Legg86

hey guys, I'm a new guy, though i have posted a few times before, namely with help finding a gas forge. Anyway, so far I've been making little j hooks (also courtesy of this forum), s hooks, really ugly tongs, etc, and i decided it was a good idea to try to expand my boundaries a bit, so i tried my hand at forge welding. I had some Harris 600 flux laying around in the barn so i decided "what the XXXXX, flux is flux" and gave it a shot. on the first try i actually got a successful weld. so far i can only make single piece welds (like chain links), I think I'm too slow with multiple pieces from the froge and the weld wont bond, but im working on it . anyway, now that i have a new skill learned, can anyone give me a few pointers on forge welding? (why is borax bad, for instance, what type of flux should i really be buying, how on earth am i supposed to get two pieces out of the fire and hammer the darn things with only two hands?) also, any simple project ideas would be really great, as much as i like making dinner bells and hooks, they get kinda boring after awhile. thanks!

Man you're not kidding, 1/2-3/4 is no problem for me, but my 3# hammer and 100# anvil (and my shoulder) have a tough time with 1" and bigger. This was the largest piece I've worked on so far, and I was doing very little movement per heat. It was just mild (welders?) steel and it's not tempered or treated cause I don't know how yet, but it holds an edge ok. I'm going to keep it for awhile. I actually made it to more easily cut my 1/4" stock for my also just created rivet form. I would have used the edge of my old Peter wright anvil but the poor thing must have got run over in its past life, the edges (and face) are all chipped and dented. Is there some way I can smooth the face? I'm not a machinist, but I think I Might be able to grind it smooth...

Hey guys, from the last couple of posts of mine y'all might remember me as newbking . I started, and finished, a hot cut hardy and while it actually works (I was surprised), it looks like xxxx and I want to make a better one. This is how I made it, much thanks of someone could tell me where I went wrong: Started with 3/4" round stock (all I had), about 8" long. Squashed it to about 5ish" and 1 1/2" (my uppsetting makes the thing bend constantly though, am I doing something wrong here?) Tapered a square end and formed a shoulder on one side (I couldn't get more than that, my hammer squashed the other lips as I formed them). Formed a makeshift blade and finished it on the grinder. So it works, it won't fall out, and it only sticks a little, but it's pretty bad lol. Can someone explain what I Should have done instead?

Thanks for all the ideas guys, this is going to keep me busy for weeks/months!

Hmm good point. Next project! Thanks lol.

Hey all, I'm about as "new guy" as new guys get, but I finally got most of the tools and materials together to start a project. First thing I tried was a pair of tongs(since I dont have any), but with much cursing and lots of propane wasted, I gave up and did an easier first project. I made a nail! It's a big ass nail, but a nail. Skills I learned: drawing, rounding, upsetting the head, making a point. Now I need another (very) simple project to start expanding my skill base, hopefully one that educates me on how to build more needed tools (hot cut hardy, will mild steel work?), tongs ( without a bending fork, I don't have that either) , etc. any guidance would be very helpful.

Wow ya I think I'm just going to get the diamondback. Maybe the 2 burner economy model. Thanks a ton guys, I really appreciate the information. I'll keep y'all updated

Guy says its an NC Tool co model 3. I looked at their site but don't see actual model numbers. He's asking 475 but the dang things are only a little more than that new, do forges really retain their value that much?

Lol ok thanks guys! I appreciate it. I'll update as soon as I find out more info on it, all I have right now is a picture. When buying a used gas forge, is there anything I should look out for or be wary of? Any advice at all would be very welcome.

Hey guys, I have absolutely zero experience. Like, none. I built a "little" charcoal forge and got some iron hot enough to bang on, and it was huge fun, but now I'm looking at a gas farrier forge on Craigslist and I was hoping to get a little info on dual burner forges in general, specifically "farrier" forges. Will they get hot enough for small projects? I'll post the brand of the forge as soon as the seller tells me.

Thanks for the idea matt, I think I might actually make some of that and try it out. I took apart one of those old electric leaf blowers and siphoned off some of the air to get a consistant airflow to the forge, but I Really don't like dragging out my generator just to get the small amount of air that I need. I don't want to hijack my own thread, but I have a couple of other questions too: 1) where did you guys get your first pair of tongs? I dont Know any blacksmiths so I can't exactly scrounge, nor do I know what I really need so I dont want to order a 40-60 dollar tool that might be totally useless or easy to fashion. 2) at the moment I'm just playing around learning how to hit metal without doing it at an angle, and I'm banging on old rail road spikes I find along the tracks close to my farm. there are no steel mills within a decent distance to me, does anyone have any other suggestions on where to get stock?

I was able to put my cobbled up forge together for less than a bought one (far less), and so far its working decently, worth the money that I paid so that I could learn what I'm doing, at least. No real point to getting too deep into tools/equipment before I know how use them lol. and it's always great fun to "build your own", no matter what it is. As for coal, Ive looked around where I live, and i cant really find anything less than a couple hours drive or more, so for the tinkering that I do, charcoal works now that I've gotten my temperature problem fixed. (my firepot was too small, I wasnt using enough fuel, air pressure was too low/high and was highly variable, etc.) Now I just need to learn how to build a good charcoal fire : )

Thanks for the replies! Ya the "lump charcoal" has some really huge pieces, I let them burn down a bit into smaller pieces before I tried any forging. Next time I'm gonna cut them up. As for the foot pump, I think volume of air is the issue, I'm gonna try to make something with more consistent airflow.

Hello all , I'm Extremely new, this is my first forge, and today was my frist time really banging on hot metal (rail road spike i picked up, not sure if it matters, but was very pitted by rust), and i Couldnt get the spike any hotter than a cherry red color. I'm fairly certain it's my choice of "blower", but I wanted to run the whole design by people who actually know what they are doing lol. It's an old rusty firepit I had laying around, with about 6" of fireclay bult up from the bottom to make a level surface. The depression for the make shift firepot was molded with a funnel, so it's possible it's way too steep. I drilled and filed a one inch hole in the bottom of the pit (holy XXXX that was a job, I'm certain there's a better tool than what I used, but after about two hours I got it done) and placed a floor plate for the blower/ash trap to attach to. most of the piping is black iron, but I ran out, so the ash trap is galvanized (painted on the outside, but it didnt get too hot, so im not worried about it). My blower, for the moment, is yes, an air mattress foot pump. My fuel is lump charcoal. I would say I'm not getting enough air, but i can litterly blast little pieces of flaming coals (finger knuckle sized, no less) out of the firepot a couple of feet away, So I don't really know. Any help/ advice would be appreciated! Edit: please disregard forge placement, Im working on something more permenant (tomorrow's project).

I am just starting to collect a few tools (mostly from craigslist), but pretty much all your standard farm tools/ gunsmithing tools, and one 3lb crosspeen hammer. I'm currently on my way to pick up a PW anvil. I have a shop vise, grinder, box fans, etc and building a forge. What I Don't have are hammers, tongs, and anvil tools.