jayco

'James' was already taken. James Flannery was just too long to type all the time. My cousin Dave had always called his lawncare service "Davco". I wanted something short and simple (like myself!) so I became "Jayco" And no.....I am in no way affiliated with Jayco travel trailers! James

I buy U. S. made tools when I can....and expect to pay a little more. But, I do buy foreign made tools,also. Somehow, this poll reminds me of the 'Buy American' campaign of a few years ago.I think that movement pretty much ended when it was discovered that very few items were 100% U. S. made. I do try to buy good tools........whether U. S. or foreign made. Economics and world trade are vast subjects which I understand little about. I do believe this however......that we vote with our dollars when we buy things. If we buy good tools we encourage the manufacture of more good tools. Same thing happens when we buy the cheap stuff. James

I think I'll poach an egg.

KIVA An underground chamber in a Pueblo village. According to Webster's!

How do you hold your tongs? Does everyone use pretty much the same grip?......Or are there variations? The pictures show my grip. This way of holding tongs allows me to control the pressure of the bits on a piece of stock and also to control the release of that pressure. To open and close as you would a pair of shears or scissors. With my short,fat fingers this grip looks uncomfortable......but it's not really. My uncle was a power company lineman and showed me this many years ago.I now use this grip automatically.....without thinking about it. This is the only way of manipulating tongs I know of......but are there other ways? James

Cut a NOTCH.

I've suspended use of the oxy/acetelene torch in my shop until I get new hoses. Last week I opened the valves and heard leaks.I told my son to NOT use them as well.The hoses are old and cracked. I don't consider it safe to patch around on those kind of things. Gonna get NEW HOSES!

I've heard of the 'tapping the anvil for luck' thing, but I never did it. Once in a while, I swing and MISS! But that doesn't count. I do have a 'coming to rest' tap,when I'm done with something,but that's not an intentional tap either. The funny thing is,if I'm nailing a sheet of plywood or wood flooring of something, I DO tap between nails......and keep rythm.

Etienne....one of the old blacksmithing books (I don't remember which one unfortunately)describes a sort of 'retort system' to burn away excess smoke at the forge by recirculating exhaust gases and smoke back into the forge. If I remember correctly, an intake pipe is connected to a tee in the chimney and connected to the intake side of your blower. Even though I usually don't use a chimney in my little shed/shop,I did try this to see how it worked. All I had was a metal trash can lid (for a forge hood) and a piece of flex pipe to reroute the smoke back into my blower. This system does get rid of a lot of smoke. The only problem I encountered was that the hot gases got my old handcrank blower kinda hot. I was afraid I might melt the bearings out of it. But in all fairness to the idea,mine was just a quick experiment with scrap materials. I only had a short piece of flex-pipe and the gases had little chance to cool before reentering the blower. If done correctly,with the right materials, a retort could be quite effective. Worth investigating,anyway. James

A stubborn mule will BALK.

Wim.....after carefully reading your first post in this thread,I now realize that you probably meant this for South African smiths. OOPS! Sorry about that. I didn't mean to hijack your thread! But, it's an interesting thread.........and I had these pictures...... James

Under a spreading box elder tree ,Jayco's smithy leans........ This summer the clutter has spilled out in front of the shop. upsetting blocks, buckets of coal and charcoal, and lots of scrap iron (I mean 'stock' ) all around. I didn't realize how big the tree was getting until I took the picture! There are lots of tools hanging on the walls......lots more you can't see. An old bench grinder sits in the back...not used much but handy when I need it. The last pic is of the inside of the garage-shop near the blacksmith shop. There I keep more modern tools; arc welder,oxy/acetelene torch, air compressor,angle grinders and more. The blacksmith shop is (of course) too small.....8ft. X 16ft. the garage shop is 24ft. X36ft. Much more room for work. James

A blacksmith can never have enough water in the slack tub........especially when two large dogs and two cats consider it their personal watering hole.!

