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I Forge Iron

choppertrike

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Posts posted by choppertrike

  1. Jim - I like the stop block idea, I will make some as soon as the weather warms up a little - my old bones don't like anything below freezing!

    Frosty - not portable, but with the round pipe cap base it is easily movable like an oxy bottle.

    John - I like working with metal for it's longevity & permanance so I tend to overbuild everything even though I'm getting old. Maybe my grandkids will take an interest, I know everything I build will outlast me!

  2. Griley, I read somewhere that bathroom fans don't play well with dimmers, I think they draw too little juice? I would suggest an air waste gate instead. Mine seems to blow just the right amount of air for a very hot fireball, but doesn't blow ash or anything out of the fire, so I just used an inline on-off switch.

  3. Jim, the front grill on the fan is plastic, the rest metal. I had it already so I just set it up to see how it would work, it does great. I am however going back to my hand crank Champion blower, then I have to stand there & crank. It will give me more "think time". I have burned up a few pieces of metal because I turned away from the forge for a minute to get a tool or whatever.

     

    Arkie, I like the tabs idea, my sides are just tack welded on. I'll change it and bring them around all three sides.

  4. I decided that I wanted a guillotine tool for candle cups, etc. I was going to just make a small one to use in the hardy hole, but decided a free-standing one would be beter and got kind of carried away :rolleyes:

     

    post-25473-0-71170100-1390432726_thumb.j

     

    The sides are a little high for the mild steel "starter" dies. I'm going to make taller dies out of leaf spring but I still may have to cut down the sides.

  5. Thanks Glenn, Frosty! I've been lurking heavily for the past month or so (sometimes several hours a day! Work is slow.) I've found too much info to digest! I will get a notebook next to the computer. An idea pops into my head - I know i just read about that a couple days ago but where was it? Time to start making notes!

  6. I use bituminous coal from a supplier about 35 miles away from me, it comes in 50 lb. bags.
    The ash domp pipe is welded to a 1/2" plate with a holejust big enough to pass 2" pipe. One tuyere is a short piece of nipple with a pipe cap drilled & slotted (shown on the top shelf on left.) It sits in the pot and gives me a shallow pot for small work. (Sometimes I don't have a lot of gumption but I still wan't to do something, hooks, decorative items, etc.small fireball so this may save on fuel?)The second tuyere is a 1" piece of pipe with 3 x 3/8" pieces of rod welded across the end. Again, it just sits in the bottom of the pot, and gives me full depth for normal work.


    Frosty, you post faster than I can type! This is the second time I've hit the "post' button and there you are! I still have to go back & anawer the one in the other section.
    I am going to raise the rim around the sides & back (with a flap opening in the rear for longer stock). I do seem to lose some over the sides, it being a fairly small table.
    The stock rest folds down whwn not needed, and the center rod slides as needed. (rod with a nut on each end,) I may go to the sliding type if this dosn't work.

  7. My first usable tongs, a flux spoon, and an anvil hold-down. Made from 5/8" coil spring, the tongs are sized for 1/4" flat and are not pretty, but they work!

    Flux spoon is from 3/8" mild steel, I squared a section & twisted it just for practice.

    Anvil hold-down is mild 1/2" steel, It works, but I am going to try coil spring for the next one.post-25473-0-71989900-1390425205_thumb.j

  8. My 1-ton van brake drum seemed to big so I welded up a firepot from 1/2" steel plate, knocked tohether a bed-rail frame with shopping cart wheels and old freezer shelves. I'm using a bathroom fan for air, but sometimes I get distracted and burn up the steel so I'm going back to my hand crank Champion blower - it gives me "thinking time" while the steel is heating.

     

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    It's pretty minimal, but it seems to work well. Suggestions for improvements are welcome!

  9. Sorry I disappeared after my first few posts over a year ago, the "Have To's" kept getting in the way of my "Want To's"! I did build a brake drum forge & tried lump charcoal, it worked pretty good. I rebuilt the forge and moved it into the garage, aquired some coal, and found out a 1-ton truck drum is a little too deep, and also found a 6"chimney pipe is to small after research here. I built another forge, on wheels, and back outside now.

     

    Heading over to other sections (Forge, Anvils, Vises etc.) with pics.

  10. Cleaned & wiped with WD40

    Champion Blower & Forge Co.
    Lancaster PA U.S.A.
    Lancaster Geared Blower No. 40

    Seems to work perfectly -
    The gears inside look like new, Must have very few "miles" on it.
    The pipe stuck in the snout is a 2-1/2 " 45 degree exhaust joint I had laying around, it "press-fit" inside perfectly
    Getting some 1" pipe to make original style legs for it.

    post-25473-0-38265000-1337439478_thumb.j

    post-25473-0-58315600-1337439493_thumb.j

  11. my vise after wire brush treatment, wiped down with WD 40 & greased screw

    stamped on the side - "Iron City" in a 6 point star
    Jaws are 5.75" wide

    post-25473-0-01163200-1337438503_thumb.j

    I'll post an update when I get the stand built

  12. I wire brushed the anvil and wiped it down with WD 40, and found information stamped in the side:

    post-25473-0-88271900-1337438190_thumb.j
    Wright Patent England
    Solid Wrought
    the numbers 1 1 2 (I think this is the English hundredweight designation that I've read about here, equates to 142 lbs? I'll weigh it this weekend)
    1" hardy hole & appx. 5/8" pritchel hole

    The hardy tool is a 3/4 " Iron City item. (I'm going to tack weld a couple pieces of 1/8" stock to it to fit the hardy hole better)
    Thoughts & comments welcome

  13. Thanks All for the encouragement, I'll check out the guilds in VA.


    Here's some pics of some previous fabrication projects. As you can see I'm not without some skill and imagination.
    Working with scrap, I usually take what I have and just see what IT wants to be.
    I know this will change somewhat as I get into forging, I'll learn to plan more beforehand & then fire up.
    As someone here said, (sorry I don't remember who - I've soaked up so much info here) "Think at the forge, Act at the anvil" (not a direct quote but that's the nugget of wisdom I got from it)

    Now I'll head over to other sections to post my clean-up endeavors on my "starter kit".

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    post-25473-0-94446900-1337436787_thumb.j

    post-25473-0-20315700-1337436803_thumb.j

  14. Hello All -
    I'm choppertrike - the name comes from my hobby building VW based trikes from scratch using "found" materials (otherwise known as JUNK to most people).
    Being a self taught fabricator, I like working with metal and I've always had a "curiosity" or "passing interest" in the blacksmith's art. I've had the forums bookmarked for a couple of years and have stopped by to lurk from time to time. It's something I have wanted to try "someday" when I had the chance.
    Well "someday" came last month when my son called and asked if I could use an anvil in my trike building.The answer was YES. "There's also a blower-fan thing and a big funky vise." (his words.)
    When he brought the items it really fired my latent interest so here I am. I've already learned a lot by reading the forums in the last few days, now for some background work (cleaning the items, building the forge, building vise and anvil stands) then I can try beating some HOT metal along with my usual "cut & weld".
    I've already had a lot of fun just reading the forum, I can only imagine the fun I'm going to have soon!

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