Joel OF

Ah nice idea. I have mine in half a beer keg which now thinking about it is a bad idea considering condensation. I'm actually using a brake disc for sake of the disc providing a bit of extra space to put coke on and rest work on. I've also set the brake disc into the top of an old oil drum (which I found in the remains of an old bonfire so I know any nasties have burnt off) so there's even more space to rest coke/work on.

Ahh brill, thanks for the detailed answer. I'm using coke singles, they're what a local blacksmith recommended & the company I got them from said it's what all the local farriers and smiths use. Yeah I'd discovered that it does it a lot less when I circle the coke around the edge and gradually rake it into the middle, but I hadn't put 2 and 2 together about the moisture. Thanks again.

I'm a bit confused, I understand that it's moisture that's causing it to spit but I don't understand where you're saying the moisture is coming from and I don't understand if you're saying the bag is the best place for it or not... Are you saying that if the coke is taken out of the bag then it absorbs moisture from the air? When you say "if you have removed it from its plastic bag it has been delivered in, the condensation is absorbed in some of the coke pieces." do you mean from damp in the air? And in your last sentence "But it isn't going to dry out in a bucket if it is damp already." do you mean if the coke is damp already or the bucket is damp already? If you mean the coke is damp already then I'm completely confused because the only place it's been up till that point is in the bag. I really want to understand this because yesterday was quite scary and ultimately very difficult to work with!

Thanks. The bigger piece was very frustrating & I had to re-do some bits half a dozen times! The reason being that I don't yet know instinctively where I should be hitting the metal for the desired effect, though one thing I've discovered is that often you've got to hit the metal in the area before you want the bend. Making up the design as I went along probably didn't help either.

Thanks for the quick reply. I have taken it out of the bag & put it into a large bucket, but i dont understand how that increases condesation? Surely the coke will sweat more in a plastic bag than in the fresh air?

Hi folks, I've posted a few threads already but I wanted to post a pic of my first pieces to see what people think. I'm a complete novice, been tinkering around with some scraps for about 2 weeks, learning from my mistakes and using my brake drum forge. I'll get some one to one tution at some point. The things in the pic are my 2nd and 3rd pieces I've made, my first being a pair of tongs. Any constructive criticism or advice would be appreciated. Cheers they're for screwing into the ceiling to hand stuff from.

Hi folks, can anyone tell me why fresh coke spits? When I say spit I really mean spit, as in fires out fast and dangerous, today a piece hit me hard in the face! It seems to be at its worst when I have a piece if metal in the brake drum and I add more fresh coke on top in the centre. I've found that placing coke at the edges to channel heat up through the middle is safest & keeps the coke lit well, but sometimes I find I need coke on top in the centre to reflect some back down onto thicker pieces of stock - and like I said, that's when it's at its worst. This seems to happen with and without the hair dryer blowing.

Cheers Frosty, some interesting points there. I visited a shed making company's showroom yesterday to get a feel for size, I really can't see me needing anything bigger than 10 x 10 for a while as I am a complete novice. I just typed out quite a couple detailed paragraphs about how my parents live in an "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty" and how that has thrown up some complications, but I pressed the wrong button and it all got wiped! Let's just say the plot has thickened...dun dun darrr!

Holy cow, I've just been Googleing local shed and garage companies...definitely going to be making this myself! £1500 for a wooden box with a hole in one end to drive your car in?! Jog on.

Cheers for the replies thus far. Any tips for materials or design? E.g would a tin shed get too hot? Is an opening at the top essential, or would a side window do? Would a flat roof do or is an apex roof a must? The idea of extending the shed as Benitron mentioned sounds good, and I would do exactly what you said Walker but the weather can get horrid here! In fact those ideas have got me wondering if something like this would be good, with a tarp to pull down and make a full side if the weather gets nasty

Hi folks, I'm thinking of building or buying a small shed to put in my parents field to use as a workshop. I'm just wondering if anyone's got any tips on shape, materials or design? It doesn't need an electricity supply as I can run power lead out from their house and I'll be using a small coke forge and only making small items so it doesn't need to be big, but any tips would be appreciated!

