ErictheRed1990

Ok fair enough, and as for deadlines there are none , at this point it's all for my personal knowledge base. Haha there are still body shops around ...in some places anyways . Thanks for the info so far there guys ! And I'll definitely look into that book

For forming sheet not a ton , mostly forming small troughs for pig and horse feeding , but I've been doing farrier work, blacksmithing for about 8 years or so with a bit of tinkering in blades...mostly attempts lol BUT that's another issue . Sorry for the vagueness , I was hoping to attempt full plate metal armor (like 17th century knight style?) For the purpose of ACL style stuff, I'm not sure about what gauges of metal is need either is another issue I'm looking at.. Thanks for any info

Hey all, so after fixing some friends gear on their plate armor I've decided to try to shape some of my own.... now ... I have all the gear from other projects... but opinion wise, where to begin? What pieces do people find the easiest to shape?

that looks awesome man, i like it!

when i was working as an insulator i was up on a scissor lift up with the supports for a multi ton mobile crane and the welders that had done the job on the supports for it, had absolute garbage popcorn welding in random spots and they called it safe yea, the next day 4 scissor lifts were lifting a cross beam that was going to be the crane and when they put weight on it the entire end came crashing down and in turn dropped the cross beam on the 4 scissor lifts and collapsed them all, luckily noone was killed, its crazy when people try to cut corners with jobs that concern others safety,

well i was the same, but if you start dont start with big things like swords and axes and armor, start with smaller things to get a feel for working with the metal and how to form it. i dont know about if its better to go to school or not myself, but where are you from itd be easier if people were to know atleast the country so people from there can give advice on schools. . Eric

ahh ok well then ill have to go out and get some of this borax stuff and try again! thanks alot for the help!

well i read somewhere that a silica sand works so i have silica sand which i ground down so its finer (by hand )lol. but ive seen stuff called "borax" in a grocery store its a detergent... thats not the same stuff is it??? but i never thought about the air flow coming UP will cool the metal i usually bury it pretty deep in the coal .... that could be a huge problem right there for me, but i have the shop vac on a ball valve so i can control it... i found that out the hard way when i started .....bloody burning chucks of (then charcoal) flying at me i looked like a retarded chicken dancing around hahaha. hmmmm for the first while i wasnt hitting too hard... buuuut as time went on i started to hit it quite a bit harder.. lol anger eh?. but ok thanks alot for the tips and advice guys.

Now i know im doing something wrong but i cant seem to figure this out and its starting to ....XXXXXXX me off...lol at times it seems the metal will not get hot enough.. the coke burns well, and i have the metal buried in it and as sealed in there so little air escapes as possible...? but! it sometimes wont heat up enough..( im using a shop vac too :/) , BUT when it does heat up i pull it on out and when it hammer it it looks to be welded... but when i let it cools theres a VERY obvious seperation between the two pieces... any ideas on what im doing wrong here?

well man ! comon they are Professional look at em, id trust em! ;)

obviously i was in over my head no point denying it, so i have been reading about it ...starting to.. lol thanks for the advice guys , more fun to read and do it right then end up killin myself yes? but i have another question, it being, i read about sand casting with silica sand... now..I use silica sand at my job with pools... its a ...whiteish harsh sand...is that the same kind mentioned?

well nah i wasnt trying to reinvent anything i was trying to think of a new/easier way to make a more... traditional forge. i was looking for info online about scandinavian forges (viking age) but i couldnt find anything... so i kinda though this idea might work. lol

whatd be a good idea for a firepot thats... wider and more shallow then a brake drum that i could put together myself?

Wow.....thats probably the most indepth explanation ive ever seen about this... lol thank you very much

i have been playing with the idea of building a forge out of refractory brick and refractory cement a 9x9 platform with a ...dip in the middle to make a pit for the coal with small holes drilled in the bottom to allow air from the blower.. now if anyone understands this? lol how would i connect a hand crack blower to the underside? making a sealed tube of brick for the air to travel through? bolting a fitting for pipes underneath? any tips would be appreciated.