Glenn

Welcome Fabien. Ask the questions and we will try to get you an answer. Many times it helps to post a photo with the question so we can better see the problem.

Post photos of your work in the gallery so we all can enjoy then.

Welcome to the site.

Look at blueprint BP0252 Spoon Gouge and BP0054 Forging a small drawknife

BP0002 Junk Yard and Rail Road Steels

Choper sorry to hear of the leg problems, but now that the "fix" is installed, take things slow till it mends properly. Another couple days of not lifting, running etc on this end will mean you CAN do that type stuff later.

Usually in the next bin down the line they will have black iron pipe fittings - no galvanized.

Welcome to the site.

See the Blueprint BP0300 to get some ideas. My suggestion is to start, build a simple forge and put a fire in it. While you are playing in the new fire, you can get a feel for things, and decide what you want in a 2nd forge.

A simple forge should serve you well and allow you to tell some great stories later. When I started blacksmithing ......

Over the weekend, I saw a nice pan forge with blower for $100, a heavy duty forge at $350, a 5" post vise weighing maybe 75# for $100, and a 175# anvil for $200. The anvil was not in perfect condition but was certainly usable. With a bag of coal you could have a nice set up for about $400 or with a larger and heavier forge the set up would be $700.

All these items can be purchased brand new.

There has been major earthquakes with numerous aftershocks in Hawaii.

We hope that Tyler Gold is safe and sound.
If anyone has heard from him or other smiths in the area, please post here.

I am not sure how this was used, only that it was not the correct way to use an anvil.

Welcome to I Forge Iron.

Please post your events, hammer-ins, announcments etc here so others can keep up with what you are doing. You are encouraged to use this forum to stay in touch with your membership and talk with them about blacksmithing related material.

You can place photos into your posts on the forum. Please use the "attach photos" button under the text block where you enter your post.

You have a "members" folder under your name for the general photos from your organization. Please contact me when you have photos from your events, and I can set up a folder for that event in the gallery so all photos from that event are in one place for easy viewing.

Enjoy your new forum.
Glenn

Photograph the existing stands (or use photos already taken) and then add text and /or drawings to complete the package. The idea is to make a variety of stands, with construction details, available to everyone. This way the end user can choose what would work best for them in their situation.


Let's split the anvil stands into the following catagories:

* Light - intended for traveling, demos etc
* Medium - intended for either traveling or use in one location
* Heavy - intended to stay in one location and generally not to travel.

Both drawing and a physical stand would be best. That way we know the drawings work .

If we get several offers for just design drawings, I may ask someone to build the stand if their interested, or may just make a drawings only catagory.

Keep the questions coming so we can better define the rules.

The Hofi chisel is Tungsten not Titanium.

BP1003

The chisel is made out of pure tungsten (out of an armour piercing shell ). The tungsten is not steel it is a different element in nature specific gravity is almost 3 times more then the steel, and it can withstand much more heat. There is almost no friction between the steel and the chisel!! When the tungsten is red hot (we can see it later in on of the photos) the H R C is still 38 and it will go through 1200 degrees steel easy.

Thomas, let me respectfully rephrase your example. Jim and others jump out of airplanes all the time. With the proper training, most people can do it safely, and live. An unfortunate few get killed by the sudden stop when things go wrong, or safety is lax.

I tried to limit my search to only zinc so the results would be specific to the problem. There are many more blacksmithing hazards, Heavy Metal Posioning being a nasty one. Like jumping out of an airplane, people work with heavy metals on a daily basis, but take the proper safety precautions to avoid that sudden stop.

The following is the extended excerp from one of the references. Please read the entire article by clicking on the link.

eMedicine Specialties > Emergency Medicine > Toxicology June 28, 2006

The classic acute occupational heavy metal toxicity is metal fume fever (MFF), a self-limiting inhalation syndrome seen in workers exposed to metal oxide fumes. MFF, or “brass founders ague,” “zinc shakes,” “Monday morning fever” as it is variously known, is characterized by fever, headache, fatigue, dyspnea, cough, and a metallic taste occurring within 3-10 hours after exposure. The usual culprit is zinc oxide, but MFF may occur with magnesium, cobalt, and copper oxide fumes as well. A neutrophil alveolitis ensues, with hypoxia, reduced vital capacity, and diffuse bilateral infiltrates seen on radiographs.

