Luke March

Ok, so I'm looking at building a side draft hood... Someone posted a picture of the Hofi setup in this thread: Also, I recall reading that the Hofi hood is basically the same as the "super sucker," but with the back end extended ~4ft. My question is, does it have to be the back? Could I extend one of the sides of the "super sucker" design out through the wall instead? Thanks, Luke

Actually, that value is not as ridiculus as you may think. I work as an intern in the engineering department of a vacuum cleaner manufacturer, and motor speed can be in the area of 32,000 rpm. If I assume a gear ratio of 1:60, and estimate the fastest I would turn the crank would be 3 revolutions per second, the output comes out to 10,800 rpm. Flow (CFM) is directly proportional to shaft speed (RPM) (See "affinity laws" on wikipedia). The biggest issue for me right now is finding the CFM range a forge blower should operate at. Then I can find what kind of fan I need for a given gear ratio, or what kind of gear ratio I need for a given fan.

After having the opportunity to use a hand crank forge blower, I really want one. The reason? They're "organic" feeling, in that the flow is much easier to control and make fine adjustments to than, say, a ball valve (my curent setup) Also, they use no electricity, and they're extremely quiet. This is a huge bonus in comparison to the little vacuum I have as a blower right now; I wear earplugs more for the vacuum than for the ringing anvil. And for all that, they put out a pretty decent amount of air. I've been looking for a vintage one, but they seem somewhat rare, and tend to be expensive on ebay... so I'm considering building one. After looking here: broken link I can see that the internals are really not very complex;I don't think it should be terribly difficult, especially if I can re-use other materials I have on hand or that are easy to get. I do have a few questions, though. Does anyone know what the typical ratio is for the gearbox? That is something I couldn't really determine just by looking at the pictures on the site, and it is a rather important piece of information. Also - and this one's a little more out there - does anyone know the typical range in CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute) that a forge blower needs to be able to put out? This is just for a typical (single) coal/charcoal forge, nothing huge. Luke

I took the blacksmithing I class at Tillers International this weekend. http://www.tillersinternational.org/blacksmithing/classes_310_blacksmithingI.html It went very well, the shop was excellent, 6 forges, 12 anvils, 2 large mandrels, 2 swage blocks, 8 post vises, etc. Here is what I made, (in order that I made it, from bottom right) Ring, three hooks, spoon, cold chisel, tongs, fire rake. Since I was the only one with previous experience, I went a little faster than some others, but for anyone new to blacksmithing, it was an excellent introduction.

Do blacksmiths have a stronger tendency to have beards? When I first started blacksmithing, my youngest brother (9 or 10 at the time) asked if I was going to be a "real" blacksmith, "with a beard and everything?" ! A comment in another thread reminded me of this. So, I'm wondering, does a beard go with the craft? What do you think? If it does, why do you think that is? Luke

I believe they said the building originally came from Gloucestershire. It was reportedly used by several generations of smiths over a period of a few hundred years. I heard that too, about the UAW. I'm not sure exactly what the deal was, but it seems stupid that they should have anything to do with it at all. It would be nice to find out what's up, maybe we can find a way to help remove the obstacles that would keep an experienced smith from working there.

Well, I took a trip to Greenfield village last weekend, with the planned highlight being a visit to the blacksmith shop. You can imagine my dismay when I found out they no longer have a blacksmith. They have glassblowers, a tinsmith, and potters, but no practicing blacksmith. It was a real shame to see that nice shop, with two forges, two 400 lb anvils, and all those tools, just sitting there, with nothing but a recording to explain them. I remember going there when I was younger, as the blacksmith explained all about how many nails had been hand-forged for the different houses which had been moved there. Greenfield village just doesn't seem complete anymore without that sort of experience. If you want to see all the pictures I took (I took a lot) you can click on this link: http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u228/Luke_SkyMarcher/Greenfield%20Blacksmith/?start=0 Luke

Hi guys, I'm currently on the lookout for throatless shears for sheet metal cutting. While I'd love to get a Beverly B2, it's really outside my price range to pay $500-750 for a pair of shears. I've heard things both good and bad about the Harbor freight shears, including several modifications which can be made (tempering the blades, adding reinforcements, etc.) However, in my research, I have come across these woodward-fab shears. http://www.woodwardfab.com/sheet_metal_shearing_tools.htm (third product down on that page, throatless hand shears) I have not been able to find any reviews on these shears, I'm wondering if any of you have used these, and what your opinion of them is.

divermike - I have since gotten a real anvil.

