gonefishin

Haven't wet any of the coals yet, but did get nice big chunks of coke going. Wanted to make sure the grate wasn't oversized before lighting the forge up again. I was told not to wet the coals on a cast iron forge as it causes stress and cracking, but everything I've read in my own study and am being told here indicates the opposite. Will try that next time. Good idea too with the cardboard.

Fired up the forge for the first time today and had a blast! One thing I did notice was a lot of my coal falling through the grate. I use pea sized smithing coal. The grate is raised slightly above the firepot and doubles as a clinker breaker, so there is also space around the grate where coal falls through as well. Is this common or is my grate too big? I know it needs to be fairly large to allow air to get through and not get clogged. My main concern was with hot coals dropping into the ash dump and piling in there. If it needs attention mesh would just burn up, any ideas without having to completely replace what's in there? Maybe something could be Jb welded on?

I am having some trouble figuring out a way to mount my blower up to my forge. I've been in contact with another member who has helped a ton, just looking at all options -- I dont have the luxury of an operable welder at the moment, nor the skill, and dont have an operable forge (yet!). I'm looking for something I can easily find at a hardware store so I can get this thing up and running asap. I'm going to use standard semi rigid 3" duct for the connects. Attached are pictures of the blower and arm I have for my forge. I have the arm bolted to the forge already but need a way to mount the blower itself to either the arm (preferred) or a seperate mount. The blower doesnt have any brackets on it like some of them that Ive seen. I'm not sure how to mount it up, all suggestions are appreciated.

I have a forge very similar to the one in the below photo (photo taken from google), and a buffalo forge hand crank blower. What is the proper type of duct needed to attatch the blower to the forge tuyere, and how to clamp it on? Have to run to Lowes tomorrow and unsure what I should be looking for to get this hooked up. thanks

Thanks for the responses. I used a brand new $11.00 hacksaw blade on this, a grinder, an electric hacksaw, & tried a metal cutting bandsaw....for hours nothing even came close to even scratching this stuff. I'm not sure why if it's supposed to be soft.

I have some long bar stock that was given to me by a friend who works with steel, pretty thick & really expensive. Anyway, It's treated so I cannot even cut it to length, like I said....thick. I could use a hacksaw if it weren't hardened, right now 10 minutes of hacksawing did not even start a cut. I have a smaller length of it that will fit in my oven I'm going to use. I was going to normalize it in my kitchen oven so it could get workable & soft (I'm doing stock removal, no forging involved...so I need it soft to make cuts) & I was looking online to see what a good temp. to use would be and seen this, http://www.fergusonperf.com/pdfs/56.pdf The steel I have is ASTM-A240 304 (S30400) It says it can only be hardened when worked cold - so can I even normalize it? If so, I plan on making a little keychain multitool with a small chisel blade, would I not be able to heat treat this steel? Would the steel even need heat treated since it's a special alloy steel? And if any of this ends up being possible, what oven temp. should I use to normalize? Any help is highly appreciated.

For custom work customers sometime prefer welds over traditional joinery. Decided to just fork over the $500 to have it installed and skip this years vacation.

Well, little dilemma....building a new shop from scratch in the backyard. Let me start by saying I have no electricity skills whatsoever. I have a lincoln arc welder that I need to be able to weld with and it has a big industrial plug on it, 225 I think. We got it estimated that it would take around $400-500 to get electricity ran from the power lines/my house to the shop, PLUS more money to get the outlet itself installed. I can't really afford the $500, is there any other way to be able to run my welder or I am in a rut here? I know it isn't good to use a generator for them so, looks like I'm going to have to pay the $500 if I want to weld or am I missing another option?

All purchased from stewartthesmith for a great deal, - blower, a drift, some hammers, two tongs, a metal folding ruler (love it), a handled punch, and some other little things. Some of the things may be wrapped in newspaper, was in a hurry when taking pics. A lot of things for the small price. Man that blower runs smooth! All of this under $200.00 - thanks buddy!

I can see them shutting me down based on the coal forge fire alone. The city I live in is pretty strict and FULL of snitches. My neighbors - behind me are a nice bunch, and to the right is a bunch of slobs. I don't have much of a yard, the smithy would probably be about 10 feet away from the neighbors yard. I live in Illinois, hour or so from Springfield. It's a city, nothing close to a country area. We've contacted the city and they gave us a max size, how far it should be from the house, and what it can consist of. Of course we just told them it was going to be a workshop, not a forging area. We planned on having them come approve it when it's finished, and then after it's approved lay the dirt on top of the bricks, cut a hole in the roof for the flues, and set up shop. Somethings telling me though that soon after that I'll get the city on me and they'll have a fit over it all.

