dustyjim

This anvil recently sold at an auction house called MGS auctions here in SA.I do not knwo what the seller paid but a week later it is on ebay for sale again. So i think they might be trying to turn a profit.

On 6/24/2011 at 6:57 PM, Frosty said:

That'd be the top burn semi-direct method. Do you know what your ratio f wood to charcoal yield is?
When I make charcoal I usually use the indirect method and burn junk wood for the heat.
The quality of the charcoal is close enough to the same as to not worry about.
Thanks for the pics and description.

i have been using aus hard wood (stringy bark, red gum and red box) i split the timber down so it no more than 50mm thick and all about the same size. if i cut about 1.5 drums full of wood, when the wood is burnt it fills the drum up to the top.

On 6/24/2011 at 7:00 PM, ThomasPowers said:

Gee my charcoal spits and sparks when it's damp and is quite polite when it's bone dry.

(Of course the mesquite is quite "pitchy" which cause trouble too but is not water soluble.)

What do you think the rain is doing for you? BTW We haven't had any rain this year---well 0.1" since Jan 1st and that was snow...

i dont acctually wet mine because my charcoal burns without any spits an sparks. a blacksmith that i was talking to said that if your charcoal spits and sparks leave it out in the weather to get rained on. different timbers make different charcoal and they react differently when burnt.

hi guys

would this anvil be a good buy at $990 au

this is the description that was given.

overall length is 1metre x 150mm wide x 360mm high. hitting face is 630mm x 150mm. with 40 x 40 mm hardie hole. anvil is set into 1/4 44 gall drum with concrete making it extremely stable, overall height is 740mm. side of anvil stamped 4 Hundred weights cant see 1/2 hundred weights if any due to scratches etc. and 15 lbs. making this approx. 463lbs.or heavier , anvil in good condition.

VERY NICE! how long before these items have you been forging?
Josh

a couple of guys asked how i make my charcoal. this is the fast burn way of doing it.

you need a metal drum with a lid that can be sealed.i use a 200L drum.
make sure there is no holes in your drum you dont want it to draw any air other than from the top.
start a fire in the drum keep adding small amounts of wood untill your fire gets going. what happens is the wood catches on fire and burns for a few minutes

but the flames burn all the oxygen in the drum so the flame goes out and the wood smoulders ( lots of smoke )

when the wood has smouldered down

add more wood

keep the process going until the drum is full

when the drum is full and the last lot of wood that was put in has burnt down put the lid on and seal the drum and leave it for 24hrs to cool down. what you should end up with is a drum full of charcoal.


try and use the same type of timber so your charcoal is all the same.

it took about 3 hrs to do a 200L drum full but if you have more than one drum you can make as much as you want in 3 hrs.

if your charcoal spits, cracks and pops when in the forge lay the charcoal out in the weather and let it get rained on and that should fix the problem.

there are a few other ways of making charcoal when i make it the other ways i will take some pics and show how its done otherwise google making charcoal and there is all the info needed there.

i hope the way i explained this is understandable

a few more things i have made

tongs made from BP0099


coat hook

jig i made to do the heart on the coat hook

small turtle


hawk out of a rail pin and the handle is a pice of broken garden fork handle that i cut down with a draw knife

Hi Dusty, The idea is good, however I don't like a battery that close to open fire too many fumes happening for my liking. play safe.

G'Day Dusty ,

Nice lookin' forge . Aside from the other tip's youse ave been given , here's mine .

Find a brake disc that'll fit inta the brake drum youse ave , fill in the space between drum & disc with some clay ( makes it air tight ) beg / borrow a cast iron stink pipe vent cover that'll fit inta the " pot " section of the disc , it should sit about 50 mm below the flat of disc .

Now you ave'a " small " firepot ta work outta , if youse need a " bigger fire " lift the " grate " up higher

Set up this way the brake disc is your consumable part so when it burns out ( & it will burn out at some time ) it's easy to replace

I'll try get out inta shop taday & take some pix of mine for your ta see what i's mean .


Dale Russell

Very nice work!!! I have never used charcoal, what is the process of making it if you don't mind?

I suppose one of the snails is for the little one peaking from behind the anvil?

could you show how u make charcoal please.
thanks

Gday mate lol

well after building my forge and making some charcoal it was time to heat up some metal
first up i made a poker and coal rake for the forge i finished them with wax and oil.






then i made a snail for my sister then my young bloke wanted one and then my mum so here are my first attempts at snails.



and a dragonfly made from a rail pin

I cut back the lip on the drum so its only 20mm higher than the top of the plate now insted of the 40mm it was befor. a mate has a few 20mm thick firebricks for me so i will sit them around the drum and that will give me a level surface so that should make fire matinance easer.
thanks for the advice guys.

here are some pics of the forge fired up with my home made charcoal



i put this rail pin in the forge to see how long it would take to get hot, it dident take long then it started melting so i think it gets hot enough

this is some of the charcoal i made

I like it! That's quite a bit nicer than most brake drum forges I've seen. I probably would've shortened the "downspout" a bit to make room for a bigger ash bucket. That's my only real criticism. (I will assume you know what you're doing with regard to the wiring. I don't.)

Gday another aussie here. i am 2hrs west of sydney, where the race track is on the hill .
new to blacksmithing, i have enroled to do a tafe coarse
http://www.wit.tafensw.edu.au/course-information/course-details/?id=1625
i just have to wate untill they have enough numbers to run the coarse. with a bit of luck i will find a blacksmith not to fare away that is willing to teach a newby a few things. untill then the internet is my teacher.

Jim

G'day cobber! welcome to IFI. get in touch with MOONY , Glenn Moon in N.S.W. and Dale Russel in Victoria. what a pair! also you need to link up with the OZ roundup here on IFI. This is the best site for blacksmith info going, all you gotta remember is be NICE! Never type cuss words in chat, and always respect the old f***s.

That is beter than my first setup. Is that blower very loud?

well after heaps of reading and looking at pics of forges, it was time to put my reserch into practice so out with the stick welder and angle grinder and my forge build begun.
the table top is 6mm plate and the frame is 40x40x3mm angle.



brake drum of a van, the grate is 5mm plate, 6mm pice of plate with the pipe welded in to it to cover the holes in the drum, the air pipe is 65x3mm stainless.



air blower out of a car.



i built the forge so the drum and air pipe can be pulled out so its a bit easer to move around if i need to.







so thats my forge. i fired it up yesterday arvo but dident get any pics of it in action and i ran out of light today so i will try and get some pics tomorrow.

cheers Jim

Welcome to the group
Where is N.S.W.?

Gday peoples

i am new to blacksmithing but i am learning a lot from this site and all the info on the net. i have spent the last month
reading as much info on blacksmithing as my brain can manage. well last weekend i thought it was time to build a coal forge so i can start heating up some metal. i have also made a propane burner for a gas forge, i just havent made the forge for it. i picked up an old beaten up anvil for $50 at a garage sale. and have been getting a few more hammers and tools together.

it will be good chating to you guys.

cheers Jim