Archie Zietman

but the CO2 from burning biomass is already in the carbon cycle. Carbon from fossil fuels is not in the carbon cycle and just latches onto oxygens in the cycle so that there is more CO2 than O2 and creates an unbalance in the carbon cycle and atmosphere. Biomass would not add more carbon but simply use carbon already in the cycle.

I just found underneath my porch a good 4 foot length of 4 inch diameter 1/4 inch thick walled steel pipe. The annoying thing is, I just finnished my science project equipment (biomass gasifier eventually for forge gas) by substituting 4 lengths of 2 inch diameter pipe, and I just found the perfect pipe oh well. once I'm done I can make another better one with it in my own time.

I'm not suggesting that blacksmiths are going to make much of a dent, I'm just curious as to whether anyone else has thought of ways to use biomass in a forge. So don't be so skeptical and cynical Rick. shame on you!

organic stuff ground up and squished into blocks or logs, for instance I've started taking straw form my chickens, adding water to it and crushing it into a pvc pipe with holes in the sides. The straw sticks together into long rods of dense burnable stuff which I dry, chop up into little pieces and put in a gassifier and burn as a gas. They could probably be used like coal or charcoal I am thinking.

yes, lots of good stuff on motherearthnews.com I was thinking in terms of use of biomass as fuel such as steam cracking of manure and straw into a medium BTU gas (This is what I am doing now) and using it in a gas forge. or a wvo burner forge or biomass briquettes like charcoal or something.

personally hammerswise I use a 1 lb ball peen hammer from the local hardware store and a 2.5 pound mini-sledge hammer also from the hardware store, and I've gotten along fine.

that's true, I guess even if it did make a dent in global warming all of the paperwork and jail time wouldn't be worth it. ;)

Hello. It has struck me that with the whole global warming issue, or if you don't believe about that just the issue about how our atmosphere has gone from 220 ppm (units?) CO2 to 330ppm of CO2 in the air in the past less than 100 yrs proven due to fossil fuels and the speed of CO2 inflation rapidly rising so we might as well cut down on CO2 emmissions so that people in anywhere from 100 to 200 years in the future can stay alive because humans can't survive with 550ppm CO2 in the air issue, that smiths are still mostly using propane or other fossil gasses or coal. Okay, now the point of this thread:Are any of you lot also looking into eco-friendly (as in emmisions and also clinkers-which-are-pollutants-wise) forge fuels apart from charcoal? (e.g. wvo, other recycled oils, methanol, methane...) just curious. gasifier gonna be done tomorrow I hope. so there you have it. Archie

Hello! I just finished a light anvil stand for my rail anvil, and am about half way through cutting off a 6 inch section of rail joiner (not track, it's heavier with more material under the larger top surface, and has conveniently placed holes for mounting it to things punched in the middle) to go on the stand (I'm using a midget hacksaw, wd-40 and elbow grease woo! hoo!). Unfortunately I made the stand about 4 inches too tall, so I will have to make a little platform to stand on, but it is a good height for all you grown up types. Pictures tomorrow or next weekend, probably next weekend once I finish the whole setup.

Hello. When you put steel or iron into the fire, and it starts burning, what exactly is going on? what makes it burn and spark, and pit and all that stuff? Also, is this what is happening to steel/iron which is being cut by a cutting torch, or is that all blowing out of the molten metal? Thanks, Archie

I agree with Thomas! They should make their own body weight in finished (as in forged, ground, hilted, sharpened) knives before moving on to a sword. :D

very cool! what kind of a forge do you use to heat such volumes of metal?

s-hooks? I like trace hooks, they make me happy.

I have seen petrogen, and it is very cool. I am thinking that if I used a blowtorch setup with petrol, diesel (there is a torch somebody built at one time or another which uses diesel that got me thinking) or even biodiesel, (which would make me very happy) this would, like petrogen, make sure that there were no parts under pressure, so the time bomb effect would be avoided, and it being a blowtorch setup would not use oxygen tanks, but I could still get a flame for sodlering or brazing or heating up iron in very small localized places. I will try it out, I think. :D

uh...6...seems like so few... :lol:

Hello. I have a question, how do those little kerosene/gasoline blowtorches work? Here's an example of what I am thinking of: http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/ccfurnace01.html thanks eversomuch, Archie

They have to be specially recycled, because they are icky for the environment and decompose super-slowly.

My solid fuel forge (coal or charcoal or compressed chicken litter briquettes from my chickens) is mounted on a Radio flyer, and I keep a few chocks handy.

...I think that's now it goes...something to that effect anyways...colliers make coals, or charcoal then since coal was, at least slightly earlier, illegal in Engy.

By my foot sir! I'll not carry coals! Nay good sir, for then we should be colliers! ___Romeo and Juliet first two lines

Every saturday I bike along a bike path to get to an art studio 3 miles away, where they have a figure drawing class. Along the way, there is a place where 4 houses along with a metal shop were just demolished. On saturday I stopped and scrounged around. I couldn't get the 3 feet of railroad track back as well as my bike with ease, so it is still there, along with various metal tidbits such as lengths of iron pipe, brake drums, and all manner of steel and iron goodies hidden amid the mountains of concrete boulders . Unfortunately we just got a foot of snow, which covered it all up, but this weekend I will probably go back with a radio flyer if the snow has melted.

try looking at the hottest your steel can get in the dark. oftentimes in the dark, steel which looks black under the lights starts glowing red when I shut the lights off. You may already have white heat.

I think the choil is the little cutout between the ricasso and the cutting edge. it's there for ease of sharpening yes?

In some states (or is it all?) in America, walking along the train tracks and picking up the spikes is illegal. There is no law about what you can or cannot heat up and hit, though (is there?! :shock: ) Carbon levels can be different in spikes, so some might not be the best knives, but if you have some and want to heat and beat them, nobody is going to throw you in jail. my 2 probably misinformed cents Archie

If you have that much air power, you could just use wood in chunks. with enough air you send the wood flames up very high, and burn the smoke away, and in a very short time end up with charcoal, and you turn down the air power. That's what I do.