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I Forge Iron

Borntoolate

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Everything posted by Borntoolate

  1. The tooling is nothing more than a single size hardy that I made for both forming the collar and then containing it while hammering the "ears over to close it up. I was using a stackable set like what Brian has but it was a bit makeshift and kept jiggling loose. Thus I made the single size hardy. Nothing more that a square opening to hammer the hot blank collar into to for it. 3/4" gap by 1/2" deep for collaring 1/2 x 1/4 bar using 1/8" thick collars. All welded togehter, the tool that is. At first it was too tight. Maybe a bit of weld shrinkage though I had a 3/4" bar maintaining the gap. Or maybe I needed a small amount of play more than the 3/4". I shaved the gap open and now it is to loose for both making the inital collar as well as to help contain the shape and tightness of the collar while hammering over the ears. So that is the tooling I am referring to. As it sits my collars are a little loose and it is my opinion it is because my gap is too great. For a 1/4" + 1/4+ 2(1/8) collaring set up what gap should I set? Seems my 3/4" tight welded gap was a hair too small. Then again I had made the collars I was trying to close up on my sloppy jiggly tool so maybe that was part of my size mismatch. It all seems like growing pains and just getting out there and doing it until you stumble in all the little places and work out solutions. I will try what I have by closing up hot since I think that will get me the tightness I need to get these Christmas presents DONE! I'll tweak the tooling later.
  2. Yes collars not bands. I keep mixing that up. And I may try them hot though it seems you can get them tight cold. Been there done that. Gotta get the tooling right.
  3. That hammer is nice. It's gonna take some time for the rest to take hold. Been working most of the day on scrolls and banding. THe scroll part has come together nicely. The scroll fork is really paying off. There is an art to a consistant scroll. And the fork is invaluable to me so far. NO prob making the bands. Getting them tight consistantly is a challenge. Gotta work more on the tooling. That's #3 above
  4. Brian, if you read this thread just know that I am headed for the shop to do some scrolling and banding work for some Christmas presents. Basically using what you showed me. I made a make-shift banding tool similar to yours and I'll be using the scroll jig we made even though the C doesn't touch. Me and my brother and law made the banding jig over THanksgiving and he did his first "smithing" work. The 4 pound hammer will get some use along with the three pounder for the final banding cold. Hopefully will have some pics this evening or tomorrow.
  5. Rant away Alec. I met you at the Artmania though you probably don't recall. When you say Brians Method are you referring to the forging technigues or a specific hammer throw technigue? We did not talk much about how to "swing" but more on where to hit and how to divide up the metal etc...
  6. I'm still pretty green on all this and my three pound Home Depot cross peen used to wear me out. Then someone told me to loosen up my grip on my hammer cuz it was making him nervous. I think that was Jerry Baker. Then I was watching the Hofi vids and trying to figure out what he was talking about. Best I could glean is that you don't really swing a hammer you drop it and guide it accurately to the "spot". Then you try to catch the bounce of the hammer and lift it on the bounce to the desired height and drop again. There IS a bit of swing of course especially with thicker metal but that is also where you can hurt yourself I am thinking. My only other training is from Brian and I am still working on dividing up, contact and surfae area but mostly having a plan, that moves the metal faster with fewer blows and using the correct hammer face and angle, half hammer blows at the edges to move metal and so forth. He would say this better. In the end it all amounts to a bigger hammer letting the weight do most of the work. The grip is relaxed and generally up close to the hammer head for accuracy and leverage for what muscle is needed to move the hammer. I still like my 3# hammer which was basically my only one for awhile. I am getting very used to the 4# er that Brian and I made. My three pounder I use more for cold work, chisel heads, banding or when I have somone over that wants to learn what meager amount of knowledge I have gained in the last year or so. I don't want "students" banging up the face of my 4 pounder. In my opinion a smaller than 3 pound hammer is too much work for general smithing and moving metal. I am not a big guy either at 5'7" and about 153 lbs. So it's not about big. BUt I am also a fan of doing whatever works best and feels best to you.
