Tricks of the trade

[ApprenticeMan]

Originally Posted by ThomasPowers

A variation on Ian's: you can throw some industrial coke found along RR tracks into your propane forge to give it an excess oxygen consuming hot bed to work on.

Great idea Thomas thanks.

[Tyler Murch]

A piece is either straight or it is not straight.

When slitting a hammer, spin the hammer stock around opposite after every 3 strikes in order to keep a straight slit.

When drawing a point, set the end off the edge to conserve heat as that is the part that cools down first. Neck it down in steps, then forge the very end. It will have conserved its heat and you can better create heat.

When forge welding, always make the weld hammering from the inside and working out. Forge welded sections at high heat.

......

[CurlyGeorge]

I had trouble forge welding, when I first started smithing. A friend of mine told me to put the "BIG" hammer down and use a very small hammer. I tried it, and to my suprise, it worked GREAT!!! I was trying to kill it, when all I needed to do was kiss it. I still use that little hammer to do my forge welding with.

[civilwarblacksmith]

When at a re-enactment and need to sit down to take a break and get something to eat. So your fire doesn't go out if it is mainly a coke fire, put a small chunk of wood in it and cover it over slightly. Your fire will continue to burn using the wood keeping the coke alive.

[jimbob]

you can also crack the ash dump open...the heat will draw fresh air up fom the bottom !

[unkle spike]

When trying to set a rivet in a tough spot I take a piece of similar stock, drill and lightly countersink a hole in it to seat the head without damage, and clamp it to the head side with a vice grips. Make it long enough to keep it out of the way, and out of the heat. Put the piece in the forge to heat the other end of the rivet to be peened, this way the rivet won't fall out when you have to flip it over on the anvil or rivet set to put the peen on the the top end. If you keep the head end cool it will not deform, a quick squirt of water will help with this. I use heavy enough stock on the "helper" that I can lay that side on the anvil and actually hammer on it. Also prevents the cool head of the rivets from denting the anvil.

I may post some pictures if this seems confusing?

To heat the end to be peened it has to be down in the forge, but you have to flip it over to hammer it. I have dropped so many rivets trying to flip them over on the anvil to hammer them, even harder to position in a rivet set.

[CurlyGeorge]

Jeff, post some pix, if you can. Man I can't picture how you are getting the whole piece down in the fire. Thanks.

[CurlyGeorge]

Jimbob, I like that idea. I've tried the wood, as Reb suggested, but end up with ash that starts blowing back out at me. Maybe I put in too big a chunk of wood.

[Ian]

George, probably the opposite. We used logs Lay the log on, rake up coke around it and leave, come back later, often much later, and turn on air. 99% of the time it'd fire back up. Drag out the log, water it down some and save it for the next time. The charred bit will spark it up again really easily.

[CurlyGeorge]

Thanks Ian. I've not tried the wood but a couple of times. Usually, I'll just hurry through the meal and get back to work or spread the fire and start it back up, with a clean forge.