Thomas Dean

Right noble of you, hibjib10987, to admit your mistake and then thank solvarr here for all to see. You are to be commended. Smart also about getting someone to help with the gasser! Listen, watch, and ask ?s when you need to, not just to hear yourself talk. Good luck.

Lorelie Sims has a hint in her book stating that an oldtimer blacksmith said that the water in your slack tub would rid you of poison ivy/oak/sumac when you wet the affected area with it. A friend of hers did this and came back the next day with no rash. She didn't state what kind of water was in the tub....

I use tap water, mainly because it is easy to get and our water is not hard. I do have a galv. tub that I am fixinta set up as my tub. I don't have problems with mosquitoes either. Not sure why, we have them as big a buzzards here. I guess we are too close to Louisiana! :)

I wire brush then heat (usually with a torch) til blue, then spray with a clear finish. Beeswax, or other waxes or oils are good. But I would not use motor oil. The end of the poker I usually just leave as is for about 6". Any finish you apply here will just burn off anyway and the first few times of use will most likely smoke up the room after it was used and placed back on the rack/holder. Would like to see them. Pictures please. :)

Make it, really varly simple to do. Not sure you can purchase it.

solvarr, you have touched the future! Nothing excites me more than to be able to 'light up' a kid about blacksmithing. Wife and I kept a 10yr old for a month while his mother went to school during the day and worked until 11:30pm. Got him out to the shop and we made a drive hook, I would show him how on one piece of metal and he would do the same on his piece. He was so proud to give it to his mother for a "graduation" gift. He couldn't wait until I got home from work each evening to go out to the shop. I would hand him the keys to the lock and he would run ahead and have the door open with the lights on when I got there. We got a little of the 'whinny, baby, momma's boy' anticks worked out of him but there is still some work to be done. His dad left him and his mom for another lady and her kids. NO contact with his own son and absolutely no $$ support. I would like to string the guy up....sorry, got carried away there....

ANYWHO, Great job! show us some pictures of what the 2 of you make.

I recommend doing #3 FIRST! You can get a good idea of a solid fuel coal/coke forge, how to use it and how to build it. If not first than as soon as you can! Tom has a great school there with plenty to drool over and more to learn.

OK, I'll TRY to keep it short...ha
I started in the metal trade in '73, worked for a man that was a blacksmith but had to resort to other skills to make a living. Machine work, welding, and fixed anything and everything that came in the door. Literally. amazing man. He is responsible, mainly. I have followed the trade, am certified in over 50 procedures of welding, form alum., copper, silver, titanium, and on, and on, and on..... brazing, oxy/acy welding, smaw, gtaw, gmaw, fcaw, and saw. STILL the blacksmithing was someting I wanted to learn.

Fast forward to about 5yrs ago. My wife bought me Bealer's book for CHRISTmas, read it, bought several more books, read them. The next year she bought me a "Day With The Blacksmith" at Branson, MO. AWESOME, made my 1st 'Russan Rose', a spoon and a few nails. (The blacksmith couldn't believe I picked it up so fast. After telling him I worked with metal everyday he better understood) Meet Pat Macarthy form MO. that was blacksmith there for the month and he told me about BAM. That is where I found out about all the great sites on the internet. I later took a class at Tom Clarck's school under Tsur Sadan, mainly to learn how to use this "funny looking hammer"! Have been blessed to learn from every smith I come in contact with. Thank you all for being a part of my journey in learning this broad skill. I only hope that I can live up to the standard of those that have gone on before and can pass it onto those coming up behind me.

Help me out here...You are showing a shop layout in another posting that has a couple of 'student' stations. Are you building a shop to teach blacksmithing? If so I would think you would have the anvils, forges, vises, etc before setting up the school, or at least where to locate them.

$1000.00 for 2 anvils should not be too hard to accomplish. As mentioned in your other post, check out Blacksmith Supply and/or Kayne and Sons, just to name 2 suppliers of blacksmith tools. Also, check the yellow pages for a farrier supply store in your area, they will have anvils or can order you one (or 2).

