01tundra

What would be best for punching very small holes (approximately 1/8" diameter) in relatively thin material (maybe 1/4" thick) for things like cross key chains? I've heard some people mention using concrete nails, I'm guessing I could round one off on the belt sander and then hold with vice grips. I've been using a small steel nail set, but it folded over finally due to heat. I'm wondering if I could take the smallest bull pin I can find, which so far has a 1/4" end on it, and turn it down to 1/8". I guess as long as I go slow on the belt sander and keep it from getting too hot, turning down a bull pin may be my best bet. I have some small pin punches in my tool box, but doubt they would hold up very well under heat. I really haven't been able to find the right drift/punch for small holes like I'm dealing with. Anybody have another idea? Thanks.

I used steel remesh for the sacrificial anode when I restored my blower. The process worked well, let it sit in the tank for about 2 days.

Made mine from a piece of wooden dowel. Drilled a hole through it, then ran a long bolt through the dowel. Chucked it in my drill press and used emery cloth to profile it........redneck lathe :D .

Man I like that! Some serious character there, speaks volumes to me.

Not sure if it helps any, but here's a wall mounted pot rack I made in class that may give you some ideas.

Made some progress this weekend. Next step is to install the double top band 2"x12"s and then set the front porch cedar timbers.

If I'm looking at this correctly, I may be able to bolt the static pin portion to the front of the 6"x6" in lieu of the side.

Frosty - I was planning on through-bolting the mounting plate that holds the hinge pin through the 6"x6's and using a 1/4" thick backing plate on the opposite side of the post, both plates being as wide as the post with four 3/8" - 1/2" Grade 8 bolts per plate. On a side note, after much thought I decided to go ahead and use pressure treated 6"x6" posts for the vertical supports and use the smaller timbers that I had coated to build a fire wood shed elsewhere on our property. I just knew that down the road I would most likely regret saving $150 by using non-treated smaller posts holding up that expensive Poplar i was gifted and those heavy doors. So....see Frosty, I do actually listen to to what you say :D DSW - The dumpster door hinges are the style I was trying to portray on the left side of my drawing, I knew I had seen them somewhere before - thanks for the picture. The doors are only required to swing out to 90 degrees and will rest in notches in the cedar posts that support the front porch timber framing. So the doors will not be able to physically swing wider than 90 degrees. My porch posts will be set out at 6' so that when the doors are fully opened I'll basically have a 20'x12' shop during decent weather. That's why I building the doors full width/height. Since I'm planning on using hex bolts through the posts, I think that may rule out the style that fold back on themselves like pictured on the door above, since the bolt heads would stand the hinges off too far from the building. I think I would get a tighter, cleaner fit mounting the pin plates to the sides of the posts. I haven't really thought of how this mounting style affects the swing of the doors at the outside edges (for required clearance between the actual doors and the posts).

I spent all day Saturday with a pick and shovel hacking my way through the rock and clay since the auger I rented would hardly scratch the ground.....a little less than fun. I really need some expert opinions on the door hinges I'm going to forge. There will be two front doors that swing out on the front of my shop, each door will be sided with 1" thick poplar boards and each door will be approximately 8' tall x 6' wide, so they will be heavy (I'm guessing around 175 - 200 lbs. per door). I plan to use three strap hinges per door. Right now I'm thinking 3/16" thick by 3" wide and about 3' long each. Maybe using a 3/4" - 1" diameter hinge pin. I can't decide on which way to mount the pin side of the hinges. Since the doors will make up the entire end width of the shop, I could either mount the hinges on the side of the shop (bolting through the 1" poplar siding and the front corner 6"x6" vertical posts or I can mount the pin plates on the face of the 6"x6" posts behind the doors (similar to the door pictured). I'm hoping to have the doors turn out somewhat similar to the door pictured below. I can't really put it in words like I need to and my drawing probably complicates matters. I'm not educated enough on door hardware terms to properly articulate what I'm trying to say, so I apologize for any confusion. The drawing is as if you were standing on the side of the shop looking at the outside edge of the doors where the hinge pin will be located. Not sure if anyone can follow this mess, but if so, can anyone please offer me any advise? I really appreciate any help. Thanks.

Very nice!

Made my first attempt at forging crosses tonight. The second one was headed for the scrap bin in a hurry, but my wife seems to like it for some strange reason.......

That's really cool!

I really appreciate everyone's encouragement and kind words. Sometimes I get myself down because a certain piece doesn't turn out like I wanted it to, but I have to keep reminding myself that less than a year ago I had never seen a forge....or coal for that matter in real life. This art is teaching me some much needed patience and how to enjoy the journey. Here's a tea light candle holder I made from a piece of driftwood that had spent some time in a bonfire n it's previous life.

