Nobody Special

Little ones are bitumous, other two are anthracite heating coal. http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37792-coal/

Anthracite is very shiny (unless covered in coal dust) and is definitely shiny when it breaks apart, tends to break with sharper edges too, and be a little harder/more brittle than other coals. Bitumous is softer and maybe a little bit more of a umm..tarry feel to it. Usually goes from a dull, flat look, to maybe a very low shine if all the dust is washed off of it. Bitumous also cokes (burns out all the tars and turns...well not light and fluffy exactly, but much more so) when heated, anthracite doesn't really. (anthracite also sometimes makes a crackly noise when it lights. Anthracite is often sold in big lumps a little bigger than your fist as heating coal. (at least around here) What you usually want is bitumous, probably varying from about the size of a dime to a quarter for most pieces, although if you get it in big lumps, its easy (although messy and tedious) to break up. Blacksmith's or metallurgic grade coal is preferred since it has less nasty contaminants like sulfur/phosphorus/gremlins, whatever that are bad for you and the steel. If you join a group they may do mass orders and sell to you at a reduced rate. I usually get mine from a farrier supply, but then it takes me a long time to go through a 55 gallon drum.

Always playing with new hobbies and historical stuff. Every once in awhile one sticks. I started looking at it about 10 yrs ago when I was stationed at Ft. Hood, Tx., decided casting would be easier to start (Ha!!!) and played with that for on and off. Somewhere along the way, picked up a wee cast steel anvil at a flea market and a copy of Weyger's book. In 09, shifted from big Army to the Guard and moved down to Huntsville, then got a job at a plant that processes Ti rod and Nickel Ti. Wasn't enough room in the truck for everything, so......my furnace got left in Tacoma and I was working 2 or 3 jobs at any given point for awhile, so didn't do much with metalcasting. Took a job working with the Guard full time in 2010 and moved to Atlanta area. Suddenly I had weekends and freetime again, and at a feed store, ran into some bags of coal......hmmm, it's a sign! Made a rr spike knife at about 1130 on a cold winter night with a shallow ditch dug in the yard with a hairdryer blowing through a piece of 3/4 pipe and the anvil sitting loose on the ground. Only took about 8 or 9 tries to get that anthracite lit and more lighter fluid than I want to think about.....sigh. Then on and off as time/mission, and another move allowed. Learned more this year than in previous two when I progressed from the Weyger's book (which is still a great book) and youtube videos to finding IFI and joining the Alex Bealer group in Atlanta. Starting to be able to look around the house and yard and find iron stuff that I've made here and there. Still a hobby level, still hooked, still on the small anvil, still love it.

I want to groan at the use of rebar, and the horns on the helmet, but I can't. Too cool. I love it! Awesome costume pieces, dude.

Nah, Griley (as in G. Riley), another IFI member. :) LUMP charcoal get's plenty hot, burns up, maybe twice as fast, and doesn't really coke. If you have good air control on your fire, it helps a lot. (might want to add an instant offswitch in addition to that dimmer on yer forge for when you're away from the fire banging on metal. A pedal switch works well, like one of those for christmas lights. Don't use briquettes for charcoal. They're full of sand and fines, and don't get nearly as hot. If you stick with coal, bitumous is preferrerable to anthracite, but anthracite'll work in a pinch, it just takes more air, burns hotter, and gives you less control, imho.

Something similar at 7:27 on this vid....

Well, hi from the other end of the state. I believe Griley's located in Jacksonville, not too far from ya.

Love it! Makes me want to go find a corncob pipe and "a solid log of pure rock maple." Somewhere though, an OSHA rep is watching this and having a heart attack. :D

I did actually - for cutting the lids on mine and the kids this year. :D

Forge, as in not cast? Started playing with a few small pieces this year, nothing so big as scrollwork. (on a coal forge) It takes a bit of practice to forge hot without melting or cracking, and depends on alloy. A few times I was even successful.....ish. :rolleyes: You could anneal and forge cold, it goes a lot further than you'd think before you have to do it again. Watch it though, melts really easy, sometimes right under that apparantly solid oxide layer. (Think - squish! ow ow ow ow!!!!) Also moves ridiculously fast compared to a lot of steel, especially when hot.

Lovely anvil, and a good price. Just needs some love and to be put to use. Nice finds. :)

Ah, Herefordshire? Say hi to TechnicusJoe then. And welcome to IFI. :)

Okay, I know it's on the anvil, and usually I'm against stock removal projects, but in this case........just felt right. :D Happy Halloween, ya'll. http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37775-jack-o-lantern/

Calling wife right now to record this! Thanks, frosty!

http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/refractories.html I've used this recipe and variations on it with some success. Think mine has been type 1 and 2 portland. It was whatever was available at the big box store at the time.

Down towards Atlanta, anvils seem to be running around 2-3 bucks a lb. Sounds like a fair deal to me, but maybe like the guy said you can get him to throw in a couple of extras? If he's already got hardy tools for that one, that would be nice. (of course, as a long running member of da army, not the biggest fan of the AR-15, so I may be biased......) You should definitely consider joining a blacksmithing group. The one up at the Choo-choo forge is cool, and near to ya. If you decide to go South instead of North though, come see us in the Alex Bealer group.

Building and contractor supply places carry fireclay sometimes. It varies regionally, but you can also sometimes get bentonite from feed stores (sometimes you have to order it). It's often used to line stock ponds and seal cracks in them.