jayco

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 would like to make spring swages and a spring fuller. How do I make the spring work?

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!

To make more time for forging,
To DO more forging,

and

To improve my understanding of the fine art of SELLING!

So, are you saying you don't want a gallon of my lemon raisin special? :confused:

Frosty

Well,.......I wouldn't want you to run short :)

Welcome to Iforgeiron, Leroy!

There's a bunch of fine folks here.

Enjoy!

Adam, welcome to Iforgeiron!

BP0192 Gas Forge

You can use the search feature at the top of the forums page and also the search in the gallery to find even more information.

You've heard that phrase:........."Don't eat the yellow snow".

And I know you've got those goats.........I'll have to think about it.........

Forgot to mention adding a little milk or canned cream to the recipe.....for flavor and consistency.

Obviously, I'm NOT the cook at my house!

540,000,000 acres of slurpy base.

Frosty, judging from your 'snow' pics, you've got the makings for truckloads of SNOWCREAM!!

You know.......mix vanilla extract and sugar in clean white snow....

I haven't had any in years........now I'm hoping for a little snow....

(Not too much mind you........just enough for a bowl or two):)

LB0003.0001 Blacksmithing Forges

Here's a link to a lot of different solid fuel forges. As you will see, there are lots of good designs.

I don't know about using the gas tank, though. I don't mess with them at all.
Too dangerous. While you might manage to build a forge from a car gas tank, the metal is too thin to last for very long.

Hope this helps!

By the way, welcome to Iforgeiron!
Enjoy!

Jayco, where did you get the 50% by volume room air number? Please site a reference as I want to study on this one.

Glenn, I have to admit that the '50% by volume' was just a guess!
There are no references to site.

You may have helped me discover a fatal flaw in my logic. I observed that the closer the fire is to the flue.....the better the draw. I came to the conclusion that drafting had something to do with allowing or excluding room air from the flue entrance.

This may.....or may not.........be true.

Conclusions from observations are not always accurate.

The ancients observed the sun 'going down', and concluded that the sun was moving.

Oh well, back to the drawing board! :)

A good place to start:

Getting Started

Lessons

Enjoy!

If you've already got the roof on, sounds to me like you're making good progress!
8 x 16ft. is the size of my old shop. I actually did all my forging in 1/2 of it.....the other end was full of metal,coal,coke,.......and yes, junk!

You will enjoy having a place INSIDE to work and keep your tools. On days when it is too cold or wet to do anything outside, I can build a fire and work comfortably.

I will be looking forward to seeing the pictures!

James

Great work, Valentin.........It is beautiful!

Merry Christmas to all!

James :)

It seems that hardwood charcoal produces less of the sparks, or 'fleas' than the softwoods ,like pine, produces.

As to the B P's.....several of them are currently off-line and are being 'reconfigured' for the site. They will return.

Richard, welcome to Iforgeiron!
There's a bunch of bladesmiths who are members here.
(There's a live Friday night 'Knife Chat' at 10:00 P.M. E.S.T.
There are guys here who make armor too....

Join in.....Enjoy!

I remember the time a farrier asked me to assist with some 'shaping' of a horse shoe.
He needed to shoe a horse with, as he described it, a funny made foot.
Anyway, he was going to do the shoeing, and I was to stay outside the stall with an improvised weed burner and a piece of RR track as an anvil.

The farrier would appear and request that the shoe be bent.....here.......and here.....and there.

There was lot's of loud banging, clanging, and grunting going on in the stall.
All the racket was coming from the guy shoeing the horse!
Glad I wasn't in there!

Welcome to Iforgeiron, Big Al!!