I originally had spoke wheels with airless, solid rubber tires on my forge, but the weight of the forge smashed the tires down too much for my liking, so I changed out to all steel wheels like what's used on smokers. Also added a continuous (solid) axle between the two wheels to beef it up a little more. I have solid, swivel casters on the front. It rolls great in the shop and not bad out onto my gravel driveway.

Here's a picture of the outer 55 gallon drum with the center cut out, forgot to include that in the pictures for clarity -

I was told to pack the inner drum loosely to allow the escaping gases to flow easily from the inner chamber, but for the next batch I'm going to try to pack it a little tighter. I've also stepped up the size of the material a little to about 1-1/2" - 2" diameter wood for charcoal. I prefer larger charcoal for my smoker and it's easy to break into smaller pieces for the forge. I know when using coal I prefer smaller pieces in my forge, maybe 1/4" - 3/4" size, not sure on charcoal though.

Well like I said, mine is along the same lines. Right now I'm using a 20 gallon drum for my retort while I'm searching for a 30 gallon version. If I can't find one soon I plan to just make my own. I cut the bottom out of my 55 gallon outer drum, leaving a small lip around the bottom to act as a stiffener. This way I fill the inner barrel with the wood for charcoal, wedging a few sticks under the lip I left to retain the wood. I then flip it over on top of the bottom I cut from the 55 gallon outer drum. Once the process is complete and everything has cooled down, I brush away the ash and grab the flat bottom piece with one hand and the inner drum with the other and flip them upright together, this keeps the charcoal inside from spilling out.

I made a retort style charcoal maker this weekend that's very similar, but there's a few different features on mine. It worked worked really good for the two batches of charcoal I made this weekend. I didn't want to step on this thread by posting all the info from my build, since this is a pinned thread, but if anyone wants any further info I don't mind starting my own thread to keep the info and experiences flowing.

That's a very cool touchmark black frog!

I just received my Yesteryear G2 Guillotine Fuller tool this past Saturday, haven't got to use it yet, but it is very heavy duty and build quality is top notch. I'll be using it to make my strap hinges for the new shop very soon.

Mine -

I decided to make some removable extensions yesterday for the stock holder to be able to support longer stock. I just used some scrap that I had laying around the shop and they ended up working great. They still allow the factory stock holder to slide back and forth for different length stock, but the starting position with the extensions installed is about 2' farther away from the forge. Since I primarily work with 3/8" and smaller stock on the gas forge, these are plenty strong for the task at hand.

You guys are 100% correct, I should have been a little more specific in my post this morning, I had totally forgot about the earlier talks of oil/diesel. I opted out of that approach mostly because of reasons you mentioned Frosty. I understand the concrete footer/pier argument and I haven't ruled it out completely. I see benefits of each way, I don't really care for the strength or cost of the galvanized post brackets made to bolt to concrete (they are typically in the deck building section of the big box hardware stores). I welded up some heavy duty steel mounting plates with stand-off feet and 1/2" dowel pins and then had them coated with Line-X for the Western Red Cedar timbers supporting my front porch overhang on the masonry columns, a bit overkill, but I planned on being here a while and didn't want the wood touching the concrete, even though that contact was taking place 6' above grade. You can kind of see one of them circled in red below -

My post are untreated lumber coated with a coating sold at all the local hardware stores specifically for coating portions of wooden fence posts that will be below grade. It can also be used for the above grade portions, it's no different than a blacktop/asphalt road, driveway, walking path, or anything else. Same with driveway sealer, below grade concrete/block wall sealer, foundation sealer, asphalt roofing singles, roofing tar paper, same with the tar coating we had to spray on storm and sewer drain basins for below grade use (per the EPA), and on and on and on, so I believe I won't be alone........ I'm not really sure where it's "illegal", but it's this is not one of those places. Now creosote is illegal to use, that's why all the water-based tar coating products are on the market. "Fence Post Black Beauty Asphalt Paint Is A High Performance Water Based Paint For Wood Fences Penetrates & Seals Wood To Provide A Tough Weatherproof Finish Helps Prevent Rot Decay Rust Reduces Insect Infestation On Wooden Surfaces Easy To Apply Great For Above & Below Grade Applications Great Anti-Corrosive Coating For Metal Pipes Storage Tanks & Vertical Masonry Surfaces Exterior Use Only."

Revised my plans a little, decided to make the two front doors 6' wide each, so when they are fully open they can act as side walls for the porch overhang and effectively extend the length of the shop. My boss gave me approximately 1,300 BF of Grade 1, kiln dried Poplar siding boards that was left over from the barn he just had built across the road from us, so I'm going to use this in lieu of the Oak I originally planned to use as siding. I was also given a fully dismantled 100' x 60' wood warehouse from the early 1800's, including all structural beams, siding, metal roofing, and wood floors. As soon as I figure out how to get it transported to my house I plan to use some of the structural members to build my rafters. Got the bottom 42" of my vertical posts coated last night with a below grade post coating......what a mess that made. Next step is to locate my electrical service prior to boring the 36" deep post holes.