jayco

Mooseridge, some parts of the idea could still be salvageable. Even though I don't trust them that much, it might work to turn a cup brush to clean up metal. The drill in the pic is an old variable speed/reversable model.......and turns slowly even at full speed. Safer. A faster drill would , of course, increase rpm's. Might be useful to use a cup brush to clean the BOTTOM of a frame or tank. I don't know.....experiments haven't gone that far yet..(I,m still laughing at myself.) I've always collected motors, fans, pulleys, gears, odd parts off old machinery. I've made a few bench grinders, forge blowers, etc,..........and I've made things like the 'drill-o-grinder' too. Things don't always go as planned,.........but the experiments continue!

There are several things I could say about these pics, so here goes......... First of all, * THIS IS NOT A REAL TOOL! * Don't bother with making one unless you want to laugh uncontrollably! I had this little angle grinder which had died a while back. I had taken the housing apart and discovered that the brushes had somehow come loose, completely destroying the motor. A few days ago, inspiration struck me Why not just chuck my drill up to the grinder!? After all, all I needed was a motor, right? As you can see from the pics, what I wound up with was a swivel-head grinder that turns at....maybe.....200 rpm.........slow! It turns so slowly it won't make a spark on iron or steel! Many thoughts have crossed my mind since coming up with this thing: Too much tinkering can be a bad thing.......... Back to the drawing board........... What was I thinking?......... This is DEFINATELY not a bp.......... OK, you get the picture. Every time I start this thing up, I just have to laugh, Thought I'd share with everybody........ James Flannery

As far as the anvil is concerned, I'd probably sand/smooth the face. From the pics, it looks as though that wouldn't be too hard to do. Might take a lot of welding/ grinding to repair the edges. You could always dedicate this anvil to hardy tools and set it beside your 'main' anvil.

Mike, if I had to move the anvil,forge,post vise, etc, out of the garage and back inside each time I used them,........I'm thinking I would put everything on a trailer Just one of those utility trailers everyone pulls behind their pickups. Or, you could make your own......... Kinda like a mini 'shop on wheels'.........with all the heavy stuff mounted securely. Who knows.....you might want to go somewhere and do a demo sometime. With a shop on wheels you could do that. By the way, I avoid all the heavy lifting I can........my back's not that good either. James

This is the tailgate on my old '88 Ford pickup. If you're familiar with this model of truck, you may already know that the tailgate latches for these were notorious for breaking prematurely. Needless to say, I hadn't had the truck very long when I pulled too hard and snapped the potmetal latch like it was glass. I intended to replace it with a regular latch, until I discovered they cost $40 (This was back when $40 meant something money wise) Anyway, I replaced the broken latch with these two curved handles made from 1/4 in. round. Pull on the left hook........it releases the right side... and vice-versa. It's a great conversation piece as well, when I go to the feed store or lumber yard, I'm the only one knows how to open it! Anyone else ever modify your vehicles? James Flannery

I have probably 3 ton of coal behind the shop. It's not great coal, but I can use it. If I need clean solid fuel, I can make charcoal here on the farm. Most of my iron/steel comes from the resource pile out back of the shop. Occasionally, I have to buy steel, but not too often. I have become more 'stingey' with the o/a torch and the arc welder, and using more traditional techniques to get things done........which just helps my general blacksmithing skills along. Where I really feel the 'new economy' hitting hardest for me is that I have to spend more time at my 'part time' farming. I also help my son with his lawncare business, which means we both must devote more time to that endevor as well. In short, time is the problem here, working harder to keep up........and less time to forge! James Flannery

KYBOY, looks like you found some good stuff! I like using handled punches like the ones you found. I have three of different sizes.....took me years to find them! James

Stonetrooper, if you have a chance to talk to an 'old' blacksmith, by all means do! Old timers who can tell the true history of smithing are rare these days. They are more rare than handcrank forge blowers. If possible, I'd take a tape recorder or camera along. One very rainy weekend,many years ago, I was at a draft horse event in Wilgus Ohio........and I met an 83 year old smith who was there to do a demo. Well, the whole place was flooded, so no one was doing much of anything. I spent a great afteroon under his tent as he explained every aspect of his smithing. He was a living book of information. How many times I've wished I'd had a way to record and remember all the stuff he told and showed me. There was no way to remember it all......... James Flannery

I've got a rotary selector in my Lincoln 225 AC that is so stiff to turn that I'm almost afraid of breaking it when selecting amperages. The welder works fine otherwise, even though it's 30 years old. The rotary shaft is nylon and there are traces of what was once a lubricant. That's the question, what would be the appropriate lubricant for this application? James Flannery

Pocket knife, wallet, handkerchief, lighter, and two small screws.

