jayco

Dan, I wish I was 36! Try 53! Divermike,I've been playing around with the copper, (of course a lot of it looks like practice!) I need to post some pics of my copper adventures. Thanks for all the birthday wishes, guys. It was a good day. I got to do a little in the shop, planted potatoes, make a new batch of charcoal,etc. Just being able to get out and do normal things feels pretty good to me, after being restricted by doctor's orders for 6 weeks. I've also been learning to weld a little with the O/A torch. I'm not good at it yet, but I can stick 2 pieces of mild steel together. More time and practice will improve that I hope. Life is GOOD!...........James:)

On my batch of charcoal, I wound up with a 5 gal. bucket of good charcoal, a little ash, and enough half-charred wood to have a good start on the next batch. There's still a lot of 'trial and error' involved in my charcoal making.

billp,welcome to Iforgeiron! Funny you should mention charcoal,.......I have a batch cooking as I type.........in a 20 gal. washing machine tub. It has a 1 in. hole in the bottom....where the agitator used to be........and I cover it with a barrel lid. I just light mine and wait till it's burning pretty good, put the lid on and place a little dirt around the bottom of the tub to seal that 1 in. hole. For a couple hours after lighting, there's a lot of smoke.......thick sour smelling smoke. I weight the lid down so the wind can't blow it off. I'll check it in the morning. If the barrel/tub still feels hot, I'll wait a while longer before opening. Opening the lid while the fire is still smoldering will allow it to quickly start burning again.......wasting much of the charcoal. I have opened the lid too early and had to pour water on it to put it out. I prefer not to do that if possible, since it takes the damp charcoal a while to dry out. Hope you get a good bunch of charcoal!

Jerry, your'e in my thoughts and prayers. Get well soon. James

Tom, that sidedraft flue looks good! Looks like you were trying it with some paper to test the draw. If your's is anything like mine,(and I think it is), you will be amazed when you get the blower hooked up and build a coal fire. Nice work, Tom James

Works pretty good, Frosty.......considering that it is a small tool. I tightened the bottom bolt as tight as I thought the little bolt would stand. I really didn't want that bolt to be a source of 'play' in the dies. I keep the top die bolt snug, but still movable. ( I started to say 'hingeable', but I don't think that's a word!) Although I made 1/4 in. round and approx. 3/8 in round on mine, I also feft room for a couple more shapes in the future. These are just the shapes that seemed handy for ME. ( I've been shaping rivets with mine). Tryin' it........yeah, that's where I saw Bill Epps' hinged fuller. Thanks for the link..... James

I remember seeing one by Bill Epps, kinda like you describe. I don't know where I saw it though. (I have a set of dies similar for my guilotine tool.) And yes, RR spikes are small for this kind of tool........they were just so HANDY! For more serious fullering/swaging, I will make a larger version with....say.....leaf spring as dies. The dies in the pics are for 1/4 in. and 3/8 in. round stock. James

Here's something I came up with the other day. I'd always wanted to experiment with a hinged fuller, and came up with this design. The top and bottom dies are RR spikes. The post is a 10in. piece of 1in. x 1/8 in. mild steel. I could have drilled the holes and been more accurate I suppose, but I just punched them.........and it worked OK. The bolts are 3/16 in. I could have welded the bottom die in place easier than punching the holes, but using bolts allows me to change dies if I want without major effort. This fuller is small, (for light work), so I'm already planning a larger one based on the same design! Just thought I'd share.............

Well, let's see......... In winter I seem to cut a lot of firewood. In summer, I do a lot of gardening. A bit of carpentry, mechanic work, farming. I play electric guitar.....country and rock..........(when there's time) Oh yeah........AND GO TO DOCTORS!

Ot 70, welcome to Iforgeiron! Unfortunately, I cannot help with questions about gas forges and bladesmithing,( I do more general smithing with a coal forge) , but there are plenty of knowledgable folks here who can help you. If you have questions, just ask. Enjoy!

Matt, I'm gaining strength and doing a little more each day. My doctor told me to keep taking my meds and come back and see him in 6 months. For a couple more weeks I'm not to lift more than 7 lbs. with my left arm. ( The wire 'leads' from my defibrillator must become 'seated'.) I've been tinkering in the shop.......playing with some copper sheet........and doing some light forging. All in all, I'm doing OK! Thanks for asking........James

Here's what the ice storm looked like for us. Power was out, cold, roads were slick. Actually, we were fortunate not to have down trees on our buildings. We had removed them after the big ice storm a few years ago.

Bud, welcome to Iforgeiron! You'll find that this site is huge and full of metalworking information........including forge welding. A good place to start is the 'Lessons in Metalworking' section on the front page.......lots of great info there. Also, I think there are a bunch of smiths/IFI members up your way.......might want to check them out. Enjoy!

Seems like it's been forever since I started this project. (I've been 'sidelined' for a while). Anyway, I finally finished some crucifixes and took some pictures! I took a very simple approach to the 'ageing' part of it. After I pre-cut the wood, I simply brushed some vinegar on the fresh cut sides. Since I couldn't finish the work in a timely manner as I had originally planned, I also placed the wood outside for a few weeks. So, I guess the results are a combination of vinegar and natural weathering.........oh, well......... Any way, here are some pics........

