Glenn

Hard wear cloth= mesh, yes. Start with the recommendations from the thread, they work. After you get a working forge, you can make any changes you wish. Make any changes one at a time and then play with the new modifications and compare to the original to see if they improved the process. If so, keep the changes, if not then go back to the original. Give any modifications a day or two of forging , not just a single fire, so you get real information A lot of times it is good to build two forges so you can switch back and forth to evaluate the changes. JABOD is cheap and easy to modify.

You may want to look the blacksmithing groups in Texas and Louisiana and attend the meetings. We can provide you feedback, just ask well thought questions, take the answers to the forge and try out the information. Then come back with more specific questions. Think of the learning as a challenge, whether on the internet, through books, or spending a day or so at a blacksmith meeting. It all counts. With IForgeIron, you have access to over 45,000 blacksmiths and members from over 150 countries of the world. They demo, they teach, and they also write books. It is a great resource.

I thought the pipe was 3/4 or 1 inch sch 40 pipe. Do not recall hard wear cloth being used.

Fire management is a thing you learn with solid fuels, and each fuel is a bit different. The design of the forge is secondary, and if there was a perfect forge, we would all have one.

Thanks Charles for a better illustration

Reread the thread on JABOD just a box of dirt. It will answer many of your questions and guide you to a better forge. A piece of pipe is all that is needed in the fire, a expandable aluminum close dryer vent will get the air from the hair dryer to the pipe. Leave a 3-4 inch gap between the hair dryer and the dryer vent. Aim the hair dryer toward the dryer vent for more air, not do directly for less air. It them becomes a matter of how much air you spill to control the air blast. Think gentle breeze. You will need a much deeper fire, 2 to 3 bricks deep. The metal goes into the middle or above of the fire into the embers. Fuel does not make the fire hot, air makes the fire hot. Adjust the air for the temperature you need for the stock you are using. No screen needed as the fire will make ash which will insulate the bottom of the forge. The clinker, the stuff that is not fuel will sink to the bottom of the fire and need to be removed from time to time. It looks like melted rock, glass, and etc and should be able to be removed by hooking it out. Let the fire sit for 30 seconds or a minute so the clinker can cool and solidify. You just need to remove the big pieces, not every little piece. You will want to read the following. Lessons in Blacksmithing Seeing Colors BP001 Easy to make tongs JABOD thread Study the following images That is a rail road rail in end, a 2 pound hammer and a piece of 1/2 inch round bar. As long as the anvil is larger than the hammer face you are good. Metal only moves under the hammer face anyway. Look at the post Directional forging.. Hammer understanding as I see it... and watch the video more than once. JLP is good with a hammer and explains what it is doing. If you run out of things to do, or have some spare time, Pack a lunch and a cold drink and read the site. Start with the sections that interest you and then what ever catches your attention. Then move on to the stickies in all sections. The site is has a lot of information. Blacksmithing is not a sprint, but an endurance marathon. There is always something new to learn. Enjoy the challenge and then pass it on to the next fellow.

Contact PABA and ask them if they can recommend someone.

What is the weight of the little Vulcan and what do you need to do that your little Vulcan can not do now?

A fellow could just order in a 1000 pound anvil and use that for the power hammer anvil. Been done before with smaller anvils. If you were to put it on a swing away mechanism, you could also use it as a blacksmithing anvil. Been done before with other tools to get double use.

Fire management is more than just building a fire and keeping it going. You learn to use YOUR fuel (solid fuels) and add the amount of air needed to achieve the hear you want. The temperature dial is the air dial. Too much air and you get too hot. Not enough air and you do not get hot enough. The fire is NOT a single temperature, it is constantly changing temperature as the fuel burns. You have to continually replace the burnt fuel, and adjust the air to get what you need or want. It is a dance that is easy for some, and frustrating for others. Watching a blacksmith tend his fire is not as exciting as watching him swing a hammer. Working the fire is a much overlooked part of his craft. This makes gas forges very attractive to some folks, just set the dial and you get one heat temperature that is constant until you drain the bottle. Electric induction forges are a little of both if they are set up properly. Then there is the day you try heating multiple pieces of stock in the same fire in a solid fuel forge (grin). It is actually easy to control and there is always a hot piece of metal ready for the anvil. The fire can overwork you as YOU try to keep up.

Do not build a box and then try to think outside the box. What you need is an anvil for the power hammer. You suggested something in the 1000 pound range. So look for a 1000 pound mass. Deconstruction wrecking balls come to mind. The one I saw in a junk yard (scrapped) came at a reasonable price per pound but the fellow at the scrap yard said flat out that there was no way it would fit on the pick up truck. I needed something a whole lot bigger. Go to a heavy construction location and look for heavy materials. Thomas knows where there is a heavy gun barrel available. Look for a large diameter hydraulic cylinder. What about the counter weights from cranes? If you add your location to your profile, we may be able to suggest something close to your location so shipping would not be so much of an issue.

12 inch diameter and 3 feet long is about 1200 pounds. You then need to cut this length from a parent stock, bevel the end so you can weld it to the base with a full penetration weld. How are you going to get the ends cut square, or the parent stock even cut for that matter? As an anvil it does not have to be round, but could be square or hex or octagon for that matter.

Put the basic forge kit into the trunk of your car, anvil, blower, a bit of fuel, hammer, tongs, etc. A 5 gallon bucket should hold most of the tools you will need. Your not building massive projects, just playing in the fire. Think mobile. You do not have to carry around a 500 pound anvil when a 75-100 pound will do. You may get some ideas from the make do anvils and forges threads, or look into a mobile Calvary forge.

Most anvils are purchased used. Most of those anvils have been well cared for by their previous owners, and look forward to providing years of service to the new owners. All they require is a hot metal message and a bit of a rub down with light oil at the end of the day. In return they will try to teach you those blemishes are actually features, and other things the previous owners did. If you are gentle, loving, and show the anvil your appreciation, they will in return help you make money. If the anvil were to get fussy, then shut down the shop and walk away. Come back when your in a better mood, because it is not the anvils fault. My anvil is patient between visits, knowing that I have a life outside the smithy. When I arrive it is always ready to go to work. It wants to know what we are making today and how it can help with the project. We work together. With each project it provides the best service that it can. In return, I provide a rub down with light oil at the end of the day, and a thank you for helping me.

Look into a way to make your own turnbuckle. A long bolt with a hand made wing nut will work. Use short threads on both ends of the bolt and maybe twist the center section of the bolt.