SmoothBore

That's exactly what I was thinking ..... And I suspect that it's true of most things. .

Many times, you'll find that Bearing Balls are Chrome plated, to enhance their SURFACE hardness, and wear characteristics. Plain Carbon Steel balls, lubed with a bit of Graphite Grease ( Never-Seize ) will work like a charm. .

In my experience, an adequate Shop Space is much like Sasquatch, ... everyone's heard about it, but few can claim first hand knowledge. ;) At 42' by 52', my Shop is big enough ( barely ), but it goes through cycles of clutter, followed by periods of ruthless :rolleyes: "clean out". A lean-to type Tractor Shed / Steel Storage would be a very useful addition, ... but I fear my ladder climbing days are long since past, ... and I'm unwilling to pay someone else to do such a simple job. So I'm keeping an "eye out" for some sort of "pre-fab" solution. .

OK, ... here's what I'd suggest ..... Lay your oil drum on it's side, and make 1 cut, end to end, starting at the edge near the 2" bung. Now, ... starting at the ends of your first cut, ... cut 1/4 of the way around the ends, ... in each direction. Viewed from the round end, ... with the 2" bung at the 12 o'clock position, ... you should now have a cut from12 o'clock to 9 o'clock, and from 12 o'clock to 3 o'clock, at both ends, ... and the side cut from top to bottom, at the 12 o'clock point. Assuming your oil drum has the typical 'stiffening" rings, ... draw a line from where the cut ends, at the 3 o'clock points at one end, to the 9 o'clock points at the opposite end. This is where you'll bend out the "wings" of your hood, ... but first, you'll need to nick through the stiffening rings, so that the "wings" can bend out on a fairly straight line. This should yield a hood that's about 3' square. Now, ... rather than cut your roof, ... cut your "side draft" pipe into what was the bottom of the drum, and turn an elbow up from there, so that it clears the edge of your roof. Hang the hood at the desired height, from chains attached overhead. If you want, you can now cut away half of what was the top of the drum, ... thereby eliminating the 2" bung portion, and making a fairly straight bottom edge.. If air flow across the forge is still an issue, it's a simple job to hang flat sheet metal from the back edge, or from the discharge end of the hood. That should come in well under budget. :) Good luck.

It looks to me like the ridge is vented, and I also see what looks like vent fan louvers in the gable end wall.

Certainly wood is the most comfortable, and practical material for all the hammers used in the Smithy, and for MOST other applications, ... however I do prefer a 24 oz. "Estwing" framing hammer for rough carpentry, and roofing. .

It might be what's known as : Sub-bituminous coal - This is a medium soft coal that contains much less moisture than lignite and is not nearly as crumbly. Like lignite, its primary use is in the generation of electricity. The carbon content of sub-bituminous coal runs from 35%-45% and its heat value generally ranges from 8,000-13,000 Btu's per pound. Personally, I wouldn't care what it was, as long as the price was right, and it worked OK.

Although I find the durability of most Rust-Oleum finishes disappointing, ... their Rusty Metal Primer is a first class product. It penetrates and seals deeply pitted rust, or weathered cast iron, ... and holds up well, for extended periods. That being said ..... Mill scale is really not the same thing as deeply pitted rust, ... and is easily removed. This is just my opinion, ;) ... but rather than trying to cut corners, I get more satisfaction from doing the best possible job ... regardless of how long it takes. .

For what it's worth ..... I would "skew" the ends of the "staples" so that the mounting holes did not fall in line with the grain of the wood, ... and make them longer, too. This would spread the load, ... making the wood less likely to split.

Reminds me of a good one ..... When the nervous passenger asks the Pilot of the damaged aircraft, "How far will this plane take us" ? "All the way to the scene of the crash". Who says there are no stupid questions ? :P .

Although many "production" machining jobs have gone offshore, Tool & Die Maker jobs will always be available in the United States. And the same goes for Welders, because so much of that work is performed "on site". If you have the ability and opportunity, an Engineering Degree will keep you employed, in high paying positions, for as long as you choose to work. If that's not going to happen, then a good Trade School is a far better choice than any kind of "specialized" apprenticeship. I doubt there are more than half-a-dozen full-time Sword-smiths in the entire country. That's definitely a HOBBY, ... not a career. .

To me, this is the essence of being a "Blacksmith". If you're not making your own tools, ... then you're an "Artisan / Fabricator / Farrier / Armorer" ... or whatever. Not that there's anything wrong with any of that, ... only that it's a "specialty", ... and those who practice them exclusively, are truly "specialists". While, ... at least in my vernacular, :rolleyes: ... a true "Blacksmith", is a "generalist", ... who has the knowledge and ability, to do a wide variety of work. I think too many "specialists", allow their tools ( and current, comfortable skill level ) to define who and what they are, ... rather than continuing to learn and grow ..... .

