habu68

that would be Angie, They had a paid position for BS this year 35hrs at about $9 I wish i could afford them. good folks. have you been to the Littleton living history museum? A Smithy to die for. My boss at Rock ledge trained there.

Yes I did a couple of stints when I could at Golden, we did a work shop/class and a couple of tours there. Rock Ledge was a full time position and a job made in heaven. It could not have been me you met ,tho, because my nick name is Grumpy. BOG I would like to do more at Golden but my work and my wife's health precludes a lot of activities.

Habu, is dan still hosting hammer ins on saturday's?

I think so. Here is a quote of the last e-mail I recieved from Dan in January.

There is also a group of roge B/S'rs, in every sense of the the word, that will have a 4 day hammer in the first weekend in june at Rusty May's saddle shop in Loveland I will post more info at ifi as soon as I get a chance to scan the letter.

Dans E-mail:

In January Open Forge will be on January 20th (third Saturday)





I will be hosting "open forge" at my shop in Berthoud, usually on second Saturdays. Start about 10 am, till about 4 pm; come and go as you wish. You should call to verify on future dates.



This is an opportunity to meet other smiths, pound some iron, ask or answer questions, buy/sell tools. If you are just getting started in blacksmithing and don't have the tools this is a way to get some instruction and experience. Even if you think you know what you're doing there is always more to learn, plus you can share your knowledge. You can bring your friends too.



Please let me know if you are planning to come so I can have try to have enough equipment. If you can bring forge and/or anvil let me know. But if you forget to let me know, or decide at the last moment, please come too.



Safety glasses and non-synthetic clothing required, hearing protection and gloves (not leather) recommended. Bring your own hammers, tongs and materials if you have them. Lunch etc: BYO or go into town.



Location: 1932 N (Old) Hwy 287, Berthoud , CO .

East side of (Old) 287, near County Road 10E.

Massage Therapy sign in front yard, driveway on south side of house.

Drive around back and park between the house and the barn. Blacksmith shop to the north.

1.5 miles north of Colo Hwy 56.

3.5 Miles south of Colo Hwy 402.



The bypass ( Berthoud Parkway ) is finally open (hurrah!) so where are some changes for getting to my house.

From the north on 287: A couple of blocks south of the light at Campion (Colo 60) there is an exit to Berthoud, just before the road sweeps to the west. Take that exit.

From the south on 287: Take the Berthoud exit (Hwy 56) and drive thru town the "old" way. Or, you can continue on 287 to the light at County Road 17 (Taft), go south on CR 17 about 1/3 mile to CR 10E. East 1 mile to Old 287, and you'll be looking at my house.



Dan Nibbelink

1932 N Hwy 287

Berthoud, CO 80513


dan@nibbelink. net

Another idea, might be a pointed rod with a slide hammer like the tool used to pull dents from auto fenders.

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Sandy, if you would like a price quote on water jet, Dan Nibbelink at Colorado Water Jet might be a good bet. He is an officer in the Rocky Mountian Smiths and has a monthly hammer-in at his shop. At least he knows what a swedge block is. Colorado Waterjet I believe they can also make cavities that do not extend thru the block.

Disclaimer: Other than pounding steel with him, I have no connection with Dan Nibbelink or Colorado Water Jet.

Another Trick, I've heard of, was to take a 7 gallon steel bucket and cut half the lid off and mount it on its side on the end of the forge. You stick the piece into the dark container to check color. The darkness in can gives a "standard" light condition.

The problem with a track system IMHO is that a smith in a wheelchair has mobility and the track would limit that mobility. I would think that the equipment design and layout would be better if designed around the chair. Another thought, if the smith is using both hands to control the chair an adaption of the chair might be made to hold the reins of the tongs.

Look at the design of the blower and see if it would be practical to put a movable cover on the intake side of the blower. Limiting the output side makes the blower work harder unless you divert the blast, but if you llimit the intake side the motor will begin to run faster, ie: the load will be reduced and make your motor last longer.

that is a can lid on mine using a screw on the fan, I have a normaly off foot switch for when I'm away from the forge.

An old Mother Earth News article on the trompe system
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Alternative-Energy/1977-07-01/Harness-Hydro-Power-with-a-Trompe.aspx

Neat site.

Another use of falling water was to compress large volumes of air for forges and blast furnaces. A trompe or hydraulic air blast used a tower like divice and a venturi to entrap air in a closed box and the water head presure provided a steady pressure. Two examples Mechanical Movements, Powers and Devices:... - Google Book Search figures 634 and 636

Ron

Those two piles get hauled off about every two weeks to the Railroad scrap yard. They just let me pick out what I want. My everlov'in wife would dislocate my skull if I brought all that home. The bulls just told me come by after 5pm when the supervisors are gone and don't get greedy... those piles have been there at least 10 years, I just didn't see them untill I picked up other bad habits.

