ThomasPowers

Back when silver was cheap, (US$5/troy oz), I did a scaled CAD drawing of my shop anvil and then printed it out at different scales till I got one I liked. Then glued the drawing to some Lucite and cut the perimeter and smoothed it out with a draft angle and used the 1/8 in plastic to make an oil sand, (Petro Bond), mold and cast it in Silver. I used the sprues and vent to leave protrusions on the back side so I could make it into a belt buckle. Immediately an old family friend wanted it as their Father was a blacksmith! I'll have to try to dig out the next one I made... Today I drove the 80 miles to the city and helped our ABANA Affiliate set up our Demo trailer for the 10 days of State Fair Demos we will be putting on. As I am retired I asked which days were generally needing more smiths; Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday; so I will be offline for a couple of those days and see if I can Crash at my Daughter's house about a mile from the Fairgrounds rather than 80....Luckily the State Fair ends before I start East to Quad-State.

And yesterday I buried one of the 8 kittens currently hanging around outside; vet said it was a terminal condition. So 8, -1 given to friend at church, -1 dead. So far no losses to hawks, dogs, coyotes, cars or falling anvils.

*One* of the many ways it was made in earlier times.

And have it work "awesome"!

I used a double lung bellows on a bottom blast forge for about 20 years. Didn't use an air gate; the tuyere was sized to provide a good blast and if I needed more I would add a weight to the top board of the bellows. (Usually a hammer.)

What safety issues are you concerned about?

Over 50 pictures; I'll run out of data just trying to find the one you need us to look at! When asking for help; it behooves you to make it as easy for your possible helpers as possible!

I have not looked into it but I know you can get low values for CO by running your burner oxidizing---terrible for forging IMNSHO; but low on CO; the safety you gain from low CO might be lost in more time removing scale with a grinder or wire wheel. Since I came into smithing through blades; I tend to run reducing and have MASSIVWE ventilation to deal with possible CO issues.

The swordmaker I worked under had an under powered buffer. He said it was better to take longer buffing than have a chance of it grabbing a sword blade and throwing it at you. I use an slow speed wire wheel for the same reason.

What's your air source? Charcoal doesn't take much so bellows or hand crank blower helps save charcoal. Also how big is your tuyere?

I like tripods with two U's and a Loop so it can be transported separately and you can also set it up with two uprights and a cross bar for cooking with multiple pots at the same time. (Just made 4 of them for the state fair of varying lengths including one of old weathered steel for a real "cowboy cooking" look.) I finish mine with food safe paraffin wax with the metal just under "smoking" heat.

What he said; ask others that have had the same issue and tried to bend it and how it worked out for them.

I believe that is a variation on a rivet or horseshoeing forge and so not intended for long stock.

Mowed on the yard, ugh. I did start packing to bring my sale stuff for the state fair. Got a 2 wheeler loaded as I expect to have to hike in a long way with it.

I have the issue of the "Arms and Armour Annual" with the article "A Wheellock Dagger from the court of the Medici" It fires the end of the blade like a harpoon. You wind the grip to set the spring for the lock. Unfortunately combo weapons tend to be like combo tools and not be really great at any of their tasks. On a lighter side; did you see the 1973 Three Musketeers movie, (Oliver Reed, Michael York, Raquel Welch, Richard Chamberlin, etc!!!) It has a Rapier with a concealed stiletto in the hilt that turns out to be very handy in a corps a corps...

I hope to visit on out way back from Quad-State.

I'm glad the motor bogged down! I was afraid this going to be another ER story!

Remember "murky"? He had a forge welded set hidden in the bottom; of course.

Daswulf; Have you seen the historic battle axe with two black powder pistols built into it? One on either side of the blade pointing along the handle axis IIRC. Probably in Stone's Glossary...

I was hunting TEFC motors at the scrap yard for my shop equipment as a blacksmith shop is rather known for having "dirty air"... Currently 1.75 hp TEFC for my 25# LG running on 220 and the 2hp TEFC mounted on my Bader on 220. My 2hp on my drill press is open though, I put it in the "clean shop". (On 220 of course.)

Motor name: TEFC Totally Enclosed Fan Cooled

Will your wife allow you a "House Kate"?

I remember one SOFA meeting 20+ years ago where a smith demonstrated a slack tub weld. Heated two pieces of steel to welding temp and threw them in the murky depths of his slack tub. Then he reached in and fished around and brought them out perfectly forge welded together!

A bit more on the wagon wheel bearings; AKA "thimble skeins" per Foxfire #9 section on building the wagon.

IIRC, Alexander Weygers' "The Complete Modern Blacksmith" had a drawing of a smoke catcher he built for a hand crank blower that fed the smoke produced when starting a forge back through the blower to burn it off and not annoy the neighbors. Making sure you always have enough coke from the previous fire to start the current one can help a lot as you can then burn the smoke as it's produced. If you are in the USA I strongly suggest you attend an ABANA Affiliate meeting and find a local smith that uses coal and can show you the tricks. Canada, the UK, and other countries have similar groups---this is an international website with over 100 different countries participating and since most blacksmithing questions have a location component it helps to know which country. (Like is the coal in Antarctica any good for smithing?)