  7. Mine is about 32x32 and is more woodshop than metal but metal is slowly taking more and more space.
  8. Thanks all. sounds like I can't go wrong. Sounds like try something, try something else and eventually find what I like for whatever it is I end up doing.
  9. Rich, so you buy the best. Which ones? I can't see most of the BPs I am buy the Burr King 2x72 8" whell Variable Speed 1 HP 120V grinder. It costs a dang pretty penny. BUt it looks like a versatile, upgradeable tool for life.
  10. I need to purchase some sand paper / belts for some of my equipment to use on metal. I am primarily a woodworker so most of my stuff is for that. I have also orderd a 2x72 sander. Hammer makers: What Grits ranges, Abrasive types and manufactures do you use. And what do you use the most of. Do you have a preferred on-line supplier. Knife Makers: Same question. Brian, what do you use to finish your hammers? I'll have to order on-line and figure I might as well just stock up on the right stuff and be done with it. THe local home depot just doesn't carry much of this kind of stuff. They have some but never all that you need. Certainly no 2x72 anything.
  11. First off, I am a slow learner but once I get it I tend to get it as well or better than most. I also learn as I screw up long after training is complete. Since we can't post pics perhaps this is more important. This list will grow over time. They are in no particular order. 1. I learned I could do it too - Hole punch Example: punching a hole. I made a not so neat hole punch tool while he was here. He showed me to punch just like the slot punch video here. http://www.youtube.c...brazealblacksmi I did this three times after he left and have three nice slugs that came right out. This was using my not so neat hole punch. Easier than drilling particularly if the metal is wanting to harden on you. I wanted to show the pics of these slugs as they are beautiful! Now I know I can make my own punchs and use them to make holes that are easy and clean. 2. Have a specific Plan when you go to the Anvil After he left and I was trying to make some stuff. I was frustrated at making very little progress on my project. The more I hit it the more it got screwed up or just did not go anywhere. So now I will do the following. I will not go to the anvil from the forge unless I know how I am going to hold the metal and exactly what kind of hit I am going to make and where how to stand etc. This needs to be very specific! If I make only one good hit that moves me forward with the project then that is success. One good hit is better than 10 pointless whacks. If I can see three good hits then so be it. Eventually I will see the next ten hits clearly and not just bang at it. No more hitting fast just to make sure I get as many hits in before the metal cools. 3. I need to learn to use and make some more tools. We did some C Scrolls and banding. This was easy but is similar to #1. I could make many things from some simple tools using these technigues. Invest the time to make and learn the tools you need to do stuff. Then, make stuff! Sweet! 4. Be Precise first, speed will come in time. This is similar to #2. I was making a leaf and basically used the veining tool to fast and screwed it up. All I needed to do was take my time, Aim, hit precisely and make a good leaf vein. Don't get caught up in the whole "did it all in one heat" macho BS. You ain't gonna start there. 5. Forge/Fire Control I am going to be a bit vague on this one.... Get your fire above the metal and look for the "golden flame". The golden flame heats you up fast. Cranking on the blower at temps below this, conserving fuel and not having your heat above the metal is just wasting time. Brian teaches a lot about basic hammer technigues that I also learned about. However, I think I need to go through much of the above (2,4,5) to really say I have learned those basics. Anyway enough for now. More to come.
  12. I made a smaller one too similar to the larger for my daughter I posted earlier. It was a short rail like yours except I had three moveable hooks on it rather the stationary hooks like yours. This is for our small egg pans and such. I like the moveable hooks in that I can space as needed and could just add another later if needed.
  13. yup, and I went with the two wheel rig. I was really wanting my own hand forged wheels with spokes. So there is it. My gas forge has the 4 wheels though.
  14. -_- Ack! My shop is such a mess. Looks like this is going around tho
  15. So here is wher I am so far. It works obviuously since I didn't wait to finish to try it out. Needs more bracing and a way to hold the flip up right ledge up other than a piece of wood and a C-Clamp. Am also working on a tong holder for the left side. Will add a wood shelf below as well. Pull out handles/support also needed for front. The back edge away from the firepot is a tad bit narrow and my edges could have been higher. But 1" steel is what I had. What do you think of the curved corners? I was thinking that would make it easy to rake the coal from the sides.
