Kendall P

Hi folks, Im sat in my newly built forge, with some very cool resin blanks i want to sand cast with aluminium - and possibly later some aluminium/bronze alloy. Ive made myself my own casting flasks and im familliar with the methodology of sand casting. Here is my question. Im a cheap skate (on a budget) and im wondering if its possible to mix my own small batch of home made "bodgers special" oil bonded sand that i can mix up to do some cheap experiments? Have any of you tried to make something to this effect without the use of a mixer? - what ingrediants did you find worked best?

You need to increase the height of your flu outside - also consider a different approach to a hood over the intake? with a purpose built monster like that - you shouldnt have any smoke issues.

Id loose the ring - but thats just personal preferance - it`s a lovely looking peice with or without.

Either way, welcome to iforgeiron - hope you find the site helpfull and enjoyable. As an idea to a first make saleable item you might want to consider these.. although practice allot more and then obviously make them way better than mine here. - You will usually find them up on etsy somewhere - and in many different designs. - Stick with the wall hooks - the j`s are not as popular.

Really good post - will also join my christmas list.

Unfortunatly ive yet to be able to get myself a copy of Moxon`s but im suprised it got a referance, When i checked in Bealer`s Art of Blacksmithing he just referances Moxon`s as containing a shortlist of designs listed being indicative of the start of the industrial revolution. Im aware that the water cooled system wasnt always so, my point i suppose, was that the casting of a suitable tuyere would of been more problomatic than perhaps the production of bottom blast design for colonial purposes - i mean bottom blasts didnt always have the clinker breaker - but as you say side blasts didnt always have a cast tuyere. It would be interesting for me to find the point of origin for the first bottom blast design, something ill definatly be trying to find more out on. Thats a neat idea about the climate though - definatly would of made large water bosh`s a pain in the ass to deal with.

All the old forges local to me in England are of the side blast water cooled tuyere arrangement. The old estate forges dateing back to the 1700`s are all brick/stone built and set up this way. My only thought is that if you didnt have access to the materials and machinary to cast and make a side blast tuyere it would be easier to manufacutre and mass produce in the early days a bottom blast system and still use the old brick built design for the forge useing the brick chimney as that of a fire flu which would "suck" the smoke out of area given a long enough flu to create a decent backdraft. Ive seen pictures of old american brick built smithys that have looked simmilar to the older forges of europe set up as bottom blast systems with a side draft chimney. John Eastman (American Painter, fl 1842-1880) The Blacksmith's Shop 1863 Here you can see what looks to be a brick built construction with small side draft flu - I see no water bosh to cool any sort of tuyere - so its possible that this could be a bottom blast system useing a brick build chimney as a side draft extraction. A Photo from Bedesbach America where blacksmiths demonstrate horse shoeing and other smithing in an old historical smithy. Looking closely we can see a raised brick/stone built plinth holding the forge fire, again no back bosh or side blast tuyere to be seen - just the bellows set to presumably a bottom blast system with a side draft flu set at the shop rear wall. The European system designed and produced the rear watercooled side blast tuyere to allow for a smithy to remain functioning for longer periods of industrialised labour during the industrial revolution and age 1750- mid to late1900`s (They still produce them in england even now //anvils.co.uk/products/view/171?cat=19 It is my thought that perhaps the easier set up of bottom blast side draft smithys where set in place due to their ease of manufacture and build in a early more colonial setting. It would be difficult to transport heavy materials to frontier areas to set up shops of a more standardised and perminant european design and build. Some early mass produced forges for farms / smithys and farriers in the states where of a quick to produce underblast designs for small jobs and the frontier lifestyle as you can see in this old advert. Sadly after a quick search through my referance material I am also coming up stumped for anything that makes mention of a real history. The unfortunate problem with blacksmithing is that the bulk of its european history has only been recorded with any accuracy in the last 200 years and even then not with much aim towards a historical preservation untill the last 70 years. This is all just wild speculation really so please feel free to reply back and call me an idiot.

Yeah - - there seems mention of a chemical process to seperate out the elements but its so labour intensive its apparently not even worth the hastle - thankyou anyway!

Im very new to the site so please bare with me! I am currently doing a spot of casting and whilest i am able to get my hands on lead free casting pewter i have been given a fairly large supply of what looks to be the older lead based pewter casting metal. Now im not keen on useing the product as is, and was wondering if any of you had any handy tips for a bit of back yard refineing which would help me remove the lead from this completely? Or is it just a case of add more tin untill the mix is lowerd? Ive never been great with science so if somone could break it down in layman's terms id really appreciate it! - thankyou!