Ridgewayforge

My anvil stand... 2 6x6 posts 4 feet long, sunk 26" in the ground and bolted/screwed together. its solid!

A picture might be of use. I think that it is the draft. I think the hot air is going out the top, but the rainy cooled air is being pulled towards the forge from the lower regions.

I am putting the final touches on my shop, which is a wooden lean-to. It is 12X10, and at the top of the lean to it is 12 feet tall. I am noticing that when it begins to rain heavily, even if it is raining straight down, the rain curves and begins to fall inside the lean to where the 12 foot peak is. Why is this happening? Is there a suction created inside the shop? What is a good solution to this problem? Thanks, Patrick

Hi, I am looking at purchasing an anvil, and this showed up nearby on CL. In your opinion, is it a good choice for a first anvil?

Thanks, Andy! It works really well. I'm burning it with charcoal initially, and a wood fire goes on top to MAKE charcoal at the same time as I burn it.

Hi all! I wanted to share with you my most recent endeavor. I built this permanent charcoal side-blast forge. Its my first time using a side blast, and I really like it much better than bottom blast. Also, I like the charcoal as well. Much nicer to deal with, uses much less air. We had a downed lealand cypress tree, downed in the ice storms. I saw the straight wood and knew what I would do. I cut them to equal lengths, then build a log cabin out of them. This I filled with dirt, and then build a side blast forge on top of it. But, enough description, on to the photographic evidence! Please give me any and all criticism and advice!

Looks great! What are you burning in it? Coal?

Is the weight stamp in lbs or in hundredweight?

Looks like a champion Whirlwind firepot. good stuff, right there. Supposed to be supreme when paired up with a 400 blower.

I would like to seek some more advice. I'm almost finished my forge, and am going with a side blast style. Its not going to be fancy, just a pipe leading into the heart of the fire. My Champion 400 blower is more than enough for a wood fired forge, and I am curious as to whether a one inch pipe will reduce the air flow enough. The blower has a two inch outlet, and I could only find a one inch black pipe. Given the material, will a one inch tuyere be enough?

I am figuring on it being hot..my start was in a campfire, and it fueled my passion for this art. Basically, what I am suggesting is the same as what Glenn is saying, I think, only instead of finding a 55 gallon drum, building it out of timber from my woods. I am thinking of trying basically a whole in the ground forge, but build into a table so that the fire is at my height. Would a side-blast or a bottom blast work better?

What did you make them out of, and I'm still trying to ponder what, if anything could be an issue with them being shaped this way. The way I figure it, they've been done the other way for a long time, and why hasn't this style caught on?

I am preparing to construct a second forge- This one, for burning raw wood. I have a good supply of hardwood drops from a flooring company nearby, as well as some cordwood that I can use. I plan to use it in conjunction with a Champion 400 blower. My question is, how do I construct the forge bed to A) Contain the wood B) Convert the raw wood most rapidly to embers and C) Keep radiant heat from the flames down? I was thinking of have a deep firepot, perhaps a foot deep, by a foot circular, and having an opening about 2/3 of the way down for the metal. So, it would be like a chiminy pipe with the air being bottom blast and the metal stuck 2/3 of the way down. I am planning on making it out of soil. I know there is a better way, please critique my idea before I begin, and tell me where I might improve!

That's a unique idea, how is their gripping strength when compared with other tongs?

Dan, you bring up a huge point: If anything, there might be a pair of tongs or something like that I could try and sell before anything else. But, you're right. A vise is a technically advanced and not easily duplicated machine. An anvil is big ole rock. Tongs are just hinged bars. I'll be keeping my vise, thanks for talking me out of a potentially horrible decision!

This is a lot of sound advice, especially that about selling something permanent to buy something transitory. This makes a whole lot of sense. I suppose I will have a go at charcoal and wood before selling anything. Thanks for the advice, I am very much enlightened now on the true worth of a post vise!

Charcoal is an option that I might pursue, So I have been thinking about how to do it without building a retort burner. I will be spending much of my time working over the summer, trying to pay off some money I borrowed from my parents. So, really I am limited to what I have on hand. I know generally how to work a hole in the ground charcoal retort, but some of the complexities I need to work out. My first batch of coal I got from Craigslist, free Anthracite from someone's basement. Not the cleanest, but it was hot.

Greetings, I own a 4" Iron City Post Vise, lacking only the spring and mounting bracket. I've used it for a while, and I find it fairly useful. The screw and jaws are both square and tight. It is a very good vise. However, I was curious how necessary is this tool? I am faced with a choice: I have to sell some of my tools in order to buy coal for my forge. Given my circumstances, this is the necessary route. So, I am debating selling my post vise. I never do any upsetting on my vise, only bending and twisting. In your opinion, is a post vise necessary, or could I get by on just a bench vise? Thanks, Ridgewayforge

Also, you should look at the screw first of all. If its eaten up, its almost useless. The power of a leg vise is in the screw.

If its that big, I would suggest that you make hardy tools out of it rather than punches

This has happened with several posts that I was fond of...

I use a 35 pound railroad rail, and I use it the less-dynamic way, hammering on the top of the rail with a 4 lb hammer. No deformation, no breakage... I think too many factors play into this to be a good cut and dreid number.

Gotcha! Thanks for the resources. I was looking into the Colonial Williamsburg website, but they don't seem to have any pictures of their displays online. I suppose I will soon have to traverse down there! I will also look into those books! Anyone ever forge any gardening implements? I'll take all ideas, even more modern ones!

Besides Blacksmithing, my other hobby is gardening. I love to take a seed and make it into food. (that being said, I only really have a small garden) I have been pondering more and more how I can combine the two, other than the food from the garden powering my blacksmithing. So, I am interested: Is there a good resource on colonial/early American farming implements made from iron? I like the history and look of colonial America, and I have been trying to research this topic without a whole lot of success. Is there a resource, or have any of you forged farming/gardening hand tools from past times? Thanks, Ridgewayforge

Why not use it as a swage block? Get another block of steel for an anvil, and then cut some rounds and V depressions into it, saving the horn and hardy hole. That way, its not a waste of money!