning on doing this, but make sure to put some rubber or a shock absorber on the loop where it attaches to the tow hitch. That trailer is going to be very heavy, and the backlash of stopping and starting on the defender will wear out the transmission fast. Having some shock absorber or impact dampening will go a very long way. The steel could also be tempered and allowed to flex on the trailer itself to utilize the springiness of steel to aid with the shock absorbing too. Great project.
Live and learn. Cool role model, Carl Rogers. Timely and welcome dad-assist. The trial runs are Greek to me but you figured out, novice and all, what to correct/try/create to achieve your goal at this stage. Good on you, boy-o. Fascinating watch beginning to end.🎉😊💪💯🖖
It's wonderful to see you delving into several craft areas and following them along the way! Very inspiring.
Well done Carl, once again proving the old adage that where there's a will there's a way
It's fascinating watching this, without you having the benefit of hours of training as most blacksmiths presumably have. It must also be so for the blacksmiths watching!
Very encouraging to see what can be achieved by careful thought, research and ... chutzpah!
Great effort! As someone a couple years into my welding I am intimidated by forging or smithing, and that was awesome to watch. Makes me want to build a forge along with the shop coming soon! I only did a cursory look to see if you have any videos of welding, but I just wanted to give you a shout of encouragement if you're considering trying it out. Start with flux-cored wire on a mig gun and you can start hotgluing metal together in an a day. It's ridiculously easy, at least, much easier than you'd think. And the ability to add and remove material much more like clay than like woodworking is revolutionary for one's fixing and doing. It's literally made anything in the realm of creation feel possible for me, and changed my life in a few ways. The welder paid for itself in a week or so of adding things to a buddy's work truck, and then went on to make me some seriously decent money doing some handrails and business-patio-grade projects for folks. You'll be able to make really strong and functional tooling to make other projects easier, as well as fix or modify the metal things we find ourselves surrounded by and reliant on. Thanks for the great vibes and entertainment.
And if you do put your welds on RUclips, remember the fools giving critique aren't learning a damn thing, learning on camera is heroic. Cheers!
Thank you from Central Texas USA
You are definitely on the right track! Watching your videos is a breath of fresh air.
For somebody who says he doesn't have a lot of blacksmithing experience, you sure look like you've got some blacksmithing experience. Well done.
Just love watching your stuff Carl,no problems,only solutions.
Looking forward to your next episode.
the harder you make that the more intense any failure will be. that's actually one of the most desirable qualities of steel, that it can be made to be hard and tough enough to hold up literal tonnes of cement but also soft and pliable enough that it will bend a lot before it fractures. that being said with how thick your tow bar is I would wager on it still being usable after a car crash so you shouldn't have to worry about its hardness too much
You’re a great man. Your thinking process and problem-solving skills are fantastic.
I believe that alec steele would be a good practical source of knowledge as he does lots of proglem solving in his day to day life.
Much awaited, much appreciated looking forward to excellent work as always from you.
Amazing work to find the solution. Thr jig was brilliant..Great video.
Dude, you're bloody brilliant. Very well done. ❤
Amazing job well done. Beautifully edited as well.
Je suis impressionné, c’est du beau travail…continue, thanks
A combination pintle and ball hitch will give you safety when towing that it will not pop out when breaking.
That definitely did not look easy to make! The end result is awesome. It takes courage to try something you have never done before so hats off to you on a job well done. Love the vids!
You nailed it man 👌. Just be careful not to burn the barn down 🙈
I’m Mesmerised by what you’re doing. Never was interested in metalwork before, but you make it interesting to watch. ❤
As someone who has made literally many hundreds of eyes,staples, rings etc for harbours and quays for ship's moorings and whatever, I can attest to your achievement in manufacturing that. I had the luxury of big, flat steel work benches to weld pegs and stops etc. to and oxy-acetylene to direct the heat precisely. Give yourself an almighty pat on the back for turning that out with your available resources. A big well done.
Always a pleasure to watch your process and progress x
Great job as a first attempt at blacksmithing! 😊
The steel doesn’t need to be hardened for this application. I am enjoying your thought process. Keep up the great work.
You made that look so easy! Well done Carl! Thank you for sharing.
Hi Carl, not a blacksmith but I am a mechanical engineer. For what this tow bar will do, you could look at case hardening the eye. Very simple process - heat up eye, apply case hardening powder to surface, cool.
Ah good job though. Trial and error is also learning and got there in the end. Project is coming together nicely.
You got it done and that was where you wanted to be, when using a gas forge you can get the steel up to a white heat with out burning it up. At a white heat you will have a litter longer to work , never try working steel when it is to cool. With a bar that size just because it may be red on the out side doesn't make it red all the way though. You have a good start and will only get better the more you do it. Take care and keep enjoy Blacksmithing.
You are talking about hardening the part but I think it only needs to be toughened. Consider hard facing using something like satellite rods to put runs of weld on the inside of the loop only. Identify where the loop touches to neck below the ball by running the loop around theball inside and getting witness marks. Going out shallow depressions where themarks are then make good with hard facing rods welded up to the original dimensions. Polish up with a grinder and hay presto, tough and ductile just as the engineer ordered.
you really are fast becoming one of the best craftsman alive today. and you are also an excellent film maker and narrator.
Don’t talk absolute crap, just go and have a look around and see, unless you are his mummy then of course, he’s the best EVER
@@AfricanSouthernCross Wow, do you need to be that rude?
Since you´ve bought what is probably unhardenable steel, and you want the axle to be flexible anyway you probably don´t need a hardened one, as stated by WildBoreWoodWind already.
