Paul Crosby

Very nice work!

I love the work you did. I have to try doing that knot as well.

I was lucky enough to find a 15 foot piece of heavy cable buried in the woods during deer season this fall. I'm sure it was for dragging logs out. Not quite sure how old it is but I'm planning on making something out of it after the holidays. Amazing what you can find in the woods when you're looking around.

I believe it's from a large 4 wheel drive pick up truck. Its probably a dodge because it came from a dodge dealership. From what I heard the large semi trucks drums are to big. You could try putting the drum you have inside the larger semi truck drum and raise it some how to the height you need. You could use firebrick and stone and possibly a plate of steel in you design. Just a thought! This is my first forge and really just getting started.

Well after some great advice from some of the membership, I finally finished my new brake drum forge. I stopped over to my car salesman friends dealership and found the brake drum pictured. I had a few options with it so I decided to go with 1 inch hole in the center. I reversed all the lug bolts except for two which actually holds the drum in place. I will probably add a few lug nuts to secure it in place. The small gaps give it extra ventilation and feed in extra air. I used 2 inch pipe on the lower part. I'm sure some will say use a larger opening is better but I thought I would give it a go. I probably will need to tweak it some but I couldn't wait to fire it up tonight. I haven't received my blower motor from my heating contractor friend, so I used a hair dryer instead. It worked better than I thought! The fire started with no problem. My hair dryer has two speeds and the picture shows a fire in the low speed mode after 10 minutes. What do you think? The fire seems low in the pan but I plan on putting in coal up to the top of the drum. Any suggestions from anyone is appreciated. Thanks!

Thanks for all the imput everyone. I take all you opinions seriously. I'm going to stop and look over some of the other forges again. I guess i assumed from some of the old simple designs that a flat surface and simple hood would be safe enough even though the outer shell was Aluminum. I was planning on keeping the base of the fire away from any aluminum any ways by using steel and fire brick. The grill was just something to hold everything and to use the cover for a chimney. I was just trying to use some of the stuff I had around here. So now it's time to re think what type of forge i'll make or buy. Thanks!

The fire will be on a steel plate. The only aluminum exposed is the hood above. The pan will be surrounded by steel not aluminum. The cavity below will have crushed stone to insulate the bottom. Am I still crazy. I know the forge gets hot and needs air to create a good fire. I'm looking for advise to see if it will work. Thanks!

It is a aluminum gas grill. And there is no pot just a plate. The picture below is what's under the plate. ???? I just thought it worked ok for what it was.

I'm trying to make something similar to this forge which does not have a fire pot. The fire sits on a steel plate with holes under it to allow air flow. Why is it that some fire pots are not deep at all and work? How come this forge worked?

Make a forge!

I'm in the process of making a forge from a gas grill. In the pictures below I will have a blower motor attached to the right side of the forge and ducted to center of grill top. The cast iron pan will serve as a fire pot. As you can see I have holes drilled into the bottom of the pan. I am planning on dropping the pan down by cutting the grill in the center so it just drops in about half the depth of the pan. It will also be able to come out for cleaning by the handle. It will rest over the duct area so it gets direct air flow from blower. The area that shows the white will have a steel plate to help support the fire pot to and to hold coal and serve as a flat area for coal and work service. The top of the grill has a chimney attached and is firmly attached to side of forge. Questions I have are, What size holes should be in the fire pot? Should I put holes completely on the pan bottom? How close can the fire pot be to the air flow? I'm using duct vent pipe. Will it get to hot? I've seen a lot of forges and I'm hoping this design will be sufficient. Any comments, ideas, input would be appreciated.

I finally had a chance to go to Ray's on Tuesday to look at anvils. I did manage to find one I liked. I found this Hay Buddon 114 lb for 275.00. I talked myself down to a smaller anvil so it would be easier to move around if I had to. I believe it's in great shape and has a beautiful ring to it. I think it was made around 1912. I'm cleaning it up now and will post other photos later.

I love the design and shape of the hooks. I think it's personal preference on wether they move or not. The only way to find out is make a identical one with fixed hooks. Nice work!!

I talked to Ray this morning and I'm possibly going down on Monday. He has about 39 anvils. Thanks again Scott I'm sure with that selection I will find a good one. I'm working on my forge now and bought some blacksmith coal at Aubuchons. I'm thinking of a anvil around 150 lbs what do you think?

Thanks Tom! It was hard to follow not knowing what I was reading. The pictures were cool ! Your video was private so I couldn't watch it. Thanks!

Hi Tom I would love that link to that forum site if possible. Thanks!

Hillbillysmith I'm glad you found riogrande. I've been buying from them for years. I plan on making jewelry when my forge is up and going. I do the lapidary work and wire wrapping myself. The stones I used in these pictures were stones laying on the ground in the woods.

Thanks!!

Hello Scott It was real busy last week and I plan on calling him tomorrow. I'll let you know soon. Thanks for checking on me!!

It looks like the Challenge Forge 4C. The link below is a old catalog that shows it. The handle is a little different and the back shield is missing. I'm new and learning myself. http://www.roseantiquetools.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/no.8canedy8.11mb.pdf

I can't wait to see what's coming up. Thanks

Wow!! Such beautiful work! How many hours did it take to make it? What type of engraver?

Very nice!

Here is the family grave marker that my Great Grand father made. He was a blacksmith up until 1917 when he died. He is pictured in my profile picture standing in his blacksmith shop that used to be his fathers. In the fore ground ae three of his new hand grass trimmers he made. My great uncle is standing behind him.

Here is the link to the article I found that is about the East Middlebury foundry. Northeast Historical archaeology page 4 & 5 Let me know what you think. http://cneha.org/newsletters/n56oct03.pdf