FieryFurnace

Alright, I am thinking about going to our local fair and setting up my forge. The county we live in has about 17,500 people in it. The booth space is $200 (for six 6-hour days.) Can anybody tell me if I am likely to come out? I have done demos before where I made $120 in about 3 hours. Then again I have been to demos where I made $25 all day. (That might have been because my stuff was displayed next to a professional's $75 letter opener:(.) Let me know! Thanks! The kidsmith, Dave Custer

I'd go with anvil number two. Mine has that weld line and a quiet ring to it. I like a post vice. It gives me more room to move around and twist long pieces if steel. Word of advice! Don't paint your anvil or vice. I tried to do that with heat resistant paint, but, of course, it burned it off admediately. That made the anvil service slippery and smokey. Good luck! The kidsmith, Dave Custer

What is the difference between green coal and just plain coal? I have some big chunk coal right now. It burns great and clean. I have some coke too, but I don't ever worry about using one or the other. Sometimes I start with coal, and sometimes I start with coke, and sometimes I start with both. Does that mean I don't know what I am doing? The kidsmith, Dave Custer

Mine sill lacks the upright post, the beams, and the roof. Other than that it is plenty big enough! I have 60 acres of shop space. (Some of it is steep bluffs so I actualy have a little less than 60 acres.) The kidsmith, Dave Custer

Somebody posted and asked if anybody knew what kind of anvil he had. That reminded me that I don't know what kind mine is. Mine is an 85 pounder. I was told when I bought it (I bought it in Ga. when we lived there) that it was made here in Ky. I was also told that the company that made it went out of business before the Civil War. ( before 1860) The anvil has a top plate, and it also has markings on the side, but I can't tell what they say. I know that is a vague description, but can y'all give me a list of companies that were in buisness at that time? (from Ky. of course) I think if I see the name I'll remember it. Do y'all like these trivia games? What kind of forge am I thinking of? The kidsmith, Dave Custer "It's not the fact that you're dead that counts but only how did you die." WELCOME TO CUSTER FAMILY FARM!

I started with a brick fire pit, a rock, and a construction hammer. You're doing great. The Kidsmith, Dave Custer WELCOME TO CUSTER FAMILY FARM!

I live in Columbia Ky. near Sanduske steel supply. In Ga. I was paying $10.00 for 20 ft bars of 3/8 round. $12.00 for 3/8 square. I pay half that much now, so I'm happy. Maybe thats to much still, but I don't know any better. The Kidsmith, Dave Custer

I think this has already been mentioned, but movies are the problem. Somebody said Pirates of the Carabean. Orlando Bloom plays a blacksmith and all he makes is swords. There are dozens of them all over his shop. The only thing the camers zoom on is swords. The same thing goes with hores shoes. How many times do you see some western movie, and there is a blacksmith in the background shoing some cowboys stallion? The kidsmith, Dave Custer "It's not the fact that you're dead that counts but only how did you die."

If you do tin don't do it in th rain or snow! Me and my dad roofed our house in snow and rain with temp. of about 25-30 degrees. I sliped twice but landed in the valley of the roof.

I don't have much time, but here is my pity story too. I was moving my forge on the 20-foot trailer, and it fell off of the back. It broke my blower bracket clean off.:mad: I wired it back on because my dad's welder is in storage. I won't be able to re-weld it until he builds a new shop and installs a welder outlet...at least a year from now most likely. The Kidsmith, Dave Custer "It's not the fact that you're dead that counts but only how did you die" WELCOME TO CUSTER FAMILY FARM!

I have done a couple demos here and there, so here is my bit. Let a couple guys forge a bit, but make sure they have long sleeve shirts on and the safety glasses. Take some round stock and heat it up. Stick it through the prichet (sp?) hole, flourish your right hand, and say, "impress the ladys," while you take your small finger and bend it all the way down. My key to success with school kids is humour. Keep 'em laughing. It works every time. I think shattering some carbon steel would be great too. Burn some steel, they will love it. Better yet, get a kid and set him in a chair. Then heat up some steel real hot. Blind fold the guy and take a piece of ICE COLD steel and lay it on his arm. Make sure it is the toughest guy in the class! Also when I have demos, I rope off an area around the forge so I don't have to worry about scale hitting some girl,s leg. (That will keep 'em from wearing those short shorts:D) That's all folks. The Kidsmith, Dave Custer "It's not the fact that you're dead that counts but only how did you die"

Realy? Huh! I had thought of that, but I don't know how to retemper them then. I reckon I'll soften it (I know there is a special word for that but I can't remember it) and experiment with the temper.

My blades are a different shape than that. They are curved like the ones in the pictures, but they are also an "L" shape.

I'm fifteen too, and Frosty probably told you everything you need to know, but here goes. I was told to make sure your hammer would bounce off the anvil face a little. Not enough to send you to the hospital, but just pop it up a little. Mine does that. Also, I don't like mine to ring. Mine has a pleasant "ping" to it when you hammer. It's anoying when your anvil sounds like you're taking a piece of sheet metal and hitting your neighbors car with it. I was told that I didn't want sharp edges. I can see how this would be bad because it marks the steel. Mine is slightly rounded. Other than that, I don't know much else. I think there is supposed to be a top plate instead of a solid anvil, and I heard that cast anvils are bad. I don't know the difference because I've never owned a cast anvil. The kidsmith, Dave Custer "It's not the fact that you're dead that counts but only how did you die."