Good to have ya aboard. Where are you? There are blacksmith groups just about everywhere or at least within an hour or 2 drive. If you are in East Texas you are welcome to come to my shop, shoot, you are welcome even if you ain't in East Texas! This is the premier site for blacksmiths/bladesmiths/metal workers. Take a look around the site, soak it in, ask questions if ya got em. Welcome

Jest a tad bit north of you. Actually we live between Longview and Hallsville, TX., about 4hrs north of Houston. My Dad's folk are all from Conroe, Cut-n-Shoot, Willis, Montgomery County. We spent many July 4ths there for family reunions. Some of my fondest memories are from that area. My favorite uncle worked at Houston Light and Power for YEARS. Another uncleworked at one of the tractor dealerships in Conroe.

Just a small correction....San ANGELO is about 5 HOURS from Oldenburg, not 3 hrs. I think you are refering to San ANTONIO.

I hope to make the little trip next year. I'm headed to Perry, OK next week.

A picture would help in analyzing your problem but a few things come to mind. Also, what are you burning...coal, charcoal, gas, buffalo chips?
1) Clean your fire. Clinker maybe sticking on your piece. This can be a problem if you are sticking your part too deep into the fire, like into the clinker which will mostly be at the bottom.
2) Brush your part to remove scale. If you continue to work a piece with scale it becomes harder to clean up when finished.
3) Are you possibly burning your part. This will leave UGLY stuff that cannot be removed.
I'm sure others can shed more light but these are what I thought of when I first read your post.

I agree with 'cheftjcook' about seeking out a good ACTIVE church. Talk to one of the Ministers telling them that you are a blacksmith and offer to bring your 'set up' to church and do a demo for the children and/or youth. Lots of fun and you will most likely find some one interested enough to ask about coming to your place to learn more of the art...new friend.

Be a friend to get a friend. Not to offend previous posters on this thread but staying inside at a computer only gets 'virtual' companionship. (I do agree that you have to like ourself.)Get out of your 'comfort zone' and expand yourself. There are a ton of good areas you can volunteer at that would give you lasting friends and you can make an impact on someone else. Good luck. Loneliness is not a good thing.

Didn't mean to preach.

Howdy form East TEXAS! and welcome to IFI!! OK, I'll ask, when do we get to see pictures!?! I know everyone else wanted to ask you that but were just being nice. You DO know that we like pictures don't you. Seriously, glad you are aboard and look forward to learning from you. BTW, Linda Sue has a nice Southern ring to it. ;)

Well said. Thanks for taking the time to put this in print.

LORD, YOU are Holy and worthy of all our praise. YOU are the TRUE HEALER and I know YOU are still in control. We ask that YOUR healing hand be on little Ainslee now and that you guide the Drs. as they attend her. Give comfort and strength to her dear parents, let them feel YOUR presents during this time. But above all, may YOU be Glorified in all this. Amen.

Nice forge! I use 30wt oil in all my blowers but have seen folks use a mix of trany oil and 30wt. I use a friends forge last month at a demo and he had put bar & chain oil in his blower. I didn't really like the bar/chain oil as it seemed to make the blower harder to crank. A hood is nice but not a necessity. Sometimes I wish mine had a shield of some sorts and I always say..."I WILL have a shield before I do my next demo." but still no shield, always a good idea at the time.

What Candidquality said...Are you guys just SAYING you went to Quad States? Please show us some pictures. I get sleepy looking at the pictures over at 'forgemagic'. hehe (great pictures, you just need to turn your head sideways to see them)

We're waiting....

