Authentic Iron Works

I think the best fuel for sustainability is wood! Trees are a renewable resource. And when you burn the wood, the co2 emmisions can be absorbed by trees.

If you use the anvil the way it is, your work will have more of the "hand forged" look!

What kind of steel glows "purple" when you heat it?

Eco friendly? If you are burning any type of fuel you are contributing to to the greenhouse effect. Whether you use coal which is primarily carbon, or propane, which is a hydrocarbon chain you are contributing to the problem. The only difference between the two is that coal forges release more particulate and sulpher componds that create acid rain. Particulate matter entering into the air is hazardous to folks especially in the form of pm10 which is particulate matter under ten microns. I have been told that it's harder to get pm10 out of your lungs. Particulate in general is regulated by the Environmental protection agency. Sulphuric acid is created through combusting coal and is formed by combining oxygen with sulpher and Hydrogen-H2SO4. Okay, so where is this thread going? 78% of the atmosphere is nitrogen. When you combust coal or propane you are bonding o2 with nitogen in the form of No2 and No3. These compounds are usually refered to as NOX and are major ozone depleaters! So if you use a coal or propane forge you are still eroding the ozone layer. So if you think about the power plants that burn tons of coal or gas in a single day, your contribution is tiny. It's more of a hazard to your self than to others at this level. Also think about the carbiniferous period. Theory has it that the coal was formed in this period. Plants and tree-like organisms were abundant and thrived in an atmosphere that was predominantly co2. As these trees and plants consumed the carbon out of the atmosphere, the planet receded into an Ice age. So my point is that historically, global temperatures are either rising or cooling and not staying the same. I live in montana, and it's too cold to live here without some form of combustion year around. But perhaps if more folks used solar it might make a difference. Your contribution through smithy work is not the problem!

My opinion is that you just can't say gas forges get hotter than coal forges. The reason that you can melt steel in some gas forges is that they are restricting the amount of o2 entering into the combustion chamber. These gas burners that can melt steel without burning the piece are operating in a reducing atmosphere. This means that there is more fuel in the burn than atmospheric oxygen can bond with. This means you can keep adding heat to your piece without burning it. So if it's not going to burn, its going to melt. This also equates to explosive conditions if you let to much fuel to build up in the chamber. The reason coal forges burn up your piece is because too much oxygen is getting in. I think you need one heaping pile of coal on your forge to be able to heat you piece to melting conditions without burning. This is harder to achieve with coal which is chunks of material that are not as easily bondable as compared to gas which is a combination of elements that are ready to combine with o2. This is also probably why pure iron reaches white heat in coal burners easily, because there is no carbon to burn. So I think we can achieve white heat with steel if the darn oxygen dosn't combine with o2. It's all elementary...and oh yeah, it's also combustion science which is impemented in cogeneration and coal power plants that provide electricity to the average homeowner.

This is a very interesting topic and is best learned at the anvil through trial and error. What I figured out after years of forging is that when you are forging a lot of detail at the end of a piece of stock its best to form the fine detail last. For example, I recently forged a horse head poker and forged the neck and ears too early. Before I could finnish the detail on the horse head, the ears and neck started to erode into the fire. So the best thing to do is try to forge the main profile first and then work on other features in descending order of thickness. But, I also believe that if you have a reducing atmosphere in your fire, less oxygen will be forming with the iron and carbon molecules which is the heart of the issue. Good luck. These types of problems are best mitigated through experience.

