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I Forge Iron

Technician.Austin

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  • Location
    Parkersburg, WV
  • Interests
    Forging, Automotive Diagnostics and Repair, PC Diagnostics and Repair

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  1. I've been reading "Blacksmiths Craft" and it mentions in the first section that a side blast forge should have the blast pipe constantly cooled by a source tank to prevent damage to the tuyere. I do not believe the bottom draft forge has to contend with this as much as the heat is blown away from the tuyere. However you will have to combat clinkers and ash in the grate, so six in one hand half-dozen in the other?
  2. I think the nut coal would be more ideal for forging than the rice size. Rice coal is a little difficult to manage in the coal pan around the fire pot. I feel I get a more even heat though. Try and see what works in your set up and let us know. I do believe that there may be more than just water on the coal. It does feel a little oily and the smoke is dark, but Like i said earlier, I've never used real coal until now. Hopefully I will have time for some pictures and such tonight.
  3. Yes the belching is a backfire. It's not violent enough to move the coal but the noise is startling, especially with your back to the fire. Is there a way to prevent this from happening? Matto, I agree. The price is definitely worth it. My only other option is to buy Bituminous in bulk, at $70 a ton, but I've got no means to transport or store that amount, and it's an hour away,
  4. Ash was very minimal, as far as clinkers I don't know. They are still under about a pound of coal. After it coked it was very hot, but getting the moisture out was a pain. I'll get some pics probably tomorrow evening. This is my first time using coal vs hardwood lump coal, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I did have another problem I forgot to mention. My brake drum forge likes to "belch" when I have the blower off. Any way to prevent this? I did not have this problem with lump. Thanks!
  5. This coal was great, my only complaint was that it was wet in the bag. I imagine it was stored outside at some point. After about 15min heating out the moisture it really took off. I was using the "rice" size, someone came in and cleaned out the entire pallet of "nut" size before I could get to it. There is a little smoke during take off but once the fire hits there is minimal smoke and ash. Works up to a hot hot hot temp in no time, I was able to weld 3/8" bar stock in 6-8 min heat time, and accidentally burned some stock during conversation. I used maybe 2lbs to start, did not feed any more coal and was able to keep the forge running for a solid hour, the remaining coal was level with my brake drum. I shut everything down, and an hour later I was able to come out and kick the hairdryer on and fired it right back up! For those of you surviving on Cowboy chunk or Royal Oak, FIND A TRACTOR SUPPLY NEAR YOU! 6 bucks for 40lbs is way better than 20lbs of half-assed coal for $15. The store clerk tells me that this is the first time they have ever carried coal, and they plan to get regular shipments. Any questions? And if pics are requested I'll take some tomorrow.
  6. My local tractor supply now carries anthracite coal, in rice and nut sizes. The price is $5.99 for a 40lb bag. Will be trying this and reviewing very soon. Check it out! http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/kimmels-coal-and-packaging-nut-coal-40-lb
  7. I use a hand made drum brake forge, and tonight while running it, it became very windy. I decided to call it quits, but i wanted to cover the forge to snuff it out. I grabbed a matching brake drum and set it on top...... My did that make a gorgeous pillar of fire. And the fire fleas almost disappeared completely! So i cranked my hair dryer back up and did a heat through the hole, and it seemed to work, just slower than if i were directly in the coal. Note that the coal in my pot was almost burnt up at this point. My question is, is there a benefit to using a covered forge such as this? Is there anything to gain/lose? I'm considering slotting the upper drum so i can get more access than going through the upper hole.
  8. I'd probably go up to an hour away, I'm OK going to Ohio but I don't think there are any yards in the valley over there.
  9. Does anyone here know of any scrap yards near 26104 that still sell scrap to the public? The big three local to me all are closed to public sale...
  10. Quad city in troy is now on my calender. I will begin my hunt for forklift tines on Monday, I've already emailed Walker CAT about equipment steel. I'm joining the ABA soon. It appears the website is dead but they do have an active facebook. Aaron Cutright is the current president. EDIT: Just found the dates for the quad state at http://www.sofablacksmiths.org/
  11. Im an actually on the Ohio river, so I have plenty of "open water acreage" lol. Have any "feelers" in the area Thomas??
  12. The mining industry is much further south-east from me, We have three "farm implement dealerships" and they are all big box stores. (Rural King, Mahindra, John Deere) As far as forklift, truck or heavy equipment repair I can't think of any off hand. We do have a Caterpillar rental/service outlet up the road, I may give them a call. Charles, Isn't it a shame that we can't even get first pick on our own supply? Won't be long until our paychecks come from China as well...
  13. It was a 1980's Challenger Lift, But as of yesterday morning its all in the scrap yard. The arm I received was a gift from my shop foreman at our dealership. He heard I was looking for something to beat on, I can't complain with what I got for free. I may do the cut and weld like you are mentioning though, ideally I want a plate big enough to stand itself up, the tube in the center (and for weight I may weld the 2nd part of the arm into the first) then weld a plate on top. Charles, my local scrap yards are shut to the public. We cant even walk our automotive junk yards here. It's a joke. Does anyone know of a scrap yard within driving distance that does still sell to the public?
  14. I did as of this morning, But I had no way to cut the base plate from the tower. The only torch I have in the shop is Oxygen Acetylene, I don't think I could cut steel that thick with it. EDIT: Now that I think of it, the base plate on this lift was the same thickness as the plate on the arm, About 3/4", but I also had a lot of welded gussets.
  15. Hello all! First off, this is my first post here, the site has already been a wealth of knowledge for me! I'm posting this because I believe I may have found an object I can use for a beginning anvil, It is the short arm from a very old Two-Post car lift. It's very similar to the one in the attached picture, and the area that I plan on using is the plate where the arm attaches to the black area of the lift itself. the plate's dimensions are:4" wide x 8" long x 3/4" thick The entire arm weighs about 60lbs. It has a nice ring when struck, but I haven't done a rebound test yet. I am not planning on forging large items. My questions are, can anyone help me identify what kind of steel the arm is made of and are there any ideas to cut/weld to improve it? Thanks for your help, I'm glad to have joined the community!
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