One of the old blacksmithig books depicts an entire family sitting around the fireplace in winter,........Making nails by the thousands during a winter season. They used the fireplace as forge and had some small stump anvils as I remember. Thoreau wrote of scrounging the nails from an old shed to construct his 'cabin' at Walden pond.........This was around 1850 I think. Before factory made nails were available, nails were a scarce, expensive item. No wonder that early pioneers burned old shacks just to collect the nails!

Hammerkid, I wasn't actually making a hot cut when I made the post, but rather an Irnsrgn style guilotine tool. But I don't mind posting some pics when I get them! Kinda thought about doing that anyway. James

Stonetrooper, I sometimes find usable engines , decks,tires, etc, sitting in someone's back yard with weeds growing around the abandoned mower. Not in all cases, but in some, a riding mower is 'junked' because the starter or battery had died, or the deck is rusted out, or the tires are all flat. Of course, sometimes the motor is shot. IN the past few years, I've had valves stick in engines like yours when the engine gets hot in heavy usage. We started removing the hoods to keep the engines cooler.......looks funny, but the engines don't get as hot. Also, a lot of different mower brands use that same engine in their mowers. Good luck!!

Being a part timer, I seldom get to forge all day, but rather as you say , maybe an hour or so in the evenings. For me, coal usage can be so variable depending on what I'm forgeing. Maybe I can explain it this way; This evening, I forged a 1 in. square hardy post....5 in. long.........from larger round stock.(didn't have any 1 inch. square stock for the job) It took me the better part of an hour........I burned about a gallon of coal I think. What makes this complicated to figure for me is that there was already some coal around the edge of the forge . I add about a 1 gal. bucket's worth of coal, and ended up with about what I started with in the forge when I was done. I hope that makes sense! James

Way back when I was a kid,(many years ago), my dad had a little forge in a shed behind the barn. He was not a blacksmith really, but rather a farmer who used the forge to make simple repairs. A lot of those 'simple repairs' he made are still holding well after 40+ years. Like any farm kid, I wound up cranking the blower, fetching water for the slack tub, packing coal to the forge, and occasionally was the 'striker'. I got to tinkering with the forge all by myself........burning up pieces of iron.........twisting/mangleing iron into unrecognizable shapes. At some point early on, I remember saying to myself "I like this!"......and I always have liked blacksmithing. James Flannery

radius, go to the 'Home' page.........click on 'Lessons in metalworking', and just follow the links..............That will get you started. Oh, and by the way Scott........welcome to Iforgeiron and the wonderful world of blacksmithing! James

Yep, that's a nice lookin' forge!

Dan's right........If your firepot is indeed aluminum........don't use it at all! My experience with molten metals tells me that if you were to test it, everything would seem allright until the fire reached melting temperature for the aluminum.....around 1600 degrees if I remember correctly, Anyway, the aluminum would melt SUDDENLY!.......fall to the floor and splash in all directions..........I wouldn't do it.

On totally wet days.....when nothing wants to burn.........I've wrapped a short stub of parafin candle in a piece of cotton cleaning cloth or the finger of an old cotton work glove and lit it. Burns like a big candle. It will burn long enough to get even wet coal or coke going.

Frosty, you're right.......it would work with the woodstove! The last time I 'priced' a direct replacement for the fan assembly that mounts on the back of my King wood heater........the price was nearly $100! Needless to say, we placed a 'dollar store' box fan behind the stove that winter........worked well enough. I got the little fan in the pic for $3 at the flea market Even though I'd forgotten about buying the fan at all........when it comes to money, I remember!:)

Bentiron, that's just what I was thinking........I puts out a goodly amount of air........made a round sheetmetal air gate to cover the air intake today.......I think I am 'good to go!:)

Here's something that followed me home.....about 15 years ago! I was cleaning up the back of the shop for the first time in years, and happened to find this little squirrel cage blower.........I,d forgotten about having it. Now I can't wait to hook it up and try it out! Kinda like gettin' something new, and not having to pay for it:), or I got myself a present 15 years ago and I,m just gettin' around to opening it,,,,,,,:D

First of all, welcome to Iforgeiron! If you want to learn about forges, try this link. Also, please post your location. LB0003.0001 Blacksmithing Forges

I'm confused. Are you guys talking about old fashioned grubbing/sprouting type hoes or the more modern(I think) 'goose neck' hoe, also called a garden hoe?

Tuttyos, welcome to Iforgeiron. This is a large site with lots of blacksmithing and metalworking information and lots of friendly folks, too. There is a section on the frontpage called 'getting started'. Follow the links . And by the way, your english is fine. James