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I Forge Iron

shawnc

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Everything posted by shawnc

  1. If I had it to do over I might have made the burner mount pipes a little larger to allow the burners to be tilted more. I can tilt them slightly, but there's a colder spot between the two burners. It's not been a big deal so far, but it seems like it might be good to be able to focus both burners at the same spot sometimes. I might replace those pipes at some point, and I might even move them a little closer together. They're about 5 inches apart, but I think that's too much separation. When I first fired it up prior to painting, I noticed the front door lip was starting to glow a little. Tilting the burner slightly inward solved that issue (it's not glowing at least), but yeah I wouldn't be surprised if they warp eventually. I smeared a little of the ITC-100 on the metal while I was doing the lining and it stuck reasonably well. I know there's another ITC product just for metal (223 or something), but it's pretty expensive. So I'll just wait and see how they do over time. Good idea on the door; I think I'll do that. That's one of the benefits of building over buying a commercial forge. I wouldn't want to alter a purchased one for fear of voiding the warranty or possibly hurting it's efficiency. Besides using the color of the metal as a guide, what's the best way to determine temperature? It looks like tempilstiks top out at around 2,000 degrees, and high-temperature thermometers are really expensive. The forge heats up in just a couple of minutes and I can start forging right away, so the burner performance seems pretty good, but I'm more curious than anything. I'm running between 3 and 10 psi or so, and I haven't tried to get it hotter than forging temperature yet. I guess I could try to see if I can get past a bright orange glow. Thanks
  2. Probably too much, but I didn't want to wait around forever for the perfect deal. I found it on eBay, and it looked kind of rough because it hadn't been cleaned up at all (still dirty and rusty). It's 42 inches long, 5 inch jaws, and I think 55 pounds or so. It was about $130, but the people were really nice and in fact drove it to me the next day since they happened to be coming anyway for a family event. I saw similar ones on eBay which have gone for twice that much, but they were all clean and nice and therefore yielded a higher price. I disassembled it and gave it a good cleaning, polishing, and regreasing, so it's pretty nice now. I'm 90% sure it's an Iron City brand based on the style, but I haven't found any markings so far except for a big number 2 under the mount plate and a 3 I think on the screw housing. It's serviceable bolted to the wooden workbench, but I plan to build a metal bench before long for the forge and the vice.
  3. The back opening is the same as the front (4x7), and I've experimented with blocking half of it with a fire brick. It seems to throw more heat out the front, but I've wondered if I could increase the heat or use less fuel by blocking it off. Having a little door with a pigtail handle is a really good idea. I would maybe need to insulate it to keep the door from overheating, but I'll play with that idea.
  4. Dang you guys are good. Sorry, but yes that's a bunion stretcher. I didn't have any tongs, and I found those at a garage sale, so you know how it goes. I kind of felt bad about messing with them, but I figured they would just end up sitting in some tool collectors box if I didn't use them. At least they have a useful purpose now. Thanks for the compliments. After it was built I realized the forge looked sort of piggish, so I couldn't resist the foot shape of the spikes. My kids thought I should add a pig tail too, but I haven't done that yet.
  5. Sorry, this somehow was posted to the Anvils section. Would someone mind moving it to the gas forge section? Thanks
  6. I posted a question a little over a month ago about a coal forge I was thinking about buying, and the general advice seemed to be more towards buying or building a propane forge. I looked at the Chile forges, but the 2-burner for $800 seemed a little steep and they had at least a 4-week lead time. So I decided to build my own. I considered various options for the shell, but in the end decided to fabricate my own out of 14-gauge and 12-gauge sheet metal. I built an octagon shape rather than round, and it has two burners (similar to Ron Reil's design). It has openings on each end (4 x 7 inches each), and the openings protrude two inches similar to the Chile forges. One end is fixed, but the other end hinges open to allow for easy relining. I used two layers of one inch eight-pound Kaowool blanket inside the body as well as each end, and I used one-inch thick by seven inch wide fire brick as a floor. I also coated the Kaowool with ITC-100. I also built a hammer/tool rack, bought a post leg vice, and I've already made a set of tongs and a couple of other small things just to learn. I'll try and post pics of those soon. I know the wooden workbench is not the best, but this is temporary until I can get something better. It was not being used, so it's OK for now. Since these picture were taken, I've added some heat shielding under the forge to keep the wood cooler. Under construction: Ready for paint: Door detail. The white stuff on the door opening is ITC-100: Other side: Fired up. The post leg vice was pretty ugly when I bought it (rusty and dirty), but after a good cleanup it's working perfectly.