I am about to build a medium sized shop in my backyard, however I live within the city. My grandfather has worked in construction his whole life and was a city inspector, he said if I received any complaints of noise or a city inspector was driving by that they could and would shut me down asap. I only thought they could do so if the noise was past a certain time at night or early in the morning. But they go by decibel levels and the hammering I'm sure would exceed it. Knowing this city I don't want to invest in a big shop and then them shut me down. The noise and the smoke coming from the flues in the summer is what I'm concerned over people reporting, our neighbors had an old washer that steamed white smoke (normal) and someone reported a fire and made a big deal of it...can only imagine what would happen with me and my coal smoke. So from any city guys experiences, should I go on with it and build it? If an inspector DID see it, he would have numerous reasons to shut me down according to a ex-city inspectors point of view...1. fire hazard, 2. small industrial operations on city grounds, 3. noise. Renting a barn may be an option but it's a 20 minute drive out or so, a lot more convienient having it in your yard...and cheaper. So really, how loud is hammering in a shop in a backyard? They don't even allow dirt to be used as flooring, I have to lay bricks and pour dirt on top of the bricks.

Been on the lookout for a good barrel for quenching, something about the look and feel I like about the old barrels. How much should one be paying around for one and how do you go about picking one out? I have two that have been offered to me but I cannot tell if they look good or not to be sufficient in holding water, any input would be great. Also how would you protect the wood from those wood eating bugs, just seal it with some type of sealant?

First off, Sask Mark...let's see you leg press that 1000lbs Secondly, forging is not much of a workout at all if your talking in the aspect of building mass, muscle, etc. It is good for you to stay active and gets you working, which is great, but if someone wanted to get big arms for example by JUST forging, it wouldn't happen - whether you forged an hour a day or twenty. Arms are about the only thing that you'll be working for the majority of work. Forging will help out your grip and eventually make it tighter though.

Some fellas may have to stop due to age or health conditions.

I like it - it's different than the usual ones you see.

Look up "Ornamental Iron" in the Yellow pages.

I wouldn't call this little ad on the forum an "application"...just a basic ad to get someone to ask more through email/PM. When I say I had some experience with machinery I have worked lathes a few years back when I was in school, nothing major. I know a lot of different things just from the studying I've been doing the past 3 years on Blacksmithing but I have no prior experience hands on, which is why I'm looking to be an apprentice...to learn. I completely understand what your saying, and also know how people must feel when they take someone under their wing and that person leaves when they learn/get what they want. I'm in this to learn and keep learning and make a new friend in the process, I'd be more than happy working 40 hours a week in a shop. I also realize time is money and not many fellas would want to take the time to teach someone with no previous forge time....though if I'd be working 40 hours a week 1 hour out of a day to show me what to do isn't much of a price to pay to have a grunt around. Give me an outline on what to do, show me it once and that's all I need. It was suggested to me to look for an apprenticeship to learn and also make money since I'm unemployed, so I made this ad. I'm not expecting anyone in my area to even be looking but if it gives me a chance then I'm going to try. There's too much passion in this for me to not at least try for one, maybe someone will see some good in me and take a chance. If I didn't need the money I would offer to do it for free just to learn. Thanks for the advice, it is noted. I'm going to keep trying and keep looking for experience to up my chances.

As far as working previously in a smithy, none. I have had some experience with machinery elsewhere and have played with a lot of projects and done much studying on my own time. I'm smart and a very fast learner, I pay close attention to detail and am a hard trusty worker. The fact I'm also doing this for hands on experience to learn more about Blacksmithing gives me a huge drive - I would do it all for free if I didn't need the money. Things can be taught, motivation and passion cannot.

To my knowledge rebar isn't a solid graded steel...it can be composed of a real hard end, a semi-brittle other end, and a soft center. To play with and make small things out of I don't see a problem but for more serious things I would stay clear of rebar. The type home depot sells may be different than industrial construction rebar, not sure.

I live in Illinois and am looking for a job as an apprentice. I'm 19 and am able to work long hours any time of the day. I start aviation college up in January and will be unavailable 2-3 days out of the week at night only (6pm+). *Days are not yet announced* I can make the drive to work anywhere in the Illinois/Missouri area ranging 2 hours or less. Feel free to contact me on here by PM I'm a very hard worker, pay close attention and always make safety a priority. I'm well built and will not have any trouble in different work conditions. Thanks for looking.

My kind of work space. Beautiful collection of tools accumulated.

Great first pair, they don't look bad mate - actually look pretty nice. I would say if your that concerned over it you can clean it up a bit with a grinder, files, sandpaper, etc. Tools are tools, if they work that's all that matters. Working tools do not need to be pretty for a man to fall in love with them :rolleyes:

I have one just like it, has a small work surface nearing the back too. I use it for filing and finishing smaller work. They're nice little vises to have.

Prayers are out for you both. The fact that she's joking and in good spirits should tell you she's not going anywhere anytime soon :)

A lot of knifemakers swear by vegetable oil. High flash point motor oil should work too.