Glenn

Peyton, as you know, IForgeIron supports ABANA, and other blacksmithing groups. Folks can go to ABANA to get full details of the membership program. Your post was edited (slightly) so it was not an advertisement for ABANA.

True prices for anvils.

Poll What percent of your income comes from Blacksmithing?

Celtic cross

I must admit this *present* is much better than the last *present* the cat left in the coal bin. (grin).

Place the image into the IForgeIron Gallery, then copy the linked thumbnail from the IFI Gallery into the IFI Forum text.

I store coal in a 55 gallon plastic drum that is covered with a plastic tarp. It would seem that I do not use coal from the storage bin fast enough, and things grow in the coal. Click here to see

Many times we hear the zingers and think, "WOW I wish I had said that" or "What a great comment". Let us put those quotes that are, or will soon become, "classics" here so we can find them again. Tools do not make the blacksmith, the blacksmith makes the tools. Glenn If someone questions your standards, they are not high enough. Glenn You can gain experience without knowledge by doing. You can NOT gain experience by gaining knowledge. Frosty You can walk with a plastic leg, you can work with a plastic arm, you can hear with a plastic ear, but you can not see with a plastic eye. Jim (PPW) Wilson Make a list of all the body parts you can do without. It is your personal responsibility to protect the rest. Glenn

orange dog forge, click on user cp and add your location. We would like to know where in the world you are located.

How to post an image on IFI

Don't forget that we can run those tools on an IForgeIron auction and make them available to those that are aspiring smiths, or smiths that would make them welcome in their shop. Many of the tools would be put to work to earn their keep.

The pricing subject has been discussed in other posts. You can either cover your cost of materials, add something for your labor, and add some more for equipment and repairs to old equipment, or take the easy way out, just open your wallet and give the fellow a $20 bill. If you don't cover your cost, then you ARE, in effect, giving him YOUR money. As a skilled craftsman you are making a one-off product that should last a lifetime.

Frosty, here the warning is: Everything is either HOT, HEAVY, SHARP, or DANGEROUS !!

Take 4 long rods and insert one short piece of stock in the center to hold their position. Then arc weld the ends. Heat, twist, and beat the end of the twist into a shape to be forge welded to the next piece of stock. As Rich suggested small clamps work weld for holding things together during the arc weld.

Here, each time after the tongs are used, they go into the slack tub (water) and only then are they put (dripping wet) back on the coal forge work table or tong rack. If a project is cut from a length of stock, the stock goes onto the forge work table with the hot end away. The project goes onto the far side of the forge work table to cool. This way ANYTHING on the forge work table is HOT, not considered hot, but IS HOT. When the table fills up, each project is individually picked up with tongs, put into the slack tub (water) and then placed into MY BARE HAND to be transferred to another table away from the forge. The same with the stock, into the slack tub (water) and then placed into MY BARE HAND to be transferred to another location. This way I KNOW that anything on the forge work table IS HOT, and anything on the *other* table is COLD enough to be put into a bare hand with NO SURPRISES and no burns.

Start your search in the IForgeIron Book Reviews section. Then move to the IForgeIron > Lessons in Metalworking > Blacksmithing > LB0008 Reference material and LB0008.0001 Reference Material. As to the blueprints, please review the IForgeIron > Forum > Keeping you informed > Ch-CH-Ch-Ch-Changes, and > 500 Blueprints posts. Do not forget the IForgeIron > Forum > Archive. It is located at the bottom right of the forum page. Click on archive, then a section, then a sub-section. There may be more than one page so look for the page numbers 2, 3, 4, etc at the top of the page above the list the topics. Get a cold drink and something to eat before you visit the archives as you may be a while. (grin). Welcome to IForgeIron. Enjoy your visit.

canuk, when you post your photos to the IFI Gallery, be sure and add keywords that reflect the subject of the photo. This is what the gallery search engine uses to search the over 8000 images now on file. There is still plenty of room in the gallery so don't be shy in posting your images. You can organize your photos by making albums in the IFI Gallery and keep your images grouped so they make sense.

T

Charles, go to the top of the forum page, click on user CP and enter your location and save. We would like to know where in the world your located.

Your thinking stock removal. Why not stock addition? Take a piece of pipe and swage it down to the *right* size and taper, cut it in half and then buttress the half pipe for support. There is nothing wrong with the old ways of making the socket, it is just a bit slower.

I have changed the shape of my fire pot with clay. The hot fire does erode the sides a bit, but replacing the clay is only takes about half an hour, and is put to use with no drying time.

Kevin you got it, yesterday, today, tomorrow

When you get the chance, go to IForgeIron.com > Blueprints. Another good place to visit is at the bottom right of the forum page, and click archives, then a section, then a sub-section. Don't thing everything is shown on the first page. Look for pages 2, 3, 4, etc at the top of the listing. Pack a cold drink and something to eat (grin), you may be there a while.

With many things, just starting is the first obstacle you must overcome. If you want to forge a knife, you need a forge. If you want to do stock removal, you need something to remove the stock, file, grinder, etc. Both methods require knowledge of the tools you are using which can only come your actually using the tools. Follow all the safety precautions and wear proper eye, ear, and personal body protection. If you do not know, or are unsure, then ask someone. Otherwise you can hurt yourself or others through your lack of knowledge. Start with any type of mild steel (it is cheap) and practice. Then read, talk with others, take classes etc, and put what you have learned into practice. The more time and effort you invest into learning, followed by the more time and effort you invest into practicing the technique, the better the end product will become. This site will be a great resource of both information and answers as you proceed in your quest.

Archie, photos please, show us what it look like.