KAM

I just finished this forge. A replica of the portable forge pvt. John Shields used on the Lewis and Clark expedition of discovery. So far have only fired it twice but do like the way it works. Side blast 2 inch pipe reduced to 1.25 inches. Body is made out of an old steel barrel. Fire brick on bottom and sides then fire box shaped with dirt. I will be using it this weekend at the Gathering at Five Medals pre 1816 historical reenactment.

When I get the time I will convert it to a pdf file as we talked about in the private messages. That will make it easier to print out the whole thing.

That is one of 3 anvils I have. That one is a Multi products 135 lb farrier anvil. It is a good quality anvil but I don't like the horn shape for general blacksmithing. I believe they were made from about 1950 till 1978. Don't quote me, my memory may be getting bad. I'm betting older all the time and didn't look it up today. :)

While working the blacksmith shop at a friends corn maze their son kept asking me to make him a knife. He brought me an old rusty spike from a bridge that they removed on an abandoned railroad on a farm his uncle now owns. I wasn't sure I could do much with the rust pitted spike but am not unhappy with the result. I spent about an hour on the knife and another hour on the sheath. The knife sharpened up very well and seems to hold a good edge. I was able to shave the hair on my arm with it.

Have been reading this forum for a while but this is my first time to post. I have done hobby blacksmithing for 20 years. Also have done some farm machinery repair using the hobby skills. This year I have a shop set up at a friends corn maze. Have been operating it on weekends September and October. Will be back there again this afternoon. Next year we are considering a forge day to invite other blacksmiths in to show off their skills. A chance to share information, maybe sell some of their work, and eat some of our cast iron kettle stew.