Glenn

Good to hear from you Ted. All the best.

Get some grid paper and draw the shop space, including any windows and doors. Draw to scale the equipment you have now and what you expect to purchase in the future and arrange it in the drawing. When you have a working design, go out into the yard and duplicate at exact size your drawing and equipment positions. Use cardboard boxes, string boundaries or what ever works and you have on hand. This will give you an idea of the room needed to swing a 10 foot bar of stock and the walking distance from one piece of equipment to another. Finally when the walls are built, put everything that you can on wheels so it can be easily moves about and re positioned, or moved to sweep the floor. There is no right set up, only what works for you in your shop.

Use one half that length of fire and half the width. After that, you may want to build some walls in order to make the fire a bit deeper. If the leaf blower makes too much air, separate the blower from the air pipe by 3-4 inches and air more directly for more air to the forge, less directly for less air to the forge. Move the forge to the door opening or outside to get rid of the smoke. Welcome to the site. Read the thread READ THIS FIRST in order to get the most out of the site.

Thank You for your post and your kind words.

Keep the guards in place, and close, while using the grinding wheel. ALWAYS keep the guards in place and close when using the wire wheels. They will grab the metal out of your hands and throw it back at you before you realize it happened. Watch for grinding dust and loose wires being thrown from the wheels. Eye protection and respirators are required. Additionally a full face shield is suggested. Heavy aprons are good for this type tool. Before you use either the grinder or the wire brush, step to the side and turn on the tool. Let it run for a minute or so before you start to use the thing. The grinding wheels have been known to come apart from impact, wear, or defects and you want to check it runs at speed before you use it.

Use a hammer and hot metal on the face to make it shine. Anything else and your removing material from the face thickness, no matter now small an amount of material. For the body, go lightly with a wire brush. Do not remove anything that can not be replaced in your life time, such as a patina. A bit of light oil will stop any rust and add a bit of color to the metal. Work in the anvil for a year (2000 hours) before you decide to modify the anvil.

Not all vises are modern. A simple wedge makes a serviceable vise.

Just be sure to secure that thing to the vehicle. Then check the bindings early and often to be sure they remain tight. You do not have to move it legs down, it can be moved legs up or taken out of the frame. Old tires will aid in keeping it from sliding around on the bed of a truck. If you run out of options, rent a U-Haul box truck or trailer. (think large enough to haul a vehicle) As I recall they may weigh about a ton each so be careful and do not get under the thing.

It is not about what you make in the forge but that each time you go to the forge you learn something. Fuel does not make the fire hot, air makes the fire hot. Use only the amount of air to generate the heat you need. You might be surprised just how little air that is required.

Just throw out some bait and they will bite. Many times it ends up in a feeding frenzy.

Never too many or always room for one more?

Anything is better than that 5 gallon plastic bucket. Find a proper and safe anvil stand. Then look for a pair of steel toed boots. (grin) What is the weight of the anvil? Congratulations, and welcome to IForgeIron. To get the most from the site READ THIS FIRST

Meeting Info: When: Sunday - February 24th, 2019 Time: 1-4pm Where: Blacksmith Shoppe Mystic Seaport Mystic, CT Info for entry: Enter through the regular entry gate. Tell the attendant you are here for the Connecticut Blacksmiths Guild Meeting. YOU WILL BE ADMITTED FREE AFTER 12PM. Ask to be directed to the Ships Smith Shoppe. Any problems you can reach Bill Scheer Demos: TBD

How many anvils does it take to make a harem of anvils? Is there a minimum number? Is there an optimum number? Can you have too many?

Why pay full price to play second fiddle? You deserve full instruction from the teacher for the money you invested. If not, ask for a full refund and sign up for the next class. As to the person that burned the back of your pant leg with hot metal, I would tell him it is a major safety issue and they are NOT get within 10 feet of you with hot metal. Report it to the instructor as a safety issue. A trip to the hospital will pay for several classes. Safety is always first. If it is not safe, then walk away. You and your family will thank you later.