J W Bennett

The only day I have free is Sunday unless I can get someone to trade days with me. If I do get a chance to go I'll take you up on that beer;) As far as the blower goes I will keep my eye out for a good one. Thanks for the info. John

Having always used propane except for a breif beginning with a brake drum forge I decided to revisit coal after using a good coal forge for a week at JCCFS. It's amazing the difference good equipment can make! I looked thru the scrap pile and the metal racks and came up with enough stuff to build one. The side draft hood is modeled after the one at JCCFS as is the slide gate and ash dump. The hood is 34"w40"t and 11 1/2"d. I built a smoke shelve into it because the one down there had one and it had a good draw to it. The flue pipe is 10' and extends 5' above the roof line of the shop. The forge table is a table I used for my old brick forge. It is 36"x40". Since it already had steel grating for a top I welded some old 3/16" shelving together to make the pan. The firepot is made from 1/4" diamond plate because that is what I have on hand. The design for the firepot came from the how to section of blksmth.com. If it works out I will make one out of heavier plate in the future. The clinker breaker is made of 1/2"hrrs and 1/4" plate. I will just have to wait and see how it holds up The slide gate is made of 1/4" scrap. I didn't get any pictures of the linkage and the bell crank assembly from JCCFS so I just winged it. So far it works smooth and controls the airflow well. The Ash dump is your standard counterweight set up. The blower motor was scrounged off of a piece of surplus equipment. I did have to buy 15' of 10" flue pipe and believe me it did hurt my feelings to do so. I have had 2 test fires in it so far and the hood draws good and I have more than enough air. I will try to weld some chain tomorrow. If all goes well I will paint it tomorrow night to try to make a silk purse out of a sows ear. John Comments and suggestions welcome

promotive, I attached a couple of pictures of my anvil hold down. I can't remember where the idea came from but it's not mine. If you just use the roller chain it only goes in one axis. That makes it hard to keep out of the way when your not using it. I added 3 links of regular chain to each end so that it will swivel 360 degrees, alot easier to use this way. You can't see it to well in the picture but the chain is lag bolted on the side of the anvil stand facing you as you normally forge. John

I have a length of roller chain fastened to the anvil stump and it drapes up and over the anvil with a weight on the other end that rests about 3" off the floor. I originaly used regular chain but it wanted to roll so I went to the roller chain and it stays flat and holds alot better. It's simple, effective and since it attaches to the anvil base you always know were it's at. John

Just wanted everyone to know that I had a fantastic experience at JCCFS. The instructors name was Don Witzler from Ohio and he did a great job. There were 8 people in the class, experience ranged from none to 4 years. All the Class mates were good people. The first 2 days Don covered basics and everyone made hooks and leaves and a pair of tongs. On the third day Don demonstrated forge welding and then basicaly turned everyone loose to try what ever they had in mind. I went to JCCFS to work on my forge welding and also to gain more knowledge about working with a coal fire. Once Don turned us loose I made a chain with 8 links forged from 3/8 round stock. That went well so I made a basket twist "S" hook once again forged from 3/8 round and 1/2' square stock. I went back to the tent Wed. Night trying to decide what to make Thursday. As I was reading a book at camp I thought of making another 8 or so links of chain and a couple of rings for each end of the chain and incorporating some vines into the design and maybe if I had time add some Trumpet flowers. I shared my idea with Don Thursday morning he offerd a couple of practical design suggestion which I used and have to say they worked well for me. I have enclosed several pictures of the finished wall hanging. It's laying on the back porch floor because I have to make room to hang it in the living room. Included is a picture of the basket "S" hook and the 3 pairs of tongs I also made. I gave all my S hooks and drive hooks to Steve at the forge station next to me so he would have plenty to share with his friends and family when he got back to Atlanta. The average day ran from 7:30 am till 9:30 pm. The weather was great and I met alot of good people from a wide range of back grounds. I would recommend it to anyone interested in working on improving their skills. I have to admit I was worn out by Saturday and took the direct route home and did not stop except to get home. A warm shower, Hot meal and a soft bed was sounding real good. Sorry to ramble just wanted to share the experience. John

First I want to thank everyone for their input. I am really looking forward to the class and the road trip. I checked out the National Metal Museum web site and that looks like a good stop. I haven't been to Biltmore in 30 years so thats high on the list also. Williamsburg is the top of the list but if I do go there I won't have much time to spend:( according to mapquest its close to 600 miles from JCC and then another 700 miles back home. At this point I will probably go north to Ashville go to Biltmore and stop at Kayne and sons and then catch the Blueridge and go north to Skyline drive. I haven't rode the blueridge in about 10 years so it would be nice to do it again I quess it will all come down to how I feel after a week at JCC and how my cash holds out. Putting a new front tire on the motorcycle today and it will be ready to go. I'll start packing this evening. If anyone has any more suggestions I'm not leaving till Saturday early am. Once again Thanks for the input, John

I plan on leaving for NC on Saturday morning. Class registration is Sunday afternoon, Ends Saturday the 19th. I don't have to be back in Indiana until Wednesday night on the 23rd. I plan to wonder around. Does anyone have any blacksmithing related suggestions of places to visit in Ky,Tn,Oh,western NC, Western Virginia or West Virginia. I am pretty familar with these states and can find my way around. I figure since I like to take the scenic roads Williamsburg Virgina is probably to far to go and still enjoy the ride. But I could be wrong. Thoughts or suggestions appreciated John

I also use the I-R synthetic oil. It's what the compressor came with so thats what I change it with.