The key to controlling the speed of an air cylinder, ... is in controlling the EXHAUST. There are a variety of "quick exhaust" fittings that will help you with that.

My first thought as well, ... was "Don't hit it too hard". Just enough so that the flux, scale, dross, or whatever you like to call the surface impurities, are ejected from the weld surfaces. .

Viewing it strictly as a fabrication job, ... I'd start with a short length of 5" "box" tube, ... and form the end caps from 7" squares of plate, notched at the corners to form the bevels, ... and weld it all together. .

Here in Southern Pennsylvania, many old stone house and barn foundations are made from the native "Iron Stone". There are several Iron Furnaces around the area, that date from before the American Revolution. This Iron Ore is literally "rusty" on the surface, or has rust streaks. A friend of mine has a 3 story stone house built from this ore, ... and it's impossible to get a radio, TV, or cell phone signal, without an outside antenna. :o .

If you're lucky, ... as you get older, you start to differentiate between what you CAN do, ... and what you SHOULD do. You probably CAN forge that chunk into something that maybe you can use. But in my opinion, ... you SHOULD stick it in a lathe, face and tap the bottom on center, ... then turn it around and taper the other end. Then you'll have something you can use forever. ( I recommend tapping the bottom at 1/2" or larger, rather than turning a shoulder and pin on it, because it gives you so much more versatility in how you mount the mandrel. )

For about a decade I was the Manufacturing Engineer in an Auto Parts manufacturing plant. We forged about 15,000 Exhaust Valves every day, from a non-magnetic stainless alloy. Valves are forged in 2 consecutive strokes of the press. The 500 to 1,000 ton Press, "extrudes" the roughly 1.125" dia. billet, into what we called the "onion". ( Basically, a "stem" with a "bulb" on the end. ) The onion" is then transferred into the "coining die", which flattens the "bulb" into the familiar valve head shape. As a general rule, the billet enters the first stage of the die at 2100 degrees Fahrenheit, and about 7 seconds later, is ejected from the Coining Die, at approximately 1900 degrees F. The next step is an 8 hour "soak" at 1400 degrees F, ... for the purpose of Stress Relief, ... before being allowed to cool to ambient. And yes, ... all un-machined surfaces, remain a dull gray color. As stated elsewhere, there are more than a Brazillion :P different Stainless Alloys, ... so, ... as always, ... "results may vary". ;) .

OK, ... for now, I'll assume we're talking about single speed AC motors, ... ( however, your reference to a "controller" give rise to some doubt about that assumption. ) The first photo shows us that there is no keyway showing, in the end of the motor shaft. But there does appear to be one showing in the fan bore, ... ( although I'm uncertain about that, because a keyway would not normally be positioned under the fin, ... but rather, between the fins, to facilitate access to a set screw. But this is also uncertain, due to the thin wall of the fan hub. Perhaps the keyway had to be positioned in an unconventional fashion, to keep from compromising the strength of the hub, while maintaining a light weight fan. ) If, in fact there is a keyway in the fan hub, then it's safe to assume that there's a corresponding Woodruff Key, in the Motor Shaft. The replacement Motor could use either a Woodruff Key, ... or a straight keyway. I can't make out anything from the photo of the spec plate, ... but it probably doesn't matter all that much anyway. What's important, is what do you want from the NEW motor. We need more information about that, before going forward. .

Drilling 4 small holes, ( maybe 1/4" ) in such a way that the radius of the hole forms a radius in the corner of the Hardy Hole, will make the job much easier.

The discharge from a Vacuum Cleaner, or Shop Vac is more than adequate, ... and a simple damper, or "throttle" gives you infinite control. I use an old Clothes Dryer, that I gutted, ... retaining only the stripped out cabinet and the blower. And redirected the vent pipe up to a homemade "Throttle Body". ( made from a 1 1/2" pipe "tee" and a plug ) The Fire Pot and Tuyere are from a little "Rivet Forge", ... and the Fire Pot sits right on top of the old Dryer cabinet. I pulled a lot of the bits and pieces from existing "stock" :P laying around the Shop, ... and the old Dryer had already served us well for about 20 years, ... so the only thing I had to actually "buy" was the pipe "T" and plug. .

I suspect many of those who seem to be "trolling" for bargains, ... or handouts, ... are relatively young, and are just beginning to learn the ways of the "real" World. Soon enough, they'll figure it out, ... and begin to understand the difference between cost, and value. But more important than that basic understanding, ... is one that only seems to come with experience. "You can trade TIME for MONEY, ... but you can't trade MONEY for TIME." So, obviously, ... TIME is the more valuable commodity. You can always make more money ..... .

Another thing to be aware of, ... is that burning vinyl emits some very TOXIC fumes.

I have NEVER encountered a situation where it was necessary to run the Acetylene over 6 PSI

Leather Dye will do the trick, ... and exposure to Ultra-Violet Light ( Sunlight ) during the soaking process, will help "set" the color. .