The pathophysiology of MFF appears to be a direct toxic irritation. Treatment is supportive and effects generally resolve within 24 hours. The diagnosis of MFF is based on a history of exposure and must be clearly differentiated from the true chemical pneumonitis that occurs after exposure to metal fumes from cadmium, manganese, mercury, and nickel. These exposures are clinically indistinguishable from MFF in the early stages but tend to progress to ARDS and cause significantly more morbidity and mortality.

Toxic effects from chronic exposure to heavy metals are far more common than acute poisonings. Chronic exposure may lead to a variety of conditions depending on the route of exposure and the metabolism and storage of the specific element in question. For example, chronic exposure to cobalt dust has been associated with the development of pulmonary fibrosis that can lead to cor pulmonale. This hard metal pneumoconiosis has been described for other metal dusts. Chronic inhalation of high levels of cadmium also causes both fibrotic and emphysematous lung damage, but it also has major effects in bone and kidney. Itai-itai (ouch-ouch) disease—a syndrome of chronic renal failure and osteoporosis described in the Fuchu area of Japan—is often attributed to high levels of naturally occurring cadmium in the soil coupled with increased industrial exposures around World War II.

Exposure to copper can lead to its accumulation in liver, brain, kidney, and cornea, leading to the classic impairment and stigmata of Wilson diseaseand Indian childhood cirrhosis. Many of the heavy metals have been implicated as carcinogens in the setting of chronic exposure.

The most common species implicated in acute and/or chronic heavy metal toxicity are lead, arsenic, and mercury. Overall, lead is the most significant toxin of the heavy metals. Industrial decisions, such as the addition of lead to paints, dyes, and gasoline, have created an epidemic of lead poisonings. Lead is a naturally occurring substance and can be found in organic and inorganic forms. Inorganic forms of lead typically affect the CNS, peripheral nervous system (PNS), hematopoietic, renal, GI, cardiovascular, and reproductive systems. Organic lead toxicities tend to predominately affect the CNS.

The inorganic forms of lead are absorbed through ingestion or inhalation, whereas organic lead salts are absorbed through the skin. Only about 10% of an ingested dose is absorbed in adults, but the absorbed percentage may be much greater in children. Lead absorption is enhanced by deficiencies of iron, calcium, and zinc.

Under typical conditions, lead is absorbed and stored in several body compartments. Five to ten percent is found in the blood, most of which is located in erythrocytes; 80-90% is taken up in the bone and stored with the hydroxyapatite crystals, where it easily exchanges with the blood. Some authorities list the half-life of lead in the bone as long as 30 years, while others estimate the lead half-life in bone to be 105 days. Generally, excretion of lead is slow, with an estimated biologic half-life in soft tissues of 24-40 days. The remainder of the stored lead is found in soft tissue, notably the kidney and brain. The primary route of excretion is through feces (80-90%). To a lesser extent, lead is excreted in urine (10%). Lead passes the placental barrier and is found in breast milk. A correlation exists between lead toxicity and fetal wastage, premature rupture of membranes, and sterility.

eMedicine Specialties > Emergency Medicine > Toxicology June 28, 2006

The classic acute occupational heavy metal toxicity is metal fume fever (MFF), a self-limiting inhalation syndrome seen in workers exposed to metal oxide fumes. MFF, or

(Don't tell Alan about the "archives" button at the bottom of the Forum page. With all the reading material there, it will take him another year or so to catch up. )

Ear plugs come in a variety of shapes, sizes and materials. Wal-Mart has them in the sporting goods or gun section, any sporting goods store, any welding supply store, any place that sells safety equiptment etc. For a couple of dollars you get several sets in a blister pack, or packaged for individual use.

Keep a couple of spare sets in the glove box of the vehicle you use to travel to hammer ins. Sometimes those anvils can be rough on the ears.

Stephan, I have moved your posts from the "Prayer List" usually reserved for those in need of prayer, to the "introduce yourself" section where the post would make more sense.

To go out into the world from "Galway, Ireland, a blacksmith dessert" to seek out other blacksmiths and to find a forum called I Forge Iron is inspirational. Then in just over 6 hours to have blacksmith from New Jersey USA, to put you in touch with another blacksmith in YOUR HOME TOWN IN IRELAND is beyond belief.

