FredW

The best advice I ever got was when coming home from a job out of town I asked why everybody was calling home to tell their wives they were coming home. My foreman said, "we'd rather not surprise our wives and her boyfriend. Sometimes it's best to not know everything." Fred

I think Charles McRaven did. I'll have to get my book out. I don't have his blacksmithing book but I have his book "Stonework" and I think he mentions it in there. I kinda like the idea of building a hewn log shop also. 3 Phase is very expensive, the power company here told me $58 per foot but if the lines run by the property they said they would just put transformers on the poles, no charge. Of course, you would still have to run it to your shop then buy all the necessary equipment to get it into and throughout your shop. Fred Warner

Harbison Walker in Lenexa Kansas is where I get mine. I do still get some things from Darrin Ellis but I get refractory from these guys cause it's cheaper. I did a local search for refractory products and got Harbison Walker. The dealer dosen't have a web page but they do have email. They may be able to find a dealer closer to you. Fred Warner

I am considering building a new forge shop of post and beam construction and stone. It is a lot of work but since I have access to timber and stone the material will be same as free. I've got three phase running next to the property so I am buying those cheap 3 phase tools. Already got a Baldor 10" pedistal grinder, 2hp, for $50. I like the stone because it is available and it looks great. It also is very strong and fire proof. I also got a friend with a sawmill, so the timber is a lot easier to make. It's very expensive if bought but you save in time to construct. If you got the resources available for any of these I'd go for as big as you can get it. Even if you move it will just add value to the property.

I made some refractory for a small foundry using sillica sand, fireclay (Hawthorn bond), Mizzou, perlite, and sawdust. The sawdust will burn out making the mix more insulating. Any kind of fireclay will work. I let it set up for a month befor firing. I then fire it as if it were ready to go. I melted some brass and had no cracks when done. Fred

Great book. I found it more helpful than "A Blacksmith Primer." I got mine on Amazon.com. Fred

I've been a member for a while. I am new to blacksmithing and am having a lot of fun, well my wife says I'm ate up. Anyway I just thought I would say hello from north crentral Missouri. Fred

I am willing to bet that the induction forge would cause less polution than a propane forge. It does use electricity and high frequency but it can run off a 220v circuit and since it would run just a few minutes a day compared to a few hours to a coal or propane forge it would be a lot cleaner and cheaper to run once you got past the cost of buying or building one. Here is a web page of a guy who has been working with induction melting, http://www.abymc.com/tmoranwms/Metal_Casting.html it also has some good links and other info. Fred

Induction forge. They get the metal to forge temp in less than a minute. They are a bit pricey but you could build one. Though they are also a bit complicated but doable. Fred