I have FAR better success brazing cast iron than arc welding it. At TEXAS EASTMAN, where I work, all cast iron repairs come to me....can be a pain and a curse sometimes. I repaired a cast block for a track hoe 4 years ago with brass and it is still running. It had thrown a rod through the side hard enough that it broke the mounting ears off the altenator! Had a 3"x5" hole in the side of the block and they could not find the pieces. I cut a piece of 1/4" MS plate leaving a 1/8" gap all around and used a flux coated brass rod. your blower will look better having been brazed than welding as you will have porosity in the weld deposit. (in MOST cases) With brazing there is no need for preheating, by the time you have the part hot enough to take brass the heat has spread fairly evenly. Also, cooling needs to happen slowly, just out of wind should be OK with your blower. If you have some kaowool it would not hurt to cover it with some but is not a HAVE TO. This should be a fairly easy repair for you if you know how to run brass at all. If this was mine I would braze it and not look back. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Great piece of history. Appears to be wrought iron to boot! What a find! I would go out to the barn that your daught found this in and do some digging, the mate just might be under the surface waiting for you to come get it. Worth the looking time.

Rebound is more important than ring, IMO. I have taken some extreme measures to eliminate the ring in my anvils, my ears thank me for it too:) Take a ballpien hammer and check it, the more rebound--throw back-- the better. Edges can be repaired, check the blueprints or do a search for Robb Gunter's "anvil repairs". If the price is right or you are happy with it you can work around the "bad" spots. I have a friend north of Ft. Worth, TX that uses an anvil that most folks would not even use as a door stop. His work is excellent. Remember it's not the anvil that makes a good blacksmith. Run from the cast iron anvils.
Check the hardie hole, is it wollered out? (wollered is a good East Texas word!) What is the size of the hardie hole? Pritchel hole, same ?'s apply. Mainly, use your head. They are out there, be patient.

I had to buy hearing aids last year, ($4,500.00 worth!) and I wear ear protection almost religiously. In my shop mostly ear muffs, industial grade, at work ear plugs always and will add ear muffs at times. The plugs I use do not bother me like the old ones did but I can understand how they can to someone not used to wearing them. The type I use are "E-A-R SOFT BLASTS" www.e-a-r.com if you are interested. WEAR SOMETHING, the aids are OK but NOTHING like the real thing. Protect your hearing.

sorry about the sermon guys and gals....but eyes and ears are hard to replace...

I have had good success with 70S-6 hard wire but you HAVE to clean the material before welding and forge at a near forge weld heat. DO NOT forge in a red heat, seems to split more. 9018 for stick seems to work better for me, clean all slag after welding and treat as any other forge weld, KEEP IT HOT while forging. IMO keeping the welded joint HOT is the key to forging it, no matter the technique. Good luck.

Not to beat this poor horse...for the past 2 1/2 weeks I have been welding 16" .500wall pipe. welds that could be rolled out were beaded and hot passed with stick then filled and capped with dual shield wire, .045. (We use stick beads and hot pass due to not having to spend the time it take to prep the pipe for hard wire beads.) {I personnally don't like running hard wire, joint prep is too critical to be cost effective. BUT, in my own shop I don't hesitate to pick it up and use it if need be. I have a MillerMatic 251X that will run .045 wire.} From fit up to weld out total time per weld averaged 36 min. Stick welding the same pipe takes 1 hr 15 min. but this is what we do, every day. X-ray is the EASIEST test to beat, like JR said, if you REALLY want to test the weldor cut and bend straps. The 400 preheat and 800 innerpass temps are needed when you are welding 1"material and greater.

I'm done. but will keep checking this thread just to see how far it will go. ;)

Go BLUE, buy a MILLER wire machine. Worth the little extra money and more user friendly than any other machine on the market, especially for a "non-welder" as yourself. (No insult intended here) Yes, there are other wire/mig machines out there, but in my 34+yrs of welding this is the best machine made. (Linde was the BEST but they no longer make them. sigh) You can weld 1/8" with stick with the proper rod size and practice and as thin as 18ga, just weld it downhill. If purchasing a stick machine either Miller or Lincoln. These sell new for way less than your $500.00 budget. As mentioned in above posts, take a class at your local 'tech school' or Jr. College, will probably save you some heartache later;)