swedefiddle

Good Morning and Welcome to this Place. This is the Place, because it is the Forgery Place. LOL Nah.... Welcome, Just Because. If you put your area in your greeting avatar, others will then see where you are in Iowa. I have been through Iowa and spent a night in a Truck Stop 'Iowa 80'. I visited a small Blacksmith Shop that was shut down for about 30 years, East of Moline about 80 miles. There were Studebaker Family in the area as well. There are a few strong Blacksmith groups in your area. I'm sure you would get along. Welcome from the Left Coast of North America. Every Vessel bound for Seattle comes by between Victoria and Port Angeles. Neil

A gallon of Milk made in 1970, would have all the smell gone out of it. It would be like a Rock. LOL You could then play Soccer with a gallon of hard Milk. LOL I will stop here. Enjoy being called an 'Ol Goat' Neil

Make it into a Blunderbus to hang on the wall. Carve a wooden stock and breach, add a funnel to the loud end. Have FUN!! Neil

Good Morning, According to a friend in Hamilton, that makes Swage Blocks (big & small), Cones, Fire-Pots, etc., he uses 'Maleable Iron'. Probably poured at Stelco. Neil

Good Morning, I use Phosphoric Acid to treat Rust, it turns Rust Black and chemical neutral, it stops Rust from growing. Soap and Water wash, cleans after a few hours. Phosphoric Acid is like a strong Vinegar, It is used in Cola soft drinks. It will not attack your clothing like Battery Acid. Neil

Good Morning Bernard, If you put the area of the Earth where you are making a shadow, in your Avatar, we maybe can have someone close to you answer your question. It looks kind of Old Rockish!! Maybe a useable Old Rock!! Maybe Knot!! Neil

What can you use, to make a Forge Hood. Cut down a Hot Water tank, it was leaking anyway. Make one with salvage SheetMetal. Find someone near you that does building Demolition. They will probably be happy to let you take a couple things (if you tell them what it is for). Remember, NOTHING IS FREE. A case of Beer?, HomeMade Cookies??, Fresh Work Socks?? Be Creative..... Why is it better with a Hood? It moves a lot of the smoke away from where you are breathing. How high does the pipe from the Forge Hood have to be? High enough to create a 'Draw' and move the smoke outside of your Barn. Preferably to above the edge of the Roof. No you don't have to put a Cap on it, although you could put a Stetson on it. LOL Sometimes, you have to be Creative, to be THRIFTY!! Some of the smaller Coal, Rivet Forges, were meant to work beside the Steel Hulk they were heating Rivets for. Think about the Riveter and the Bucker, who had no Hearing Protection on (unless they had cotton rolled up, into their Ears) Neil

Good Morning, If you are going to make Spurs from a Horseshoe Rasp, may I suggest making a Little V-shaped Chisel, First. After you are finished, people are going to ask 'How did you get those little V-Marks, in the Spurs?'. A lot easier just to set the Chisel beside beside them. When people ask, you can say "That was the Hardest Part!! It took a lot of Patience". LOL Neil

It doesn't matter what different people around the world think it 'MAY BE WORTH'. If you find a young person who could use it, SURPRISE THEM!! Neil

Good Morning, Use your Vice to Hold Things. Use your Anvil to Hit Things on. DO NOT use your Vice for Forging On. The more moving parts, the more it doesn't work well at everything!! Neil

Good Morning, Mild Steel works well for a Post Vice spring. You wouldn't need to heat treat the existing spring, it knows where you want it. A Leaf Spring will work without heat treating. Think Simple!! Neil

Good Morning Socks, If you get lines in your work you may want to feather the radius at the edges. Neil

Good Morning, 'if propane tanks are the only thing freezing,' If you join 2 or 3 propane tanks together, the draw from each tank is less, you won't get Propane Tank Freezing. Neil

4f and Snow is above water table. Fathom is below water table. LOL I cannot Fathom either LOL The wonderful English language. LOL Neil

A Machinist removes material. A Welder/Fabricator adds or subtracts material. A Blacksmith moves molecules/material. No two do the same thing!! Can't Compare effectiveness. Neil

Good Morning, Perspective is not binary, there are many ways to skin the Cat. If you don't have the Machinery to assist you, You Forge. Sometimes you blend Forging and Fabrication. Some procedures you can't do with Fabrication, Some procedures you can't do easily by Forging. There is no ONE Answer. Neil

Good Morning, The plus side, you will get your 'HourGlass' Handle Hole, by using a Press. You can make a stripping block, so your Press will pull the Drift out, right away. It is long enough if you have to help it out with a Hammer. If you are going to punch it right through, then you need to taper the Top. If you are doing it with a Power Hammer and by Heavy Hammer, you would want a longer Drift to hang onto when freeing it up in the Eye Hole (not the A Hole) LOL. Either/Eyethor/or It all gets your Job Done. Neil

Good Morning, Some of the early belts were round. Talk to your local Leather worker and they can make it out of their ??Surplus?? Neil

Good Morning, The School of Hard Knocks says to Make a Hammer and a Chisel, first. Then it says to Make Chips. If you do it incorrectly, your pile of Chips become Greater and your test piece becomes too small. Don't try to glue it back together. Turn to Page 2. If you need Page 3, you didn't Learn. Start again........... Neil

When a Gift is horsing around, Don't look in it's Mouth. Or something like that LOL The retainer bracket only holds the frame, fairly steady. It doesn't 'Have To Look Like the Original'. Just make it work!!! Neil

Good Morning, I put the straight tail in the Vice and use a piece of pipe to unwind it. Then I straighten out the Lumps. What could possibly go wrong LOL Neil

Good Morning, The term"Forge it Thick, Grind it Thin" comes to Mind. Use your Drift and Fix the Handle Hole FIRST, When you start Grinding, get rid of 'ALL THE SHARP CORNERS' first. A Hammer Face is never Flat, unless it is a Flatter. There always is a slight crown, this way you won't Forge Cracks into your Work. All the Edges must have a radius!!. The Handle Hole MUST have an 'Hour Glass Shape'. Wood can be shaped to fit the Handle Hole, easier than using a Store bought Handle to fit the Hole. Heat Treat, After all the Grinding and Polishing. Use a Die Grinder to break all the Edges of the Handle Hole (smooth Radius) Other than that, Get a Handle on it!!!! Give it a Name!!! (Mine works). LOL Neil

Good Morning Rich, To start, YOU must START. There is 'No Best Forge'. When I was a teenager, I put material into the Base of our Wood and Coal Furnace. It Worked!! You will find only one time, You will have 'A FORGE', after that you will have more than 'One' Forge. I think now, I have over 20 FORGES. Anything can be a Forge, Wood burning, Charcoal burning, Coal burning, Natural Gas and/or Propane burning, Induction Forge, Oxy/Acetylene Torch, Oxy/Propane Torch, The Sun with a Magnifying Glass, etc..... You have limited your thoughts if you have No Forge. The Mind only functions when it is OPEN!! There is a family in Oregon who make Wood Forges, look at their website. I have a Wood Burning Forge like theirs, it is good for mostly smaller items, BUT It Works!! Neil

Happy New Year, How Hot is Durango Colorado? What is the viscosity of the Oil your friend put in the Blower (Molasses in January??) It turns, that is a good thing. Allow the Blower to warm up and gently be Cranky. Don't be impatient. Allow the Old Girl to stretch her/his Legs. Neil

Good Morning, It's a Rock, Not stuck between a Hard Place!! LOL Neil