I know what you're talking about when you say let the student make mistakes. My teacher did that to me in my first lesson. He gave me a piece of 3/8 inch round and told me to heat it. I stuck it in the forge confidently and began to tell him about something I had made, blowing lustily the whole time. He kept me in deep conversation until I suddenly thought of my steel in the fire. I pulled it out of the fire, and it looked like Tinker Bell's fairy dust wand. He laughed, and I lost most of my self confidence then and there.

Hey, I forgot about the tiller blades I posted about a couple of days ago. Can I use those for a hardy? I got some clay in my firepot right now. I put a good wood fire in there to help harden it. Mr Thomas, I don't know if I'd let those "bozo's" use that hardy. You might need to make sure it can hold up first. Do a bit of testing. I need to ask a stupid question right quick. It's one of those questions that I know the answer to, but I just can't think of it. What is normalizing? I've heard the term and when y'all answer the question I'll go, DUH!!! I knew that! Anyway, thanks! The kidsmith Dave Custer "It's not the fact that you're dead that counts but only how did you die." WELCOME TO CUSTER FAMILY FARM!

What is spark testing? I've heard of it, but I don't know what it is.

I do have a chisel but I didn't think of using that way. The angle iron will be the best way, I guess, because I don't have to temper it. I assume I will have to sharpen it more often though. I forgot all about masonry firepots. That was a great idea, and I will do it promptly because I realy don't have the money. I called my local steel supplier yesterday and found out that steel here is half as much as it was in Ga. $5.00 for a 20 ft piece of 3/8 inch round. Hey Philip in China, I'm only 15. The kidsmith, Dave Custer "It's not the fact that you're dead that counts but only how did you die." WELCOME TO CUSTER FAMILY FARM!

Hey guys, I told y'all I just recently moved from Ga. to Ky. Well, all my tools made it up here except my hardy. I don't know where it is. Can someone tell me how to make a good one? I don't know anything about carbon steel or tempering, so be very generous with details! I have a hacksaw, but my vice is not mounted; and I have a band saw, but it is in storage.:mad: I made a fork today with my newer forge. The only problem is my firepot is about three inches too deep. Consequently, the heat of my fire is below the top of the firepot. I am going to try to fix it tomorrow by raising the bottom of the firepot with some 1/2 inch plate. I'll have to pay the welding shop to do that because our welder isn't strong enough, and it is in storage as well. The kidsmith, Dave Custer "It's not the fact that you're dead that counts but only how did you die" WELCOME TO CUSTER FAMILY FARM!

I'm in the 10th grade at age 15. 10xx is supposed to be written 10x2. Oh, did you want me to write a formula for that, or is it a graph. Just kiddin'! Thanks for the info. For now, I think I'll stick with mild steel. The kidsmith, Dave Custer "It's not the fact that you're dead that counts but only how did you die" WELCOME TO CUSTER FAMILY FARM!

Braghtworst, I started out with a brake drum forge. I paid $80.00 to get a stand built at a welding shop, because, at the time, we didn't own a welder. I got the brake drum from a junk yard for nothing. I used my brake drum forge for over a year at an average of 8 hours a week, and I could burn just about any size steel you could put in it. It is still highly serviceable. You can usually get scrap steel from a steel yard for very little cost, and if you have a welder, you could build a brake drum forge for under $40.00. I prefer coal to propane because of the traditional aspect. I also like turning the blower; electric blowers aren't for me. Good luck. The kidsmith, Dave Custer "It's not the fact that you're dead that counts but only how did you die." WELCOME TO CUSTER FAMILY FARM!

How do you make chisels and punches? I have two pair of tongs in the making now, but I am not getting near hammer making, for a couple of years, unless I have a teacher. The kidsmith, Dave Custer "It's not the fact that you're dead that counts but only how did you die"

How long do you temper them at that temperature? I am working on my first knife, out of a file, and I was told to temper it at 250, I think, for a couple of hours. Is that higher or lower carbon content? Thanks! The kidsmith, Dave Custer "It's not the fact that you're dead that counts but only how did you die"

O.K. I know that 1080 and 90 have to do with carbon content, but I don't know if that is high or low carbon. What does "spark or heat and quench" mean? Does that tell you whether it's 1080 or 90? Please clarify somewhat, I am eager to learn. The kidsmith, Dave Custer "It's not the fact that you're dead that counts but only how did you die"

Alright, I was going through the barn and I came across some old pieces of steel. They are some kind of blades, and I think that they might be old tiller blades. I also found an old piece of a plow. You know plow points, well this looks like the piece that the plow point attaches to. It's the piece that comes down and bolts to the back of the plow point. What kind of carbon content are we talking about here? What would it be good to turn these into? I'll ask how to forge them later. The kidsmith, Dave Custer "It's not the fact that you're dead that counts but only how did you die" WELCOME TO CUSTER FAMILY FARM!