jayco

The floor in my shop is dirt(clay), and there's an inch or so of cinders from the forge on top of that. Sorta like pea gravel.

Although I like the cleanliness of a concrete floor, standing on one for any length of time makes my back hurt.

So I guess I'll stay with dirt> cinder> gravel.

Welcome Smokeman!

The 'home' page has great links to help you find your way around Iforgeiron.

this is a big place with lots of information and friendly folks.

That is nice work in your pics. Looks like you're well on your way.

Enjoy!

When I'm facing my forge,the anvil is on the right.....post vice to the left with blower in between it and the forge.
If it were a bit closer to the forge, I would probably use it more than I do now.

My shop is small. That's why I have not rearranged things better.
But a new shop is planned for spring;
If all goes well,I'll be able to put everything where I want.

I've also been using a small cooling fan from an old refrigerator.......about the same size.
It just hangs by a piece of coat hanger wire like the one in the picture.
I wanted to try different fans to see if results were the same. This seems to work with any small cooling fan.

Because of the housing design, the second fan didn't seal around the intake hole on the handcrank blower very well,........so I made a gasket from two old socks to stop the leaks. Very low tech!

The air output from these little fans is low,(think hairdryer or your car heater fan on low), but it keeps the fire at 'fast idle'.

I have worked on small stuff,something like leaf keyrings, for hours without ever touching the handle on the handcrank,

The most noticeable improvement for me was finding how much easier it was to build a fire in the mornings.

I found I could light my usual balled newspaper/woodshavings/small sticks kindling.........wait until the fire caught up a bit.....then plug in the electric fan.
I'm not anchored to the handcrank anymore......I can use both hands to shovel coal around the firepot,rake coal into the fire,get my stock ready, choose hammers and tongs for the next forging......maybe even sip some coffee while the fire is getting hot.

Even though the fans are small, small stock will in some cases burn if you're not watching closely enough.

If you're used to handcrank, like I was for so many years,you just have to remember that the fire burns on....even when you're not looking.

Of course that's what the electric blower guys have known all along.

Some kind of floor(sheet metal, plywood,etc) makes shoveling up the coal much easier and keeps the coal out of the dirt and the dirt out of your coal.

Putting a tarp over the coal is good......under a roof is better.

there's nothing quite like digging down through the snow to find your coal.

My shop is damp too. I don't really polish anything,but any tools that don't get used a lot start to rust and get wiped down with an oily rag.

The corner posts of my shop are locust poles......cut right from the woods......with the bark still on them.

The post nearest my forge has a 1inch knot hole in it. That knot hole has been home to many a mouse.

At one point it became routine for a mouse to find refuge in that knot hole as the cat gave hot pursuit.

I got tired of the daily chase and plugged up the knot hole with a piece of wood.

The very next morning, there was a mouse's nest in my blower!

So......I just took the wooden plug out of the knot hole...............

Sam.....good job on the forge.....and thanks for posting the pics!

Here's my old Lincoln AC 225 ......not much to look at .
I suspect a lot of other shops have one of these things in a corner somewhere.
The original grounding clamp and electrode holder have both been worn out and replaced.
The original cooling fan gave out a few years ago, and was replaced.
Much of the original insulation on the wire leads has come off due to heat and age. As you can see, there is much electrical tape covering the cables.
But all in all,this has been a tough old machine and is still my main welder.

I got my latest burn punching two holes through a 3/8 in. dia. ring.

I had a hammer in one hand, a little punch in the other.

I should have used my holdfast tool,......but I didn't.

I temporarily forgot that round things seldom want to stay where you put them.

I did the first hole without a problem......but when I struck the punch to start the second hole, the ring went airborne and into my left hand.

Not a bad burn,.........but I'll remember to use the holdfast next time!

Welcome Woodforge.....

You can go over to the 'Home' page and find all kinds of great links to help you find your way around IFI , and links for "getting started in Blacksmithing!"

Enjoy!

Sam.....I made a hot-cut hardy from leaf spring years ago. I did mine pretty much as you did, except I didn't think of making it fit diagonally like you did.

I hammered the post section down to 1 inch wide. As there was not enough metal in the post to fill the hardy hole,......mine was a little wobbly.

I had to use the arc welder to build up the post enough to stop the wobble, but it worked.

I didn't hard-quench mine, as I was afraid it might shatter.

Mine has been surprisingly tough and well used.