If you want to weld, keep the oxygen out of the equation. Modern welding such as mig and arc incorporate shielding gas that keeps the o2 out. Thats the idea about 20 mule team borax, it keeps o2 from bonding with the iron. But, It needs to be applied before scale develops on your piece. Try this experiment, take a piece of half inch square stock and fold it over upon itself at a scaling heat but leave a gap. As it cools, keep hitting the piece until you knock off all the slag between the surfaces to be mated. Use a wire brush to help out with this process if you like. After the majority of scale is knocked off and when its cooling to chery red, hammer it together to a tight fit. This tight fit will help you keep the 02 out when you take it to the next step. Next step is to reheat to welding temperature, which is sparking, tap together on your anvil, keep the kids out of the shop to keep the molten iron out of their eyeballs. Personally I hate flux and have better results forge welding when I focus on keeping the 02 out of the equation. Sometimes I will grind clean surfaces and wire together or tac weld pieces together to set up a forge weld. Important thing is a tight mating surface. Round stock is easy to weld together because even though the initial contact sufaces may be covered in inron oxide, the scale sloghs off and the radius's fold together enabling you to weld molten surfaces. Every time I use 20 mule team borax I xxxx my piece up and create more clinker to stop of my forge. But anywho, every smith does things different!

Anyone ever heard of Chasing? Does anyone know how to do it?

My opinion is that the anvil is fine the way it is. Plenty of flat spots. I dont like Anvils with sharp edges because they tend to leave sharp imprints in your work. If I need a sharp edge, I use a block of steel that is lying around. Also, think about the surface area of the face of your hammer. If your hammer face is two inches square then you arent going to need much more flat working area on the face of your anvil. When I first started smithing I thought that a brand new 300lb anvil would be the way to go. Now I am glad I didnt spend the money because now I think my 140lb anvil with chips is just fine. But, if you think this anvil would be fun to refurbish then................

Hello Roger, If you feed me, I would work in your shop free, for one month. 8) I am also a serious alcoholic so you would have to provide booze also! I will pay for my own travel expenses.

I would like to add that I misused the word "element" and would like to substitue "compound". An element cannot be broken down further. A compound is a combination of elements.

Archie, my understanding is that when you talk about burning things all you are talking about is bonding oxygen to other elements(combustion). For example, when you "combust" gasoline(gasoline is nothing but hydrogen and carbon ), you are mixing oxygen with hydrogen to make water(H2O) and mixing carbon with oxygen to make carbon dioxide(CO2). You are also making Carbon monoxide(CO), which is incomplete combustion. Incomplete because it could potentially bond with one more oxygen.The reason you see water dripping out of your tail pipe is because you are making water through the combustion process. The heat and the bang that drives the piston is the energy released through the bonding process. When you take steel to a high heat(scaling heat), the oxygen is readily mixing with the Iron molecules making Iron oxide. You see this flaking off your steel when you are forging. I think the only other element in steel is carbon so I believe we are seeing the oxygen reacting with the carbon in the steel when we see it spark. And this is what is happening when we use a torch. O2 is mixing with iron and carbon creating sparks and slag. That is also why you use shielding gas with your mig welder. Shielding gas is usually co2 or argon, both are inert and will not react with the steel and in effect the gas is preventing o2 from getting into the equation. Oxygen changes steel into different elements. So, your steel is changing shape and pitting because the the steel is disappearing into new elements. I am sure this explanation can be refined, but this is basically whats happening. So when we are heating pure iron, there is now carbon to burn, no sparkler. This is sort of the question I had with the CLinker post. I wanted to find out what other elements were forming with oxygen and whatever to form this product.

Hey buck!, whats a dragon fewmets? Actually I was thinking about selling some clinkers but I didnt think you could get more than 5 cents a piece. Just not worth the gas if you have to haul them to a blacksmith show. Maybe I should just sell my blacksmithing equipment? I only have three grand in equipment now. I was thinking of buying a trip hammer, but maybe I should wait until I sell at least one clinker before I convince myself that this is a good way to make money! If I could just sell one clinker than I could justify a 15,000 trip hammer. Makes good sense to me. Hey squeeze, If I had fairies coming to my forge like you, maybe I wouldnt have to work so Hard to sell them clinkers !

I generate an awful lot of them, but not really sure how and why they are formed. All I know is that they make a clink when they hit the floor. All comments welcome! Thanks

Cool!

JWB, nice candle abra. How did you make the base plate for the candle holder?

