edge9001

sounds like your describing one of my guys in iraq. while on fire guard duty he slept through a scum missle alarm. the rest of us got woke up by the all clear alarm. good thing for him and us it was dealt with before the missle got to us. or maybe another on of our guys a real idiot who while he had been in the service for 17 years and a radio operator for 10 years I had to teach him antenae theory before we could leave for iraq.

your right, a perfect example of this is a rain storm i walked through in kuwait. the rain came up fast an hard. from thne first drop it was raining so hard I couldn't see 30 feet. the rain lasted about a minute, and then stopped completely. it was almost as if someone turned a sink faucet on and then off. I had to walk 200 yards between my building and the next. the rain started as i walked outside. by the time I got to the next building the rain had stopped and I was dry again. even my socks were soaked from the rain, and dry again from the heat. so desert hear is a completely different story than say savahnah GA. infact when I came home from iraq I left from 140degree heat with a humidity of 1%, and I landed in savahnah GA 85 degrees and 80%+ humidity. I felt wet, I got cold and went to find my jacket.

it seems tons of us have mitary training on first aid. For those who need more info on hot or cold weather injuries please, please ask us. we also (assuming everyone had the same military training I did, or at least close) have plenty of info on basic first aid as well. I have no problem giving first aid advice. especially since the alternative is someone getting hurt.

very true, I was wondering if I should touch on that or not. looks like you did for me, bentiron.

I understand, as was suggested by someone else take it small doses, constantly sip on ice water. the 1.5 gallon per hour is just an example of what the info would look like, the link I gave will give the accurate water consumption needs. drinking tons of water while working in high heat is not as hard as you would think. as for the suppliment tablets, simple snacking on some salted potato chips will give you a similar effect. just have a salty snack of you choice between lunch and breakfast, and again between lunch and dinner. the reason for the cramps in the evening is an electrolyte imbalance, you can either dose upi the night before, or just maintain you body's natural balance during the day. I feel the latter is a healthier option but either will work. whats happening is all of that water is literally diluting the natural salts in the blood. by increasing your salt intake then you make up for the salts lost. another option would be 1/3 sports drink 2/3 water. this will also provide you with sugars for energy as well as water and salts. after my time in iraq I could go on about this forever. the important thing to remeber it to watch yourself and recognize that the heat is having an effect on you. when you notice the effects, its time to cool down before its too late. Also learn to recognize the signs in others and help them as well. please study and learn the info on the link I sent you. I will save your life. from the souds of you issues you were sufferiung from heat exhaustion and on the verge of a heat stroke. please be careful. I would hate to hear you got hurt.

the amount of water you need to intake is proportional to the amount of labor you are doing. when I was over in iraq we were drinking 1.5 liter bottle at a time, ussually 5 or 6 a day. while resting, so agallon of water a day is not even close to enough if working in a shop at or over 100 degrees. I would recomend researching/google desert survival guides, pay special attention to the water intake requirements most of the guides I've seen list how much water you should drink compared to the amount of work you are doing and the amount of rest you need every hour. it would look something like this. 1.5 gallons of water during strenuous activities and 40 minutes of rest for every 20 minutes of work in high heat ie above 95 degrees. http://www.armystudyguide.com/content/powerpoint/First_Aid_Presentations/heat-injuries-2.shtml is a good start it is the basis of all of my training as for does working in the heat have cumulative affect, yes and no. if you ever suffer from heat injuries ie heat stroke, heat cramps, heat exhaustion then you are more likely to suffer from those injuries again in the future. would it have a cumulative effect on you such as effecting you intelligence, no I don't belive so.

blessed be, an simple answer to this question is given by a quote from one of my favorite authors, scott cunningham, "the way is open. The ancient gods and goddesses await within and around you. may they bless you with their wisdom and power" I've found this quote seems to answer many of lifes little questions, as well as those posed by smithing. the old ways are still alive, so just find what works for you and go with it. it you feel the anvil needs to face to the left, then do it. if you find facing right more useful then go for it. if for some unknown reason you have found hanging the anvil from the rafters upside down works best, then we will all laugh, but go for it.