Just goes to show I Forge Iron is bringing blacksmiths together world wide.

Welcome to the forum.
Glenn

More information on Fume feaver is available at:
MILLS WELDING & SPECIALTY GASES WEB SITE - Safety Tips (dead link)

There is also another thread on the I Forge Iron site called PPW-Fume Fever. Both are very much worth reviewing.

This thread was started (including a photo) as zinc once again tried to sneek up and take me by surprise. First experience I had with zinc took 3-4 days to recover, and it was very much a learning experience. I read up on zinc, fume feaver, heavy metal poisioning and etc and thought I knew enough to avoid the hazards. The 2nd time (yes it got me again) I recognized the zinc, but not in time. It took 2-3 days to recover from only a light exposure. I do not play the zinc game, if it is zinc I try to avoid it. But avoiding the problem does not mean the problem does not exist. It means you must always be aware of the problems related to zinc.

This was the reason for this thread, zinc once again showed up in a very unlikely place. This does not mean you must avoid zinc or working with the material, just that it is a life threatening danger and you must treat it as such.

Keep the suggestions coming as the new blacksmith may have no knowledge on the subject and we need to have the information on the site he can use as a reference.


Fume Fever
Zinc oxide fumes cause a flu-like illness called Metal Fume Fever. Symptoms of Metal Fume Fever include headache, fever, chills, muscle aches, thirst, nausea, vomiting, chest soreness, fatigue, gastrointestinal pain, weakness, and tiredness. Other elements, such as copper and magnesium, may cause similar effects. If you encounter these symptoms, contact a physician and have a medical examination / evaluation. A google search on Zinc, fume fever, heavy metal poison, etc. will provide more information.

Frank this was definately zinc, galvanized coated, but old enough that you could not tell by looking. The welding flared the zinc and little white threqds were floating everywhere in the air. I left the area holding my breath.

Question was to start a discussion for the blacksmiths that had not encountered such things before. Photos help identify the problem.

I bet the most overlooked protection would be coal smoke. We all know how dangerous it was for the workers in coal mines.

Background:
There was a question in the chat room last night about building a light weight, but sturdy, well balanced anvil stand. With 8-10 blacksmiths present.....well....ideas were posted faster than you could take notes. Blacksmiths enjoy a good challenge.


The Contest - Design an anvil stand:
So, for the next 87 days (contest entries have to be in by December 31, 2007) the challenge is to design and build an anvil stand.

* The anvil stand MUST be stable and not tip over under normal use.

*Construction materials are of your choice, concrete, wood, steel, whatever, but should be accessible to others.

*The design should incorporate a way to (easily) change the working height of the anvil so it can be used by different blacksmiths or strikers.

* All entries should provide a list of materials, dimensions, and any additional information that is necessary or available so a person can build that stand. Shop drawings are fine. Photos are encouraged.

*It is expected that the design will be anvil specific and adjustments will need to be made by the builder for different size and weight anvils the builder will use. One design does not have to fit all anvils.

* This does not have to be a new design, if you have the perfect anvil stand already, show us how you built it.

* If you use an idea from somewhere, please give credit as to who and where that idea came from. (If you don't recall, that ok too.)

* Multiple entries are encouraged, but one design per entry. One design with variation on a theme is still one design. Three different designs should be three different entries.

* Two or more blacksmiths working on one design is acceptable and encouraged as long credit is given to everyone.

* All entries may be used on the I Forge Iron site and for any site purposes, including blueprints.

For now, post your entries right here as a reply to this thread. Photos should be "attached" to the post or posted in the I Forge Iron Gallery and then the Gallery URL used in the forum.

Get creative, use up some of that scrap you have in storage, and design the anvil stand that will become a classic. Depending on the entries, we may have to divide this into categories, such as portable stands and stationary stands. We could give extra points for simplest design, most creative design, ugliest, or whatever. We are open for suggestions. Post them here or contact me directly.

The idea is to have some fun with this. I can even see a anvil stand incorporating multiple suggestions. Progress reports and open discussions are encouraged. Enter early and often.

Why not pull the head off the hammer and use it as a "negative" die to form the end of your drift?

Welcome to the forum.

There is a blacksmith's location map link on the opening page of I Forge Iron.com