jayco

Dave, have you tried adjusting the bottom bolt,( the one with the screwdriver slot and the locking nut)? I have a smaller Champion blower.( I don't know if mine is like yours or not....so this may not apply), Any way, the adjustment of that bolt is a little 'touchy' on mine. If I loosen it more than an 8th of a turn.......it rattles. If I tighten it more than an 8th of a turn.....it gets really stiff. Good luck....hope this helps James

rhart84, welcome to Iforgeiron! There are 'Getting Started' sections on the front page with lots of good info. If you are 'into' blades, there sections on the forums page where that is discussed. You are welcome to jump right in anywhere you like. Don't forget to check out the friday night 'Knife chat' at 10:00 P.M. in the chat room. There's lots of info and lots of friendly folks here...and Lots of READING to do.... ENJOY!

Irnsrgn, the forge looks good. Glad to see that even after retiring from blacksmithing,you're still trying new ideas. Be sure and give us the pros and cons of bottom blast vs side blast. Since I've never used side blast, I'm particularly interested in how they compare.

Welcome to Iforgeiron, MetalMuncher! A lot of us are on 'dialup',(myself included) which makes things.......slow........but we manage. If you have any questions, just ask. There are lots of friendly folks here to help. Enjoy!

Highlander,looks like you found some blacksmithing history! One thing I noticed years ago while exploring old barns and sheds is that if the dirt is soft........heavy stuff may have sank in the dirt so much as to be completely covered. I try to have a little hand rake or trowel with me on these kind of archaelogical 'digs'. I've never found, say, an anvil that way.........but you never know!

Ky Boy, glad you found an anvil.......and from the pics, appears to be a pretty good one.! Congratulations!

Bentiron, so far there are no building restrictions in my county. There was some talk about 'zoning' the county about 10 years back, but nothing came of it. No popular support for it. This is pretty much farm country where I live. The nearest town (6000 people ) is 10 miles away. I think that 'develoment' and 'progress' are slipping up on all of us a little at a time. The neighboring towns have restricted communities, 'gated' communities, and such as that. For the time being, we who live in the country can count ourselves lucky. I read with some dismay that so many of our members can't forge in the backyard, can't burn coal, can't make charcoal,.....some cannot even have a shop at their home at all. I guess one could chalk it up as the 'price of progress'........but I have to wonder if the price isn't too high....... Now........down off my soapbox.... Thanks CurlyGeorge for the well wishes........I'm having a great time planning the new shop!

Meancoyote, it appears you are well on your way to a new shop...with unique design........do keep us updated.....this looks interesting! James

Ironman1, welcome to Iforgeiron! The 'Getting Started' and 'Lessons in Metalworking' sections on the home page have very helpful information for those just getting started in blacksmithing. This is quite a large site with lots of info.........and a lot of reading to do.......Enjoy!

No problem Ironrose, If I had a bunch of telephone poles, I'd use 'em. If I had access to a lot of plywood, concrete blocks or bricks, I would use them also. I adapt to what materials are available........the stuff I'm using just happened to be right here on the farm, and FREE! Having a little 'history' attached is just an added bonus James

As I prepare to move into my new shop, I've been considering all kinds of changes to my forge setup. I think I will be using a different forge than I have been using mainly for more than 30 years. It was time to dismantle the old forge and clean everything up to see how everything looked. this is a 20in. truck rim with a little round firepot(old and cast iron) bolted underneath. There had been a fair amount of deterioration to the bottom of the forge, but mainly the pieces of plate I had welded over the wheel slots had rusted through! I had been patching the holes with scraps of metal, old bolts, and yellow clay for some time. Surprisingly, the wheel and the firepot are in pretty good shape, and ready to be used again! And yeah, I brought pictures.......

Since some folks have asked questions or commented on the materials I'm using, I should explain.....I hope this doesn't get long and boring........but here goes........ All the materials (posts and lumber) have been recycled from an old tobacco barn that fell a couple years ago. Before I was born, in 1950, my dad had a sawmill less than 200 ft. from where I'm building the new shop. The posts were all round poplars that grew right here on the farm. Only the bark was removed before he used them. They are 30 ft. long. I only had to cut up 2 to make the 6 posts for the new shop. Dad also sawed all the 2 x 4's and 2 x 6 's and the 'inch' lumber....1 x 6 's ........1 x 8 's, etc. I should mention that much of the 1 in. thick boards are what we call 'tie siding'. Dad was also in the business of sawing 7 x 9 in. x 8 and 1/2 ft. cross ties. Depending on how the log was sawed, there were often 7 in. wide or 9 in. wide boards removed as the log was brought to proper dimensions. The cross ties were sold and the boards were used as siding , or as we call it 'boxing'. I know.....the terms are confusing. He sawed all this lumber on an ancient circular saw mill powered by a worn out Packard motor. He built a 38 ft x 75 ft. tobacco barn from all this lumber. The barn stood until 2005. I spent all my spare time for several months pulling nails and stacking lumber. I have enough left for another shop as large as the one I built. You never know.......I want to build on! I had also saved metal roofing as well, but my wife insisted I buy new metal for the roof.......probably a good idea......... It's a new shop for me, but it's already got nearly 60 years of history...... Just thought I'd share. James Flannery

