jayco

Cossack47, welcome to Iforgeiron! Being that you are a retired machinist, I bet you have a wealth of information and experience. Please share with us. It seems to me that we all kind of 'learn' from each other! Do post pictures when you get a chance........We all love pictures! Enjoy!

Yes, I agree.......there may be draft problems. It seems there are a bewildering number of variables involved in how flues operate. I have to get information into bite-sized chunks so I can wrap my brain around the idea. Maybe we can isolate one problem at a time and arrive at a fact. I have an old pot-bellied coal stove in my shop with 7 in. stove pipe.......and it draws fine. I've tried a verticle 7 in. flue with a hood on my forge.....and it didn't work. Same fuel.......same pipe........what made the difference? The forge and the stove did not share the same flue. Stack heights were aprox. the same. The only answer I can come up with is that little unheated 'room' air manages to get into the coal stove..........while a lot of unheated 'room' air manages to find it's way into the forge. ( maybe 50% by volume)........reducing the draft. If this is correct, then the 10 in. pipe is necessary to overcome the inertia caused by the cooler air entering the bottom of the stack. I must stop now before I get a headache( I normally don't use words like inertia):)

In my case, the start of all this 'Loose Handles' thing, came from the combination of my using some hammer handle wood that was not 100% dried and the fact that we had a very hot dry summer here. I had always wood wedged my handles and had few problems.....until recently! One day, in late summer, I went to my shop to work, and found that one after another of my handles was wobbly! So.......I ordered and received a tube of the Sikaflex glue from Glenn. As soon as possible, I plan to declare a 'Sikaflex' day, and glue 10 or more hammer handles.

Actually, if I added correctly, you would have 40 sq. inches of diameter for the coal stove. Two 7 in. pipes (38 sq. in. each) equals 76 sq. in.....very close to the carrying capacity of ONE 10 in. pipe. The 10 in. pipe would not be restricting the flow, and would not be so large as to allow the gases to cool too quickly in the chimney. The problem with my above statement is that it would only be true when fires of equal heat were in both the stove and the forge.......which probably wouldn't happen most of the time. I've never set up a forge and a stove in the same chimney because of all the stories of heard over the years of stove/ fireplace combinations........2 stoves into the same flue, etc........that didn't work (draw) correctly. I'm not saying it can't be done, merely saying that I would not know how to do it correctly. I have tried both hood/straight vertical forge flues and am currently using a side draft flue in my new shop. In all fairness, I must say that the forge 'hood' I had was a makeshift affair with too small piping, but I noticed this........that since the hood was 18 in. above the forge, it didn't really draw unless the forge fire was really hot. The hood sort of guided the smoke into the pipe, but it didn't really draw. That 18 in. of open space between the fire and hood let a lot of cooler air into the bottom of the stack, which lessened the draft considerably. I once lowered the hood to about 12 in. above the fire, and had a great draft.........only problem was, no room to manage the fire or get large pieces in and out. I really like my new side draft.......10 in. sq. horizontally from the forge for 30 in.....then into 10 in. round for the vertical piping I think the key difference is that the fire can be quite close to the side draft entrance........keeping cooler 'room 'air from entering the stack. As I understand it, the more temperature difference between the bottom and the top of the chimney, the better the draft.

Philip, how long are these logs you will be splitting? Are they to be used as firewood, or perhaps hewn beams.....or shovel handles? The reason I ask is because splitting long logs with a splitting maul and no other tools is not easy. To split long sections, I always used a sledge hammer and 2 iron wedges.....using the wedges in 'leapfrog fashion. Starting at the end of the log....driving the first wedge in as far as I could........creating a split.....I would use the second wedge in the split created by the first wedge. Driving the second wedge would free up the first wedge.......well, you get the idea. Unless the grain of the log is very straight, there will be places where the split.......even when nearly completed, will be tied together by the cross grain. This is where the splitting maul really comes in handy........you can sever or seperate those cross sinews with a swing or 2 of the maul.......usually I used to split 4 & 1/2 ft. oak and hickory logs into pie shaped "bolts" to make tobbaco sticks with a froe.........It's a lot of hard work! I hope I have not wandered completely from the subject........and I hope this helps!

Frosty, good job on your cross. I've never made one....I don't know how exactly I wound up NOT making one! I will be reveiwing this thread for info on 'how to do' it. Thanks!

Paul17, I plan to make the crosses from wood and try to forge an abstract figure of Jesus from iron. Hand made nails and everything. I've never made one of these before so it will be a learning experience for me as well.

Welcome to Iforgeiron, StephenZ! There are a whole bunch more.....300 to 400 ? BP's which are currrently off line.......but will return. Plus, new ones are added each and every week during the live B P's at 10:00 P. M. on Tuesday nights. Glad you found us........Enjoy!

Thanks for the tips, guys........I will be trying the things you suggested. Might take me a little time, but I will report back with some pics of the completed crucifixes. Thanks!