  7. It's been a few weeks since I started this thread, but I took what I gathered to be the consensus advice of building a propane forge. I still want a coal forge and will continue to watch for one (they don't seem to come up very often around here), but the propane forge has given me a good start. I won't go into all the details here, but I'm planning to post pictures of it on the gas forum this morning. I've also acquired a post vice (Iron City brand I think based on the design) and I've built a decent hammer rack and a few other things. I'll post pictures of those also. Thanks for all the advice, and hopefully I'll be posting back to the coal forum section eventually.
  8. Very cool. I'm just starting out and am pondering whether to start out with a coal or a gas forge. Maybe a dumb question, but what type of forge did you use for this? It seems too large to fit into a gas forge.
  9. I'm already committed for Saturday, but I'm glad to know more about the structure of the meetings. I had been shooting for the March 31 Basic Blacksmithing Workshop, but maybe I can get to one of the regular meetings prior to that. I would really like to see and try both types of forge. I'm sure that would help answer a lot of questions.
  10. Thomas, Maybe not the best choice of words since I'm fairly confident I'll enjoy it and I'm willing to risk a little $$ to give it a try. Good suggestion for attending meetings, but since I've never been to one I wasn't sure how much actual forging they do at that time. Still checking out the gas forge option as well. I happened across the Majestic forges on eBay and I like the design. A lot of the home-built forges use soft ceramic insulation, but this one uses a rigid liner. A 2-burner Majestic is a little over $300 and includes everything except the tank. His feedback is perfect, but I haven't found much mention on the forum.
  11. Thomas, I completely agree with your comments, which is why I'm hesitant to spend the cash. Could probably negotiate down to $400 (apparently that's about what he has in it), but still... Real forges don't seem to come up very often around here (there is a similar one for sale for $650), although I'm guessing it would be easier to locate one in the future if I joined up with the local Saltfork group. The guy selling it is a professional pipe welder and he has stated that the pan is in nearly perfect condition (no cracks, etc.) and that the blower works like new. Not wanting to be a tire-kicker, I haven't looked at it yet in person, but I'm planning to either tonight or tomorrow night. I know I enjoy metalworking in general, and I know I would use it at least to some degree, but just how much remains to be seen. When I mentioned forging and blacksmithing to my 13 y.o. daughter, she surprisingly expressed an interest. That would of course be priceless if anything came of it. My wife's also very supportive and already has a lot of ideas which would keep any blacksmith busy for a while. I've wondered just how tricky working with coal would be. From what I've read so far, I agree that chunk charcoal would be a good way to start. I'm also not swayed too much when it comes to new selling prices. To me, there is an intrinsic value of equipment such as this which was originally fairly decent quality and has held up to years of use. The residual value is also important to me when it comes time to sell, and I consider that into the real cost. I don't mind tieing up a little money for a while if I think the value will still be there when I'm finished using it. I'm still reading up on propane forges, and I don't mind building one, but some of the experiences people have had are a little disconcerting. Having to go through a dozen iterations of burner design over several weeks or months to get the thing "tuned" just right seems like a huge waste of time to me. I know burners can be purchased commercially, but it wouldn't take long to have quite a bit of money tied up in that also. Sounds like you are however suggesting I build a simple charcoal/coal forge just to test the waters. I may very well go that way. I do have an old boat trailer brake drum, but the hub housing extends a couple of inches into the drum, so incoming air would tend to blow over the top of the coals. I would either need to cut that out or possibly just drill several holes at the base and cap the outlet. I would also need some sort of table (I guess concrete blocks would work) to support it reasonably well, and of course would need some type of blower. This drum is pretty small however, so I might be better off finding a larger drum off a truck or something. I very much value all the opinions and advice you guys have offered. You have 10,200 posts as of now on this forum and I have 6, so believe me, your words are not wasted.
  12. Yes, that pretty much sums it up for me. I'm in the middle of a house remodel, spring's right around the corner and today I'll probably spend today tilling at least 5000 square feet of new garden area, wife would like to have a greenhouse/hoophouse built by next fall at the latest, need to build a new chicken tractor pretty soon, and of course I don't want to spend all of my home time outside away from the kids. My thoughts are that coal, while maybe slower or inferior to propane in some ways, is at least a quick way to get started and then to decide if it's something worth pursuing. If so, then I would know more about what to expect from a gas forge. If not, I doubt it would be too hard to sell. I'll keep you guys posted on which way I end up going. Thanks.
