Altusjg

Beautiful Blade!! Hope one day in the distant future i'll build up the skill level to produce something half as nice. Great work!!

Here's my first make not to long ago. Made from an old Chisel. Handle and doweling is made from bamboo.

Here is the first firing of my little forge. The itc-100 has dried completely and my 0-30psi regulator came in so its ON!! I slowly worked the regulator up to 20 psi in increments of 5 over about 20 min to allow it come up to temp slowly. The railroad spike was in the forge for just under 2 minutes!! I'm loving it already!! Cant wait till my next stretch off work so i can play. Let me know what yall think.

Thanks for the input Phil. I had to go with a shorter inlet chamber as my 1/8" sched 80 pipe nipple was only 3" long and i couldnt choke it far enough up into the inlet chamber. The pics below reflect the change as well as the first firing of the torch. I only have a 0-10 psi hp regulator with out a gauge right now as my 0-30 reg with gauge is on its way in the mail(its rediculous how many of these simple items i can not find around where i live. maybe im just looking in the wrong places). Again i am unable to tweek the psi much but the pics are maxed out at 10psi. How does the flame look? Any suggestions on the inlet holes on this one Phil? Does it look like im getting a decent air/gas mix? Also i have pic of my forge lined and coated with itc-100. I'm still waiting on the coating to dry as i just put it on last night. I'll apply another touch up coat later today and let it dry a day or two before firing it up. All input/advise is welcome. Thanks!!

Thanks for the input guys. Dodge, i think i mite just try that coat of refractory clay/cement. I was kicking the idea around but hadnt decided yet. I lined my little brake drum forge with it and really liked how it worked. I'll post some more pics when im finished. Thanks

Here is the latest update on my home made gas forge. I decided to take Thomas's advice and go with the round body instead of the square one in the above pics. The burn chamber ends up being 3.5"x4"x10" with 2" durablanket lining. I cut a small slot in the rear to allow for longer projects when the time comes. I'm still waiting for my itc-100 to come in to coat my durablanket. With that it mind, do i need to put fire to the blanket prior to coating it or can i just coat with itc-100 then fire cure? As you can see, i havent cut my torch access yet. Again im waiting on a couple pieces to come in the mail. Thanks for taking a look and let me know what ya'll think.

Give it up for the Lone Star!! I'm down in southeast Texas around the Port Arthur area. New to blacksmithing but not to metal working. Looking for a decent anvil and a supplier of knife steel that is local or at least in Texas with good prices. Give me a shout if yall know of one. Thanks!!

Great looking knife. I like the incorporation of the bottle opener. Thats just smart!! Thanks for sharing!

Great work. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the ideas Nathan but i decided to go with the metal bucket forge. I had one sitting around so i cleaned it out and painted with 1200 deg heat resist paint and i put legs on it. I'm now waiting on my durablanket and itc-100 to come in the mail. I'll post a couple pics when i make a little more progress. Thanks Again!!

Hmmm... good point. I guess i could use the outer layer of clay to round off the corners a bit. I've read where others have welded sheet rock screws to the interior to support the insulation. Obviously i would have to do that before finishing the outer layer of clay. If not, do you think i could use another thin layer of clay on the inside of the insulation to support it? What do ya think about the burner Thomas?

Hey Guys im working on my first little gas forge. Its made of 1/16" sheet metal i got from an old bbq pit. I used flat bar to make the legs. Its not perfect by any means but i'm hoping it will work out. It measures inside at 8 1/4" x 5 1/4" x 12" deep. I have the bottom clayed in to about 1/8" thick and plan to do the entire thing but ran out of clay for now. After the clay i plan to line the entire thing with 1-2 inches of durablanket. I should end up with roughly a 6"x3"x10" burn chamber. I'm planning to get some fire bricks to close in the front. So what do yall think? Any ideas on how to make it more efficient? I also decided at the same time to make my own burner based off different burner designs i've seen made here and elsewhere. It's venturi style measuring 20" total length. The burn tube is 3/4" x 10" with 1"x5" intake chamber with a slide choke. I'm using a .035 mig tip for my contact tip screwed into sched 80 1/8" pipe. So again what do yall think? Will this burner be to big or small for my forge or should it work? Any ideas or suggestions are welcome. Thanks

Thanks! The blade is made of an old chisel so its tool steel quality. I annealed it first, banged it out, hardened in canola oil and tempered it twice at 350 deg.

This is my first knife to complete. Its a drop point hunting knife. I carved the handle from dried bamboo i had in the garage, doweling included. I had to split and carve a couple sets of scales to get it right and both were carved with this blade. It kept a sharp edge through all of it. Still have a good bit of handle making/mounting to learn but it will do for now. . All in all im pleased about how it turned out. All comments welcome. Thanks

This is my first and only completed knife. I just finished the handle today. I carved it out of bamboo. Think i may have gone to thin with the handle.

Thanks Rich and Bryan. I'm satisfied with the kinfe in general for my first but i'm kind of anal when it comes to precision and i know i have much to learn and great deal of technique to work on. I did a few basic test like trying to bend the blade and it had a little give without being to brittle. I took it to a couple small tree limbs and smacked the spine a few times to see if it would chop through without braking. So far its held up and maitained an edge. Rich i've seen those books recommended often on this site. They seem like a must have for a newbie:) guess i'm gonna have to pick em up!! Thanks again guys for the input and advice!!

