jayco

Gee, I bet you're wishing you were back home finishing up the new shop! I know I would be........ If you ever get stranded between loads up in my neck of the woods,(say, around Grayson,Ky) be sure and give me a shout. We'll get together and hammer a chunk of iron or something..... show you how hillbillys live.........:)

Unkle Spike,thanks for the tour. Great little shop you have there. I like the red wagon, too. James

Warren, what is a 'roots' blower? ( I've been following this thread and thinking I might try a waste oil burner with a little veggie oil). Might be interesting.........)

James, I have no doubt it will work........but just for the fun of it I'll try it anyway. Sassafras is the only wood I know that grows locally (Ky) that can lay on the ground for years and will STILL be useful as kindling! I'll have to try it! James

fire4ged,welcome to Iforgeiron! This is a great place to meet folks and learn about metalworking. Since we're always building forge flues, hoods, and other sheet metal type things, maybe you can help us with your expertise. We kinda learn from each other. If you have any questions, just ask. Enjoy!

Erik, welcome to Iforgeiron! There's lots of information and lots of friendly folks here. If you have any questions, just ask. Enjoy!

I have to agree with ironrosefarms........sassafras makes great kindling. I'ts my number one choice. A balled up sheet of newspaper , a handful of pencil sized sasafras sticks, a match, and can build my forge fire most anytime. In emergency situations, when it was pouring the rain and I couldn't find anything dry in the shop to start a fire with, I have shaved a few small pieces of parafin candle and wrapped it up in a piece of cotton cloth.......placed it in the forge and lit it. Kinda makes a big candle that burns for five minutes.....and usually gets the fire started. It only takes a spoonful of wax to do it.

free2forge, welcome to Iforgeiron! This is a great site with lots of metalworking information and lots of friendly folks. I can readily identify with , as you said, 'health problems'. I have an intermitent bad back and I had open heart surgery three years ago. But like you, I'm ready to go again. Feel free to jump in anywhere you like.......ask questions.....provide answers........that's what this is all about.........( and it's also FUN!) Oh, by the way, please use the 'user CP' at the top of the page and let us know your general location........there might be smiths just down the road from you! Enjoy!

Most of my spring fullers/swages are just mild steel, and won't harden much anyway. I have a couple that have short sections of leaf spring as the dies. I don't harden those either. Once I hot-forge the shape I want in one, I let it air cool. The fuller/swages I've made from mild steel have held up surprisingly well. Of course, if I used them a lot and did a lot of heavy hammering on them, they would stretch, flatten, and distort. Making sure the dies themselves are plenty 'beefy', makes a big difference in how long they will last.

Brumbaugh, welcome to Iforgeiron. There's a bunch of fine friendly folks here........willing to help you. There's a massive amount of information on metalworking in the archives. If you go in there, take 3 days provisions. One winter day, about 2 years ago, I plum got lost in the archives for a while! So much great information! Enjoy!

Hadley, welcome to Iforgeiron! If you're interested in blacksmithing and metalworking in general, this is the place to be. By the way, please use the 'User CP' thing at the top of the page and let us know your general location........there might be other smiths close by! Enjoy the site!

Bill, I have had coal gas build up when I heaped a lot of coal on the fire. If the gas gets trapped, and the top of the fire is not open just a little, it can make a 'bang' loud enough to startle you. Once it caused the pipe to come off the handcrank blower! It didn't hurt anything, but it sure woke me up! Also, don't sprinkle water directly on the rocks ( or a cast iron fire pot) when either is really hot. They will crack. If I'm ever down your way, I'd like to look at your forge. My dad's old forge was made of field stone and mud......some sheet metal.....and a champion fire pot.

Here are some pics to explain. This is a swage blank, meaning I haven't finished the dies yet. The spring on this swage is only 1/16 by 1 in.........so it's pretty flexible. The hammer handle was just the first thing handy that was a little larger than the loop. I used a hammer to close the dies, but on this small swage I could have used my hands. Remove the handle and you have spring. Springs from carbon steel or heavier stock may need to have the loop heated to facilitate the bending. Hofi makes some spring swages for his power hammers so large that he uses a lever to open the dies. Since I do all my forging by hand, my swages are much smaller.

I'm assuming you've already made the spring fuller/swage and want spring tension to hold the top and bottom dies snugly together. Most of the ones I've made have mild steel for springs and periodically need re-tensioning. I just stretch the 'loop' open a bit.....using the anvil horn, a piece of pipe, even a piece of wood that's a little larger than the loop. This will open up the dies. Just squeeze the dies together in .....post vise, or hammer them together. Sometimes I just use large tongs or channel locks to squeeze the dies together. I then remove whatever I used to open the loop, and I will have spring tension on the dies. And from time to time, I have to re-tension them. Hope this helps.......... James

Tom, looks like you got some good tools for the new shop. Congratulations on both. Usually, when I do happen on to a post vise for sale.........the mounting plate and the spring are missing. Happy smithing, sir!

Bill, welcome to Iforgeiron. If your forge has been in place for a while, all kinds of things can become obstructions to air flow.....a big flake of rust, cinders, mouse nests, There is one horizontal section of my blower pipe that clogs every month or so. Oil leaks from the blower.....combines with soot and ash, and blocks about half the pipe. It's not a big deal, but I have to remember to check it. Oh, by the way, I'm about 80 miles up the road from you in Greenup Co. Ky. I used to sell burley tobacco in Maysville years ago. James Flannery

How do you separate the art from the utility? I can look at well made tongs, or anvil, or hammer, for that matter, and say "That's beautiful". But I'm also thinking..........Gee! I could move some metal with that!