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I Forge Iron

Tom Roberts

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  • Posts

    13
  • Joined

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  • Location
    Ortonville, Michigan
  • Interests
    beekeeping, blacksmithing, chess, primitive archery... and of course hunting, fishing and trapping!
  • Occupation
    CADD techinician (draftsman)
  1. Here are the Christmas presents I made for my nieces, nephews and daughter. My older nephews and daughter received the knives. Also, the photo of the two different puzzles I made just two days ago for some young friends. I wanted to post the other photos before Christmas, but I was too busy. Also, you should know, I'm photographically challenged (always have been). Enjoy!
  2. Hi Jerry, I'm looking forward to meeting you next week at the Brandon Library. Was wondering where are you from? How long have you been smithing?, etc. Thanks, Tom Roberts

  3. I find quite a bit of scrap steel in my travels along the road. Broken leaf springs are common. Also, abandoned steel rod from old signs is common along roads. (Sometimes called Replubican wire). I have also found pins, rebar, large bolts, plate steel, a rusty bicycle pump and many other things. And once I found an entire front coil spring from an auto. Look along the side of the road and in the ditches when you can. You'll be amazed what you can find.
  4. Travis, I see an advertisement for a demonstrator for this reunion has been posted in the Upsetter (MABA's newsletter). - Tom
  5. I took a weekend 'smithing class about 8 years ago. The first thing I forged was a welded round ring from a square bar. We rounded the bar and then scarfed the ends. Next, we rounded it into a ring over the anvil horn 'til the scarfs mated up and made a forge weld. Then we heated the whole ring and trued it up on a floor mandrel. The best thing though; I was taking way too much time with the hot steel. I would pull it out of the forge roll it on the anvil and study it for awhile, trying to figure where to hit it next. My instructer, an old WW2 vet, came over too me and barked "If you're gonna just stand there and study that iron all day, you better take up wood carving, 'cause you'll never be a 'smith! When you take that iron out of the fire, you better already know what you're gonna do with it and do it fast!" I'll never forget it. What great memories! I was very lucky to spend some time with that old smith. I learned a great deal from him in just two days. I understand that he's not teaching anymore, but he still makes it out to the blacksmithing classes when he can and helps the instructors.
  6. If the good folks at MABA don't satisfy your request, please let me know and I will follow up and try to find a demonstrator. I'm a MABA memeber too that lives just West of Lake Orion. I know of a few blacksmiths in the area. Provided the family reunion is not the same time as the SOFA event, we can probably find a good demonstrator. S.E. Michigan blacksmith's tend to all be in Ohio during the SOFA event. - Tom
  7. Thank you everyone for your input. Frosty, I agree with you! I plan on setting my vice up hopefully this Sunday. It'll stand alone on a maple stump about two steps behind me - just far enough back that I don't walk into it while attending to my forge. I think I will set it up sideways for now, like I originally planned, and give that a try. Because it'll be out in the open, I'll be able to get to it from any angle. I can always move things around later if I don't like that setup. - Tom
  8. I've moved my shop and am now in the process of setting up my leg vice. The most common (and only!) position I have seen for a leg vice is to have it mounted so that the screw faces the smith and the jaws are perpendicular to the smith. This is something of a no-brainer especially if your vice is mounted to a bench or a forge. However, after some thought on the topic, I don't think this is the best way. Currently, I intend to mount my vice so that as I approach it the screw is to my left (I'm right handed) and I am facing parallel to it's jaws. I think this may be better because much of the time I work from the side of the vice - twisting bars, bending iron over the it's jaws, etc. The only time I seem to work from the front of the vice is when I'm doing chisel work. I would like your thoughts on the subject. Have you given this any thouht? And what works best for you? Thanks, Tom
  9. Thanks everyone for your great advice and nice photos! I appreciate all the effort! I've reconsidered and will fab a side draft chimney. I need to get my blower moved around though (it bolts to my forge). 'Cause my set up right now appears to be backwards. Maybe my forge was built for a lefty.
  10. I'm hoping someone can help me out. I'm moving my shop into my pole barn - finally. I need to set up a hood and chimney for my rivet forge. The forge is about 24"x30" cast iron with a small hand crank blower (1 1/4" or 1 1/2" diameter discharge). I plan on fabricating a hood and chimney directly above my forge. Currently, I'm planning on using a 10" diameter chimney. Is this too large for my small forge? If possible, I would like basic dimensions or good design features (like what volume of exhaust air should my hood be designed to, etc.). Also, I would like any details or information regarding the chimney penetration through the roof. Do I need to break down and buy expensive class A chimney pipe? Or can I make my own double wall insulated pipe (hopefully so!) Also, I would like to know how I should flash the chimney penetration, etc. and anything else useful you can share regarding this topic. To get a better picture of what I'm working to, my barn has open wood trusses on 24" centers. The bottom of trusses are 10' above the floor. The roof peak is 15'. Currently, I plan on extending my chimney approximately 2' above the peak. Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! ~ Tom
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