jayco

Sabre, you're correct about placing the green coal around the firepot and pulling into the fire gradually. I try to keep the top of the fire open a little.....a little flame coming through.........to eat up the smoke. One mistake I used to make was that I would simply rake more coal up towards the top and center of the fire. I would forget to push in the sides of the fire.....and all the coke would burn out just above the firepot,often allowing air to blow directly on the iron I was attempting to heat. So, sometimes I push the sides in with a rake,sometimes I can simply strike the pile of green coal with the back of the shovel or poker. I don't know if you can have a smokeless fire, but you can reduce the amount of smoke you make if you rake in the coal gradually. Once the center of a coal fire is burning hot, and you rake in a goodly amount of green coal.......there may be considerable smoke start up from the green coal. I sometimes use a small sprinkling can and drizzle some water right where the thick smoke is coming from. Not enough to dowse the fire by any means, just enough to slow the ignition of the green coal. I don't sprinkle any water on the center of the fire at all. With some kinds of coal, this dampening also aids in the coking process. James

David, welcome to Iforgeiron! Since you are just starting out, you might want to look at the 'getting started' and 'lessons in metalworking' sections on the front or opening page. There is lots of information here and lots of friendly folks too. There is much reading to do here........if you have questions, just ask. Enjoy the site! James

Larry, that seems to average out to about $6 per hour of forging. I have no idea what coal costs out where you live, but I'm thinking coal (even if you have to buy by the sack) would be cheaper than that. There was a thread a while back about coal consumption........I think everyone pretty much settled on the idea that it took about a 5 gal. bucket for a typical day of forging........of course, that can vary a lot........depending on how large a fire you need and what you're forging. If you can build a fire in your back yard,(some folks can't), you might think about making your own charcoal.It's a good clean burning fuel, and really cheap,....if you make it yourself. James Flannery

Jeff, welcome to Iforgeiron. You will find that there is much information on knives and metalworking in general on this site. If you have questions, just ask....... Enjoy!

Electronics repair shops regularly discard large loudspeakers that can't be re-coned. They have large dough-nut shaped ceramic type magnets that are quite powerful. You can remove the magnets with a screw or nut driver usually.

A year ago, I would have said my favorite hammer was an old 1& 3/4 lb. ball pein. Since that time, I've changed a lot of my hammers to a longer, tapered handle. ( I make my own handles.......and some hammers ,too.) I couldn't honestly say I have a 'favorite' anymore!

Making sure the anvil is tightly secured to the stump or anvil stand will help quiet some anvils. Taking a piece of chain and wrapping it 3 or 4 times around the waist or narrow part of the anvil really quiets mine down. Some guys attach magnets to the sides or undersides of their anvil to absorb some of the vibration, making the anvil quieter. My Peter Wright anvil is fairly quiet when I'm using the face.......a little louder on the heel........and much louder when I use the horn. You might do some experiments and see what happens......... Also, some anvils are just louder than others.

Frank, welcome to Iforgeiron. We love to see pictures. Maybe you can share information with us about armour! enjoy!

I have a few pieces scattered here and there in the barn that i did very early, but I don't have pics yet. But here's a pic of some stuff I found in an old bucket in the back of the shop some months ago. I've been debating with myself about posting the picture. They're not very good. These are some practice things I did the first year or so after building the shop. Stuff that didn't come out quite right ended up tossed to the rear of the shop. I don't know how they came to be in one bucket, either. It was 35 years ago. I call it my "What was I thinking?" collection.............. oh, by the way,........the little piece in the upper left that sorta looks like a file? That was an attempt at 'can damascus'......... I had heard of it somewhere and decided to give it a try, so.....I brought a soup can to welding heat, sprinkles some borax on it, hammered some, folded it over, hammered some more.......... You get the picture........ How was I to know you were supposed to put something in the can!!:)

Yeah, m brothers, in the creek! Since the creek was at the edge on the lawn, it seemed like a handy place to dispose of the mower at the time. Had there been a cliff, canyon, or ocean nearby.........it probably would have went in one of those places! There is nothing as infuriating as a lawnmower that won't start after you've cranked yourself to nearly a coronary........and it's near 100 degrees!

I was 16. Dad always kept a little anvil and blower on the farm, but we didn't use it much. When I was 16, I decided to build a shed for a proper shop. That shed has been the forging station ever since. The book that really inspired me was an old copy on "Farm Mechanics-1946 edition" One chapter on blacksmithing....but very clear and concise information.