One day a few years ago, I serviced our farm tractors in the barn. Just your basic lub and oil change. Anyway, since it's a messy job, I had scattered oily rags around everywhere during the process. For the sake of neatness, I piled them up together at the end of the day, planning to dispose of them the next day. Next morning, when I went back to the barn, I noticed the pile of rags was sort of........SMOKING! The sun was just coming up and I could see a wisp of smoke from the pile. When I went to investigate, I touched the pile of rags with my hand and nearly got my hand burned. I quickly grabbed a rake and got them out of the barn. I scattered 'em out and discovered they wouldn't go out! ( No water was readily available) I learned to believe in spontaneous combustion that day. If I hadn't went to the barn that morning, the barn might well have burned. It's one of those things you wouldn't think would happen, but let me assure you...........IT CERTAINLY WILL under the right conditions.

Ed, thanks for all the information. I never realized just how complex the interactions between my 'device' and electromagnetic fields could be. I will be seeing the doctor who installed my defib, and the company rep too........but I seriously doubt there will be any recomendations to 'just go ahead and weld'. From what I'm learning,it looks there are just too many things that can go wrong. Some risks are not worth taking. Cardiac arrythmias are serious matters! And yes, I PREFER LIVING OVER ARC WELDING.....HANDS DOWN! Thanks a million........James

Ed, the reason I asked the question here is because I figured some other smith or welder has had experience with this situation and could relate what he or she has learned. I am in no hurry to experiment on myself with my defib and arc welder. I have recently heard 2 stories of what defibrillation feels like. That it feels like 'getting kicked in the chest by a mule' and.........that it 'knocks you flat to the ground' Neither of these descriptions sounds very pleasant........ So, for the present time, I'm brushing up on my forge welding.......learning a little about O/A welding........and staying away from the arc welder.......at least until I understand a whole lot more about this issue. James

Sidney, welcome to Iforgeiron! I can readily identify with the 'being your own boss' philosophy. I'm retired myself. Blacksmithing is a marvelous journey of learning. You'll have all kinds of decisions to make in this craft. All the decisions are fun, though..... Like deciding what tools/skills to aquire what you want to forge useful items vs artistic items........or both! It's fun.....jump in! The 'Lessons in Metalworking' section on the front page is a good place to start. If you have questions, just ask....

Happy Birthday, Tom! At 50, you're just a youngster......... Have a good day! James

CBrann,I haven't noticed too many sparks,fleas,or exploding pitch pockets.......at least not enough to be any bother to me. What got me started at this was being curious as to what kind of wood could be burned directly in the forge that would come close to having the characteristics of homemade charcoal. I'm searching for the least amount of smoke,ash,and radiant heat. Of course, when warm weather comes, I will most likely be back to using coal and homemade charcoal in my forge, due to the radiant heat. Throughout the winter, I've been trying different mixes of wood in the forge........hardwood scraps, bark raked up from around the wood splitter, and even chopped up pieces of green tree limbs. All these will make a forge fire, but it takes longer to get a good 'heap' of coals, more smoke, more ash, etc. We have a bunch of downed trees and limbs due to the ice storm a while back. My son is considering renting a wood chipper for the cleanup. If he does, I will have a big pile dumped near the shop. I could do some wood burning experiments with that! I guess I should add that burning wood in the forge is not a 'first choice' solid fuel for blacksmithing. The first choice fuels would be Good coal natural charcoal coke But then again, there are lots of things that can be used as solid fuels. I'll sum it up this way.....I'm a penny pincher........and I like to experiment! james

Divermike, that's a good idea, thanks! I've been looking for 'light work' projects to keep me occupied during my recooperation period..........and.....I think I have some pieces of copper sheet in the resource pile........HMMMM!!! James

Vince, welcome to Iforgeiron! You're correct....there's a LOT of information on this site. You can click on 'Lessons in Metalworking" on the home page and catch up on the basics. Then there's the archives.........you can get lost in there.......there's so much great info there! I started to list all the great features of IFI.......but, there are too many! If you have questions, just ask.......there are lots of friendly folks here to help you. Enjoy!

A little update; I'm still improving, getting my strength back. I'm still restricted a little on just how much I'm able to do. My doctor tells me there are wires running from my defibrillator to my heart.......and they have to sorta grow in place. For the time being, I can only lift up to 7 lbs. with my left arm. tearing the wires loose would mean another surgery! Surgerys are just not that much fun that I would want to repeat them. The last couple of days I've been able to get back in the shop........make some leaves,nails, rivets, etc, I'm just not supposed to do any heavy lifting, pulling, prying, etc for a month. I'm just 'takin my time' about getting back to forging........of course I always did any way! James

Lessons in Blacksmithing | articles The above link is a good place to start. Lots of good basic information, there. Welcome to Iforgeiron,WWH!

I should add at this point that I do have options. I can practice up on my forge welding skills I already have an O/A torch (I just never did much welding with it) that I can use. I have a 27 year old son who lives here on the farm and can arc weld. If I have to have something arc welded, he could do it. I suppose it's just my natural curiousity to want to know as much as I can about the subject. I'm in no hurry to try arc welding.......I would like to amass some information on the subject, though. Thanks for all the replies, James