jmeineke

One other question: I made an assumption in my original post that may not be correct - Does the flame blowing right on the Kaowool (assuming a coating of ITC-100) eventually cause that area to break down? If so, would it be worth the trade-off to blow on the firebrick at the sacrifice of heat distribution?

I can't seem to find an explanation on the reason that most people put their burner tubes into their cylindrical forges at an angle as opposed to straight up and down. I'm sure this has been discussed before, but I can't seem to find threads on the subject. It seems like you would want your burners pointed straight at your work piece and, in the case of a forge lined with coated Kaowool, pointed at your fire bricks instead of the Kaowool (even if it is coated with ITC) so that it will last longer. What is the proper angle and why? I've seen some straight up and down (0 degrees), some at a slight angle, some at around 45 degrees and others at 90 degrees. In square forges, they always have the burners in the top pointing right at the bottom of the forge. Why would it be different for cylindrical?

Yeah, I think I'm already experiencing that. I find myself checking Craigslist daily for anvils. I was thinking I would sell off some of this stuff and basically get a free anvil out of the deal. Well, I got delivery part 1 (post vise, anvil and blower), spent the whole evening brushing off the rust and putting on a light coat of MMO (Marvel Mystery Oil, which gives it a nice black sheen) and I'm already attached. Why can't my wife be attached to it all this stuff too??? I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. I was really impressed with the post vise. Unscrew it all the way, pop out a wedge, undo a bolt and everything is apart and ready for cleaning - wow. How cool is that? Came apart like a simple toy... Even the smell was cool - kicking off years of dust and dirt and rust brought back memories of playing with all the old stuff on my uncle's farm... And the blower - two screws and the top comes off revealing the gears - everything easily removable (no need, though) and still (after what, 100 years?) in perfect shape. Added a little grease to the gears, buttoned it back up and that was it - nothing else to do to it but wipe down the outside and blast off the spider nests and straw with compressed air. Can't wait to get the forges!

Ah, ok - makes sense. Thanks!

Hi all, I recently acquired some smithing equipment and one of the things that was included was the following tool. The guy who was selling the equipment didn't know what it was. It has a hole that goes through the side and out the bottom and a round fuller next to the hole. Does anyone know what it is?

Thanks - I appreciate it.

I'm having a tough time getting a 1:12 taper on a 3" section of 1" pipe. Right now, I have minimal equipment - a MAPP gas torch, a hammer, an anvil and some Iron rod that I tried using to fuller the end. About the best I've been able to do is about 1/2 of an inch - just enough flare to make the burner work. Here's what it looks like: And here's the flame that it produces: I don't think the flame is too bad, but it is rounded and not pointy like images of other flames that I've seen from the 3" 1:12 taper. Do you think that this is good enough for a forge, or should I maybe weld up a jig to form a better nozzle? I've thought about welding some properly tapered 1/4" sections of bar stock to a rod and use that to fuller the end (like an arrow head, but with 4 sides). Don't know if that would work or not either. Any help / advice would be appreciated.

My eyes will be scouring the landscape, that much I can guarantee!

I just bought it all. Just have to figure out when I'm going to go pick it up. Asked about any rusty, unidentified tools lying around - no response yet. Keeping my fingers crossed!

That's very kind of you, but I'm afraid my conscience will simply not allow me to burdern you with all that rust. No, this is a load that I must bare alone ;)

The deal just got better - he has the fire pans and all of the attachments for the blower (and the blower works)!

Thanks for all the helpful feedback. Jumping on it as we speak :)

I need help... Being a newbie, I have no idea if this is a good deal or not. I found someone selling an anvil, post vise, crank blower and a coal forge. He is asking $300 for everything. He doesn't know how much the anvil weighs or it's make. The other problem is that It's a decent drive and I have no idea if this is a good deal just by looking at these pictures... Can someone give me some thoughts? http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww171/oswc/equipment/1.jpg http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww171/oswc/equipment/2.jpg http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww171/oswc/equipment/3.jpg http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww171/oswc/equipment/4.jpg http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww171/oswc/equipment/5.jpg http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww171/oswc/equipment/6.jpg http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww171/oswc/equipment/7.jpg http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww171/oswc/equipment/8.jpg http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww171/oswc/equipment/9.jpg Thanks!

You ran away from the MOB and now you are trying to pass along contact info? Yeah, that would be great - send it along. Thanks.

That's a good point - I guess I shouldn't rule out charcoal at this point, and I do have an induction blower from a furnace that would work well for a solid fuel forge. A hole, a bag of charcoal, a pipe and a blower. Yeah. I'm liking that idea - back to the basics. I'd like to have a gas furnace eventually, but it sounds like that's going to be a project that will consume a bit of time and money... You still live in Columbus? That's where I'm at too. Thanks for the advice.

Primarily a decent main hammer ~ 2 lbs, cross pein. Right now all I have is what looks like a 2 lb mini-sledge. I bought it a number of years ago for general pounding - should be useful for some smithing applications too, I guess? Next, hardy tools - not sure what they are called exactly (still learning the terminology), but I'm sure I need a cutter (cut-off). I'd also like to get a guillotine with interchangeable dies for making V bends and such. Oh - and tongs... I had intended to attempt to make my first pair myself, but am realizing that without a forge that's not going to happen.. And Kaowool. I could use enough to line the inside of an 8 gallon air compressor tank as well as some firebrick and some ITC100 or 200 coating... Pretty much everything and anything at this point, but I think I've covered the basics...

You aren't kidding! I went out tonight looking for a cross pein hammer and more metal. Didn't find a decent hammer, but found some scrap in a bucket at Tractor Supply. Also bought some of their standard bar stock (gotta find a cheaper source - that stuff aint cheap!). I really need to get a forge up and running. I'm pricing parts, looking over plans, deciding how to build. I tried heating a fairly thick piece of metal I wanted to straighten out tonight with a MAP gas torch. Didn't work out to well. I need stuff!!!

It would definitely take care of little "problems" like that . I got it home last night. It's in better shape than I could even tell from the pics - virtually unmarred, perfect edges, just a few dings on the horn and a small chip on one of the edges of the hardy hole, no marring on the face at all. I know it's a bit small and it doesn't have a round horn, but it's mine... ALL MINE!!! Well worth the 67 cents a pound I paid for it. I spent a good part of yesterday reading the tutorials on the main page and all I can say is wow - good stuff. Can't wait to start work on my first pair of tongs! I went out last night and picked up an 8 gallon compressor tank that will eventually become my gas forge and am going to talk to a local pottery shop about getting some kaowool and refractory cement. Already ordered an adapter for my propane thank. I'm having fun and haven't even hit my first piece of metal.... What have I gotten myself into??? :o

LoL. As tempting as that is, I'll have to pass ;)

I'll be picking it up tomorrow night. Sounds like this will make both a good starter anvil and will be a keeper for doing smaller work. I appreciate the feedback!

Hi there. I'm just getting started out and would like to know if this is a good buy. It's an NC farrier's anvil, 70 lbs and the person wants $50 for it. It looks like a great deal to me, but I want to make sure. I'm also looking at buying a 140 lb Trenton for just over $300 for my main anvil, but the 70 pounder seems like a deal I shouldn't pass up. What do you all think? Thanks for any help or advice!