Ten Hammers

I guess my hammer use depends on the day and whats up. For the large part, I use a 1 or a 2# in most applications ( and these are both made by Ironsurgeon ). Straight piens. I will use the 1# on larger stuff as a finish hammer and the 2# on 1/4 rod, just depends on the issue.

Hello Jerry. Southeast Iowa here ( west of the river about 75 miles..Bloomfield ). Welcome aboard.

OK, here goes. Hollis started you out with some very good things to think about ( HWooldridge ). Do you have a location in the world that this game will take place ? In midievil times, the fuel for the fire would almost assuredly have been charcoal ( this ain't briquettes ). Building a fire would be a skill. Maintaining the fire with bellows would be a skill ( although charcoal really doesn't require the same skill level as coal does ). As Hollis stated, hammer control is one of the really major things to acquire in order to get the result you want in forged goods. You will also have holes to be punched, slots to be slit, top tools, bottom tools, making tongs ( and virtually any other hand tools used in smithing ), hot cuts, drawing out, upsetting.....the list can go on for a while. These are all either skills used or tools used. Let us know what your thoughts are.

Chuck, can you still buy Elephant boots ?

and remember folks, the opposite of PROgress is CONgress.

Rick, I've read most of the posts and I have a question...are you familiar with a Mountain Man Rendezvous ? These events are really pretty neat to attend. I have smithed at a few. I'm invited to attend more next year. These events can be helpful in your learning a few things. Some stuff good safe stuff. Some, well, mebbe not so good but fun anyway ( lol ). Buckskinners events ( rondezvous etc ) can be a ball. The survival links are of course good stuff too. The Boy Scouts can be a really neat thing if you have kids or know folks that do ( and I do mean BOYS ). Heck, the Boy Scout Manual is good reading. You may know folks involved in scouting ( I mean leaders ). Black powder shooting is a fun thing. So is smokeless powder. So is hunting ( but I do precious little anymore nor fishing either ). I would dare say that the state you live in would be a paradise for outdoor fun. Just learning a few knots to tie is fun too.

" Idle hands and busy tongue
Do not pay for Egg Fu Yong "

Amen !!!!!!

Yes, I have my trailer shop set up behind the Snipe Run smithy (between the fire dept and the smithy). Jens Butler ( Oakwood Forge ) came there last year for the first time and I am very suspicious he will be there again this year. . We do have fun. Kieth Sommer is the Threshers smith in the snipe run shop and he is one heck of a smith. Stop by.

BT, come to this place Midwest Old Threshers and I can almost guarantee you will see a tire setting on Saturday of the show. North end by the train station.

In any new shop that I might be involved in, I would absolutely use concrete. I would also use in-slab heat ( tubing in the concrete that has hot fluid pumped through it ). This is a common way to heat shops and I think it would be for me. Several folks in the area use it. Firebox is outside ( sometimes in a shed, sometimes in a pit). Frees up floor space inside as well.

I would absolutely advocate personal safety. You are your own police when it comes to either being safe or researching safety to do your best. I know of more than one person that visits this forum that either currently responds or formerly (responded) to 911. These are firefighters ( professional or volunteer), police or EMS ( medics ). Some are active, some are retired, some left the service for personal reasons. While many think that 911 is Goverment sponsored, MANY areas have First Responders that are yes, perhaps trained with State funds ( State paid for their classroom study and some of their equipment) but these people maintain their personal gear and give freely of their personal time ( and fuel and sometimes the clothes off their back) to folks that need help. These folks have sometimes weekly ( normally monthly) meetings to keep up with training. They are not paid for this time. While there may be State ( or Federal ) monies available from time to time, these people are the root nature of society. Good folks. I do not wish to start any troubles, but to say that 911 is Government sponsored dial a prayer may be considered by some as a slap in the face. YES, in some areas the service is not top notch and Metros can be as big of problem as small areas. To further confuse some people, response time is the time from the dispatch recieving the call until the unit goes 10-8 ( in service ). Scene time will be time from initial call to the unit(s) on scene of the emergency. This of course will vary from area to area. I know of no service that wants long times of response. I also know that TV is constantly bombarding us with Cop shows , hospital and EMS shows. Some of this stuff is true and some of it is absolute Hollywood. Should we be safe? Of course we should. Our trade ( blacksmithing ) by nature has more than its' share of things that are not really safe. We learn by folks getting hurt ( just as our trade formerly used Potassium Cyanide for case hardening ). Acids are yes, dangerous. I use them. I am EXTREMELY careful. I plan to try the vinegar route. It may be a solution for me. The CPSC and OSHA would have a field day in many of our shops. Some of that field day would be absolute garbage. Some might save someones life. Young folks, be careful. Listen to the safety suggestions presented here on this site. Be very careful before you try something ( especially with chemicals) new. Some of the folks that visit here are active duty Armed Forces and their job is to respond to emergencies. Some are Veterans of that service. You are responsable for your own safety in your own shop. Be safe. God Bless the Combat Veteran ( and the Stateside vets too).

Steps off soap box.

