Don A

Welcome, Cooncreek. Where 'bout in TN? I'm in Blount Co.

Not to beat the proverbial dead horse, but the fire extinguisher deal brings up an excellent point. You have the luxury of being viewed by the public from a single vantage point (the door). I assume they will not be allowed to venture in and roam about. Given this arrangement, it is easy to have items very close at hand and hidden from the public. You could feasibly have the extinguisher at arm's length and still concealed from the public view. When you are setting up you shop, make your final judgments by standing where they will stand and see how it looks from that angle. Remember, you are the Great and Powerful Oz... just don't let'um look behind the curtain :D

Nice site; real potential. I really like that stairway. There is definitely an art to camouflaging your "moderns" in order to pull off a convincing period presentation. I do a 1756 site, so 60 years back should be a piece of cake It looks like you have the potential for a dividing partition to create sort of a "back room". Like rthibeau said, I would strip the forge area down to the bare walls and then build it back the way you want it. If you want it to look like it would have 60 years ago, don't put anything in it that doesn't look 80 - 100 years old. Get rid of all the plastic stuff. Hide all your pipes (pvc) and wires. Box the pvc pipes in with old wood or old metal roofing. Burlap always makes a good concealment. Use your imagination. *** in your zeal to make it look good, be mindful of fire hazards *** Always keep an extingusher stashed close at hand. Check the junk shops, yard sales and flea markets for all of your containers and such. Plenty of old tins, jars and bottles on the shelves make the place look "lived in". If you have to have electric lighting, find something more period appropriate. I'm not talking about fancy fixtures. The old hang-down, bare-bulb, pull-string rigs would look good here. But you still need to hide the glowing white Romex wire. Either conceal it or put it in galvanized conduit; then figure out how to dirty-up your conduit. The new, silver stuff will stand out too much. For any new shelving or tables, stay away from store-bought, kiln-dried lumber. Stick with rough cut, preferably salvaged wood. Keep your eye out for old barns and sheds being torn down. And amen to getting the red paint off that anvil. I'd just strip it and let it rust back. Not that an early 19th century shop wouldn't have had a red anvil, it just don't look right And if you are going to be working in a Depression Era shop, you ought to look like a Depression Era smith. Search through a bunch of pictures of old shopes and mines and imitate what you see. For a period this late, you could even find appropriate safety glasses. This is a hard thing to do for the 1700's :cool: Good luck, and keep us posted, Don

For long, straight stacks, has anyone ever tried galvanized culvert pipe? Haven't tried it yet, but it is readily available in bigger diameters and long lengths. Might also be a bit thicker than standard stove/vent pipe.

Really nice. Simple, kinda like a trade knife, but it just begs to be used. I'm a big fan of copper, too. Good work.

Hey Matt, I just checked out your site. Wow. Very nice work. Welcome to the board, Don

Another source for the small diameter round stock like Jerry mentioned is election signs. We've got county elections coming up in a month, so the roadside is covered with 1/8" stock. Better wait 'til after election day to harvest it, though.

Archie, You are an inspiration to those of us who are getting old enough to sometimes forget what it means to be 100% dedicated to our craft. Keep at it. (from one who has also, in the past, sawed railroad track by hand to make an anvil)

Mighty nice! Did you grind or file the bevels? Either way, you did a good job.

I will definitly be trying some welded hinges, but it is not necessary for the job at hand. Again, by customer request, a divided 36" two panel door, 18" per panel, 3 hinges per panel. Hinges 3" at the barrel, 1/4" stock. The seam will be hidden on the back side of the pintle. My friend is negotiating the price, and the example he has shown the customer is a "wrap and butt" barrel hinge; no weld. But for the welded hinge: I have some books that illustrate the way to set up the taper for the weld. Would you leave the mandrel in as you make the weld? Or would you shape the barrel, remove the mandrel, make the weld, and re-drift the hole? I know I can get a lot of this stuff by trial and error, but I've found it saves a lot of tools and material to ask first, then try it.

Thanks Glenn (BP0152). Can't belive I let that one slip by me. A really neat tool. I took the advice of the purists and rolled a couple by hand this weekend. I had some 2" x .25" scap in the pile, so I decide to give it a try. Not nearly as intimidating as I had figured. I made a 1/2" drift to keep the barrels neat and as nears round as possible. I did find that a slight bevel on the end helps the barrel close up a bit neater. A few more dry runs, and we should be up to speed for real work. Thanks for the input. It might be several weeks to completion, but I'll post some pics when we get done.

Reckon a rig like this would do for hot work? : http://www.savvyhomeadvice.com/WW/stills/hingebender.htm Even if it would, it's a lotta work for 6 hinges, but what about more serious production? Please don't hit me. I'm just thinking out loud.

Thank you all. That's the kind of input I was looking for. I believe I've got it in my mind; now to find the time to get it put together. I got this barely used Centaur for $65 (they're $168 new). I've gotta put it to use.

Sorry gents... let me redefine portable: I might need to move it as much as 15 feet, one way or the other. I don't care to go fairly bulky with it, just didn't want to go the masonry route and have it tied to the ground. As for portable, I am working on a charcoal & bellows rig for demos and such. The coal forge will stay close to home. ... and I sure wouldn't turn down a good deal on a blower!

I need some hint on how to mount a Centaur fire-pot. I was hoping to drop it into a simple steel table style forge. I was thinking of building the forge small enough to be portable, with maybe a

I have been offered the opportunity to partner with a friend on a job to forge 6 strap pintle hinges. These will be mounted on an antique door that has hung in the past on standard mortised hinges. The door is actually two 18

This is from the Tractor Supply website:

Thanks Ed. I'm in no hurry, so I'll heed your advice and do a little more fact-finding in the local welding supply shops. Last time I was at Tractor Supply they gave me a brochure on their gas and oxygen tanks. It offered a full range of sizes, and I do believe you could buy them outright. The guy in line in front of me was writing a big check for some big tanks. I'll see if I can remember where I put the brochure and let you know what it says.

Would this rig make for a decent torch? (cutting, welding, brazing): http://www.mytscstore.com/detail.asp?pcID=1&paID=1011&sonID=598&page=4&productID=1377 I think they are running around $189 new. BTW, I've never owned a torch before. Any additional advice is appreciated.

I start with a small ring of newspaper in the bottom, add a few hickory twigs or shaving, then a small heap of charcoal. After the charcoal gets fired up, I rake in the coke from my last fire and keep a little air going. Once the coke gets going good, be sure to give it a poke or two; the charcoal wil burn out and leave a hollow fire if you don't.

you'd only hear that from a blacksmith :wink:

:? 17 kilos = 37.47858 lbs :shock: Have you done any test chopping with it?

Leah, Dr. Jim has been posting over on the Outpost forum for the past couple days (look for "jph") http://www.knifenetwork.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=37 You might get some of your questions answered straight from the source.

Oh... that does make a difference. I have been struggling with the "Russian Rose" (the kind you hammer out and roll up). Your method looks to be much cleaner and controlable. Again, they are very nice. And more important, I pray that all will go well with your transplant.

Peyton, I built the form for this one from aluminum foil. The foil did stick a bit, but I cast it oversize and filed it to shape along with the handle. I used foil to try and accomidate the curved shape, but most folks use a heavy paper like index card stock. Whatever you use, tape it good and tight. The molten pewter flows like water and it will quickly find any cracks or holes in your form. You can easily end up with pewter-plated boots!