Thanks for the advice Thomas. The knife was made from an old chisel i found. I have a couple old railroad bolt i've annealed that i plan to practice on as well and a couple old lawnmower blades too. Speaking of, i wanted to ask if lawnmower blades were good material to practice on and/or make blades out of before i tried them. About getting the ashes out of the the pot, i had a serious brain fart when it came to that. I thought about it after i clayed in my dispursing pipe. I'm posting a couple pics of what it looks like after the mod and would appreciate any ideas. Just off the top of my head i was thinking about using my 4" cutting disk on my grinder to cut out a piece that can be taken in and out as needed. What do ya think?

Here is my first knife blade. It's not finished being shaped because i've been waiting on my belt sander to come in. It's not much compared to what i've seen on this site but i made it and i'm proud of it. Any and all comments and criticing is appreciated. Thanks!!

Greetings to All, I am new to both blacksmithing and this site and i'd like to say thanks for all the great info i've obtained here. I read a good deal of info before i built my first forge last weekend and decided to go with what seems to be a tried and true easily made forge for beginners.... The Brake Drum Forge!! I hit up a few different local brake/tire shops in my area to get the drums and got the rest of my material from a family members scrap pile. My Pops has a cutting torch and mig welder that i used to weld the whole thing up with and i have to say that i think it turned out pretty nice for my first rig. I used a little squirrel cage style fan and dryer vent to make my blower. The entire project cost me absolutely nothing to make except a little time and effort on my part. I fired this little baby up a few times and forged my first blade which is not impressive at all by the standard set here but its MINE!! After a little use i came to realize that my fire pot was to deep and i was having problems heating as much of the piece as i needed at any particular time. Also my fire was concentrated directly in the middle as i had nothing to dispurse the airflow from the center. So what i did was i took a piece of 2" pipe the length of the fire pot and saddled the center of one side to fit over my air hole in the center of the pot. Then i drilled holes and cut slits on the other side for a more evenly dispursed airflow. When i had a good fit, i used a refractory clay and vermiculite mix to clay in the fire pot thereby raising the bottom of the pot, creating a "nest" for my fire and spreading out the airflow to the full diameter of the pot. The clay is cureing as we speak and when it's done i'll post a couple of pics of the modification for opinions. Please let me know what ya'll think and if there is anything i could do to make it better. Any ideas as to how i can add a tray for extra fuel storage would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!! P.S. The top drum is on a hinge and can be opened fully and the knife is not finished being shaped and polished as i have been waiting on my belt sander to come in to finish it.

This is a great post. Being new to the art of blacksmithing i really had no clue as to what half the tools mentions in other forum were used for. This is a big help in identifying some general tools and there uses. Thanks!!

I just recently walked a length of track around my home and picked up a few RR bolts. I was wandering if anyone knew what the markings on the bolt head ment. Im pretty sure it was LB 01. Are the bolts made of the same steel as the spikes? which is to say, is it a guessing game? i was thinking of trying to make a blade with one. As i am new to smithing and i'm only practicing right now for the most part, it doesnt have to be the best quality steel but do yall think they are at least low carbon steel? Thanks!

Thanks for the replay Steve. Thats kinda what i did with my last piece but i wanted to be sure. Thanks again!

Hello to All, I'm new to this site and to smithing in general. I searched throughout this site and have read alot of great information on annealing, normalizing, hardening and tempering. I was wondering however, what do i do with an unfinished product at the end of the day when its time to turn in. Say for instance i have annealed a piece of steel, hot worked it as much as i could manage in the time i had, and now it's time to shut down the forge and put up for the day/night. Do i need to normalize the forementioned piece of stock before i shut down?, Should i go through the annealing process again?, Or can i just shut it down and set the unfinished product off to the side until the next chance i get to come back to it. I really don't want to start out with the right process only to ruine a half finished piece because i didn't do something as simple as normalizing or annealing and setting in ash or vermiculite to cool until its time to fire up the forge again. All info/advice is much appreciated. Thanks!!

Im just getting started at age 31. I've been pipe fitting, welding, brazing and the such since i was 14yrs old but i've been away from metal work for a few yrs now after having persued a career in nursing. Anyways, my Pops recently picked up leather working and started making knife sheaths, pistol holsters, ect and was trying his hand at making handles for cheap stamped blades he baught online. well i needed a hobby as i felt my hands have been idleing for to long and i missed metal working. So i started reading up on blacksmithing and blade making in particular and decided i would give it a go. I built my first brake drum forge last weekend after visiting several brake and tire shops to obtain a couple old brake drums. The rest of the material was salvaged from scrap piles belonging to family. My Pops has a mig welder that i welded everything up with. I'm glad to note that the entire undertaking cost me absolutely NOTHING except a little time and effort on my part. My Pops had a section of old RR track that i cut a section of for an anvil and i even found an old squirrel cage style fan while cleaning out my back shed that works beautifully as a blower after a fashion. I even have old anvil coming my way tomorrow thanks to a colleague i work with. Again NO charge. I don't know what kind of shape it's in but it's free and i'll take it. For those Newbies like me just starting out, talk to EVERYONE when you are starting out. You never know who will turn up with something u might need. I'd just like to say that so far this undertaking has been alot of fun for me and i appreciate all the great information and/or advice i have found on this site. Thanks All!!