Glenn

Once you have a working air supply you CAN start blacksmithing. You may want to look into a box bellows. They have been used for years and are a simple build.

Gas Forge Refractories and Supplies

BP001 Easy to make tongs They work. A collection of improvised anvils The more you read the less you have to spend. Drive by the car repair shops, or other places that service vehicles. They throw away tons of usable metal. Go to the businesses in your area and ask to look into their dumpsters, ask first and tell them why you want to look and that your a blacksmith, not a scrapper. Wear PPE to show them your serious. There should be some welding or manufacturing shops in your area. They throw away all sorts of usable materials. Always ask first and then thank them before you leave. Second time there bring cookies or donuts.

The spray is a commercial product in a can. It coats and seals the metal from moisture.

For any machines that do not like dust and debris and are in occasional use, cover them with a drop cloth for protection. You can remove the drop cloth and wash it when needed. One thing to ALWAYS avoid is any acid in that shop. The acid fumes will accelerate rust like crazy. There are products spray cans that can be used to protect tools and tooling from rust. I am playing with one now to see how well it preforms. There is a product that you can place open in a drawer that the vapors protect the tools from rust. You can fight rust to slow it down it down but constant use is the best method for protection, followed by protectants after use and definitely before storage.

Put everything you can on wheels. You will be surprised how convenient that becomes when you need a little space for a particular project, or when it comes time to clean the floors.

Jokes and humor can only be understood if everyone can see both sides of the comments. Many comments can be interpreted in multiple ways. You need to review all the ways and then choose which you feel applies to the situation. Even then, your choice may not be the proper one based on the intent of the person making the comment. Add in different countries, different languages, different cultures, etc and it can become a real problem trying to communicate on a straight forward manner.

Pieces of my forges were temporally tack welded in place to see how they would work. Cut or break the tacks to make adjustments. The forges that I use most at this point are the 55 Forge with the supercharger, a 13-1/2 inch diameter brake drum with a 1 inch deeper extension and a table, and a 4 inch diameter cast iron pot with a 1 inch deeper extension and a table. The 55 Forge has gone through so many modifications I quit counting. The brake drum forge has had two different size tables and two different depths of the table, and the 4 inch diameter forge was the third built and has remained about the same configuration. Each produces a different type heat and different shape heat. They are just 3 different tools so you can choose which one fits the job at hand.

The design of a fire pot should be based on the type fuel you are using, the type work you do, the size stock you use, and other factors. Early on I found that moving the sweet spot of the fire up or down to match the height of the table was important to me. That way you knew if the stock was resting on the forge table, the metal was in the sweet spot. None of the forges I have built were welded together before being used for a while. Changes were easily made until I got what I wanted. Only then did they get finalized.

Life doesn't come with nearly enough warning labels. Thomas Powers

More details are always better as otherwise we must guess at what you are doing and what you have to work with. We want you to succeed, we just need to work together to make that happen.

He, as well as his family and friends, are on the list.

Thank you for the corrections. Things change with improvements, both to the structural and composition, as well as the company's bottom line expense. Repurposing from one craft or situation to another can cause problems. We must always be aware that things are built to the minimum requirements for that specific use.

There is a difference between cinder blocks (made using fly ash and cinders) and concrete blocks using concrete. If there is ever a question, listen to your gut feelings, or those of your wife. When using wooden cribbing, go for soft woods over the hard woods. Use only sound wood that is in good condition.

Depending on your situation in your shop, my suggestion would be to play with manually adjustment until you find the sweet spot for your physical height and what suits your way of working. Numbers to the anvil height are of little use to the 5'-0" individual, as they are to the 6'-10" individual, as they are to people with short or long legs or short or long arms. The numbers you provide are only good for your body height and your way of working. The hammer marks are a reflection of one individual, their physical height, and way of working. Think of it as the seat adjustment in a ca, how long the driver's legs and how comfortable the driver wants to be. Making your height adjustable works for YOU. This is my blacksmithing platform, this is my bladesmithing platform, and over there is the platform my striker uses when he is available. Anvil stays the same, only the platform changes. You can drive yourself nuts or you can go to work and forge. Your choice.