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When I hear "Traditional blacksmithing", I think of the time from circa colonial days to the later 1800's. I would guess that most Americans do too. That time period is what we see most often on TV and in the movies and that's what we see in the re-creation villages in the states, (like Williamsburg and Old Sturbridge Village). That may change with the medieval and fantastical medieval movies that are popular now. A deeper discussion of "Traditional blacksmithing" is usually confined to people like us and places like this.

Burrel, Your picture may or may not show a metal bracket, it's too poorly lit and blurry to tell. Why do you call it a 'blackSmith' picture? Then you say that you say that you believe the south was using it as a base to 'reload troops with supplies and guns'. What lead you to that hypothesis? Is there something you know about the site that you haven't told us? How do you think a metal bracket can make lead musket balls or reload shells? What I'm getting at is that what you have described could be many things, but you are saying that it has something to do with blacksmithing when I believe that most of us don't see any evlidence for anything but a dark picture. JHCC has asked similar questions. Do you have answers for us? And if it is a sinkhole and it just collapsed, should you be digging into the "cave" area? Be careful.

Roy Underhill at the Woodwright Shop PBS did a show about the whole process. Iron rich bog stones - bloomery- pig iron - forge - chisel. See if you can find the video.

"Fast Orange" for your hands and arms. It's a grime remover sold in hardware stores and auto parts stores and other places. I don't know of anything better, and it smells orangie.

Great ideas everyone. Thanks so much. Larry

Thank you Frank.

Hi, I freehand the scrolls, the flat tops of the M are smaller than my post vice jaw vertical, the forge is a Buffalo about 24x32. This is just an idea. I'm not married to the right angles. Thank you all for some great ideas. Larry

Hi, I have been asked to forge a basket holder and make it in the shape of a letter M. Here is a rough sketch, I'll pretty up the scroll later. My question: What steps would you take to forge the M? Would you make the scroll first? Would you make the center bend first? Would you just start at one end and keep bending and forging until you got to the other? Any help would be appreciated. Larry

Here you go, only 35min. away: https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Kittery+Point,+Kittery,+ME&daddr=Brentwood,+NH&hl=en&ll=43.058353,-71.000519&spn=0.35922,0.837021&sll=42.036922,-71.683501&sspn=2.921105,6.696167&geocode=FZ5mkQIdihXJ-yl_Ir3sFrniiTGFDgjoVhMFaA%3BFenKjwId8oDD-yk7PVyHU_DiiTG8egVIkiDwQA&oq=b&mra=ls&t=m&z=11 Larry

You're welcome. You are only 50 min. away from me, come out and see it if you wish. Larry

Thanks John, what you can't see is that none of the dirt is touching the building. There is a small ditch with pea stone in it and the building is on a cement foundation. Larry

Bill, Look at "The Forge is Ready" thread. Pictures 1,2, and 3 show the 'ladder'. It's hard to see because it too is painted blue. In picture 1, you can see it standing away from the building. A few feet above the green box is a support attached to the building with a 12 in. clamp for the chimney and up at the top of the ladder is another 12 in. clamp. Picture three shows the support for the steel box and the ladder. Two 4x4 pressure treated posts in cement support a cross piece which holds the box. The ladder itself is attached to the inside of the 4x4's although it's hard to see in the picture. The top of the green steel box has a 2 in. collar over which the chimney sits and adds further support. If you need another picture tell me what you'd like to see. Larry

Hi rwolfe, Take a look down the page at "The forge is ready". One of the big advantages to this Uri style is that going through the wall is a lot easier than going through the roof. No chance of rain leaking through. I built a sort of ladder arrangement to hold it in place because I didn't want to bother with guy wires getting slack and me going up on the roof to re tighten. Good Luck! Larry

Vaughn, I had it fabricated to the specs given in Blueprint BP1048. I'll see how it goes for a little while and then experiment with a temporary closing off of part of the opening. Jim C, I'll try that too. Thanks everyone. Larry

Thanks! Mac, I'm trying different positions for it to see which is most comfortable.

Hi Guys, The new forge is ready. I've been working on it for a while and now the chimney is up and drawing well. The first two pictures show the smithy (the blue addition), it's a 10 x 20 foot add on to the older building. The next picture is the support for the Hofi smoke box and chimney. Next is a picture of the inside and the forge. Next is an inside view of the Hofi box and the last one shows a good draw with no blower involved. Larry

I can't weld but I'm happy to see that it shouldn't cost more than a couple of hundred dollars. I already have the chimney. Thanks for your help guys.

Hi all, The forge is ready for a chimney and I've decided to try the one in the Blueprint section called a Hofi style chimney. '?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>> The instructions seem simple: A 13in x 13in x 4ft box open at the forge end and on the other end is a 2" high collar for a 12" chimney. Is this all there is to it? No smoke shelf or anything, just a straight box to a 12" chimney which extends higher than the roof? If so, I will find a fabricator to begin the box part as soon as he can (I can handle the chimney part). Would any of you who have worked with a fabricator have a rough ballpark guess as to what the cost might be for something like this? Thanks, I appreciate your help. Larry

The blacksmith shop in Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts has a rock bound in iron. It hangs on the inside of the shop and is connected to two overhead pulleys and is attached to the smithy door. A 19th century version of an automatic door closer.

Cohen Steel doesn't mind dealing in small purchases. It is in Concord, NH. It's a little steeper than Dale M, it costs about $13 for 3/8 by 20ft.

Hi guys, I would like to have a Hofi Style Chimney in my forge. I read the blueprint (http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/23197-bp1048-side-draft-chimney/) and have a couple of questions. Is there a smoke shelf in the horizontal section or is the draft unimpeded to the flue? It's fabricated out of 3/16 sheet iron, so what might be a ballpark figure for the contruction of the horizontal section? I can take care of the flue part. Your help will be greatly appriciated. Thanks, Larry

You said, "Why you should see my smithy set-up, any wrong turn I make will either singe off my beard or cause property damage. I did that on purpose!" There are a lot of things in a smithy that are dangerous. You however have made your workshop dangerous on purpose! Not good! The people in the know here preach safety and with good reason. I hope you said that with tongue in cheek.

That's an eye opener! :blink:

Gromgor - I have a copy of the book Complete Book of Cordwood Masonry Housebuilding by Rob Roy if you'd like to borrow it. Larry

evfreek - thanks for the youtube site. There is a huge difference between steel and cast iron sparks.