dablacksmith

it is a skill you need to learn ... look for someone looking like that want to talk about your ironwork and try to engage them .. usually they get idea but if needs be get rude!

nice ! time to get hammering !

what is the soil like ? i dont think a 100lb hammer smacks the ground hard enuf to be a problem ... now if you had a 300 lb hammer it might ...i would not worry about this unless its real unstable ground ...good luck

it is a matter of mass and the amount of work your hammer does . the bigger anvil will produce a bit more work per hammer blow. it is not easy to see in the beginning but as you get better and try different anvils you will notice the difference . You can work on a fairly small anvil it is just takes more energy/time . on small items it is not as noticeable but if your working bigger stock you will want the bigger mass.i have used various anvils and anything over 100 lbs is good for most hand work (non sledge work). but if you find a good deal on a 300 lb+ monster get it! more is better!

I dont think that one will sell at that price unless they find a rube.

i use kindling get a good fire going and add coal or coke . about the only time it does not work is when i add coal too fast or do not get a good fire going first.

yup I am a craftsman and a artist... craftsman makes things nice,artist makes things that are original.

1/8 is easy to punch make a punch the size you want and make a punch plate where the punch fits with a little wiggle room (there are guidelines available if you wish to be precise) make sure your punch has a sharp edge (grind the tip if needed ) . or alternatively you can purchase a tool to do this (whitney punches or others or a ironworker) these tools work cold and are precise and fast .I have a few different whitney punches The largest of witch can punch a 1/2 in hole in 1/2 in steel.

it will need to sanded you should check with the outfit that is going to chrome the piece for what they want for finish.

from what i've seen almost any alloy of stainless is forgable (with enuf force) .i have forged spoons and forks from random pieces of stainless. most stainless are iron alloys with nickle and chromium .tough stuff but forgable.

it has grain structure and you have to allow for it . if you cut it with the grain it will want to follow the cut.so if you split it (like when you make a fork) the reccomended way to do this is punch a hole where the cut will end then cut to the hole that way it will (hopefully) not keep splitting. that and keep it hot wile forging (white and yellow do'nt forge at red) should keep you. good luck!

old ads from blacksmith and wheelwright magazine would be good (it was a large format magazine like a newspaper) also there is a neat poster of Peter Ross from his williamsburg days of him sipping tea that is good. should not be too tough to find some good shop pictures...

depends on where you are at... if you are from logging area it was used for drag links sometimes old bridges lots of stuff prior to 1920s were wrought iron.old wagon tires may be wrought iron .. just takes digging...

are we talking sheet metal? what about punching cold? i use punches all the time for up to 1/4 stock and punch cold.make a bottom die and figure a way to line it up and punch cold . good luck!

I prefer 10 inch 8 inch will do in a pinch . it does depend on fuel and height of pipe (how well it draws) If you are using a coal that smokes a lot a bigger pipe will generally catch more of the smoke in my last shop i was using a 8 in pipe and had no problems but i was using coke (much cleaner burning than coal). even with a good chimney you will still need to vent the shop . good luck!

well the look of the leather and how far it comes down ...the bricks on the top were probably not there to restrict but to increase pressure.it is common practice to add weight to the top of bellows to increase pressure . volume is determined by the size of the chambers . if you increase pressure but not volume you have to pump faster.I would put the bricks back and try it there . if you have to pump too fast to be comfortable then re leather the bellows and increase the chamber size . good luck!

well from the looks of things the bellows was made modern day and while it does not look like a bad job i believe the bottom chamber is not as large as it should be. whoever built the bellows probably did not know the guideline for bellows of 2/3 bottom 1/3 top. you could probably make them work by changing the leather for a bigger hide which would allow you more depth on the bottom chamber which would give you more volume. you might have to inlarge the valves and the passage from the upper chamber to the pipe also . those are the areas that seem to cause the biggest problem . make sure the bellows is also sealed well as leakage will cause poor performance. Bellows will work and i find them enjoyable to use in a historic situation. .

well the first problem is your steel ...home depo does not sell spring steel ... at least the one here does not... you will want to get a known spring steel . Then you will want a way to get the entire thing up to around 1500 degrees . then you need to quench it in a bath (i prefer oil quench) then you need a oven to temper it . it is not going to be easy to make .... Good luck!

thank you ! it is the 3rd portable forge i have made ... always trying to make um lighter better and more portable . this forge is capable of forge welding a tomahawk...

well the pan on my portable finally got so bad that I had to build a new one and while I was at it I had to replace the wheels (the wood ones were falling apart). I made metal ones (not as authentic but a lot tougher) here are some pictures.

that part is just a cover over the threads ... I do'nt like the looks of the screw however... it looks like the nut is not ingaging deeply into the threads. i prefer to look over any post vice i buy in person . pictures are not enuf. also price seems high for what you are getting. good luck

pewter is tin .... in fact modern pewter is close to pure tin with a little antamony and copper...old pewter has lead in it ...

no i think it would melt around where the air came in... I have seen my portable forge firepot glowing orange in the past would not try using aluminium.

it does not look like you need a hand you already got one! nice job! so now that you got a hand what ya going to do with it?

die grinder then finish with files...