Michael

Just built this a couple of weeks ago, the only non construction woodworking I've done in a while now. Note the lack of horsehoes. vid in action here http://www.flickr.co...N04/7590827446/

Nice, I like the twist in the spike, haven't seen that done before.

This is an amazing vid!

I get good smithing coal from Lazzari Fuels in Brisbane, just south of San Francisco. Don't know about 10 tons, but there a pretty big warehouse when I drive down to buy 50 or 100 lbs at a time, Lazzari Fuel Co 11 Industrial Way, Brisbane, CA (415) 467-2970 ‎ No affiliation on my part, just a satisfied customer. Friend of mine works as a carpenter at Fort Vancouver, goes by the name Dofi, I did my very first smithing under that guy, who handed me a 40 oz hammer and kept yelling 'Hit it!"

I like the riveted arms and legs! Easier for a beginner, both the attach to the body and form the claws on the ends of a longer bar. Any tips for getting the horns so long? I've been trying to make decent dragon heads for years now, and the horns always mess me up, ending up short and stubby so that my dragons look more like dogs. I've tried flat chisels and curved chisels but I never have enough "horn" to be able to draw out or even manage to hit the little ear like stubs with a hammer. Thanks

It was out of my price range! even if I did buy it, doubtful I could have destroyed it for the WI stock. I do get to keep the picture though. Many thanks to the curmudgeon for the Old Globe contact. A flat rate box of 5/8 shorts is on its way to me now so I'll get to practice with Wrought without trashing the work of a long gone smith who knew what he was doing.

Hope this link works http://www.iforgeiro...t-cl-find-ever/ Just about a year ago I got this deal. $50 for a forge table w/ firepot, blower and a second post vise.

Hey I have one of those! Bought it off of ebay when I drew a smith in a Secret Santa exchange. Sent a Yellin book instead when I saw how cheezy it was. Still use and refill it. One showed up in a Iron in the Hat recently.

7 foot long anchor for sale at the swap, only $100 a foot! wrought and how it had been worked really showed up in the ring on top, where you can clearly see the grain and the twist that positioned the smaller ring before the larger one was threaded thru it and welded. Would wrought that has become this etched still be workable? Just in case I run across a smaller one !

If you think that syrup can is bad, look at this Bad anvil, wrong hammer, horseshoe, but at least it was still full of bourbon!

You just have to show up and see. My local scrap yard does a lot of recycling (Acton Metal on Richmond Parkway, Richmond CA) but when I come out of the yard dragging rod and bar and say I'm buying, they move me to the front of the line. I think its a nice change for them from the recyclers trying to sell stripped out copper wire and cans, fighting for their space in line. Bring a box of donuts, no one gets in trouble for donuts. Maybe even bring and S hook or poker, so you can quickly show the work you do, saves the explaining. I brought my then 5 year old daughter with me one time, in overalls and pink Barbie work boots, They smiled and told me to keep her close, away from the forklifts (kid is well trained about machinery)

Mount it to a 30 or 55 gallon drum, mount a drain plug or hosebib to the lowest point you can on the drum and fill with water. Stable vise, and a reasonably light structure when you drain the water.

Oh you're going to have fun! I came away from my first smithing conference (not Quad State, that's still on the list) inspired and energized with a dozen new skills and twice as many project ideas. Bring a camera, a notebook and the aforementioned lots of money for a real anvil and a blower. Nice forge by the way, much better than the ASO. Also, if you have a business card with your contact information its good to have a handful of them. You meet a lot of like minded people at a gathering of smiths and its nice to keep in contact after the event.

Other than horse shoes, I can't name a single thing anyone in the non-smithing public would say is made by a blacksmith. Fireplace pokers? Our friends and family know better, but if you asked 100 random people what a blacksmith does, how many do you think would say "horseshoes"? My guess would be better than 90 out of a hundred.

I use the BBQ charcoal chimney, fill about half way with lump charcoal and in the 10 minutes it takes to get that burning, set up the forge, uncover the anvil and vises. when the charcoal is going good, I dump THAT in the bottom of the firepot, mound up the coal around it and gently crank the blower to get the coal going. Works every time.

Very nice design. Do you have a shot from above the handle? looking down the back of the knife?

Bracket? check, spring? check? chamfers on the legs? check. Good deal! you got a nice vise.

Love the kilt!

Wow, nice table. Love that trough around the edge. No offense to the effort to move it, but that's a nice light design, relatively!. Every metal table I see for sale is made all out of inch thick plate, flame cut, welded together and needing a BIG forklift to move. Pick a nice spot for it.

I've seen this style before in catalogs and online, but never in person. Always wondered if the double belt, double wheel style predated the more compact geared blower we all know and love or if they existed side by side with them. http://vandm.com/Antique-Hand-Crank-Blacksmith-Forge-Blower/1_266_product=374082.aspx# http://www.americanartifacts.com/smma/advert/ay149.htm I tried to rig up something like this out of bicycle gear and pedal parts, back before I got a blower (s), and top heavy was the problem. Two hacked up and bolted back together bike frames was always ready to topple, even bolted to a board. Nice find! use it well

#1 Beverly Shear-$40 at a neighborhood garage sale.

I've done the electrolosis route on rusted woodworking tools a bunch of times. Slow, but it works. Washing soda is right near the 20 Mule Team at the supermarket, in the detergent section.

Nice start there. You've got a blower, so you're ahead of the game already! Dryer hose works really well for getting the air under the fire. I've used baling wire to attach the hose to the underside of the forge, just wrap and twist with pliers. Dryer hose is practically a consumable on my forge, I end up replacing the hose every couple of years.

I lean stuff against the wall just like those stock racks, Stuff too long for that I bend in half and hang over nails near the roofline of the open air smithy. Anything shorter than 3 feet goes on the bottom of the gas forge cart, anything under a foot goes in a bucket next to the tool rack. Trying really hard to just toss anything too short to grab out of the shorts bucket.

Thanks, Now the lovely wife has asked for something to hold the long matches on the other side of the hearth. Something viney with leaves.