  16. Did you do any surface grinding prior to welding? I'm thinking you would have but if not do so. I just can see any groubd surfaces. This will help with weld quality. The thing with welding is like 90% surface prep then 10% welding. THen with stick you got that whole clean up after wards. I'm lazy and bought a mig. I'm also not a great welder... another reason for ease of the mig. Looks good though. I am also in the process of rebuilding my brake drum forge with a real cast firepot. Still needs work but here is a pic
  17. It may be that I keep too little coal piled around. Sounds like I need to learn more about that.
  18. A big question I have now is flush mount from underneath or should I drop in mount the firepot which leaves a pretty big ridge around the edge of the pot. This would seem to make raking coke in AND making coke more difficult with the ridge up as opposed to flush from underneath.
  19. David and others. It needs to be portable without a lot of tear down or assembly. It gets moved in and out of the back door of my shop based on weather and planned use. So size is more about mobility. Materials could be just about anything that works and is readily available. I have a full woodshop capability but that probably is not all that useful for forge making. I also have a mig welder for assmbly. Cost is not much of a constraint here so I am wide open for any suggestions. I do want to make this myself more or less mostly because I feel like I can get a better product for less money. I am most interested in optimizing functionality. I am hearing folks like to have extra space for tongs and so forth. I can easily add some flip up/down side shelves for this and still be portable.
  20. keep in mind that it's a 2x2 foot now but I might change based on input from you guys.
  21. Drewed . "I would mount the fire pot off center ( front to back ) so you have a little space to rest hot pieces while working on some other part." Meaning more room in front or more in back? I think you mean more room in front but just clarifying...
  22. Wow, lots of advice already. Keep it coming. These are just the kinds of ideas I need to ponder in order to redo this or make do. I just don't have the time on tools to know what to even consider. Started Coal "forgery" in January 2011. Gas forge just last year about this time.
  23. I purchased a Roger Lorance Firepot according to advice in another thread. So now I need to either modify my current coal forge or build a whole new one. I am open to both. I do not have a smithy exactly so my forge needs to be mobile. My 275# anvil is just inside of some swinging doors that I open and roll out the forge and blower to a pad just outside with no current roof. What do's and don't do you folks have around building a forge? Here are some pics of the firepot from some other post. Hopefully this link works right. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBkQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iforgeiron.com%2Ftopic%2F13272-roger-lorance-firepot-swage-blocks%2F&rct=j&q=roger%20lorance%20firepot%20pic&ei=Ust3TrT8I4qEsgKRksW3CA&usg=AFQjCNEXu_xhK6AfTifaic3Gc9KdQbjXQA&cad=rja First off I have included some pics of my current forge. It is 2'x2' plate with a break drum mounted flush underneath. So there is no lip extending above the 2x2 plate. With my new firepot there will be about a 1" to 3/4" lip above on each side. I don't really understand the need for this but I guess I can get ok with it. Would you mount the Tuyere dump lever to the front or back? Would you mount the pot off center for any reason? What things would you do differently if you were building YOUR forge today. Anyway, does anyone have any nifty suggestion on how I should redo this. I would even consider making a complete new forge if I had compelling info to do so. I would then sell this one as it has worked for me quite satisfactorily so far and may help someone else get started.
  24. This is my current forge that I want to add the new firepot to. It is 2'x2' plate with a break drum mounted flush underneath. So there is no lip extending above the 2x2 plate. So I guess with my new pot there will be about a 1" to 3/4" lip above on the sides. I guess that is what I want though I don't really understand that. Would you mount the Tuyere dump lever to the front ot back. Currently mine is in the back and it is easy to dump using a bucket to push the lever while up after the bucket is fully underneath. Anyway, does anyone have any nifty suggestion on how I should redo this. I would even consider making a complete new forge if I had compelling info to do so. I would then sell this one as it has worked for me quite satisfactorily so far. Would you mount the pot off center for any reason? Best would be a few pics of your forge with some good pointers I am editing this post to say that I will start a new thread since this is at the bottom of a post that is titled something different. The new post title will be Coal Forge Design Considerations Dos and Don'ts
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