Hello Jimbob, welcome to IForgeIron. there's a bunch of other Georgia smiths that are members here. If you've got any tricks or tips, please share them with us. If you have any questions, just ask. check out the Live Tuesday Night Blueprints at 10:00 P.M. ,the 500+ Blueprints that are already posted,the gallery,theforums..........there's a lot of things you can do at I F I! (They used to call me 'jimbob' too......though my middle name is NOT Robert.......go figure........It must be a southern thing! James

I must be a dope,because I don't know what rusk is either.

And then walk BACK.

This game is a LARK!!

DARN the bad luck!

Hello jkeller...Is the connecting pipe supposed to help support the blower? I have a blower of about the same model, but mine is leg mounted.That one little bolt supporting the blower.....is it enough? These old blowers are made from cast iron and kinda fragile. Wouldn't want it to fall and BREAK! I don't know the design of these kind of forges,but lots of guys on this site know about them. If the mounting for your blower is o k,you might just use a soup can or two with the ends cut out for piping....tin snips,even duct tape will work a foot or so away from the forge. Good LUCK! James

Years ago,when I first brought my anvil into the shop,It occurred to me that I had to decide which way to turn it. Turning the horn to the right just seemed 'right' to me for some reason. (I'm right handed.) The big chip was already broken out of the face when I got It. Maybe that had something to do with my choice.....I don't remember. Anyway,the missing chip and my turning it to the right has not affected it's usefullness for me. :Sometimes I work from the other side. James

Welcome, jkeller.......This is a large site with tons of information and lots of friendly folks to help you. Take your time......look around......ENJOY! If you have any questions,.....just ask.

The little Champion blower in the first pic is the one I use nearly all the time(often with a little electric fan as a 'helper'). I've looked, but I can't find any model numbers on it. The blower in the second pic was given to me by a retired well driller from Ashland Kentucky. I think it was used for reshaping drilling bits with a forge. It's belt driven and puts out a lot of air. I don't use it often, but it sure comes in handy for big jobs. I just use a washing machine motor and v-belt to power it.

Hello, Mandoro......I use charcoal quite a bit and make my own from whatever wood happens to be handy. If the charcoal is good and dry, I think it's easier to light than coal. It takes wet charcoal a day or two to dry out,by the way. It's very absorbent. I start a charcoal fire much as I do a coal fire. I use a match to light one or two balled up sheets of newspaper, a handful of pencil-sized wood kindling sticks, rake in charcoal from the sides of your forge or just sprinkle some on top of the burning kindling. I try to turn the air on gradually,since charcoal is light. A strong air blast will blow your newspaper,kindling, and charcoal right out of the forge. My charcoal is usually in 1/2 inch to 1 inch pieces. It just comes out like that. But it's a good size for use in the forge. Just so you know the scale of what your looking at, that little forge is only 12 inches across.

Guys, I doubt that I invented anything with this lil' fan idea; My original idea was to use a hair dryer,but I could never get it mounted the way I wanted it. Maybe, a LOT of duct tape might have done the trick.A hair dryer would give you two or three speeds to chose from........ Aaron,the fan I use is a one speed deal.....I don't even have an on/off switch on mine.There are all kinds of possibilities for variable speeds; heat -sensitive switches to turn the fan on or off according to temperature and your needs. If you come up with an idea on this, please let us know. I'm always looking for new ideas myself. Ted,keeping the fire just a little hotter also gets rid of that wafting bit of smoke that appears when the fire gets low. I know you have to avoid as much smoke as possible,......hope this helps!

Here's a trick I use that works for me. I found this little fan at the flea market(an eletronics cooling fan, I think). it's only 4 inches across and has a low air output. Not enough to power a large forge, but just right to give the fire a good boost. I hang it by some wire over the air intake of my little handcrank Champion and it gives some of the advantages of having an electric blower. It keeps the fire going when I'm at the anvil.....and if I need a larger fire or welding heat, I just crank the blower handle. Anyone else ever try something like this? Any suggestions for improvements are apprieciated.