Well, it's been mounted for quite a while now, but I finally got the chance to take some pictures. I tried to mount it as far from the post as possible while still maintaining the support from it, so that I'd have plenty of room all around the top of the vise. Luke

Here's mine. It was originally a smoker, which was converted to a gas grill, which was converted to a forge. I like that I can lower the lid, because it helps with smoke management when I'm starting the fire. What I don't like is that it's a bit too enclosed; makes it hard sometimes to position the workpiece. Luke

Hi all, I know I've been here a little while already, and posted a bit, but I figured I might as well introduce myself "officially." I'm 19 and going to college for engineering. I started smithing around last August, and still consider myself very much a beginner. I've had an interest in blacksmithing since I was about 13, but just when I was gathering materials to start, I was sidetracked by another hobby... You can see where that eventually led in these links: Link 1 Link 2 My initial interest in blacksmithing came from (Of course!) wanting to make blades... I have since realized that this will take much practice to achieve, and have been enjoying trying to teach myself general blacksmithing (There's just something irresistible in shaping glowing hot metal by hitting it with a hammer!)I also have an interest in armoring and am trying to acquire the tools to begin there as well. Here's a picture of my little shop, of which I am rather proud. Anyway, wanted to say Hi, any comments on my shop are welcome, I'm always ready to learn more! Luke

Well, here's mine, mounted.

Wow, I thought I was getting a decent deal, but I didn't know it was that good! Steeler - I like portability too. Especially in my small shop, where it will need to be portable so it will be out of the way when I'm not using it. I'm thinking I'll build a stand out of 4x4's, maybe adding enough extra wood on one side to have some hollowed out areas for dishing. Come on, out of all the people here, doesn't anyone have a stake plate they can take pictures of?

So, I picked these up today for $150.... now I need to find a way to mount this. (pic is clickable) I would love to see how those of you with stake plates have gone about mounting them. And as a side thought, do you think these were worth paying $150 for? LM

Well, I tried it out the other night. I knew it would make my job easier, but I underestimated just how much - it's almost like the hammer was doing all the work, and I just held on to it. Yes! And what's funny is, the picture makes it look further back than it actually is, because it's so small. On the pritchel hole - there is no bulge on the underside that I can detect. Now, there is a chip in the corner of the face, and some dings as well. If I remember right, is the best way to "fix" this to use a high carbon steel rod on a stick welder, and just build it up? This is mostly a philosophical question right now, since I don't have an arc welder. It's still very usable, but I was wondering, if I wanted to do some bladesmithing (one of my ambitions), wouldn't I need a flat/smooth surface?

Hmmmm, I hadn't considered the pritchel hole. I got my 1820-1835 estimate by looking here: http://www.abana.org/resources/discus/messages/4/442.html?1254101882 Does anyone know approximately when they started making them with pritchel holes? I'm definitely looking forward to using this - hopefully tonight. With the bounce on this anvil, I think I'll be able to last a while longer before tiring out!

After living for a while with a 55lb HF ASO, I finally got a real anvil! It was glorious to hit it with a hammer for the first time, to hear an almost musical ring, and feel an amazing rebound (compared to the HF, anyway!) It is marked: M & (H) Armatage Mouse (H)ole 1.2.16 From which I infer that it was probably made between 1820 and 1835, and weighs ~184 lb. I paid $175 for it. Here's some pics.

