Glenn

Hillbillysmith, go to the top of the forum page, click on user CP, click on edit profile, to the bottom of the page and enter your location and save. Woodforge LB0003 Blacksmithing Forges LB0003.0001 Blacksmithing Forges These 3 forges can be built with little or no cost. Blueprint BP0238 Side Blast Forge is most likely the simplest forge you can build. It takes the least amount of tools, little skill, and the least time to complete. Blueprint BP0133 The 55 Forge is another very simple design that takes only a few tools, some skill and only a couple of hours to build. This is similar to the rivet forge design, or the pan forge. Blueprint BP0333 The Supercharged 55 Forge is the next generation of the design. It still takes only a few tools, some skill and a couple of hours to build. This forge produces less smoke due the design which both burns and dilutes the smoke from the fire. Look at BP0390 First Fire at the Forge, the 55 Forge on a portable base. The idea is to build your first fire and get started. Then you can take your time looking for another forge while you play in the fire.

What are the dangers of wearing a ring(s) and working with metal, blacksmithing, or welding? This can include other jewelry such as ear rings, necklaces, bracelets, etc. Add your advice and stories.

Go to the top of the forum page and click on User CP Click on edit profile go to the bottom of the page and enter you location and save.

There have been times when rusted areas were removed from quarter panels in a vehicle and ox/ac was used to weld the new material back into place. That was full penetration mostly verticle welding with a flat bead. It is fair to say ox/ac welding of thin tim has been replaces by mig welding (wire welding). I have also seen ox/ac used to weld 1/4 inch thick materials. Ox/ac can easily be used for cutting steel, heat treating and tempering materials, spot heating, short heating, and is a versatile system, able to do many jobs.

If your buying it new, usually 3 pieces of 1/4 inch, 3 pieces of 3/8 inch, 3 pieces of 1/2 inch in both round and square is a good place to start. It will give you 6 different choices and enough steel to play with for a short while. From there you can judge your needs as the stock is used. Cut to 10 foot lengths for hauling. From the junk yard, look for the same mix AND anything else that looks interesting. Bed rails are great for angle iron projects. Pipe from 1/2 inch to 1-1/2 inch is useful in small quantities, as is square tubing. IF you choose the junk yard route, DO NOT LOOK for what is there, but SEE the possibilities that piece of steel can provide. The section of gear teeth can be a swage, the small(ish) squirrel cage fan inside for a forge blower, and so on. Your a blacksmith, so think like a blacksmith. Make the fellow a deal to buy the whole junk yard !! You will find use for most of it eventually. (grin) BP0244 Junk Yard Visit BP0184 Look - See

JA Go to the top of the forum page and click on User CP then click on edit profile then to the bottom of the page and fill in your location and save.

What are the best reasons to choose the Oxygen/Acetylene (gas) type of welding over other types. What are the minimum and maximum thickness arc Oxygen/Acetylene type of welding can handle? Any advice on the process?

What are the best reasons to choose the arc TIG type of welding over other types. What are the minimum and maximum thickness arc TIG type of welding can handle? Any advice on the process?

What are the best reasons to choose the arc (mig) wire type of welding over other types. What are the minimum and maximum thickness arc (mig) wire type of welding can handle? Any advice on the process?

What are the best reasons to choose the arc (stick) type of welding over other types. What are the minimum and maximum thickness arc (stick) type of welding can handle? Any advice on the process?

New, old, painter with pinstripes or a little rust, this would be the place to post photos of your welder.

Make great feet for tables, weld a bunch together for a cheap acorn platen table etc etc.

Clinker depends of the impurities in the coal or solid fuel. Some breaks up easily, some not so easily. I use two different type of coal in my forge, one that produced little or no clinker, and the other that makes wonderful clinkers, the stuff that starts rumors and legends. With some of the clinker being the size of your fist, usually hooking out the clinker works best. YMMV

That is where I seem to spend most of my time The location of IForgeIron is at the bottom of most of the site pages.

Many years ago, Bill Epps said something to the effect that to sell, it has to be less than $20, and look good in a double wide. He also said that you should have a lower price group, a mid price group, and a couple of high end (high priced) items. The high end items are not expected to sell, but then again they may. It is to show what you CAN do if given the chance. If you think about it, Wendy's Hamburgers did just that with the single, double, and triple hamburgers. How many times have you seen items advertised at $19.95, $19.99? We all know it is still a $20 bill but we see the 19 and think it is less. Or gasoline at (remember when) $2.99.9? That is just 2 drops away from $3.00, but we see the 2 and think it is less. If you set your pricing to match the currency, there is no time lost trying to make change. If your items are priced at $4.99, $9.99, $19.99, you can keep a bowl full of BRIGHT NEW pennies and speed up the process of collecting money and making change. You will have invested $1 per 100 sales to speed things up.