Sorry about the last links. I linked to the thumbs directly I have edited the links.

Access to the two piles of RR scrap was granted for 4 spike knives, when the "Bulls" are happy.......




:rolleyes:

The blacksmith shop at Rock Ledge Ranch historic park had a soft dirt floor that formed paths reflecting the working patterns of the smiths. The uneven floor was the best surface I have ever worked on. Anvil hight was adjusted with a pile of dirt and a shovel.;)

An anvil formed from a piece of 3 to 4" shafting or 4x6 flat stock could be set in the ground low enough to work between the leg supports on a wheel chair and still have enough mass below the work to be effecient. A similar support could be made with a hardy hole to use with a bick or hardy tools. A leather split leg apron is advised. We might also look to photos of 3rd world blacksmiths who work sitting on the ground for Ideas. Also a piece of RR track set up like a tall bridge anvil comes to mind. Example mid page: Link removed at the request of anvilfire

See also

http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f7/free-blacksmithing-books-web-2032/

maybe we should have a "books link" on IFI or a bp for on line books that we could add to as we find more?

good find..

I have found a source for hardy material, a rail road scrap pile near by has a number of small slices of railroad track that were cut from the end of the rails.
they are from 1/6 to 8" in thickness. I cut them thru the web and work the web to a size that will fit the hardy. I have made hot and cold cuts, fullers, swages and texture tools from both the tops and bottoms of the rail.

My first anvil was a 3' section of track stood on end. I used the end of the top as my anvil and sharpened the web for a hardy. If I did it over I would cut two or three slots in the bottom of the side of the track for bending "forks".

Making a Chain :Farm Blacksmithing

full chapter on chain, I was tought to make 2 links and connect with the third, then connect two of the 3 links with a single link and two 7 links with another and so on. Two large nails set in the anvil stump can be used to support the section of chains that have not been joined. Do not quench, normalize and to test a link set it in vise cold and give it a half twist with a cheater bar.

Ron,
Here are some examples of the basic welding scarfs.

Hand-forging and Wrought-iron Ornamental Work - Google Book Search

I don't have any other digital pics of the smithy, i'll try to scan a few that I have. I worked at this smithy for a year, it was THE BEST.

Rock Ledge Ranch Colorado Springs
Home

CC

You might want to google Master Smith Peter Ross. He was the master smith at Williamsberg for many years. He is a gentleman an a scholar and a fair hand with a hammer. ;-)

We built this forge at Rock Ledge Ranch historic park At the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. It has a Centour Froge fire pot set in a plate of 1/4 steel plate, we edged the plate with 1" angle iron to support the loose brick that border the forge. The Plate just rests on the brick and will lift off to repair the fire pot and blower hose. This is the best forge i have ever worked on. If it was mine I would have a side draft hood, the over head hood is hard to start a draft even tho it is a 12" pipe.

I bought a bag of pellets last week, $3.50/50lbs what the heck. I was plesently supprised. The bags were rated at 4000 btu/lb that is about half that of good blacksmith coal. The pellets were easy to light and burned hot with a good clean flame and no clinker. It was interesting that when I tried to control the spread of the fire with a hand full of water the pellets swelled up and broke apart into a damp mass of saw dust that coutinued to coal and stick together like a coal fire of good coke. VERY little water is needed!

The fire started with a lot of white smoke but soon settled down to a tall flame that consumed the smoke and one eye brow. The fire needs to be built deep like a charcoal fire to get a neutral fire, but the nice side was that there was no popping or flea sparks like charcoal. The heart of the fire just turned the edges of the mound to charcoal and fell into the heart. Pound for pound you need two to three times the pellets to get the btu's that you get from coal, but welding heat was no problem. The pellets burn fast and you have to closely tend the fire. I use an electric fan on my forge and found I could cut the blast to almost nothing and the fire still burned hot. I use a foot switch to turn off the fan between heats, the fire quickly started even after a half hour "rest".

You must keep the pellets in a sealed bucket out of moist conditions or you will a have a bucket of saw dust.

Over all, I found the pellets to be a better for my uses than charcoal, and will use it again when I need a fire that is not going to run all day. I do think that good coal makes a better "working" fire, but I also think the very clean fire might be better for my feable forge welding skills .

Good coal in Colorado is running about $40/100# so the price per btu is still good for me.

YMMV (your mileage may vary)

if you ever made a 1/4 20 screw because it was quicker than going to the hardware store.

Builders' Hardware: A Manual for Architects,... - Google Book Search