Robert Conner

It's a start, I've worked with metal off and on for years. I'd love to go up and take some classes there, but I don't have the time with work and everything

Yep Rob, Scott. Good guy, lots of connections.

Just my two cents, if it was used for heating it is most likely anthracite or close to it. But, like everyone else has said, if it heats and doesn't take all day to get lit and maintain it will work just fine.

Welcome, I'm from Sanford. Good luck on getting started.

Well it's a small world, I live in Sanford as well. If you need a hand setting up give me a shout. I have a friend that lives in New Hill that does wood work for a living, massive shop deals mostly in quartersawn lumber, but he's looking to start smithing as well.

Hello and welcome, from Sanford, NC.

My name is Robert and I'm from Sanford, NC. I've been working with metal on and off for the past five years or so and last year get setup where I could start smithing. I haven't been able to do a whole lot because of commitments to other things going one. I am a Civil War reenactor and I also volunteer at a railroad museum near here. Those two things alone eat up most of my time, but this year I'm carving out some time to make a little bit of extra side money, and taking a bit of a break from the steam locomotive I work with regularly. The first two pictures are the forge I have now. The 3rd one is my first project, and the last two are the forge I'm going to build for this year and the tuyre that will go in the bottom.

Welcome! I live up in Sanford, so you're about an hour away from me. There's several smiths over your way. The former head blacksmith at Old Salem now volunteers at the show up in Denton.

Looks good. Good luck on getting a new place.

I've always been a bit skiddish about heat and anything that's galvanized. If you smell anything that is unfamiliar, get away from it. I honestly think you're safe enough, the only place to watch is the very top. But I must say I'm envious of the size, I'm compelled to go build one myself now.

This is the forge I have for the time being. The fire pot is one of those outdoor fire pit deals that belongs to my parents. This entire setup was free to me. The firebrick that lines the bottom of the pit is out of a steam locomotive, they were the broken ones that had to be thrown out. The blast pipe is a boiler flu tube out of another locomotive. The anvil is a 93 pound Peter Wright that came from the railroad I volunteer at, it was free as well. I've used this setup a few times and it works very well at heating, the only drawback is I can't work the middle of a piece because of how low the fire sits in the pot. I have a plan for another one built out of a 55 gallon barrel and I'm hoping to have it finished in another month or so. As you can tell from the pictures, I haven't worked at the forge for over 6 months and it has been very wet this winter so haven't been able to rake either. Edit: Forgot to mention the coal is free as well. ;)