Glenn

I use a 24 inch diameter chimney (BP0333 55 Forge with a Supercharger) that is 6 feet tall and it works very well. When there is a hole in the top of the coal for the fire to come through like a volcano, the fire burns the smoke and the heat from the burning fire and burning smoke is more then enough to create a nice draft. This draws in more fresh air which burns more smoke which produces more heat and draft. This pulls in more air that dilutes what smoke is left. It works well for me. I have also used a side draft hood with a 14 inch diameter stack that was 5 feet above the 3 foot tall hood. This 8 feet was not enough height. Another 5 feet of height made a wonderful difference. You many times have to adjust the stack diameter and stack height for the best results on YOUR forge.

Check the weekend of September 28, 2007 on the IForgeIron calendar. Click on Calendar at the top of the forum page. -------------------------------- Northeast Blacksmiths Association Northeast Blacksmiths holds its meets twice a year at the Ashokan Field Campus of New York State. Ashokan Field campus is in Olivebridge, N.Y., several miles west of Kingston, N.Y. The meets are held the first weekend in May and in the first weekend in October every year. The main demonstration is in the blacksmith shop and there is a "Hands On" workshop for beginners. The dates for the Fall 2007 meet are September 28th, 29th and 30th. ------------------------------------------- The New England Blacksmiths Fall Meeting 2007 Hosted by the Connecticut Blacksmiths Guild And The Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum Bridge Street, Willimantic, CT September 28, 29 & 30, 2007 Contact Steve Melady (860) 228-2185 ---------------------------------------------- New England blacksmiths - click here They also hold classes and workshops - click here Connecticut Blacksmith's Guild has meetings in Sept, Oct, and Nov. Seems you have a full calendar if you want to travel only a little bit. :)

If you are worried, then don't do it. Learn to work with the fire and learn how much space is required. Then you can decide on what size space you can use. Nothing wrong with forging outside. May need a tarp overhead for poor weather, but that is easy. Show us some photos of your present set up and we can offer better suggestions.

Gilly from the Great White North used to feed Moose Munchies to the local mooses in her area.

I just got bad news my Mom is in the hospital, again, and the cancer has taken over. I'm going to Toronto to see her they've given her a week or two. Prayers would be appreciated. Bob Hall aka sfDuck

Pet him early and often. It is never easy.

The key to the smoke problem is fire maintenance. If you keep the coal open at the top with fire coming through like a volcano, it burns a lot of the smoke. If you go easy on the air, it produces less smoke. Once coked there is little smoke being produced from the forge. The chimney draws in fresh air removes what smoke is not burned by good fire maintenance. You may have to play with the chimney size and height to get the best combination for your set up. You are always going to have some smoke get into the air so try to make friends with your neighbors. Try to forge when they are at work and don't forge when they have a cook-out or garden party. Charcoal burns cleaner than coal. If you have a chance, look into forging with industrial coke (from coal).

Welcome Sparky. Push all the buttons and chase down all the links. If you have specific needs, post the question in the IForgeIron forum. The chat is a place to talk one-to-one with other blacksmiths and they can usually answer your questions, or point you toward an answer. Welcome to IFI.

Thanks Thomas, I had mild steel in mind to see if it worked for that application.

As to an anvil, look for anything with mass. Lessons in Metalworking > Blacksmithing > LB0005 Blacksmithing Anvils will give you some ideas. Don't get hung up on having to find a (insert brand name here) anvil. Use what is available while you search for the anvil you want.

If you have an electric stove or electric clothes dryer, you have 220v. You just need the right pig tail to fit the outlet.

Anyone from IFI want to give a better translation? If you would like to reply, go to Babel Fish and type in your text. Then choose translate from English to French and click go. Place BOTH the original English and the translation into the forum.

Ralph Douglas put red marbles into Fredrick's crosses. He would then place the whole thing on a hot piece of steel and let the piece of steel control the cooling of both the cross and the glass.