  13. Aversna1, Thanks for the info and suggestions. I live in Owasso so Skiatook is convenient (20 minutes away). From my brief research, I'm finding what you say about natural gas vs propane to be true. Looks like people struggle with the low pressure issue and usually have to add a blower which adds it's own complications. I found a good article at http://ronreil.abana.org/whyusegas.shtml which discusses coal vs. gas and his argument in favor of gas is persuasive. Still, if I could find a coal forge for $200 or so it would be tempting to try it anyway just to get into it quickly, but at $450-ish I'm not sure. Anyway, thanks again and I'll plan to contact Saltfork pretty soon.
  14. Thanks for all the valuable information. Thomas, it's good to know the Saltfork association is serious. I was hesitant to jump right in since I'm not sure how much time I'll have to devote to a long-term pursuit, but it wouldn't cost much to get hooked up. I'm sure the resource would be very valuable. What type of forges do you see most often here? SmoothBore, maybe I shouldn't consider coal. I've never messed with it, so I'm not sure exactly what to expect. It sounds smoky and less convenient than gas, but logically I can see that an open coal pit would be more versatile than a little hole into the gas forge/oven. Coal seems like it would also be more controllable. Gas is attractive for the convenience, but I wasn't sure about the difficulty of getting to forging temperature. Looks like plenty of people have no big problems with that though. Some of the gas fire brick forges seem pretty flimsy (wouldn't the stacked ones just fall over if they got bumped?). But even though I might like the "traditional" coal process, I know I would use it more if I could just go out and fire it up without having to wait around to get everything started. Stewart, that's what I would have assumed also, cost-wise. My main tractor is a 1963 Massey 35, and there's something to be said for the big old iron versus new flimsy plastic. The new Kubotas and Deeres look really nice though and have a lot more features than the old stuff, and it really boils down to getting the job done. But the new ones are built more cheaply than the old ones; I'm not sure how many will be around in 50 years. I'll look more into some of the gas forge designs. I've not been too impressed yet with those I've seen so far, but I'll dig a little deeper.
  15. I've just updated my profile to include my location, but I'm in NE Oklahoma. There appears to be a blacksmith association locally, so I'll probably join eventually. Coal is available to members only, and the price they show is $140/ton but I think I would have to pick it up from Douglas, OK. I'm not familiar with that town, but it appears to be a couple of hours away. But a ton would probably last me for a long, long time, so I think the cost would be minimal. I can fabricate no problem. I have a nice mig welder, an old stick welder, oxy/acetylene torches, grinders, etc. so I'm sure I could build one. But yes my time is my main limiter. I work a full-time job, raise 3 kids, have a small hobby farm (goats, chickens, ducks, geese, very large garden, etc.), and am continually remodeling my house. I'm not afraid of building or salvaging whatever, and if I were experienced with smithing I might lean toward building a forge. Since this one is sitting about 15 miles away, it's tempting to just get it, but I am frugal and hate throwing money away. One of my bigger concerns is whether to focus on coal/charcoal, or maybe go with gas. Natural gas is pretty reasonable here and I have it available in my shop, not to mention it would be easier to use it indoors. Reading through the gas forge forum posts though, it looks like there is a lot of experimentation/trial and error, and I really don't want to make a career out of building the forge. Coal appeals more to me on a traditional level, but using it inside I would obviously have to deal with a hood/venting system. Would a plain old kitchen range hood work for ventilation? Seems easier than messing with a chimney. I live outside of the city limits and the neighbors are hundreds of feet away, so I don't think smoke would be a big issue. I appreciate all the advice.
  16. Thanks, I'll check on the ash dump. He's asking $450. Does that sound high? I've seen them listed higher and lower than that, but I'm not sure if there's anything brand-wise, etc. which might affect the value. I also wonder if starting out if I should just build a simple forge. I've also considered either building or buying a gas-fired forge. I've read about the pros and cons of that, and I like the traditional coal method, but I'm sure gas would be much cleaner and simpler. I have natural gas available in my shop, so I would probably go that route. Looks like the gas forges don't get as hot, so that might be an issue I guess.
  17. I've just joined the forum and have been reading and learning a lot. I've been interested in blacksmithing for a long time but have never taken the plunge. I have welders and oxy/acetylene torches and I always enjoy metal work, so I'm just testing the waters to see if I'll have the time and interest to pursue blacksmith work (just for a hobby). I recently acquired an old 150 pound or so Vulcan anvil (I know not the best brand, and this one does have some face chips, but I think it has decent rebound and should be serviceable). Anyway, I've been watching out for a forge locally but they don't seem to come up often. I've found one for sale I would like an opinion on if so. It's a Champion #40, and I've attached some pictures. The guy says the blower operates smoothly and the forge is solid. Thanks in advance; any opinions or advice as well as a value estimate would be welcome.
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