Hephaestus was a craftsman and the weapons master of the gods. so a stained glass window would have been appropriate. as for striking the anvil three times at midnight on the solstace...? I don't know but I dont see the potential abuse of tools as honoring anyone. instead of the bick facing magnetic north, it would have been north west. to honor this god the lighting of a fire in our case the forge would have been sufficient to show the proper homage to Hephaestus. another interestng fact about the great god of the forge: "One of Hephaestus’ most skillful pieces was the first woman; he made her when Zeus was angry at men for stealing fire from the gods and their punishment was to have women on the Earth. "

thanks dodge. I appreciate the info. maybe one day I will know enough about my propane forge to put it to a good use. lol instead of just wasteing gas

I has my shop descimated by thieves. at the time my shop only had 3 walls and a roof. I originally built it for a motorcycle shed. when isold the bike It bacame my work shop. for years I kept my power tools ahand tools and what ever projects I had going in there. On day last yeaar I went out to get a power saw and my tools were gone and all of my scrap materials thrown everywhere. To remedy this I tore the thing down and rebuilt it. I know have a workshop with a lockable door. while it provides only a bit scurity that the first one, it appears ,from the ouitside, to be solid. I will ,eventually when I can afford, it build a proper workshop, somethignt big enough and with enought ventilation and utilities available. but for now atleast my tools are a bit safer.

how would I tell the difference? color? if so what are the colors?

ok, enough about the sea sponges retarded or not. Im not 100% familiar with propane forges and their flames, a reducing flame/atmosphere? what does this mean?

well what about a wannabe blacksmith. could one of those weld with it? or even a fully retarded sea sponge?

georgiaforger, I'm in NW georgia just off of I75 above calhoun. Where are you in GA

When ever I have to burn off galvanized metal I do it in a fire outside and I go back inside.

One idea you might consider, I don't know the costts though, is electroplating. you could take it to a chrome shop, and have it cromed, or even consider a copper electroplate. I think that would look nice, of course I've always been a fan of copper.

There is nothing wrong with dancing naked around your anvil, as long as you have the body to be dancing naked, or atleast a private enough area to dance in...some in the neighborhood just wouldn't uderstand.

its like the famous stone sculpture said, michelagelo I think, you didnt make the knife, you just smoothed the rough surfaces away to reveal the knife that was always there. excellent job!!

My best find on CL to date is my single burner 10x18 forge, and a 20T bender/press for $50 each.

No need to prehat the anvil or anythign until winter hits, like marksnagel said Rigth now it feels like I dont even need to light the forge to form steel. a bucket of ice to stand inwould be great right now. summers get up in the triple digits, and winters get down to and below 0 at times. My shop is nothing more than a 15x15 box with tin walls supported by minimal wood framing. so I feel all of the tempuratures outside and they get magnified into my shop, even the colder temps get magnified by the tin walls. in the summer I work in an oven and in the winter I work in a cooler, as the tin walls radiate the heat and suck it up with the cold. I hope to but this time next year have a respectable shop built with a concrete floor and utility services installed in it.

I think a combination of ther previous two answers wil fit your needs, forge it to a rough shape and then grind the point to a sharp tip. as for how to forge the tip, thomas has the right idea. good luck, post plenty of pictures

While I'm not familiar with an induction forge enough to say for sure the ones I've seen one have the sparking issue at welding heat. an induction forge heats the metal with an electric coil not flames, so it might be a safer more apartment friendly option check around in iforgeiron there is probably someone who is more familiar with induction forges than I am. It might be an option for you as for a fire, if you make the proper precautions then it might be safe on an outside deck. perhaps a welding blanket just incase to cover the deck around your working area. get creative, just be safe about it

just a thought, that might eliminate the open fire problem and the hammer singing on an anvil, however it might cost a bit more to set up. ***a press and induction forge*** heat with electrical induction forge no flame and no noise, and work the steel with a press. If you get a small one maybe a 20ton bottle jack press.

I think he's spent too much time at the forge on 100+ degree day in the sun. Someone turn of his gas or douse his coals, he has obviously suffering from the heat. but if he wants I'll be glad t take those pesky things off his hands

gotcha, well in the mean time a primal forge made from a hole in the ground, pipe, and hair dryer can get you going in the mean time, just burn charcoal for fuel. this way you can get a firge going until you can make a forge.