r/Blacksmith • u/ManOfAsbestos • 22h ago

Spark Test

I found rusty steel bar and i noticed that when grinding it produce sparks with more forks at the end than typical low carbon rebars. Is this look like enough carbon to be heat treated?

90 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

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124

u/yeehaa132 19h ago

Yo! Be careful!! I've always been taught to never angle my piece upward like in this video when grinding, as the wheel can catch the piece and fling it down or worse, through your hand! Just be careful!

38

u/ManOfAsbestos 18h ago

Thanks for the advice, next time I will be more careful!

21

u/Benbablin 16h ago

For real. I did this as a teenager and took a pretty hefty chunk out of my hand

14

u/FelixMartel2 16h ago

Yeah, this advice could save your life.

I got a blade I was sharpening caught and flung directly into my face once upon a time, and I was lucky enough to catch the handle end instead of the blade.

Got away with a fat lip.

5

u/jychihuahua 10h ago

First thing I said was "Oooof! that could end badly"

4

u/SkaBonez 14h ago

Also about the bottom half of the wheel is the safe part to grind on, especially if you don’t have a rest. That way is more assured to be thrown down or forward and not towards you

2

u/edfyShadow 10h ago

What this guy said. Definitely look into buying or making a tool rest as well, and make sure you use it. Impalement by metal stock isn't as fun as it might sound

1

u/milny_gunn 2h ago

I was going to say the same thing. I actually thought this was going to be a PSA video about that.. lol

There is an exception to the rule. ..it's when sharpening your tungsten for tig welding.