Iron Clad

That was a fun conference. All of the teams came up with really good entry's. You did a great job Monster, especially at the beginning of the auction if you remember right. You really got the crowd going!!

Hey, good job for your first forge! Now fire it up and have fun!! Just think of the neat things you will learn.....

I'm working on a fire poker set for a customer. Nice work on your items. So when you make chain do you actually use it when done? I made a chain with a hook on one end and pulled a downed tree with a truck. I have plenty of manufactured chain but thought it would be fun to make a chain and use it for something heavy.

Very nice. Cannot wait to see the hammer up close at the conference!!

Amazing!! Great photos and history. Another reason this web site and the people on it are the best on the internet!!!

Around here a half of whisky or wine barrel sells for around $20. People use them for planters. Throw the barrel into a creek for a couple of days or run a hose in the barrel for a couple of days to swell the wood and make water tight. NOTE: I have had new barrels stink after the water has been in the barrel for a few weeks. I pour a gallon of bleach into the barrel and problem solved. At times it takes a couple treatments of bleach to cure the problem. It seems after using the barrel for some time this problem goes away.

Thanks again guys. I love the history side of your posts also. It's amazing the info. obtained on this site, even about charcoal!! I'm thinking about buying a bag of charcoal and giving it a try while I'm looking for the 55 gal. drum.

Very, very nice job!! Mark's book is a great one!

Great info Grant, I'm thinking about a web site as well. Can't wait for the Western States Conference, especially since I live so close to the lodge!

Thanks Grant. That sounds easy enough. Is forge welding using charcoal primarily the same as using coal?

After reading another topic about coal and its future someone mentioned making and using charcoal. What is the best way to produce charcoal in large quantity? I have always used coal and gas, I would like to try charcoal. If I like it, I would like to produce it in large batches. Thanks............ P.S. Oh, what is it like to forge weld with charcoal, what do I need to know?

Unbelieveable post!! Great job!! Love the veining spring tool....

Great pitures. Concerning the Celtic axe, to me it looks like a splitting wedge.

Sorry, something happened to my original picture. http://ironclad.shutterfly.com/45

Grant, totally understandable. However, one of the first students I TRIED to teach changed my mind on teaching methods. This kid was 17 and in the shop with his daddy. Over the course of around 2 hours trying to teach him to swing he gave up. He kept bending over with his face right close over the anvil and he swung the hammer with his elbow straight out away from his side. He almost hit himself in the forehead several times. He refused to listen and his father wasn't any help either. Besides, he hit my anvil several times as well. Of this I was happy he had his elbow out from his side because he didn't have enough power to dent the anvil face and destroy the hammer. Also, I learned to use an old beat anvil after that experience. Then again, not all students are the same......

As long as the bat doesn't mind breathing coal smoke, I don't mind.

This seems to be very common. It has happened to me quite a lot. When I teach, we work on swinging the hammer first. I cut a 2" x 4" with a handle and make the student strike wood first before they strike any metal on my anvil. This is when they usually quit because it's thought they would jump right in and forge items. Not with me!! In my shop it's hammer types, hammer weights and hammer face configuration, hammer control and technique, forge/fire control, etc.... The very basics first for a good foundation. If they don't like it , oh well!!

I believe there is a bat living in my shop...

Wow!! Even an antique tire to boot.... That's a neat old machine, I even like the old grinding wheel next to it. I'm glad for the pictures, I'm getting ready to reproduce a grinding wheel just like it, it gives me good ideas. I have the stone and I just bought some pillow blocks.

Thanks guys. A forked weld, I'm going to practice that! Sounds interesting. Practical Blacksmithing, I may have that book, I will look in my library. Thanks again.

I need some info. please. When forge welding a wagon tire, what is the best scarf. With the two wagon wheels I have, the tires are worn enough that I cannot tell how the scarf was formed. I forge weld all the time, but never on a wagon tire. I don't know if there was some special scarf or proceedure required. Thanks....

Don't forget to use the bick of your anvil to draw down and move material, it acts like a large fuller. I don't have a powerhammer either, a large son with a sledge works good though.

Try to mitigate the "wife" problem by either making her something or simply by locking the blacksmith shop door. I find this helps!! ....Ya right.....

The inline version will serve you better I believe. Inline treadle hammers tend to hit harder and more accurately. Build it sturdy though. Here is a picture of one in my shop. ( I didn't build it...). Please note the "I" beams as part of the construction. The base or anvil is solid to the ground. http://www.shutterfly.com/lightbox/view.sfly?fid=555a714a66e91f80c9f3edf1ebadc1fb Good luck to you and post lots of pictures.

All depends upon your situation. I have both. It does get expensive though. Nice thing about the home shop is walking out my door and into my shop in just a few feet. The other shop is 80 miles away and is for summer weekends only.