Michael

Action Metal Recycling 385 Pittsburgh Avenue Richmond, California 94801 I've gotten scrap from them for years. Round and square rod, plate, pipe (some of it big, my gas forge is from there). Its primarily a recycling yard, so they are happy to have people there to buy. I've been moved to the front of the line at the scale when I mention I'm buying. In the last year or so they've really focused on recycling, so some of the really cool scrap is gone, but last time I was there maybe 3 months ago, I saw a power hacksaw with a broken off cast iron leg in the way back. worth a trip if you're in the east bay. Back when my daughter was 5, they let me bring her in the back to look for scrap, 'just hold her hand and watch out for the forklifts'. I think it was her overalls and pink Barbie workboots but they were very cool.

This forge was finished the day before a demo. The first time I fired it was at the demo. It worked great. I used it for three days without a problem. The forge is based on text and drawings from "Manual of Black Smithing 1902". The bellows is 15.5 inch dia with a 6 inch stroke. Very cool, very compact design. Perfect for demos! I vaguely recall seeing the plan for this in a book somewhere. Does the linkage lift the whole bottom section of the bellows? And its side draft too? Forging with charcoal or coal?

it has a squat Colonial look to it. Didn't anvils of that period lack pritchel holes?

Finally got around to trying this, as a handle for bottle openers I think. Hardest part was getting the reground brick chisel to bite deeply enough into the square stock, have to work hotter next time. Made a quick holdfast for the pritchel hole out of 1/2 stock to hold the bar down while incising the lines. The weighted chain over the anvil wasn't doing the job. The lovely wife and kid thought it was braided, I guess that's good.

I found these old articles in the library when I was first putting a forge together. Never got around to building either one, but they might help

Great stuff Jake. Phil K. on the oldtools list pointed some of your stuff out to me a while back and you inspired some work at my forge. Shamelessly copy, sincerest form...yada..yada its titled JR for Jake the Russian as PhilK refers to you. The evolution of the design is certainly apparent. Looks like I've got some new shapes to practice.

In Early October, I finally got around to attending my first gathering of blacksmiths, the Oktoberfest in Cazadero, a couple hours North of San Francisco. 200 smiths camping out on a big plot of land for the weekend, with the Education arm of the CBA supplying a half dozen forges, anvils, vises, 600 lbs of coal, materials, tools, a lit, covered work area and neighbors so far away the forges worked till midnight. I learned more in three days there than the last 3 years of self taught bumbling out on my patio. Watched a smith make a dragonfly out of half inch square stock in a gob smacking reveleation of *Oh, THAT*S how you do it* and proceeded to make an ugly squarish version myself, on the left. Then burned the wing off my second one tried at home, looks like a mean kid caught it. Third one is starting to look actually bug like! I caught the last 20 minutes of a collaring demonstration when the smith (Mike Chisolm)giving the demo asked if anyone wanted to make the plant hanger he was showing. I raised my hand and was immediately swept up into a fast paced 5 hour project working three quarter inch stock with three other students as the instructor guided us through forging a tenon, using butcher chisels and set hammer, a fishtail scroll in half inch stock, my first forge weld and learning how to work with a striker swinging a ten lb sledge! By the time the forges were shut down I had most of the work done, save the collaring to join the hook and the scroll, and the pivots the hanger swings on. Got home tired , sore and inspired! Lit the forge the following weekend to finish the project, realizing I*d only caught the part of the demo on how to calculate the length of the collars, not how they were formed or closed. Back to blundering, but the project got done. Turned to the MAPP gas torch for a little spot heating to get the collars to close up. The hanger brackets were punched holes and then a right angle bend. This *Plant Hanger* is beefy enough to…well, hang a side of beef from. Its currently mounted outside the workshop, but may find a home as a fireplace crane, alongside the fireplace poker, marshmallow toasting forks and dragon headed damper handle.

Had a similar experience recently with my post vise. To fit the vise onto the new portable stand the mounting bracket had to slide down the post a bit. There was a ridge of soft wrought just below the bracket that kept the bracket from sliding down some. Couldn't really get at it with a grinder or a file. But sharpening up the smallest cold chisel in the tool box I was able to take little curls of iron off the ridge, right down to the surface metal. Worked great! The next piece of plate I have to smooth I'll start with the chisel.

Absent functional welding equipment at the moment, I looked over the accumulated metal on the patio and figured there was enough to bolt up a stand for the post vise, replacing the 2x6 lagged to the shop wall. The wall would bow just a bit when really working the vise. Vise was also too close to the wall. In the anchor position is a 3 groove cast iron pulley that did some duty on an early treadle lathe concept (too heavy and hard to keep centered), on top of that is a cast iron cafe table base with a steel column and top plate, and some diamond plate scrap I had laying around. U Bolts thru around the pulley spokes and up thru holes drilled in the cast iron base. That new 5/16ths drill bit was a wise purchase. A U bolt thru the lowest groove on the pulley keeps the tip of the vise post secure. More bolt holes thru the vise tongue/diamond plate/top plate hold the whole thing together. Came out to 150 lbs total, don't recall if the vise is 40 or 60 lbs. Very stable for hammering and twisting, a bit rock-ey while hacksawing. I think a couple of sandbags on the base will help. Michael

this set of pics. http://picasaweb.google.com/LDWynn/DarrenDay5# I tried to get enough pictures to let this act as a tutorial as well. I will get to take more pics tomorrow so we will see what he makes then. Now, check out the pics.