Stock that´s this width keeps heat longer than thinner pieces, but working faster means less times running back to the forge, and having less problems with parts bent so out of shape, that they don't fit into the forge anymore. I´d also advice to go for a safety cable when you´re putting the trailer on the car, just in case your axle jumps up. Also as a little sidenote, hit the material only with some strenght when you´re sure that it lays down flat on the anvil / surface, so nothing jumps back up on you. And when the stock is that thick, give it some spice, so it´ll take shape faster.
Oh, and if you have a welder, build jigs out of scrap metal, so things move less and you can change them easier than wooden ones.
Great job coating the forge, and with the outcome aswell !
Just do yourself a favor and wear eye protection when scrubbing off the forge scale- escpecially when doing it on eye height.
Don´t want to be the safety sheriff, but working 7 years as a blacksmith i´ve been 3 times to the eye doctor.
The last time even wearing glasses, but you can never trust metal shavings and grinding sparks^^
Carl nice job! Looks great 👍👍
Carl, I'm not a blacksmith but, my impression is that what you did was very nicely done.
Great innovation & result. As a former amateur welder, woodworker etc I now regret not always having used the right eye protection - take care.
Your channel is the most fascinating of all that I watch - and I watch a lot!!!
You're going to need some method of stopping the towbar bouncing off the tow ball, also you might want to consider the all up weight, your landrover might be up to it but what about the the towball ? The chassis looks quite heavy already and is unbraked, depending where you tow it when finished you may find yourself being pushed downhill
A pintle hitch would solve the issue of capturing the towbar.
So cool what you achieve in this learning my doing process. 👏👏 natural craftsman
Yes. He is the greybeard you want to talk if you have any question about wagons.
Thanks!
Necessity is the mother of invention! Well thought out sir !
Cool project and nice skills. Just a thought, what will happen the eye when descending an incline when the wagon will be pushing against the jeep? Will the eye open or want to ride up and over the ball hitch?
always great fun to watch your efforts, successful as always :). Btw, I've gotten a handful of positive comments when wearing my jacket out and about.
Geesh! And i thought i was A.R. Nice n’ fussy. Well done. What about getting a pintle hitch for your hitch receiver - it will fit right into where the ball receiver is now. Would keep the hoop popping off
Great efforts Good results too It’s coming on It will last for ever when it’s finished
👍👍👍👍
Carl is a legend. Be more like Carl.
Amazing job 👍
Well done, that was amazing to watch and learn from.
Now that you've got that forge, I'm guessing you won't resist the urge to decorate your shepherd's hut/van with all manner of beaten and curled ironwork. Nice video. You start out making something almost good enough and then end up with something that exactly meets your goals.
I wonder if you could do this with a old fashioned mighty bender type tool I have used one for 1/2” rebar with no heat but double the thickness might have to be the next model up plus concentrated heat with oxyacetylene at bending points along the way would help as well
Persistence and patience payed off and well executed another set of skills for you I think it turned out well
Very interesting to watch your creative process. 👍😊👍
Considering you’re not in the black smithing union 😁 the improvisation was first class Carl, well done mate.👏🏻
thats a beautiful cotter pin 14:30
You'll likely have to harden it in two steps. Build a long trough about 254mm wide X 254mm deep X (overall length) and fill it with water. Get three OxyAcytelene torches going (with some help) and heat half the whole thing to red hot. Quench in the trough. Repeat to second side. Repeat a third time specifically to the hitch loop. Temper the whole thing in one go with the torches again, bringing it to a straw color. You could also likely send it out to a heat treating facility to do it in one go for you, but that could get expensive. It would probably run $1500+ and 3-8weeks wait time in the US.
I feel like you'll also want to add in some cross bracing so that it doesn't flex or bend (the tempering will help it return to straight, but it will still bend) when you're turning while towing it.
You can't harden mild steel.
@@RicktheRecorder Yes you can
There is insufficient carbon for hardening, however you heat or cool it. Even if you could achieve a little, the amount would be pointlessly trivial. Anyway the last thing you want in a tow bar is hardening as it is subject to flexing and shock loads.
@@RicktheRecorder you absolutely can harden milds steel. There 1000% is enough carbon in it. It's freaking steel not, iron. You 10,000,000% need to harden and temper something like this because there isn't a chance in fuck that it will hold its shape while towing what will eventually be like 6+tons of weight. That 1" steel bar will stretch and bend instantly if it's not hardened and tempered. Tempering it is key as that is what will allow it to maintain its ability to retain its shape and absorb shocks and lateral forces. I promise you, you are wrong here.
A superb job, my friend! 👍 If you tackle the rest of your life that way (saw problem, fixed same) you'll be just fine, of that I have no doubts.
That is a heck of a cotter pin
Well done. Good job. Good boy and your dad. Good idea. Very Very Very hard work for you guys. Good luck
This is excellent! Such a work ethic too! 🙂
As always: excellent! Thank you.
Ever notice how close your planer/jointer blades get to your clothing?
1st Project was brilliant!
Wow, so interesting! Look at you go!
It's either quenching it in oil or water one of the other makes it harder than the other
💪.. No worries, some of us can hardly use scissors correctly . 😎
Having done a bit of metal work over the years, slow cooling in your case would probably be the most beneficial.
Bury the work in dry sand,that would slow down the cooling
I don't think it needs any hardening, or it will possible make it brittle
Love the channel. Great work.
Well done Carl. Interesting to watch.
Well Done. So far so good. 😀
As a farmers and qulifted metal worker you should be dam proud of yourself mate well done. I wouldn't worry about Harding the hitch not like you use it every day.
It should be fine pulling, but if you try to back up with it it could bow. Most wagon tongues are boxed for support.
I'm a bit worried about the tow bar popping off if you go over a hump. I think I have seen a loop shaped hitch somewhere.
You could use a pintle style hitch if te eye on the tow bar is too wide.
Will all have start somewere nice finish
Every day is a school day 👍
Best channel on RUclips!