KeyKeeper, The forge table was built with left overs. The reasoning for three legs is so it will be stable on uneven ground. The shelf will be a catch all like any flat surface;) The only thing I have to gauge the new forge against is the old "brick pile" forge. This one gets up to temp alot quicker and so far it seems I can do general forging at about 4-5# of pressure. I used to set the old one at 7-8# for general work. I hope to practice/improve my forge welding with this one. If I only run one burner the dragons breath isn't to bad. With both burners going you have to watch the backs of your hands. I was going to put doors on both ends but found that most of the time I left the front open and the back was some times closed sometimes open. I installed the brick shelves to give me a "porch" to lay metal on in front and a way to place bricks in back to close it up when needed. The basic design came from Ron Riel's and Larry Zoeller's web sites. JWB

Well almost. A few minor adjustments and a coat of paint and it will be ready. Used it this afternoon and I am very happy with it. The table was made for the propane forge.I may put a set of wheels on the 2 front legs. Here are a few pictures. JWB

Mama always said there'd be days like that.:)

Knowledge is power, Dry county:oI will have to put a bigger cooler on the trailer I pull behind the bike. JWB

Don A. The instuctors name is Don Witzler. The lady I talked to at the school gave me his phone number and I had an opportunity to talk with him prior to registering. He seemed pretty straight forward so I registered for the class. Mark, I am looking at a couple of classes at Tillers. I hope ypur experience at Campbells was a fluke. I don't have alot of extra money or time but so far I have learned from trial and error - Mostly error and thought I might give a class or two a go. Class is the week of May 13. The money for the class would put a big dent in the fly press fund so I hope I'm not wasting it on a flower power summer camp. I just want to improve my knowledge and skills. JWB

Leah, I Will be riding down :cool: and tent camping for the week and eating all my meals there. I'm glad to hear the positive feed back about the school. Thanks John

Has anyone taken a Blacksmithing class at John C. Campbell Folk School? I have registered for a class in May and was just curious if anyone had any experiences there. John

I am as guilty as anyone of dropping by harbor frieght. Always hoping to find a deal. But other than Goodyear air hose and a cheapy bender I haven't bought much and yesterday I got a reminder why. In 1986 I bought a top of the line cut off saw for $120.00 dollars at the local tool supply(pre harbor freight). I have used that saw continuously since then and hate to think of all the metal it's cut. I went to the local tool shop (pre and post harbor frieght) yesterday and got a new set of brushes and a new brush cap for $11.36 and once agian the saw runs like new. This is only the third set of brushes in 21 years. I can live with that. You get what you pay for. JWB

Freckles passed away in his sleep last night. He was a true friend and companion. He will be missed. John

mcraigl, Below is the link to the original thread asking for advise and suggestions and the start of the build. I will take some more pictures now that it is close to being done and post them. John http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f11/tandem-trailer-1773/

Thanks for the replies. The site was down so I went to the local fastenal and they hooked me up with the screws you guys wrote about. Treated decking is done. I have a few more tie downs to weld on and I will have it the way I want it for now. Once again thanks for the info. John

I am putting the 2x8 Deck down on my new 18' trailer. The crossmembers are 2"x2"x1/4"wall tubing. Does anyone know of a good self-tapping screw that will do the job or should I go with 1/4'x4" bolts and drill clear thru the tubing? Any advice is appreciated. JWB

The admin guys are hustling as fast as they can to reload All the BP's. Once they have it done there will be an abundance of information on scrolls and scroll tooling. From what I've seen the blog button on the front page gives you a page that now tells you what's new and and how progress is coming. Hope this helps. JWB

Ron, I would go at least 1/4 on the bottom plate 3/8 if you have any, especially if you are going to center it on the mass of the anvil. I built mine out of scrap and ended up with a monster but it works good. If your like me you'll make "adjustments" as you go. John.

Since they are loading BP's as fast as they can here is BP053 in PDF. Hope this was alright to do. If not someone will let me know I'm sure:>) JWB Smithing Magician BP0053

Thanks for the replies everyone, I am trying to get stock built up for 2 early spring events. Storage is quickly becoming an issue but some pipe thru the rafters to hang pieces from will help alot. I will experiment with some of your suggestions. It's sometimes the details that hang me up. At this point a helper is not possible. If things go well with the events this year then maybe a helper is in the future. But that will be another subject for another time. Time is always a problem and I am looking for better ways to utilize it (As I sit here two fingering these keys). Once again thanks for everyones input. JWB

I am starting to make some larger items like fireplace pokers and tripods in quanity batches. I am looking for a good quick way to finish them. Right now I heat and wipe with canola oil. Heating and wiping down 30 tripods is time consuming and messy. Anybody have a faster way or something better to finish with? JWB