Steven NY

This is my forge, it was made out of an old brake drum that was left over from an auto garage that used to be behind my house, I have been saving it for years and have finally done something with it. The tuyere was made out of and old drill press column, it measured around 3.5 inches in diameter. It has a weighted gate at the bottom for the ash dump. The wooden box you see is my blower, it was made out of an old ShopVac motor I scavenged and wired to a wall dimmer switch with a toggle on and off switch. I had to drill a relief hole in the top of the box to vent off excess air as my blower used to blow my fire all over the place. The brake drums bottom is double plated with 1/4" steel. I do not have a grate in my forge, just the clinker breaker that is more or less cam shaped to allow me to keep my air flowing by grinding up spent coal and clinker. The hole setup is built on wheel so I can move it if I need/want to. This forge has worked very well and will produce a lot of heat I have burnt a few pieces while not paying attention. If I where going to change anything it would be the size of the table top that hold my extra coal, I think if it where a few inches bigger it would be a little better, but as the whole thing was made from scrap it was what I had. I will be adding a tong rack at some point but for right now my tongs and hammers are laid out on a bench next to the forge. Steven

Hello, Here is the fork I made for Thanksgiving 2010, and yes i made sure it was used at the family meal lol. Steven

Great looking setup. I am really glad you posted this! I have been thinking about how I was going to build my side draft hood. Your setup is exactly what I was thinking of doing but was worried about the horizontal distance I would have to travel, but after seeing how yours draws I can now move ahead. Thank you for posting, Steven

Hello all, Well I spent all last weekend and most every weeknight this week working in my new blacksmith shop. These are my first 4 knifes. The first two where HC railroad spikes and were quenched in super quench. The third knife was made out of a piece of W1 I had. The last knife was made out of a piece of drill rod about 3 inches long and 5/8OD that I oil quenched. I have also been making some other knickknacks and items which I may post in other sections. I must say what a great site this is, a really nice way to find ideas!! Any comments or ideas for improvements are welcome. Steven

Thank you for your input, I am glad to be here. It has been something I have wanted to do for 15 years or so, will have my forge finished this week so things are looking good. I will round and sharp edges and use it as is, I am happy that is that being the consensus, I was a little nervous about welding the anvil. If anyone has any information about the production date or location of this anvil that would be great. Steven

Hello all, I am new to the forum and would like some information on my anvil. It is marked TRENTON in a large diamond on the side, below that there are the words SOLID WROUGHT stamped in a circle; and below that is the number 392 which I believe is the weight. There is no serial number on the foot, and no indentation in the bottom of the anvil, like the hour glass or oval I have seen or read about online. Could someone fill me on when this anvil was made, what form of construction is it (metal types), and any other information you would have about it. After stripping the many many layers of paint that where on it I found that the horn, table and face had damage. There are many shallow indentations all over the surface of the horn, table and face. The deepest of which are around 1/16th of an inch deep and are marked with the yellow pencil. Also the edges are in rough shape with a very bad section marked with the red pen. What I would like to know is should I try to repair the damage with welds, or grind and sand it down till the face table and horn are smooth. Any information or suggestions you can offer would be greatly appreciated, Steven