Rich, I,m going to set up a slightly taller forge for him (and anvil too) so he can try standing, as you suggest. I noticed at his first session that he was doing some bending , stretching and reaching that seemed awkward. Larry, my grandson has already learned the lesson of hot scale on the bare legs. He will be wearing long pants. His first session was a very hot day....he didn't have any long pants available.....but insisted on trying anyway. Glenn has suggested that my grandson should try 'choking up' on the hammer handle and using a 'Hofi' hammering technique........we will be trying that also. Several of you guys noticed that I named this thread 'Little Smiths'. Being that Chris is a Little League ball player,.....I also think of him as a 'Little Smith'. Little League coaches these days stress not doing injury to young bones and muscles that are still growing and developing. That's why learning to hammer and otherwise work at the forge correctly is important. I also think of him as little in the sense that he is young and inexperienced.........That reminds me to keep a watchful eye on him at all times. Thanks for all the replies and suggestions, James Flannery

Watcher, welcome to Iforgeiron! So you're a woodworking nut, eh? Along with metalworking, we also do woodworking..... You'll fit right in........ Enjoy!

Devfix, welcome to Iforgeiron. There is a vast amount of metalworking information here. There are links on the front page to help you get started. Enjoy!

My 8 year old grandson has taken an interest in blacksmithing. He has gradually went from occasionally cranking the blower for me.....and asking "What does this tool do?" to wanting to hammer some steel himself. So far , so good. But now, I must go into the archives and do some research on exactly how to go about teaching him.....properly. I remember there being some threads which discuss this subject. I started out by finding him a smaller hammer 1&1/2 lb.....setting up a little forge where he could sit down as he learned hammer control, etc. My thinking is to keep things simple so there are not so many things to learn at once.......If possible. This is a good time for me to consult the 'wisdom of the community'! My idea is to keep it 'safe'.......'fun'........ and a learning experience. At this point, he is just learning where to place the stock in the fire for proper heating.......how to adjust the air gate to get the amount of heat needed.....that a yellow heat is hotter than a dull red heat (and easier to forge) etc. His first forging was to taper a round rod to a point. As soon as he got done with the taper he asked "What can I make with this?" I answered "Well,........you could make a hook." To which he replied......."What's the hook for?" Kids will keep you on your toes! Using the smaller hammer and sitting down at the forge are just ideas I came up with........and may.......or may not be good ideas. What do you guys think? James Flannery

Jim, welcome to Iforgeiron. There is a massive amount of information on metalworking here, and lots of friendly folks too. So you're working on KY rifles........very interesting! Be sure and post some pictures when you can.......we all love pictures. Enjoy!

Dave, I would encourage you to not 'give up', but rather, to look at it as a temporary change of plans. I've had long periods in my life that I didn't do much smithing due to working at carpentry, constuction, and yes.......farming. Does this sound familiar? There is an old saying about farming........."every one else goes out to work........farmers wake up surrounded by it" Even today, I,m still pressed for time to do all the things I want to do. I still farm a little, help my son with his lawncare business, take my grandson to little league.......and smith when I can. I am reminded that I have orders for little Christmas things which I must get forged. Anyway Dave, think of it as a 'break'........and good luck to you! James Flannery

I use both coal and charcoal. One problem with coal is finding good metalurgical or shop coal to use. I live in coal country, and I can find coal pretty easily........but 99% of it had sulfur and other nasty stuff in it. In other words, it will burn and get iron hot, but it is smoky,creates a lot of cinder, and it takes me some effort to weld with it. Charcoal makes a cleaner fire, but is more bulky.......it takes a larger pile of charcoal to make a forge fire comparable to a coal fire. A charcoal fire seems to put out a lot more radiant heat than a smaller sized coal fire does. Radiant heat in your face in hot summer weather can be downright uncomfortable . On the other hand, that extra heat often feels good in winter! If I use charcoal in hot weather, I place a piece of scrap sheetmetal over the fire to deflect some of the heat. One handy trick you can do with charcoal is that if your coal fire is getting low(almost all your coke is burned up.......and you want to do just one more heat), is to throw a couple shovels of charcoal right on top of the fire. You don't have place it around the edges of the forge and gradually rake it into the center like you have to with coal. James

Justin, thanks for the ideas. It's good that we keep this thread alive and keep coming up with more ideas. I,m 52 and have back problems..........meaning that these ideas could come in handy for guys like me! I would imagine that when I,m 72 I will have decreased mobility......but I,ll probably want to do some smithing. This thread is probably where I will look for information! James Flannery