I thought it might be fun to ask folks how many hammers they have in their blacksmith shop. My last count was 37, all shapes,sizes and weights. The last hammer I picked up was a ball pein that I traded for a computer monitor at a pawn shop here in butte. Am I crazy? The funny thing is I have three hammers I bought from centaur forge at $40.00 a piece that I dont even use. My favorite hammer has chips on the edge and I dont think I paid more than$2.00 for it an antique store. My most interesting hammer was given to me by my friend Julius. It has a stamp on it that says made in germany(but it's typed in english, go figure). My friend julius emigrated to america from hungary before WWII broke out and has worked as a blacksmith all his life. I am remember him telling me that his mother asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, blacksmith or mason?

Use a half face respirator, wear safety glasses, wear cotton long sleeve shirts, use a leather apron and oh yeah have fun. I wear all this safety equipment and still have fun. The half face is difficult to wear all day because it is uncomfortable but I find that when I wear it I feel good after work. I have worked with young guys in a fabrication shop that have refused to wear a respirator and I noticed that they were sick more often. Also I like to do alot of tac welding by just closing my eyes and pulling the trigger. I do this because I get in a hurry and dont use the mask to cover my face.This is not good for you either. cover your face. I have also experienced metal fused to the cornea. Very uncomfortable and expensive to remove. That experience cost me a trip to the hospital and 600+ plus dollars. Wear safety glasses, it makes you look like a professional. And oh yeah, have fun and create what you love!

I have never been able to get my steel to white heat. I have built two different style propane forges that I have been able to weld in, but no white heat. I have also used my fair share of blacksmiths coal and the best I can do is weld at a bright yellow-sparkler type heat. How do you set up your coal fire to achieve white heat? What gas forges will take you to white heat? I NEED HELP, MY Didyium perscription lenses that I paid big money for ARE GOING TO WASTE! I think Id rather die with a hammer in my hand rather than rot in front of a computer sayng, Yes bOSS!

Sweet Rose JWB!, Yor first one?, I never made anything that nice on my first try! Thanks for the feedback and the pictures. If this forum needs anything it is more pictures. If I ever have a commision for roses, I know who to call on for details. keep the arts alive!

The best book I have ever read on blacksmithing is "A Blacksmith's Craft" The Legacy of Francis Whitaker. This book is essentialy 137 pages of Blacksmithing techniques. "BEAUTIFUL IRON" The Pursuit of Excellence By Francis Whitaker is also an excellent book and is a pictorial history of this man's life work. "Samuel Yellin,Metalworker" By Jack Andrews was also impressive. The Pictures in this book blew me away. The Ironwork fabricated out of Yellins shop was unbelieveable. I look at these pictures and think, how did they make that? I really believe we are starting to loose this craft to the ages and surely heading into the age of mediocrity. Most of what I see today is machine made and not very interesting. Just recently I have realized that it's forums like this that help keep this art alive. KEEP THE ARTS ALIVE!

I want to thank frogvalley, HWooldridge and sandpile for the feedback. I went and tried out that hammer today and all I can say is that something aint right. This machine had one speed and it was B%^^s to the wall. I tried my darndest to feather the foot tread and the best I could do was ingage this thing at hyper speed. I think I remember the owner saying he used brake pads for part of the clutch assembly, when I looked at the little giant parts sheet I noticed that these parts were called wooden clutch blocks, could this be the problem? Maybe the motor speed is two fast? I think I am going to call the company and try to figure out whats going on. If this is normal for this type of machine I think I will spend my money on some other design, like an air hammer. Anyone try a striker air hammer?

I am considering buying a 25# little giant that I believe is to be of the "new style" construction. The asking price is $2000.00 and I was wondering if anyone has any advice before I empty my bank account. I have not seen it run just yet but have made arrangements this week. What kind of shape should this machine be in for this type of money and what should I be looking for to determine if this machine is properly adjusted? My fear is that I will spend too much money on a machine that is worn out or will need a ton of money to restore. Also, what size stock would be to big to forge in this size hammer?All comments welcome!