Marksnagel

Really neat Bart! I like it!
Mark<><

Yep, got er hot twice now. Made my first tongs (don't ask), and a few more knife blanks. Also started on door stop, fire rake?, misc other things which I haven't named yet. Got a lot of iron hot and pounded a lot so I'm happy.

The cost of the forge would have been $0.00 if I hadn't already bought the pipes for my origional brake drum forge. Everything else was scavenged and scrounged. If one looks hard enough you can find all you need at scrap yards or at the dump to make this forge. Its a great forge for a beginner to make because you actually wind up with a good forge that anyone can build.

I've always said that if you want something idiot proof, let an idiot build it. Well I did and it works.

So far material hasn't cost me but I reckon that I will have to spend a little cash if I want to make anything of sellable quality. Trash steel only goes so far.

So many plans and so little time. I'll fit in what I can.

I really like it. It gives me so much more leeway in what I can do. Now I just want a shelter. Want, want, want, good grief, I sound like my wife.

Regardless of what our political beliefs are, it is sad that this plant and so many others have had to close and the people that relied on them for a livelyhood have to find work elsewhere. I hope and pray that they fare well.

Glen, I have ran the forge for the past two days. The added room has been a great advantage. I agree that the bottom air pipe needs to be longer. The pipe does fill up to the "T" after about 4 hours of forging giving me reduced air flow. I will either extend the pipe or make a counter-weighted quick dump valve for the bottom. I will attempt the quick dump first for a challenge and if it is too challenging I will just extend the pipe. The other option is having the bucket of water under the forge with the pipe in the water to catch the ashes, like you suggested. I may try them all.

I have cut access slits about 3" wide in the side of the drum down to the level of the fire drum. This helps with keeping work level in the fire and if I need it to go deeper into the fire I have a brick in the 55 drum to set the pieces on.

Work in progress.

Mark<><

Jose & Mike,
You've both got some nice bottle openers. Ya'll are inspiring. Thanks.
Mark<><

Hey LeRoy,
Thanks for posting the door stop. I have a door that just begs for one of those. I just let the forge cool down before I saw your post.
Oh well, there's always tomorrow.

Thanks again,
Mark<><

Nice first leaf! My first leaf looked like it spent some time in the compost pile. Oh, wait, that was my last leaf. Yours looks great, I'll keep practicing.

Mark<><

Hey Robert,
Thanks for the info on the coil springs. Curious, what size springs were they? Small car, etc. I will take a trip around the farm storage (junk) area and see what I can find.
Good luck with your tools.
Mark<><

Tim,
Good job on the pic and the youngin!
Mark<><

ps Strong little critter ain't he!

They look really great! Something else I need to make. Thanks for sharing with us.
Mark<><

Looks good! Something else to add to my list of things to make. I have some old files that should work nicely.

Thanks for posting.
Mark<><

My first posting and my new forge.

Several weeks ago, Glenn posted a BP on the '55 Forge'. I decided that I needed to make that and surprised myself that I actually did it.

My origional forge was a normal brake drum forge and it worked great but it had its limitations. I needed a larger work area within the forge that would allow me to work longer pieces into the fire. The '55 Forge was the answer.

The instructions were great and the pics were even better since I am a visual learner. I told Glenn that I would make one and let him know how it turned out. Well here are some pics showing what I did. I have some more pics that I will add as soon as I figure out what I did with them.

Ok, my pictures bite but they were with a cell phone. I'll try and get some better ones up tonite. All critics are welcome because all input is welcome. I still need to cut some access slots in the side to let the stock sit flatter into the fire. The forge will , as the BP said, sit on 4 cinderblocks. This will put it at a better height than the origional three high. The walls of the 55 drum are a little high but my forge is in outside and it will help block wind. All in all I'm a happy camper.

Great design Glenn! Thanks!

One difference with mine from Glenns is the air supply piping. I already had an existing blackiron pipe system which I welded to the bottom of the brakedrum.
The old brakedrum had smooth sides and would have had to rest on its bottom in the 55 drum making a 4" lip. The new brakedrum had a 1/2" lip at the top of the rim which lets it sit lower in the 55 drum.



I'm also going to lip/curl over the top edge of the 55 drum so I don't shed too much blood as I work.

Let me know what you think and any improvements/suggestions/opinions that you may have.

I like it! Kinda like my setup only I'm burning coal and have less tools. In time hopefully we'll both have all we need.
Good luck.
Mark<><

Is there BBQ pork to go with the BBQ pork rub on the table? Mmmmmmm... bbq :)

We're all just a bunch of rebels at heart. Dodge the rail dic's and forge ahead!

Good knife! Lucky you with the coal. Enjoy your new addiction!

Great to see you are off and running! Good luck.

Not to damper your spirits, but,,,, the rr spikes were not abandoned as we would like to believe. They are still on RR property and some places and RR's take a very, very dim view of you (us)removing their spikes. That is how I aquired mine (ssssshhhh) but I have been told that some people have been confronted by the RR police or their equivalent. There is a fine.

But really glad you are started. Remember, it's an addiction. But a great one.

Mark<><

Thanks John,
I was wondering how they did that. One more thing I have learned. Since I don't retain things well , I printed it out. Again, thanks
Mark<><

Beautiful artwork! You have a beautiful granddaughter who has inherited your talent. Thank you for sharing with us.
Shalom to you and your family.
Mark<><

Hey Dave,
Just visited you families web site. Really enjoyed it. Nice lookin family. Good luck with the farm.
Mark<><

I was amazed with your first pics and now that you have finished it I stand in awe. That is the finest looking pot rack I have ever seen. It is one of the finest anything I have seen. I aspire to become a fraction of your ability in creating art. Amazing.
Mark<><

Dave,

I admire the time, effort, and dedication that you have. Not traits that are found in most of todays youth I'm sad to say. I give credit to those that raised you. The shop looks great and should serve you well. Good job young man!

Good luck! Have a blessed day,
Mark<><

ps, I tried to go to your website but it said something about bandwidth and wouldn't go. I'll try later.

Wow! I am amazed at your detail. Acorns, leaves and all. That is really a beautiful pot rack you have made. Nice work. Thanks for posting the pics.
Mark<><

Hey Crunch!
I live about an hour south of you between Elizabeth City and Hertford, NC. There is a forum here somewhere that lists coal sources all around the world.
But I can narrow it down for you a little. I got my coal last time from a guy in Suffolk. He is about to retire but still had some coal when I was there last. It is good blacksmithing coal too. The price was @ $5 a 40lb bag. I got 8 bags. You can also buy it bulk.
I'm afraid that he will really retire before I can get there again but there are some places out west in VA and NC to get more coal.

I've lost his phone # and don't have a suffolk book anymore but you can find him.

Mr Reginald E. Brothers

His business which he has since sold was at 602 Carolina Rd. (US13) Suffolk.
The business # may still get you in contact with him. 757-539-2341.

Now for the good news. There is a group of blacksmiths in your area.

The Tidewater Blacksmith Guild. The POC is Travis Covington.

http://www.tidewaterblacksmiths.com/

Contact info is on their site.
Hope to meet you in the future,
Mark Rossnagel <><
marksnagel@yahoo.com

Good thinking Tim.
I won't try to make anything with good material until I can absorb the cost painlessly.
All my knife attempts have been with RR spikes until I got to where I was happy. Now that I feel a little better about my endeavors I have started using old files. Still not ready to purchase good iron yet. Scared I reckon.
Good luck and post some pics.
Mark<><