On another note, what's with all the insulators in the first picture?

full beard for 12 years or so now. Remember, a man's face is not like a fine wine, things haven't been improving under there.-Red Green Recalled whenever I think of shaving.

(In fact there seems to be an inverse correlation between amount of money spent of starting up and longevity in the craft in my experience, anyone else run into this?) Well, having only my own, personal experience as a guide. I spent about $20 on a brake drum, another 30 at the scrap yard for bits and pieces to cobble up a forge, and about $35 for a big chunk of I beam as an anvil for the first year I was forging. Round it up to a $100 and I've been forging coming on six years this fall. Forge is currently on version 4, same old brake drum. Found a PW 104# anvil for just under $3/lb about a year into it. Post vise was another $40 a year after that. I'm probably at $500 in just cash outlay now, Time on the other hand.....my guess would be there's 3 hours of "cold" time for every hour of forging I get in. modifications of the set up, forge adjustments, the hours of anvil stump prep I don't even want to think about.

rectangular punch, like for the thumb latch on a Norfolk style door latch?

Thanks for the compliment. Finish is spray shellac at black heat. The heat seems to harden it some.

Rather than a tie I won't wear or aftershave I won't use, the lovely family left me alone on Sunday to read the paper a my leisure and then light the forge and work for 4 hours (I'm a little slow). Got off to a slow start, its been a while since I had forge time. After messing around with some bearing steel, trying to shape it into a rough knife shape, I broke for lunch with said family, and got back to some mild steel work that produced something. Another corkscrew (turns the proper clockwise this time), plant hook to replace one of my earlier attempts that's been bugging me for years, and a leaf with an off center knot in the stem. Good day at the forge.

thanks for all the tips guys. the baking soda/water combo helped a lot as did regrinding that tiny bit to a slightly wider angle. I really need some close work glasses if I'm going to be sharpening up any more of those little bits. Finishing up the first hole took about 30 minutes. Regrinding the bit twice for the second hole and the bit snapped just as it poked thru the other side of the music wire. I was able to drive the shard back out with a centerpunch and clean up the hole with a needle file. thanks again for all the help. Knowing it could be done was instrumental in getting it done. Michael

Thanks guys, I'll try the chalk/baking soda trick first and then give the regrind a try.

Fresh on the heels of dbrandow's query, I'm having trouble drilling a small hole in some 7/32 music wire, which I think is SAE 1095. Trying to put a 3/32 hole thru the diameter at two places. First I tried in the drill press with the old bit in the index. It cut about 3/16 down and stopped cutting. Figuring I had a dull bit I replaced it with an Irwin Cobalt bit. Same problem, the bit cuts just a little and stops. The slowest speed on my drill press is about 620rpm, a bit fast for metal I know. 3in1 oil is being used in copious amounts. I tried the same hole in the post drill, and the bit just bends. I'm about to try resharpening the Cobalt bit, but haven't had much luck sharpening such a small bit. Did I dull the new bit that fast? Does 1095 workharden that fast? I'm ready to try hot punching the hole, if I can make a punch that small, and if I can keep the music wire straight, or annealing the hole locations and trying again with another new bit. Any help would be appreciated. thanks, Michael

What Francis said, if there's nothing blocking the bottom end of the pipe below the firepot, most of your air is going out the bottom of the forge and not to the fuel. a bucket of water under the pipe, filled to cover the bottom of it will work in a pinch, catching the hot ash and blocking the airflow out the bottom, at least until you can cobble together an ash dump. I've got a bucket of water under my ash dump, keeps all the charcoal sparks out of my shoes! I've also been known to be cranking the blower for a good 10 minutes, before noticing the dryer hose from the blower to the forge wasn't connected.

I'm not in Sacto, but the East Bay of the San Francisco Area. When I checked with the AQMD (Air Quality Management District) a few years ago, I was told less than a half TON of coal on the premises is too small for regulatory control. I work with firefighters a lot in my day job, and (at least around here) it comes down to the neighbors. If there are complaints, you have a problem, no complaints, no problem. Good cause to make nice with the neighbors, let them know who you are, what you do. Perhaps a plant hook or steak turner type peace offering. I work mostly with charcoal, but when I do use coal (Lazzari in Burlingame, 50 lb bags), that initial yellow green plume of smoke has gotten a few neighbors running over the check for a tire fire in the back yard. Mid day on a weekend I'll look over the fence and give a heads up to any neighbors out there.

Nice little forge there. I did the same one a couple years ago, but it doesn't have the cool handles, feet and paint job of yours! Great for demos, last fall I brought this forge, a nail header, some 1/4 inch rod and an "anvil", a 30 lb block of steel (3"x3" by 12") set on end in a little wooden box and taught a bunch of kids, and their parents, to make nails. Nice work.

Old sharpening steels are really nice for hot punch material. Usually by just cutting off the handle and grinding a nice chamfer on the hammered end. They are usually a buck or two at the flea market and while not a handled punch, usually a foot long or so.

I use spray shellac as a finish on most of my stuff. Finished finished as someone said, usually wire brushed and then as the piece drops down below black heat, I spray on a coat so that is cooks on with a very slight bubbling effect. Not sure I'd trust it as a finish for outdoor stuff (that gets boiled linseed oil at black heat) but for keychains, bottle openers and plant hooks it seems to work like a charm.