Timekiller Go to the top of the Forum page and click on User CP Click on Edit Profile Go to the bottom of the page and enter your location. Save. It will add your location to your posts.

LDW, put the photos into the IForgeIron.com Gallery. The gallery will automatically resize them for you to the proper size to fit the IFI Forum. IForgeIron.com > Gallery Click on upload photos Select the photos you wish to upload from your computer (browse your hard drive) Click on the photo you want (highlight) and click open Enter a default title for the photo Enter a description for the photo Enter key words for the photo (what the search engine uses to find the photo) Click Upload or submitt Go to Linked Thumbnail below the photo in the gallery Copy the entire URL Paste the URL into the IFI Forum where you want the linked thumbnail to appear. This is the way it appears in your post. This will keep the file size and bandwidth small enough for those on dial-up to use the forum, is the easiest way to resize the image for the Forum, and creates a linked thumbnail for you.

The advice The beginner should go to "getting started" on the opening page of IForgeIron.com followed by "Lessons in metalworking > Blacksmithing". Follow the reference trail and read the material suggested you should have a good base knowledge. Next go to "Blacksmithing groups" and find a group or groups near you and attend the meetings. By reading the material suggested in the first paragraph, you will understand what they are talking about and be able to ask questions. Use a notebook, recorder, and camera in order to record and remember what interests you. So far your only expenses should be gas to the meeting and lunch. Re-evaluate your desires and if this is something you want to do - go for it. The greater your desire, the more likely you are to succeed. The best part? Blacksmithing allows you to be creative, productive and inventive. The worst part? There is always more to learn and never enough time to learn it all. The advice? FIND a way to get started. Find someone to work with and learn from, then teach others.

Zsartell Go to the top of the forum and click on User CP Click on Edit Profile Go to the bottom of that page and enter your location and save. It helps to know where you are located.

Thank You to all that responded. Creating IForgeIron and keeping it interesting has been a labor of love. Although Andrew and I do the daily maintenance, it is the contributors that built the site by providing their knowledge, skill and expertise. Their names are on the Blueprints, posts to the Forum, images in the gallery, and etc. To the contributors, thank you for helping create a resource of knowledge that everyone can use.

sstreckfuss, Progress reports from the school (when you attend) would be a great idea.

Bob, If your interested in submitted the text and photos on how these were made, they can be worked up into blueprints.

I told Whitesmith that if anything ever happens, go Moose ears (10 finders out stretched with your thumbs in your ears), back up, and watch the hot steel fall to the ground. At one of his first public demos, we were set up in a low spot. The Forge was leveled with a flat stone. 2 hours into the demo I went to the bathroom leaving Whitesmith to demo for a couple of minutes. As I returned (still some 50 feet away) the forge moved to the side of the stone, off the stone, and fell over onto the ground. All the folks nearby grabbed fire extinguishers and came running. Whitesmith put on welding gloves, picked up the forge, put the stone back under the leg, and was shoveling fire off the ground and back into the forge when the good folks arrived. "Thank you but I think I got it under control" as he poured water from a 5 gallon bucket on the remaining fire on the ground, putting it out cold. Whitesmith was instructed, Moose ears first, put out any stray fire, then take a deep breath and take inventory. If your injured, shut down and get help, but if your ok, fix the problem and get back to work. This would make most blacksmiths a basket case, but Whitesmith (who was 10 or 11 years old at the time) had safety tools handy, and knew how to use them. He just fixed the problem and was back forging within minutes. A safety plan works, but only if you must HAVE a safety plan.

My hot cut hardie is a 3 inch square of leaf spring with another piece welded at 45* (corner to corner). A hardie post is welded on the bottom to bit the anvil. So there would be no questions, I used a grinder to sharpen the cutting edge. The 45* hot cut was suggested by Irnsrgn one night so I made one just so I could try it. The 45* hot cut does have many advantages.

The search for "cast steel anvil" on IForgeIron yielded 81 returns. This discussion may be of interest Why is a cast iron anvil inferior to a forged steel anvil?