The English language is flat when typed. You can not see the facial expressions that are many times needed to understand when something is said in fun or in being serious. Usually this can be corrected by or (grin) or LOL or other indications. --------------- From what I understand the dabbers collect some fine (as in not course) material that some blacksmiths then collected and crush for use as a flux. I collected a couple of nests before the new dabbers hatched and the nest was divided into compartments, one cocoon per compartment and the rest of the space packed with spiders. The spiders were quite alive and moving but under the influence of something putting them in some sort of suspended state. You will need to wait till the young dabbers have hatched and then remove the dabber cocoons and any spiders left in the nest (grin). I would guess that the dabbers should be gone by fall, and can report on the nest as a flux after some testing.

Didyminum Glasses discussion - click here. The local welding supply store can supply you with many different styles of welding glasses that are approved for welding and have IR and UV protection. Look for a shade # 2 or 3.

My sincere condolences for you and your family. You are on the list.

The discussion is now getting down to the details. One fellow in UK using charcoal for fuel in a side blast forge, and another fellow half a world away using bituminous coal in a bottom blast forge. Both are trying to describe the color and properties of heat on metal at fire weld / forge welding temperatures. Are the different welds all done at or about the same temperature? Is a cleft weld different from a scarf weld, and different from a T weld temperature wise? What about small stock vs thick stock? You got me hooked. Can not wait to read the next chapter, and see how things turn out. (grin)

My reference is for a bottom blast coal fire. Yes, the suggestion is to look at the outside of the metal and it should look like butter sitting on the kitchen table in the sun, the surface coated with a liquid just before it slumps. That is not todays margarine product they call butter, but the real butter your grandmother used to use.

Work-In-Progress "Well rub that in my face. DON'T LISTEN TO THE N00B!" IForgeIron is a family forum and will not tolerate personal attacks toward anyone. Noob or not, your posts are read and the information is given due consideration. At this point in the discussion, please post any references to back up your side of the discussion, "All sand is silica sand. sand is silicon dioxide". This way we can go to the reference and read it. This is the reason Thomas posted he has a BS degree in Geology, as a reference for his statement. I would be very interested in the "right or proper" sand for use as a flux. It has been suggested to use a mud dabbers next as flux. As soon as the summer is over, I plan to collect some of the nests and try forge welding with the material just to see if and how it works. A quick google search turned up silica sand, black sand, green sand, calcareous sand, and industrial sand. None were mentioned for forge welding. Now I need help figuring out which sand to use, and if it is better or as good as borax and other fluxes for forge welding.

We are on the same page. I was told for forge welding, you soak the heat into the metal till the inside of the metal is the same (close to welding) temp as the outside of the metal. Then bring it up to the point it throws a single spark, by the second spark it is at welding heat, by the third spark you waited too long. It is a good visual explanation for those starting to forge weld. YMMV (Your mileage may vary for your metal, in your conditions.) If you have a better way to explain welding heat, please let me know as there is a Lesson in Blacksmithing coming up on that subject.

Please do. Email them to me or post them, your choice.

Old manuals talking about "a sparkling heat is okay or even desirable for welding wrought iron" may be correct when using wrought iron. But it makes you wonder what the same author would suggest if he had mild steel or tool steels available to use when he wrote the piece. The point is that what is good for one type steel may not work for another type steel.

Jesse, where is your area ?

Tom where are you located?

BP0232 Side Blown Forge is nothing more involved than finding a short section of 1-/4 inch pipe and pushing some air through it. A brand new Lincoln buzz box at the Box store last weekend was $265. NEW!! That is a small investment into a piece of equipment that will serve you well for many many years. That is the same welder Thomas found used for $40 used. Another blacksmith on this forum found one in a trash dumpster costing him only replacing the welding leads. It would help to know where you are located so we can make suggestions as to where you can look for materials. Or tell us what materials are available to you.