anvil

Also, look for silicon bronze. It is forgable hot or cold. Not all bronzes are forgable.

lol

Simple and elegant

side blast or bottom blast? What kind of coal? coking coal(blacksmith/metallurgical) or anthracite. To create a neutral/reducing heat, ~4" of coke under your work and 2" above will work, no matter what kind of forge you have. If you use coking coal, you should only have coke in your firepot, not uncoked coal.

I agree that the way sulfur is added to modern steel is as you stated. And for the reasons given. However its a pretty ingrained idea from early in the coal era, that the lower the sulfur, the better the smithing coal and charcoal, due to its having no sulfur is a better fuel especially when doing work with high carbon steels. I'm pretty sure I have some smithing books from the 18th and late 19th century that bring this up. There must be a reason. I haven't a clue as to what harm it may or may not cause.

Nice tool! Every blow of the hammer brings ideas for change in the job at hand or something to try on the next one!

The power of mother nature is awesome!

Nice find. I too have "American Blacksmith".

I worked with a glass guy for a few months. We made iron/slumped glass flower pots. I did a long 3 legged round trivet and he slumped the glass into the center and over the sides of my iron. Very attractive, but I don't know his process. I just supplied the iron. So basically all I can add is that it works.

Mr_Gixxer, great stand!

Heres one,,, and its original,,, "If a blacksmith creates a Razor, is it hand forged?" And, of course, if a welder makes one,,, is it fabricated? Which brings up the obvious,,, Is there more truth and wisdom in one thats forged rather than one that is fabricated? A sharp Razor with a cutting edge,,,,

The problem with matching castings, even today, is that if the manufacturer goes out of business, or makes new molds, the older are no longer available. I'm not surprised you couldn't find a match, but I am surprised you didn't find them with the same I.D.

I think he's just trying to one up Thomas,,,

I dint know about them, but I am,,, The ones I made were shaped like your and TW's original pics, the rusty red one,,, They were oval and the center ridge was solid and flat on the inside, not raised or sunk depending on how you look at it. I made mine from round stock, drew out the oval leaving the centerline ridge and forge welded the ends to complete the ring.

Think branding iron and make it a reasonable representation of the bar logo. They could even sell them to their clients. And as has been said, mild steel would work. So would brass if you want more color.

Keep the faith!

A sharp reply. Alas your answer makes an assumption as to how many angels does he want on the head of a pin,,, (refers to my second post above,,,)

I agree

You missed my pun,,, my bad, not my forte. I look at it as more like endless debate over meaningless topics,,, rather common on the internet, don't you think?

Lol, great as usual. Mine isnt sharp enough to be a Razor, but is often debated no matter how many nouns you substitute. "How many angels fit on the head of a pin". Looking forward to more sharp Razors.

On coke, They work about the same so firepot makes no difference. The difference is how you manage your fire size, meaning a narrow trench or a full sized fire. With coal its managed with water and the "green" coal on the table. With coke, you need a couple of fireclay bricks that you would make from castable refractory. They are longer than your firepot and the combined width of both are wider than your firepot. These two bricks are then moved in and out to determine the size of your fire. Round vs square. My firepot is rectangular and this is far better for general forging. Simply said, A rectangular pot means the fire is the same temp the whole length and width. This works great for bar stock, which is long. You can still put in "bent" iron on the diagonal and get a longer heat. A round firepot is far better for a farrier or horse shoe'r. Most horses have 4 feet and you can put 4 shoes in the fire and get an even constant heat on all 4. A rounf firepot is smaller and lighter so, better for the portable farrier rig. For an ash dump, both work and are no problem. Design a handle to open and close the sliding dump so that it is convenient and in easy reach of your hand. It is a pain in the Ash to have to reach under the forge to dump the ash. I use a vertical dump, not a sliding type. Orient your rectangular firepot lengthwise and centered width wise in the center of your table, meaning you face the narrow side. The reason is you can better use your table sideways width on both sides to maximize the amount of coal on your forge. This is a real plus. So this means you face the long axis of your firepot, and the firepot lives along the short axis of your table. A couple stands are needed, but put them on your "when I need Them sometime in the future" list. Depending on your forge, there is commonly found on the old cast forges a couple of eyes, one on each side of the opening to the firepot. These are for a much needed steel rest. This is like 3/8" round bar that is forged to fit the eyes and rotate up and down to be able to support longer steel when you are heating up an end, not the middle. It should have a leg that swivels that is long enough to reach the ground and support your work. When not in use, it hangs down and the swivel leg lives under your forge by the ash dump lever or handle.

Looks like your new coke works! now just sit back and watch it do its job.

Awesome score! I had a good blacksmith that I helped out on occasions. He had a hosfeldt and one project was a fabbed spiral stairway. The hosfeldt got quite a workout!

Les L Thats awesome! Cool forging, nice finish.

I make most of my tongs from 3/4" square stock. You are doing great! It's cool to watch your learning experience!