Glenn

A sticky is a feature where you flag a post to remain at the top of the page. This usually implies importance or at least a quick way to find an answer to a frequently ask question.

Call the blacksmithing shops and ask to set up a time to visit. Take a note book and a list of questions. Write down the answers you are given. In return for the information, sweep the floor, fill the coal bin, empty the trash etc. Then go home and practice. When you return, you will exhibit skill and improvement in both your work and your questions. Contact the Upper Midwest Blacksmith Association. November 10 is their fall meeting at Centaur Forge Burlington, WI. Try to make the trip as you will learn more in one day than you can ever imagine. Again take a note book.

Where are you located?

IForgeIron.com > Lessons in Metalworking > Blacksmithing > click here LB0008 and LB0008.0001 both contain reference books you can read. Patience and working on a single technique (practice) till you get many pieces to match is the key. For instance, round to square, not round to diamond, or round to trapezoid, but round to square. Draw out a piece of metal to 1-1/2 inches in taper, not 2 inches and not 1 inch, but 1-1/2 inches each time. A two pound hammer is plenty of weight to move a lot of metal. The key here is hammer control and hitting the metal in the proper location with the propere forge needed. Go to IForgeIron.com and so a search for tongs. There are several Blueprints on making tongs listed. As mentioned, one pair of tongs will NOT do everything. Tongs are usually made for a specific size and shape stock and many times for a specific job. Ask questions, go to the forge and try the suggestions, then ask additional questions about specific problems. Your answers will then be much more specific and usually can solve your problem. The IForgeIron.com > Forum archive (bottom right on the forum page) has the answers to many of your questions already answered. It is a wonderful resource. Pack a lunch as you can get lost reading in the archive (grin).

IForgeIron.com > Blueprints

On the opening page of IForgeIron.com Lessons in Metalworking > Blacksmithing > LB0005 Blacksmithing Anvils

May want to look at Quincy Air Compressors That is a lot of air and you may want to look into a rotary screw compressor. Look at the duty cycle of the compressor, as well as the output volume and pressure.

I would think a metal tub (wash tub) would be way too deep. Look at the factory made forges in use and they are only about 2 inches deep but have a table surrounding the fire pot to hold coal. Go with non-galvanized. See Blueprint BP0133 The 55 Forge for a quick way to build a solid fuel forge at little or no cost. Look at the plumbers for a old hot water tank (use the bottom of the tank with the depression), or the local garage for a automobile steel wheel, or a break drum. All make working forges. Your not that far from Yesteryearforge. Contact him. He had a hammer in and everyone present built a forge a while back. Or contact primetechsmith and Blacksmith Guild of Virginia.They are having a hammer in at the end of October. You may find a forge there in the tailgating area of the meeting.

Linda, Welcome to IForgeIron. You are encouraged to post to any section of the site and to the gallery at any time. If you have questions, just ask.

BP0276 Rivet Header Helper

In talking with Bruce Wilcock, he used 6 pound hammers to build his anvil and anchors. I was expecting them to use a much heavier hammer as it was a big project. A 6 pound sledge is easy to control, and easy to use.

Rich, not to take anything from your well chosen words, only to put it another way. If you wish to learn, learn from the best. They are the ones with the knowledge, tools, and techniques that make them the best at what they do.

Consider just drilling a couple of 1/4 inch holes in the twyere and running a piece of 1/4 inch rod through the holes. See attached photo from BP0133. If you get access to a welder, look at BP0333 where a single 3/8 bolt is welded across the opening of the brake drum as a grate.

I scored this 4 shelf stand today. While trying to take a photo, the wife looked out the window and declared that it needed to reside in the laundry room not the smithy. Why don't they make these things in basic black, with grease attached?

I stopped by the local junk yard looking for a piece of brass to make a non-marring punch. Put one end of the brass against the object and hit the other end of the brass with the hammer. The brass does not mark the object but yet transfers the impact of the hammer. First container I looked into had a piece of brass hex stock, 1-1/2 inches across the flats, and 43 inches long. Should make a couple of nice brass punches.

Do you have a signal system to summon help if you are in your shop and an emergency arises? How do you call the wife, neighbor, or others if things go REALLY bad?

Surfing the internet can be a dangerous thing, and sure enough I got caught in the rip tide and ended up on a site about John Henry. This was done while building a tunnel in Big Bend Mountain, near Talcott WV. I think I will stick with my little 2 pound hammer for a while longer and enjoy blacksmithing.

Nothing wrong with getting a couple pieces of angle iron and using long bolts to clamp them to the side of the steel. Use the flats to hold the angle iron to a stump or whatever. All you will need is a hacksaw and a drill. Before you go too far in making that piece of steel into something else, learn how to use it as an anvil. Beat on it a while. Chances are you may like it just the way it is. And if I count right, you can turn it to have 5 different faces to work on.

Photos would go a long way in letting us help solve this problem. If the fire pot flange is designed to sit on top of the table, and you have bolted it below the table, the sweet spot of the fire should be in the same relative depth in relation to the fire pot. You would now have to angle the metal DOWN to get to the sweet spot in the fire pot. Clinker depends on the impurities in the fuel and the heat of the fire. If you want clinker, get a good fire up to welding heat and throw in a double hand full of dirt and sand. It WILL produce clinker and will most likely block the incoming air. When hot clinker has the appearance (in my forge) of a plastic goo, that retains heat when you pull it out of the fire. Cold it looks like ash and some melted glass mixed together and has a noticeable weight to it. Depending on the amount of fuel you burn and the heat of the forge, you may have to clean the forge often (every 30 minutes or so). Or you may only have to clean the forge every 3-4 hours. When the air way is clear and free of obstruction (rocks, slag, clinker etc) the fire should be able to roar when excess air is blown in to the fire pot. Each forge fire has it's own personality. My forge starts to get fussy when the air holes fill with clinker. Just let the forge cool a bit, and the clinker solidifies and you can hook it out with a poker. You don't have to tear the fire apart, just reach to the bottom and hook it out. Then add more coke and a little air and your back to forging. The fire gets fussy when the volume of ash covers the air inlet in the twyere. The ash just needs dumped if that is the problem. If excessive clinker seems to be a problem try BP0138 Bullet Grate or a side blown forge.

She is on the list.

I just added a folder called "Quad State 2007" to the gallery. When posting your photos to the gallery, use the pull down menu and put them into that folder. Keeps all the photos from that event in one location.

The IForgeIron store has a DVD on how to forge an anvil by the Shetland Anchorsmiths

Paulo Where are you located?

Ever start to stick weld and try to figure out the right settings for the material vs rod used? Miller has cleaned up the process with their welding calculator. Just input your material and the rod and they will suggest the best amp settings for your welder, the polarity and other tips. Now if your into TIG MIG and the other stuff, click here.

Rick, may I suggest Lessons in Metalworking > Blacksmithing > LB0008.0001.103 Reference materials #103