Cheers for all the replies I'll give it a few tries before making any decisions about reshaping the handle. As it is the handle has a taper near the head which makes it feel slightly lighter when your holding it 'short'. I tried looking up the brand name on the internet but didn't find anything. It says "Village Blacksmith America's premier tools since 1898"...made in China haha.

Cheers. That website looks good. I'm going to go back to the shop tomorrow to see what other weights he can get in. It's not so much strength that I'm concerned about, it's more the size of the face and pein for small/beginner bits I want to try making.

Hi folks, do cross pein hammers like this come in different weights? http://anvils.co.uk/...view/121?cat=37 I couldn't believe my luck at finding one of these NEW in a local independent tool shop for £15. It's 3lb which is a bit weighty for the level I'm at and for the type of things I'll be making for now, but I had to have it!

You sir are a genius. Is there anything vinegar can't do?!

Hi folks, quick question about galvanised metal... Would it be safe for me to set my brake drum forge into a sheet of galvanised metal so there's a surface around the brake drum for me to rest the butt of my work on? At the minute I have a few stacks of bricks around the drum but it's not ideal and it's still quite a balancing act. I've heard about the dangers of using galvanised metal but I constantly see metal garden bin incinerators that are galvanised, which makes me wonder if a sheet of galvanised metal would be safe for the job. Obviously I won't do it if there's the slightest risk, but I can't help thinking that if there's not actually going to be any hot coals on the galvanised metal and they're contained within the brake drum, then surely the sheet wouldn't get as hot as a galvanised incinerator?! Any words of wisdom?...

Thanks for all the replies folks. Since posting this I've let rip on the brake drum forge a few more times and am getting to grips with it much better. One thing though that's still bugging me is I seem to be getting through a lot of coke, which makes me think I'm doing something wrong, but at the same time I'm rationing the air supply to only when it's needed...so...it's kinda like the coke burning off quite fast, but if I reduce the air supply it's not enough to keep it lit. Any advice? (P.S. I guess this depends on what coal you're using, but...how long does it take for coal to coke? I keep seeing/reading about coke being put at the edge to coke but no one ever says how long that takes?! 1 minute? 1 hour?)

Cheers for all the help.

I'm gunna get it tomorrow morning. He said he'd take £100 (Pounds. (In some old threads I've seen the Pounds sign not working)). I've been looking on eBay and Gumtree quite a bit recently and that price seems really good for the size, one guy there said it was 120lbs but I think he might have been slightly exagerating. I've seen smaller anvils in the flesh that were in similar or worse condition for £90 and £125 so I think it's worth it. I didn't get it today cos I had to get to work quickly and I had another one in mind I'd seen recently. Tomorrow I'll have someone to help me lift it when I get it home.

Google picture searched "old anvil" to find one with similar edges...this one's edges are much more pitted than the one I've been looking at but are of a similar roundness.

Cheers for all the replies. I should have taken a picture of the anvil I looked at today to get people's opinions, but I didn't stupidly. This anvil is at a scrap yard, I don't know how long it's been there but it has been left outside. I doubt it's ever been painted (it has the paint is long gone) and I'm pretty sure it's quite old as there's no manufacturer or weight marking visible on the side, it's also red rusty. As I remember it the face is quite flat, maybe slightly dished at one end but I think it's generally good shape. I still think it's edges are much rounder than what I see knowledgeable people on YouTube using.

Cheers gents. One more question...i've seen a few anvils recently that look like they have rust drips about 5mm wide running down the side, whats that an idication of? Anything bad?

Top banana! cheers

Cheers. I thought new anvils had 90 degree edges?

Hi folks, does anyone know if it's possible to reshape rounded edges on an anvil so they're a nice 90 degrees again? I just looked at an old London pattern anvil which is a pretty good price, but especially good if i can sort the slighly rounded edges.