tomhw

Hayden, my Champion 400 moves air either way I push the crank. Clock-wize is most natural for me.

This might help you sleep:

Wells, Tom 1998 Nail Chronology: The Use of Technologically Derived Features. Historical Archaeology 32(2):78-99.

www. loc.gov/pictures/

Do a search for 'blacksmith'. There are many fine photos of smiths, smithies, and floor plans of historic structures. Hours of fun for free.

Hay, Rusty!

Jeddly, ask Rusty about his big table and how he moved it.

You are correct about carbide gas being acetylene. It is explosive when ignited in a confined space; bright when ignited in the open.

It sounds like an interesting project, Javan. If you are just beginning the blacksmith craft you might consider a forge design based on something tried and proven. Firstl gain some mastery and skill and you will then have a better grasp of how to make the kind of forge that fits your needs.

It is remarkable how little the equipment our craft has changed over the last several millennia. That is so because the skill of the smith is more important than his tools and equipment.

It's hammer time!

Private E., precision and accuracy are for machinists. 'Close' is for blacksmiths. ;-)

There was another similar tool used to hold logs together temporarly to make a raft back in the days of steam boats on the western rivers. The rafts were tied together with rope and pegs to travel. A timber raft in the old days could be a half mile long and required a tow-boat at each end to navigate the rivers. Small rafts could be managed with a sweep oar at each end.

It looks like a flush rivit in box-jointed plow tongs.

When I used dirty coal from an old tram bridge I learned to leave the ash dump opened when forging. When returning to the fire I twisted the blower to blow out the carbide gas and then closed the ash dump.

Do any of you old timers remember the little carbide cannons that were sold in toy stores and hardware stores?

It is tom(ay)toe, not tom(ah)toe.

The fan on my Champion 400 is threaded and held in place with a jam nut. The key-way is for a keyed washer that fits between the fan and the jam nut.
I generally just hold the large gear with a blade screw driver in the teeth, to hold the shaft still to remove, and replace, the nut, washer, and fan.

^{Good start, Tim. Soon you will have to train your mule and harness. Got medical insurance?}

I don't think that it is a harrow tooth- they are headless and have chizel-cut barbs on the top (unpointed end) to hold them in the wooden stock. It may be a stone mason's pointer.

Cherish that squat look! It means that the sweet spot on the face is enhanced and the anvil is more suitable for heavy work than the "ethereal" American version of the London Pattern anvil from the late 19th century!

I agree with that, Thomas. My Hay-Budden's narrow waste reduces the sweet spot to a fraction of the anvil's face. Why did they do that?

Use pea-gravel, shake and tamp it tight and crimp the ends to hold the gravel tight. Do not seal the crimped ends! Bend slowly at a bright red heat.

I used lighter pine to start a petrolium coke fire. I'd start with shavings and add larger sizes up to drum-stick size before moveing the coke into the fire pot.

Stebblingur, here are two things may help you avoid smoke: 1. Install a properly functioning chimney. If your forge is outdoors put up a moveable wind brake also. 2. Master fire control technique. Be sure that the charcoal has no uncharred wood.

Here is a fun topic for me- a retired archaeologist I have some observations about the subject: Ramsberg is correct about the steps of the scientific method.

The scientific method is:
1: Form a Theory to make a prediction
2: Form an experiment to test the prediction
3: Conduct the experiment and observe the results
4: Use the results to modify the original theory

Archaeology uses the scientific method as best as it can but it fails at #3. It is necessarily limited because it cannot control all variables for a true test of a theory. It can use scientific practice for tangible objects; things like identifying material objects such as iron, lead, chert, bone, and etc. Scientific study of matter is generally an impersonal and objective exercise because nearly all of the variables can be controlled or accounted for.

I do not believe that it is a natural iron formation but an object made by art. The problem begins when we decide that the iron object is a hammer- that is a supposition on the part of the observer. How do we know that it is a hammer? This iron thing looks like a bush hammer to me. It might be a war hammer or it might be any one many other things

Look at the local geology. The matrix surrounding the iron object looks like limonite to me. Limonite is a sedimentary pricipate of iron, usually found over a clayey or silty straum, below a sandy stratum. Here is my bias, based on experience as an historical archologist: More likely the matrix is the remains of a heavily rusted can or iron bucket that has mostly combined with oxygen in damp soil into rust. Scientific examination can suggest that the matrix is either limonite or rust. Metallic iron is rare on the earth's crust while limonite, hemotite, and other iron ores are not rare.

The wood part of the find that pierces the iron looks to me like a handle- my bias. What were the environmental conditions? Wood usually does not last long in soil. There are, however, many examples of wood that have lasted millenia in soil, when enviromnental conditions permit it. Absent those conditions one must conclude that the wood is not very old.

Time for paper research and interviews with locals. What is the history of the near area? Has this been an occupied and built settled area? Has there ever been a quarry around here?

This is not science but it is reasoned, logical, disciplined forensics- guided and supported, when possible, by science.

Burning CHARCOAL you don't want a coal firepot.

You want it fairly deep and narrow---unless you will be doing pieces that are wide.

When I use charcoal in my coal firepot I place a couple of hard firebrick in it to narrow and deepen the fire.

I think that this is a matter of personal preference. I use a Centaur Forge copy of the Buffalo firepot with no problem. While a broad firepot is necessary for making coke in a coal fire it presents no difficluties in a charcoal fire. Though you may have to wet the outer coals a little more often than you do with a coal fire, it is easier to move fresh charcoal down into the fire as you go. Try it both ways and see what works best for you.

Also keep in mind the working triangle for your floor layout. Fewest steps between forge, anvil and post vise with room to swing what ever you think will be your longest piece of stock.

Yes and add another position if you have a power hammer. For most purposes, for a one-handed smith, two paces between stations works.

A hair dryer puts plenty of air for a brake forge.

ATF is primarily an hydrolic fluid, not a lubricant. You might consider a light machine oil since heat resistance is not an issue with a blower.

One of my mentors, Clarence Johnson, learned blacksmithing at the colored CCC camp in Bosier City. He was the mill smith at the Fisher saw mill for fourty years. When I went back to college I found a year book in the NSU archives from his camp. He found several pictures that included himself and his iron work and tractor mechanic teacher- a white man. Much to learn.

As an historical interest, Roosevelt's chief advisor on the CCC was one of the men who set up and ran the the successful German version, established some years earlier.

Samuel Yellen's work has long been an inspiration to me. In southwestern Mississippi there is a lovely small town, Laurel, that has a charming art museum that was ironed by Yellen. It is well worth a visit for decorative iron smiths.