X-Force, you pose an interesting idea........one worthy of experimentation. I took a look at your sketch and thought "HMMM....There's something new here!" I may be looking at it all wrong, but I'm thinking the forge itself could be a piece of flat plate, a wheel (with the unneeded lug bolt holes filled with mud, with holes or slots for air to enter the center of the fire. The 'bucket on the bottom' is what is different. If the horizontal air pipe connects 4 or 5 in. up the side of the bucket, there would be ample room for the ash to collect from several fires. When the bucket filled enough to clog the airway, then just lift the cold forge off the bucket, empty the ashes, and your good to go.......I think! There would need to be some sort of seal around the top of the bucket to force as much air as possible into the forge( I'm thinking mud) It seems to make sense that whatever amount of air entered the forge, it would escape up into the forge.The only thing I'm not at all sure about is would the blast into the forge be focused like a traditional forge or would it just leak out in all directions making use difficult? That's a good question! This is an interesting idea.....I'll have to try this!

Longhunter, I placed these posts on field stones, though it would have been much easier to get them plumb in post holes. They're nearly 60 year old poplar barn posts and would rot in post holes. Valentin, the 'blessing' idea is a good one.......I need all the help I can get! Guys, thanks for all the compliments and suggestions. I have pics in the Gallery of the 'build' so far, and there will be more as I progress. Here's a pic of how I had to brace the posts to get them to stand plumb.

czbohunk,welcome to Iforgeiron. On the front or 'home' page of this site there are sections named Getting Started' and 'Lessons in Metalworking. There's a lot of good information there.......Enjoy!

Svarog,welcome to Iforgeiron! From what you've said, I think you've already got the idea. There are some great blacksmiths here to learn from.....and pass on to us what you've learned.........Enjoy!

Bentiron, the 'building with the cresent moon is only a hundred feet away.......I haven't installed the electrical panel yet, but the line will be underground. There's 2 ft. wide roofing metal serving as underpinning all around the inside walls to seal out cold air and also to keep hot sparks,metal, etc from catching the board 'boxing' on fire. In summer weather, I always keep a loaded garden hose nearby in case of fire, but for winter, I might put in a frost free spigot or hydrant. Rich, I hadn't thought about the ropes and pulleys for the windows..good idea.....but I know I want windows that open to let in fresh air........summer afternoons get hot here. Ted, thanks.......now, if I can get the shop set up.....I can have some of that hitting, bending, twisting, fun you mentioned! If the shop WAS on your property, you'd have to do all the smithing in it........too far for me to drive!!

Here in Greenup Co, we've always had a 'farm' culture. Even the guys who have worked at the steel mills or the railroad 'car shops' also farmed. So, we have lots of ........pickup trucks....tractors........cows.......barns....etc, but blacksmithing tools are as scarce as 'hen's teeth' I'm 20 miles from southern Ohio, 30 miles from W Va. Those places have more of an industrial culture.... I plan to save up some time and money and go to those places to look for tools. I think a lot of smiths around the world experience the same shortages of smithing supplies that we do. That's why I wind up making a lot of my own tools.....sheer necessity.

As some of you may or may not know,I've been building a new shop. It's just a simple wood structure with metal roofing. 12 x 24 ft. What I plan, is to have a forging station on one end and a workbench/finishing area on the other end( possibly with wood floor in the future.) I'll be able to have a pot-bellied stove on the finishing end and I'm going with a side-draft flue for the forge. The major tools I will have will be forge,anvil,post vise, and bench grinder. (Arc welders, A/o torches and other things are in garage, 40 ft. from the new shop) As you can see from the pic,there is only the one door and no windows, but that will change as soon as I figure out how I want everything. I have resisted the urge to start putting stuff in there until I get my plan together. At present, it's empty. Hopefully, I can get the aforementioned tools in and still have plenty of room.......You never know, I might want to get a gas forge or a power hammer sometime. So, what do you blacksmiths think would be handy to incorporate into this shop? All info is appreciated! James Flannery