OK I guess my ignorance shows. Can you tell me the reason for posting 2 different cfm ratings ( at different pressures ) ?
Northern Industrial Electric Twin-Stack Air Compressor 4.3 Gallon, 2 HP | Electric Powered Air Compressors | Northern Tool + Equipment

Scott, will see if this posts. I have a 16 cfm single stage ( 60 gallon). Local farm store it was about $ 500- 8-9 years ago. Keeps up ok for me but sometimes you have to be patient with die grinder. Of course this won't do tractor tires very fast but that wasn't the question. I can shop locally for a price if you wish. Even with gas prices it ain't THAT far and we can compare. Good luck. BTW we can always use some more ships company crew for security ( )..... ALSO, I'd beware of marketing techniques of compressor mfgrs. What I do know is that when a pump is rated at 22 cfm @ 150 psi it means just that. On a 2 stage pump this will suit most die gringer etc needs + plasma and whatever else my shop might need plus. When a mfgr claims that their compressor is rated at 12 cfm at 90 psi and 24 cfm at 45 psi it is my humble opinion that this is a marketing ploy to confuse people into thinking they can have a big cfm rig, just use lower pressure. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong. I really don't know the difference between Cubic feet ( per ) minute and ( unknown "S ") cfm. sorry.

FESTER ! Well bud, glad you finally got the time to write a few lines. Congratulations on your job and travels. Also glad you can spend some time with Dale and Strine. Memories are made of this.

Gomez

Lift truck = fork lift. Gas, LP or electric. I'm talkin set down but I ran standup for years. Walk behind is kinda light for movin anything really heavy. I have a friend that bought on OLD ( WW 2 ) set down lift. Really pretty nice old truck. Suspect the counterweight makes it a 2-3000 lb lift at most. This of course won't move anything awful heavy but WILL take the strain out of lotta heavy stuff. This would be of course air tired and yes, you need to look the mast over to see when it breaks ( lift heights in a small space ). Hard tired won't work off of cement or pavement for sure and you may need a gasser air tired lift to rescue a hard tired. Either one is pretty much worthless in snow or ice. Electric is no good outside in the rain for sure. Like Tyler sez, pallet jack moves lotta stuff too.
6000 lift truck is big truck for a shop. Wish I had a shop big nuff for one ! Lotta plants max out at 5000 lifts.

OK I guess I'll just chime in one more time. A good solid level floor is a treat, yes. If I were planning a shop, I would certainly have a good flat smooth level floor. It would be concrete. I also would entertain getting a lift truck bought ( you can find them occasionally ). I mean a gas motor lift truck. I have a 2 wheeled hand truck that is invaluable to me. Air tires means I can haul stuff out in the grass or on rock, etc and be able to move stuff handily. Really handy for setup/teardown of the trailer shop. Big stuff in the shop here at home, pipe on the floor works for me OK. Pry bars too. A Mule ( which is a long wooden handle with a wheeled lift on the end) works great fro moving freezers and the like in grocery and the like. I drove a lift truck in a factory for many years. Lift trucks are handy and come in many sizes and needs.

Like 6013 says, hand moving is good for lotta stuff. Material handling is one of the most important things in a shop. How big the new shop and what kinda access you gonna have ?

Jens, as always, fine work.

Couple 3 questions. What equipment to you currently have ? Are you planning to use steel truck for deliveries ? Will you have a lift truck in the shop ? Crane, or like most of us, hand carry ? Material handling can be a real pain. Most hot rolled steel is 20' long. 20 x 30 would be my smallest thought. My shop is an old garage and it's 20'square ( outside dimensions). Can't get 20'steel inside really easily + I have to open door to cut steel. Sheet, I cut in half ( 48 w x 48 or 60 long ). Heating and ventilation of course are major thoughts. Rain too (porch roof mebbe off of one door ). Do you plan to use this as a smithy only or have other thoughts ? Let us know.

Ten

Herein lies a delimna. Old free scrap stuff is just that. Old free scrap stuff. I use it all the time but there will be issues from time to time. You will contaminate a fire with powdercoat in a solid fuel forge ( coal, charcoal etc ). Would NEVER burn this off in a gasser. Thomas has a good idea too but under the hood and out the flu works good for me ( inc galvanized ). Be CAREFUL and KNOW that you have a good draft on your hood flu. We are our own police when it comes to safety.

interesting site, thanks. Low voltage stuff is nice. I STILL am careful about buying fixtures that aren't underwrighters listed ( and look it all over well ). I just try and use what I'm familiar with ( NEC wire sizes etc). I don't need fire or shock issues.

Common used oil ( oil changes ) works pretty well. so does Linseed and Watco as well ( like Jens stated ). Coal, gas or acetelyne all bake finishes good. Just got to be careful and not get too hot. Happens fast sometimes. I burn Watco rags or linseed rags after use ( coal forge ) or just torch them and let them burn under the hood. spontanious combustion is scary stuff. I let the used oil rags ( actually blue paper towels ) air dry and have never had an issue with them but I keep my eye on them. Never let them accumulate too much and keep them in the open air in a place where they COULD BURN and not create a problem ( steel bucket works ). You need a rigorous program to shut shop down. Same game every day. Compressor, bottles, forge(s) etc. all need to have attention paid to them. Rags and other fire potentials need dealt with. Class "A " fires are the main problem in my shop that need to be kept under control ( towels, newspaper, trash). I keep stuff liike this picked up pretty well but need to stay on it.

Junior, thanks. Best stuff they is. Honoring Combat Vets should be done daily and like Chuck says, in English.

Jim, thanks. You and Jens may make a pattern weld head outta me yet. I needed a break from same old deal. No I ain't even tried it yet but think it will happen shortly. Thanks.