I just re-dress it a little from time to time.

Yes.....a big THANK YOU!...is in order.

I started roaming the halls of IFI about a year ago.

I got lost in the Archives a couple of times........put some posts in the wrong places..........and more than once, I just had to shout HELP ME!
.....and someone always did!

So yes......Thanks Glenn,Andrew,and all the members who've helped me learn so much this past year.

You might as well brace yourselves......I have a whole new set of questions for the year ahead!

MANY THANKS!

How about a sign placed on work table that says.......PLACE ITEMS FOR RUMMAGE SALE HERE!

Hooks for log/towing chain..........small claw hammers for use around the house

My grandson leaves Play-doh lying around the house when he visits.

I just can't help but roll it out into 3/8 in. round......scarfing the ends.......and forming a chain link!

Most of what I know about welding came from that little booklet that came with the Lincoln 225 AC years ago. (Alll the basics packed into a few short pages).

Guys would come around my shop and say "You need a cast iron rod" or "you need a nickel rod for that." Being as I hadn't been welding all that long, I believed them.

That way, if a weld didn't come out well, I could always blame the rod.

I do use nickel and hard surfacing rods once in a while......but mainly I use 6011 or 6013.

I learned that there was no 'magic ' rod.........I just needed more practice!

The 'downsizing ' of lumber gets pretty nutty when you try to buy 1/2 in. plywood and can only find 7/16in, thickness........or 3/4 in.( which is sometimes 23/32 in. thick.

Also,don't take it for granted that OSB or plywood is square either.(Just because it's in nice 4 x 8 ft. sheets. We've seen some that had to be re-squared to be used.

Mobile home manufacturers have their own dimensions for wall studs or rafters.

Sometimes(not always) what they call a 2 x 4 is a 1&1/4 x 3 in. piece of lumber.

There is a bewildering assortment of size conversions that carpenters have to deal with.

Makes my head hurt just thinking about it!

Ted, thanks for posting that great picture from 1972.

That's just about the time I built my little shop!

It's a pity I never took any pictures back then.

I don't know about the effectiveness of lightning rods,but it's always a good idea to be grounded.

Around here you can do your own wiring....but it must be inspected by a licensed electrical inspector.

10 years ago, we built our garage/shop, and I did all the wiring.

When the 81 year old inspector came by to inspect,he recommended I install 2 ground rods.......a second one 6 or 8 ft. from the first.
As this was not an actual 'code' requirement, I asked why.

He explained that according to the trade journals he read as part of his job....that the next few years would be turbulent times for electrical transmission.....that solar flares and changes in the earth's magnetic field indeed effected how electricity came in to your home and shop.

I put in the extra ground rod and thought no more about it.....but later I did notice that there 'seemed' to be more lightning strikes in the area. Maybe he was on to something after all.

Grounding is always a good idea.Whether it's lightning strikes or a wire that shorts out the voltage will go somewhere......to 'ground' or through you!

Yeah......I ground everything!

I used to have one of those wooden half barrels........it eventually rotted away.
I do have an old bath tub in the scrap pile that I could use.....if I were to ever need anything that big.

There's a little creek just behind the shop......I have cooled large pieces in it from time to time.

But my main slack tub is just a 5 gal. plastic bucket.

My little forging 'station', is 8 ft.x16 ft. and open on the south side. I get plenty of fresh air that way, but it gets pretty cold in winter. So this year, I put some old roofing tin over the open side and added a homemade flue.

It certainly ain't pretty, but it'll be warmer.

By the way, this little shed was only meant to be a temporary shop......35 years ago!

A new shop is planned for spring.

here's a couple other threads that kinda deal with forging and shelter:

http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f11/forging-under-canvas-115/

http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f7/forging-cold-weather-3655/

Welcome to IFI, John.

This is a large site with lots of metalworking information and lots of friendly folks too.

If you go to the 'HOME' page, and click on 'getting started', you'll find links to help you find your way around the site.

If you're new to blacksmithing( you didn't say),there are links to help with that as well.

ENJOY!

Sam,,,congrats on getting the KMG.

You know what they say; The only time you're happy with a cheap tool is when you pay the cheap price.

But a good tool will bring you satisfaction every time you use it.....for years to come.

James

I have two cats and a blacksnake that frequent the shop.

The only problem is; the cats are lazy......and the snake only works in warm weather!