teejay

If you smell something stupid burning,let go of it, its hot!

 I got started a little different than most from the posts I've read. I was suckered into it !My cousins and I were members of an antique tractor club at a meeting my cousin stood up and said, he has most of a blacksmiths shop and he's going to do a 3 day demo at the next show  3 months away.Altho I collected old tools I had never lit a fire!So I found the old KeenJunk web page and posted "need a teacher quick and where I was".I got 2 replys 1from the Saltfork Craftsmen pres. and 1 from a fellow that lived about 10 miles from me. I met the guy that lived close and found out he had lit 1 fire! So we started playing and trying to make something that looked close to what we wanted,and started going to the club meetings .We went to that show and had the time of our lives beating on hot steel.For some reason Mills brought a 2 1/2"truck axle.Whats that for ? We are going to make a shovel out of it!OK.

16hours later we had an ugly but usable shovel.It now hangs on my forge in a place of honor and I use it almost everyday.That was 13 yrs ago,From that weekend I came away with 2 things a  passion for hitting hot steel and a friend for a lifetime! 

#2 tong looks like one for holding a crucible maybe,#4 tong looks like those used to hold plow shares ,the hole should line up with a hole for the mold board and hold the back of the share just a guess

They work great the one I buy is 6x1 1/4 and it lasts for almost 2 years and that makes it pretty reasonable. It figures out to about $30 a year

I make a smaller nail something like yours then I put a card with it called the "Christmas Nail"

"Christmas Nail"

It is to be hung on a sturdy branch ,
a branch near the trunk,a branch that
will hold such a spike without being noticed by
well-wishers dropping by to admire one's
tinseled tree. The NAIL is known only to the
home that hangs it and understood by the
heart that knows its significance. It is hung with
the thought that the Christmas Tree foreshadows the
Christ-tree which only He could decorate for us,
ornamented with NAILS such as this.

wrap a piece of copper wire under the head then make a hook so it can hang from a tree.Makes a great gift for friends and family.

A furnace in a house is vented usally in the wall is a vent pipe going up thru the roof. You can get free standing gas heaters that if adjusted right put off very few fumes,but it does put off some fumes. The style of heater you have is a Catalytic heater no adjustments,same as the little colman heaters and you need to have a fresh air source for safety (window ) think carbon monxide

Any unvented heater will give off fumes of some kind .

Jake he's been smithing for about 15 yrs mostly knives,you may know him or of him Dawnavan Crawford he's used coal quite alot.
Have a question for you or Bryan what kind of smithing tools are hard to come by there?
Or tools you would like to see available? Other than anvils and swedge blocks.

Some books that I enjoy and find useful Practical Blacksmithing by M.T. Richardson,Manual of Blacksmithing ,by John R. Smith,The complete guide to Blacksmithing,horseshoeing,carriage and wagon building by Prof. A.Lungwitz and Charles Adams, Ornamental Ironwork,guide to design,history,and use in architecture by Susan and Michael a really good book!

Jake would be very interested in seeing how the Healy coal is I know someone n Wallisia trying to get some .

That Wilton vise is now made in China and is cast iron and not worth what they are asking!The nut for the screw strips out real easy if over tightened. We have had to make new nuts for 3 of them where I work.

This is really dated but I'll post it anyway for comparison...a friend and I bought 5 tons in 1986 (I gave him a ton and kept the rest) - I am still working off that with maybe 1000 lbs left. However, it's fortunate that I started using propane several years ago as that cut my coal usage considerably. Nobody probably wants to hear that it was $35 a ton at the mine back then. We drove to nearest town (Stigler), stayed the night then went to the mine early the next morning and had the coal bagged by lunch, then showered and drove home. With the gas, food and a night's stay on the 2-day round trip to Oklahoma, we got it back here for about $6 per 100 lbs. The prices people are posting here are pretty scary, hope I don't need any for a while.

Jayson my shop is about 20mls from the FAA center.I'm sure we can set a date for you to pick up a hammer and even hit some hot steel while you are here. Send me a pm and I will give you contact info.
TJ

Wood workers use a corner chisel,why not make one for steel?

The one I worked on was 150lbs had good rebound, but rang a little more than my hay-buden. The corners were very sharp and needede to be rounded over some a nice anvil all around

I just finised the ren faire in Norman,Okla. what we sold was ornamental roses,feast ware or fork,knife and spoon,crosses did I say crosses? lots of them from the small split ones to good size wall crosses they sell well. heart hooks,take double headed nails flatten out and sell as swords a buck each.

Do you know anyone with a truck that has gin poles? Pick it up ,drive out from under it set on 2" sec.80 pipe and roll in the shop . thats how I unloaded a 100# LG

Where you can't hear the wife yell from the back door!

Welcome to the boards,Been to Ole Missouri town several times when I lived in Blue Springs . Oh and we love questions!

I've built 3 bellows all with canvas used tent canvas after they were finished painted them with linseed oil , Mice don't like it

Fire--the first forge I had was an old BBQ grill cut a hole in the bottom for a 2" floor flange
screwed in a 2" plumbing T(hardware store) ash dump was an exhaust flapper from a tractor.

air supply---- I was given an old blower that I had to take apart and free up,a hair drier will work

anvil--- a piece steel 4"x 8" x3" then found a piece of rail road track(flea market)

tongs --- long pliers and vise grips

material ---- I used what I could find bolts,some rod that i had ,then went and bought new steel less challenges starting out

hammer--- ball pien, and cross pien from the flea market

projects ---- s hooks,fire tools! must have to learn to maintain your fire

fastest way to learn----join the local blacksmiths group!!!The smartest thing I did starting out! They want to teach you if you will listen and practice

best way to learn -----I got lucky another beginner lived close by and we would go to the meetings then come back and help each other and lots of practice and read eveything

When do you up grade?----As you find the tools at the flea market or farm sell at a price you can afford you may have to rework some but good learning experance upgrading the anvil? are you going to stay with it? if so talk to some in the blacksmithing group they may know of one that won"t break the bank.


cost --- my total start up cost was about $50-$75

a leaf kind of a sun-burnt willow looking thing but it was fun!
For some reason leaves were the first things that I learned how to make.

drink milk and see a DOCTOR!!!!

Nathan's been to our conference for the last 2 years and makes some great hammers.I dont think he has a web site but he sometimes posts on Forgemagic,and his mother posts there quite a bit and may be able to answer some of your questions.

If you are working something small and thin like leaves or fredricks crosses out of 1/8 sq. it loses the heat very quick. Fast enough that the extra step does count

300(non-magantic) series stainless is actually soft and will ding and dent and then need resurfaced or it will show up in your work.400(magantic) series SS is heat treatable but expensive.4140 would be a better choice unless the SS is free.