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I Forge Iron

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Scranton Pa.
  • Interests
    Making and fixing things. Reloading, casting, Antiques.

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    armalite_ar50@yahoo.com

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  1. Great score. I move a ton of stuff in and out when I'm using it. I do have two building but as another said. The more buildings the more "stuff" ya get. I set a post vise up on a 2x6 and nailed that between two saw horses, my anvil? I have on a log and 6 inch deep 2x2 ft piece of concrete so I can move it around two. same with my Marvel forge and blower I can move it around by myself with two skateboards. This is a must for me since I live right down town and need to lock up certain tools or just move them out of the way every now and then. Not to mention I need the room in one building to get my transports in and out to work on and the old Roadrunner lives in one 1/2 of one building year round. Again great score. Rich
  2. Was a log jam and he used tannerite. BUT he used more the the BATFE allows by law. YOu are only allowed to detonate 2 lbs at a time NOT 5 as that is in federal violation of explosives set by the BATFE. I like how he acts how everything is so secret when it comes to making things. LOL to funny. And with the money he's making ya figure he'd BUY SOME SAFETY EQUIPMENT. I find the show a joke and just another reason to watch tools go through the roof price wise. Thanks again history channel. I do respect him for being a very smart man yet living a simple life. not easy to do both today. Rich
  3. Hello I'm in the Scranton area about 2 hours north up 476 turn pike. Rich
  4. Nope will go see now. Wasn't to make knives so I didn't even think to look there. Was for tool repairs that was commissioned to me. Hence the wanting nice new steel since my name is going on it. If any is left I'd keep it for either smaller knives or such. My knife making has turned to mostly PW stuff. and odd ball requests/commissions. Rich
  5. I need to source some new 5160. Found this site and it seems to be the only one that is selling what I need. the stock is the right size but about a foot short since they only list it in 36 inch lengths. http://www.texasknife.com/vcom/product_info.php?products_id=353 Anyone order from them or have a better place? NJsteelbaron is out of it ( or I can't find it on the site) where I normally order from when I need known and new. Not interested in used springs I have enough of those leaf and coils, I need new stock for my next project. Rich
  6. Yup get it hot straight through. In other words once it's hot let it soak a few more seconds. Use a bigger hammer too. Don't know what your using now but for big stuff drawn out, a 4 lbs cross peen does it for me. Once you hit that 1 inch or smaller Dia. it gets real easy and a lighter hammer works good then. Beat it like you are angry but with good hammer control. Also get a cadence worked out to prevent fatigue and when it does set in take a break it will also go faster if your not "working yourself to death" Rich
  7. My 8 year old daughter helps me with the forge. she calls th spot I have her stand and hold things her "station" She's been helping with bodkins lately. holding a swage and turning the blower on and off. Helps with other things like putting new exhaust on our can. Didn't even ask if it was ok just crawled under nad held it up when asked. Told her she would be the one who got the roadrunner her reply was No daddy I like the jeep! # boys that I can't get to lift a finger. LOL she's a real learner that's for sure. Rich
  8. And thank you "forged in fire" now everyone wants to make sharp pointy things and prices are through the roof even worse then a year ago today. Rich
  9. WOW! now I have a headache ....... One thing I've found over the years. Anything that is combustible will melt steel with enough forced air. I've only had my forge since winter and I've used wood,charcoal,coal. Before that I used a webber SS grill and mostly wood or charcoal. this was able to melt brass and aluminum with a shop vac and wood. I would suggest that you find what you like to forge with and use it. Then use what you can get when out of what you normally use. I've been slowly burning a old back porch off of one of our tenants homes ( replaced porch last April) in the forge, wood to charcoal. saves the coal. I live in down town Scranton and coal is hard to get. We used to have 4 coal companies right here in town, but they are gone now. No one heats with coal anymore since they put in city NG 25+ years ago. That's food for thought right there, Scranton is known as coal country and even another poster mentioned 11 counties right here in NEPA are noted for the coal reserves. Yet it's not mined like it was even 20 years ago. Most of the local coal that is mined now days goes to Berwick Pa for the nuclear reactor. and a few coal fired steam plants that make electric . Berwick is were all of the power is made for this side of the state. The wind turbines all produce for Philly. SO if you can get coal for a good price, ANY coal use it. I live in a coal rich area and small quantities are no longer sold ( 1 ton and under) unless you are willing to haul it yourself from over a 1 1/12 hour ride one way. I'll continue to forge with what I have on hand so long as it comes up to temp and does what I need it to do. BTW: one of the better tech threads I've read on solid fuels with the data provided by all. While I may not have contributed to BTU, burn rate . I think I have stated just how hard it can be to get any coal in a area known for it. and that you should forge with what you have. I have for 20 + years. Some combustibles just take more forced air and are not as efficient as others. ( something to remember with a hand blower or bellows) PS: sorry for the long post. Rich
  10. Sounds like a good deal. I have about the same forge as you. around here used without a blower they are 1200.00 on craigslist. Don't know if they sell or not at that price, that is the starting/asking price. Anvil is a good score to at that price. Over the winter I got a buffalo forge and blower from a board member here. We traded, I built him a office at his shop and got the forge and blower in return. SO, if you go by my price used in the area it was a 1200.00 blower. that means I made 75.00 hour to build the office. I would do like others mentioned and S hook it or straight round stock for a grate and be done with it. And yes fire brick it or use that smear on furnace cement. In other words at those prices I think ya done real good. Rich
  11. No not really. I helped a great friend out. I still have 3 anvils one RR track and two name brands. I have a parts car in his yard for my roadrunner that I have been striping and putting into boxes. ( how many people let you part and strip a car in their yard?) Asked him what he needed, he said a anvil. I took two of the RR ones over and let him choose. He chose the smaller of the two. point being it served me a long time and now it is someplace that it's being used as a tool not a decoration, buy a fellow maker of things that is a true friend. Point I was trying to make to the original poster is Start with what you can. If your interest is held move up as you can. Took me 20 + years to get around to getting so called better equipment. And there was nothing wrong with what I had or it would have never taken so long to "upgrade" As another poster said Don't make practice pieces just to practice. Figure out what you need/want to make and go at it. the practice will be how many times did you try to make it until it past your "muster" as "good". Rich
  12. Your right what I meant and should have stated was my forge looks like a forge, my anvil looks like a anvil now. before my forge looked like you could grill burgers on it and my anvil looked like it belonged at the CPS rail way. No mistaking my tools now LOL And yes the Webber SS grill melted alot of lead, mixed alot of brass, and heated alot of steel over the years with just a shop vac as a blower. I gave my RR avil to a friend, he just used it to do body work on a trailer of his that a lady plowed into drunk. I never though of using it for that. it was small enough to get up in where he needed it for a solid backer to straighten things out. . Rich
  13. I just went at it about 20 years ago. I make things I need like a handle for my 450 lyman boolit sizer since the factory OEM was junk and broke. been on the sizer for 20 years now and still gets used every fall. I thought when I got around to getting a real forge ( used a webber grill for years) and a real anvil ( used a rr track for years) that I would want to make decorations. NOPE I like sharp things and that's what I enjoy making. I make the tools to make he sharp things, but DO NOT enjoy it. I'm just to cheap to buy a fuller when I can make one. Make a few things and see what you enjoy. In this hobby you will end up making things you don't enjoy making, to make the things that do please you. Rich
  14. Got the willing wife but she's 110 lbs soaking wet. The HB anvil weighs more then her..... I'll look into the other alternatives .... thanks Rich
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