One of our local steel mills is shutting down, possibly forever..... 2 large clothing stores are 'closed'.... A commercial sawmill and the accompanying property(200 acres), are to be auctioned off this saturday. The news from here is not good, economically speaking. Folks who don't have money won't be buying much. I don't think anyone around here knows what things are going to look like in the near future. The 'fall-out' of these economic problems is just now hitting here I hope something turns the economy around!

From the pictures, it appears that whoever made them, and whoever used them took their business quite seriously........They are quite well crafted. I would imagine this is going to start a new trend in tong making........scarey faces and sharp teeth. I wonder if I could make tongs that look like 'Bullwinkle' ? That would be more my style....:)

I have been asked to make some wooden crosses with some iron work attached. Crucifixes. I have some old weathered barn boards that I think would look perfect for the project, but the board would have to be ripped to 1&1/2 in. width.....maybe 2 in. Well, the problem is, on every piece there would be a' fresh sawed' side that would not match the rest at all. Since I know there are a bunch of woodworkers out there, and I have 3 or 4 months to come up with an idea....... How can you artificially age or weather a piece of wood?....In this case, oak? Any info greatly appreciated!

I have that 'packrat' gene too........I have buckets and barrels outside (no room inside) filled with bits of 'stuff'.....The only problem is, I usually don't have enough to justify the 20 mile trip to the recycling center.....and the stuff is too small to be of much benefit in the shop. A lot of it just turns to rust after a few years......oh well!

I'm right handed. When I started out, I turned the horn to the right. I found that handy for some things, like keeping my hammer hand away from sharp hardie tools.....But I seldom used the heel of the anvil for any thing. It was just awkward, I guess. I rarely turned the anvil the other way because the old shop was so cramped. When I moved to a larger shop, since I then had room, I began turning the horn to the left. I started using the heel more since it was much more accessable. I still like the 'horn to the right' for some things, but I was surprised that it was so easy to get used to 'horn to the left' as well. I may twist my anvil and stump around a couple times a day, searching for what 'feels right' I learn something new every day!

You're probably right, Thomas, Thanks for the info.

There has been a poll and thread on this subject some time back. Some interesting results and a good discussion in the archives.... http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f7/anvil-horn-left-right-2538/

The first telephone lines in my 'hollow', where I live, were copper coated steel. This was early 1960's. In the late '70's, the bare wires were replaced with the thick insulated telephone lines that are common today. the phone company gave away...to anyone who would ask.......the old wire. I have probably 1000 feet of it yet........I used some for electric fencing, etc over the years. I don't know what kind of steel it is, except that it is exceptionally strong( high tensile), and quite springy(indicating that it must have some carbon content.

I was working in my shop today, and had some small pieces I needed to heat in the forge. As is my usual habit, I looked for a can, bucket, or something to place them in so they wouldn't get lost in the fire. I went out to the resource pile and saw a 1 gal. paint bucket.........no paint inside to create toxic fumes........this will be perfect!.......or so I thought..... I had no more than placed the bucket with the small pieces inside on the hot forge, when I noticed that the bottom of the bucket was MELTING! Turns out it was plastic! Anyway, I had to grab the burning bucket with tongs and toss it out the shop door. I could have sworn it was a metal bucket.......it had a metal lid, and looked just like the ones I've seen all my life. I usually pay pretty good attention to what's going on, but this one slipped right by me!

I used to think I was pretty 'hip' to what are called 'green' issues.......I mean........I used to read the Mother Earth News........ I have to admit the carbon footprint is a new one on me. (guess I need to get out more) I'd heard the term a few times on the news........Maybe once or twice on this site. It must be the new 'green' buzzword. Believe it or not, there's a website....www.carbonfootprint.com/ which has a calculator for your personal co2 emissions and what to do about it. Unfortunately, the calculator I saw was geared toward homeowners.......(miles driven and electricity used in the home) I took their test and flunked miserably, by the way. My guess is that calculating the 'footprint' of an argon gas cylinder would be like asking how many trees in a forest........or how many grains of sand on a beach. In other words.......impossible. Then again, I could be wrong ( I frequently am). I hope someone can answer this.....it would be interesting to know.......

Yep, that helps.....I was in Bowling Green once. As I remember, Bowling Green is a fair sized town. I,m in greenup co..........N/E Ky

Zach, welcome to Iforgeiron and the wonderful world of blacksmithing! I also 'scan the ditches for scrap steel'.......I think it's a sign of 'blacksmithing addiction'! If you have any questions, just ask..... There are lots of friendly folks here willing to help. By the way.......where is Morgantown Ky?

I'm kinda against the cellar/shop idea too. Since most cellars only have one way in and out, what if sparks from the flue were to catch the ceiling on fire........while you were working and didn't notice? This is allowing, of course, that the ceiling might be made of wood....... You could be trapped in the event of fire.