JohnH

Hello Mikey and MotoMike, Thank you for the Replies. The piece I have in my forge is K26 brick, but its way too thick at 2.5" to place on top of the liner. My concern with placing it in between the liner like in my picture is the gaps that I would imagine I get when I start replacing the brick after flux eats it up. Like you suggested I found some 1.5" thick K-26 for $5.00 a pop. Which I can throw on top of the liner. How long do these hold up before you need to replace them? I've also read about people using Kiln Shelves as they last longer vs flux than the K-26 and reflect heat better though I would assume they are more expensive. After reading some posts I've seen people also suggest Plastech 95 for a more longer lasting (a couple years with daily use) option at $100 +shipping for 50lbs (which I would use a fraction of before wasting the rest) -mike, that design looks pretty sweet. I'd like a door for my forge but I just have the pipe and I don''t have much skill on the fabrication side. the platform with the black iron pipe is pretty sweet. Can you post a couple more pictures of your frame? John.

I have a 10 inch diameter pipe I'm turning into a forge. It's about 16 inches long, and I have a 1" forge burner from hybrid burners. I have 2 inch blanket of high density Kaowool type insulation, and I plan on using light weight firebrick for the doors. Someone told me to place a firebrick on the insulation as a floor to stand up to flux. I feel this would create too I much of a bulge in the forge, so what about placing the brick on the bottom and filling the Kaowool around the brick?

Any Ideas what I could use the *pallet jack* tine for? Wayne, thank you for the offer. I just went back and checked the dates, it's actually October 9th, not this month. Whoops, it's been a long day. FABA Conference October 9-11 Ocala, FL http://fabaconference.org/

Aloha folks, I'm new to blacksmithing and just getting started collecting all my tools. I live in central Florida and I'm looking for an anvil to get started with. I called all the local scrap and recycling places looking for some thick steel drops or forklift forks, or just some scrap iron I can practice with. Unfortunately, no one was interested in letting me come and poke around or had any drops or forks. One of the shops referenced me to a blacksmith in my area who was extremely helpfull and gave me a section of railroad tie for free if I came and picked it up. He also had a couple hammers for sale which I happily bought. While driving out and back to his place, I ran across several auto repair shops and even a few houses with barns & scrap. I had better luck here than I did on the phone and got 3 auto springs, a break drum, and a couple pieces of stock for free. One of the salvage yards I stopped by to poke around had a old battery operated forklift. They said they'd cut the fork off for $25 but didnt know if it was solid steel or not. It was half buried in scrap and I couldn't get a good look. I agreed and they hauled it out and went to work with a torch. I was bummed to find it was not solid steel. It looks like quarter inch steel formed into sort of a frame, see the pictures below. I ended up giving them $35 for it since the guys helped me load it into the truck and needed beer money. It's pretty clear to me that this won't work as an anvil, but maybe I could use it as a stand for the railroad tie? The fork measures 47"L x 9"W x 3"H At the very least, there is a Blacksmithing conference I'm headed to in a couple weeks where maybe I can trade it for something more useful. Did I get hosed paying $35? What do you guys think? Mahalo, John.