Pat Roy

Huh, all this time I haven't worried about the quality of water in my bucket. It evaporates some, I refill it as necessary. Yes it's pretty grungy water and there is sediment on the bottom. I don't drink from it though. And it doesn't rust; it's a bucket the cat litter came in. I also haven't burned any holes in it.

Mr. Johnson, the most reliable source of blacksmithing coal in Southern and Central Maine is Aubuchon Hardware. It comes in 50# bags for $12.49.

I had the rusting problem in my old shop. When I built the new shop I installed a propane heater to maintain a minimum temperature of 42ºF in fall, winter and spring. This is working for me.

I agree with two guys ahead of me here. If you are self taught I would advise starting out in a blacksmithing introductory class. Your skill level might not be up to the demands of a tool making class. You can learn a lot from books and YouTube videos but there is nothing like face to face and hands on with some one really good. You can always go back later for the tool making class.

I don't do any stick welding, just mig and tig, and generally work with only low carbon steel. I just looked up 1020 and it has 0.3 to 0.6% manganese. That doesn't seem like much compared to some of the electrodes, of which some have manganese oxide and ferromanganese 0 to 20% depending on the rod you select.

So where is the manganese coming from? The base metal, the filler material, the flux?

French was my first language but now I could only catch the occasional word. Just the same, I understood the blacksmithing. Thanks.

My concern with candle holders is that they be very stable; you don't want them falling over and burning the house down. Yesteryearforge, I really like your work. The copper is very attractive. I have made one of the Trillium candle holder and like that design very much. Thanks.

I wouldn't worry about a 1/16" sway in the middle.

Fabulous little project, but here it is Christmas eve! Well there are other holidays and events on the horizon. Thanks

In my experience, for light forging I burn less than 2.5 pounds per hour when working steadily. I have an electric blower but shut off the air with a slide gate damper when no iron is in the fire. If I'm going to away from the fire for a while I shut off the blower to reduce the shop noise. In this area I can buy 50 LB bags of bituminus for $12.49 plus tax. Buying a whole pallet (50 bags) gives you a good discount.

Remist17, by my calculation your hunk of steel (10x10x6) should weigh about 170 pounds. That's a pretty good weight for a starter anvil.

When you are doing a demonstration at the fair, nearly everyone watching you has a grandfather who was a real blacksmith.

I don't know what you are making with this material but it sounds like a lot of work to get the size you want. If you are making a lot of pieces, I would consider buying stock of the right size (or nearly the right size) and going ahead from there.

This is just me, if I were interested in making serious hammers, I would find a tool making class and start there.