Thanks for all the help, guys. The insight on railroad spike drivers and pickax heads was especially useful, I'll have to keep my eyes open for those. biggundoctor - I do have a lathe, but it's not a very good one, and I don't know that I would trust it to spin steel that big. It has a hard enough time with aluminum sometimes. Still... I may have to look into what it can handle. monstermetal - I deeply appreciate your offer, but I wouldn't want to put you through all that trouble. (I'm in Michigan, by the way) Anyway, it looks like I might have another solution. As to the attachment of the two parts together, well, as TP said, as long as it can take the abuse of sheet metal working. I'm prepared to look into whatever methods will hold up. I've never heard this before. Is this a common concern when working with older metals? Would the metal be weakened if you forge welded it? L.M.

Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who has a power hammer. That would undoubtedly be the best solution. Cutting a diagonal sounds doable... I have a table saw with a steel cut-off wheel on it; I could use that to cut it. The piece of 1.5" round I have is ~20" long - is that long enough? Sometimes with tools like this it's hard to get a sense of how big they're supposed to be from pictures. I also found out today that my brother is sometimes willing to work as a striker - that could also help forging a taper. Thomas, you said "When it's fitted nicely I will hot rivet the tenon to fill and lock the eye solid" Could you elaborate on this a little, or have a picture, or point me in the direction of an article or thread where this is shown? I'm still pretty much a beginner at blacksmithing, and appreciate any help I can get on learning new techniques. Thanks, L.M.

I am looking at forging a t-stake/stake anvil/bichorn. (I'm not sure what the difference between these is. If someone would like to explain that, it would be appreciated.) The purpose would be both as a horn for general forging (until I can get a better anvil than the 55 lb HF ASO I have now), and also for raising/curling for armor. Having looked around a bit, I found this thread: from which I get the impression that they tend to be in the area of 1.5"-2" around. Now I have some larger steel stock from the local scrap yard - 1.5" and 2.5" round - but my question is mostly on design. Forging a taper to a point by hand on a piece of 2.5" stock does not sound fun, and grinding a taper to a point on it does not sound much better. Considering what I would be using it for, and my tooling limitations, what kind of design would get the most bang for the, uh... "bang"? (lame joke, I know) Thanks. L.M.

Since I have a concrete floor, is it necessary to have a metal plate under the "foot" of the post vise?

Thanks a lot guys! I think I probably will end up mounting it to the left of the forge. I'll let you know how it turns out! Luke

My first question is this. Where do you think is the most ideal location for mounting the vise? I have three possibilities in mind: 1. My original plan - mount it to the work bench. My concern with this is that there might not be enough space around the vise if I put it there. Also there is the fact that I have seen very few post vises mounted to work benches in my searches on the subject - and when they are, it's usually at the corner with special reinforcement. 2. Make a stand, and mount it opposite the forge. This seems to have the advantages that 1. most people seem to use stands, and I'm sure there must be a reason, and 2. if I don't like where it is, I could move it. The big downside here is cost. Fabricating a nice, heavy-duty stand is not going to be too cheap, since I don't have any properly sized scrap, and the stumps it's propped up on would not work. 3. Mount it to the support beam. The advantage here seems to be that there's plenty of room and it's right next to the forge. The disadvantage seems to be mounting. I have no idea how to firmly mount this. Also I have never seen a vise mounted to a support taller than itself. So I'm hoping that with your experience, you could let me know which one seems the most practical/easy to use to you. My second related question is mounting. My vise is missing the mounting bracket and wedges. From what I do have, it seems like it was similar to vises/parts_mx.jpg I've looked in the gallery, but I'm wondering if anyone could put up better/more detailed pictures of mounting brackets specifically, so I could see how to forge one? Also I'm rather unsure of the bracket piece I do have: I'm sure I could straiten it out, but the weld has me slightly worried. Any help here would be great. Thanks

Hi! I actually have two related questions here. I've been working on getting my shop together and recently acquired a post vise, which was missing some mounting pieces and the spring. First of all, here's my shop. And here's the post vise: By the way, I couldn't get the picture "attachment" thing to work. It just said "upload failed due to failure writing temporary file."