Marksnagel

Mooney, that is a great saying and one worth remembering. If I can support my hobby with what I make from my hobby, then I am ahead of the game. Right now I'm behind but I don't care. I have been making a bunch of Fredrick Crosses. When I first started out I had visions of selling them. Yea right. Now I give them away to whoever shows an interest. But that little give away opens the door to other items that are for sale. Millionaire? Naw, not me. To many headaches. Rather be a poor($) hobby smith than a rich office guy.

Very good job cleaning it up! It should serve you well for a long time. I assume that the stump is very steady. Good luck! Mark<><

I agree with Thomas. I keep spare safety glasses at the forge area for those that want to see me hit hot metal. Nothing will kill someones curiosity faster than a sharp stick in the eye. Mark<><

Thinking about the dividers hurt my brain. However, the pizza pan and the drill I can picture. I'll try that one. I too suffer from drawing dyslexia and need all the help I can get. Thanks for posting the pics. I like pictures. Mark<><

Jonathan, Welcome to your new obsession. Great haul you've got there. Soon you will be ignoring things you used to do and immersing yourself in heat and beat. Glad to have you aboard! There are a great bunch of artists here who are always willing to help. Good luck and my condolences to your wife. Luckily mine actually likes me to fire up the forge. I reckon she figures it keeps me out of trouble. Mark<><

Dennis, The new forge looks great! Good luck with it. Hopefully I will always be able to get coal but understand that changes happen. Thanks for posting the pics and your work steps. Mark<><

Hey there Miguel, Although it may be a bit deep it is a good starting point. Just because it is deep doesn't mean your fire has to be but if you need it deep you are set. Did I understand you right in that you have placed a smaller brake drum inside of the volvo drum? My forge is a brake drum from a 3/4 ton pickup. I have it placed in the shallow bottom of a 55 gallon drum that I cut to give me a larger area to work in. There is a post here called "55 forge build". There is also a blueprint with instructions on how to make a 55 forge. Very helpful. If you have any particular questions feel free to ask as there are many knowlegable people here that are very willing to help. No question is a bad question. Mark<><

You may be right. They may have looked at all that old dirty stuff and were glad to get rid of it. Oh that I could be that lucky.

True. If you get a good deal, who cares. So long as you both parted happy. Mark<><

Sorry Marty, no gear here. If mine dies I will run into the house and swipe one of the zillion hairdryers that have taken up residency in my wifes old hairdryer drawer. Good luck. Mark<><

Grant, Do you think when he talked to you he said, "Heres some fool willing to fork over $100.00." Blind stinkin luck, or divine intervention? Hmmmmmmm..... Either way you both got a good deal. Mark<><

Divermike, Really nice job on the bottle opener. Great detail. You give me something to shoot for. Tomorrow morning I will try and make one. Charles Caleb Colton once said, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Hopefully I can attempt to imitate your work. Mark<><

Wow! That is an amazing story. You were really lucky because some people would not have made good on the note. You were in the right place at the right time and ran into some honorable people. Enjoy your new found tools! Mark<><

Happy birthday to a department of the Navy. THE MENS DEPARTMENT! Happy birthday Marines! Mark<>< USCG retired

Curufin, I have a "55 forge" which is a brake drum forge with a shallow pan from a 55 gallon drum as the table. Kinda. This is a really easy forge to make. There is a blueprint on the site telling how to build it. http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f7/Blueprints-100-200/bp0133.html I already had my brake drum forge built but when I used the 55 forge idea, I switched brake drums to get one to sit lower in the drum. Look at the plans and see what you think. Good luck! Mark<><

Alex, I would post some pics for you to see what I did but I'm computer challenged. Look down the list of topics and look for 55 forge build. I posted some pics and one is of the grate I used. If you have facebook then you can come visit me and look at all the pics of how we built my 55 forge. Let me know. For the grate I used a piece of 2" blackiron pipe with two pieces of round stock welded across it. Kind of like the pic that Glenn posted for you. I don't think that the pic you linked to will let you have the necessary air flow. I have no problem with large pieces of coal falling through. My pipes off the bottom of the brake drum are all threaded pipe which allows me to put a pipe cap on the bottom. I just empty it at the end of the day or prior to the next firing. The pipe below the "t" is 4" long which holds a lot of ash. Glenn suggested to me that you can have the bottom of the pipe stick into a bucket filled with water under the forge. This will allow the ash to fall into the water of the bucket and the water will keep the airflow from escaping downward. Sounds good to me especially if your pipe is not threaded. Plus with water, no fires under the forge from ash falling on the ground. I am very pleased with my 55 forge and have no regrets. The brake drum is great. Mark<><

Chalky, I really like it! Nice job with the texturing and everything else for that matter. It is very unique and would be very desirable to people. Thanks for posting the pic. Mark<><

You have a great collection of items that show you are an artist. Thanks for posting the pics, they're great. Mike -- Thanks for the great advice. As I am just starting out I will take your comments and put them to use in the near future. Francis -- I agree about having a forge up and running on site. Nothing gets peoples attention like a little smoke and the "ting ting ting!" of an anvil. Ianinsa -- Used motor oil huh? I just happen to have some. Will try it this afternoon. Did any of the RR bottle openers sell? I was about to make some but aren't really sure that there is a market for them. Like Mike said, I reckon it depends if there is a beer wagon nearby. Good luck next time, don't get discouraged! Mark<><