Mudman

That looks great! Nice work dude.

Can't wait to get one!

That's so awesome! Nice work.

Hope you don't mind the resurrection Daniel, but how has the forge been so far? I will placing my order on a Habanero next week. Stacey was very nice on the phone.

That looks sweet!

Man that looks amazing, nice work dude!

That looks amazing! The black and white photo really adds to it as well.

wow that's awesome!

I cannot, however it is on my list of things to learn. Welding would be so useful.

Thanks!

Looks great! Where do you buy those handles at? I wouldn't mind trying one out.

One mighty nice nail header there my friend!

This may prove to be useful. The guy has been very nice, and more flexible with pricing than I thought. I mentioned that my next return would be with donuts, and he automatically gave me $10 off. lol

Had a little cash today, so I stopped by the place for some 7/8 mild round. Ended up getting the dimensions of those blocks. 1) 7-1/8 x 6-3/8 x 19-1/8 2) 23-3/4 x 6-1/2 x 6-3/4 3) 25-1/8 x 5-1/4 x 6-7/8 4) 18-5/8 x 6-7/8 x 4-1/4 5) 20-1/4 x 8-3/8 x 3-1/4 6) 24-1/4 x 6-1/2 x 4-3/4 7) 22 x 7-3/4 x 3-1/4 8) 16-1/8 x 5-3/8 x 7-3/8 9) 12-1/8 x 10 x 4-1/4 10) 6 x 6 x 20-1/2 11) 21-3/4 x 6 x 6 12) 16-1/4 x 7-1/4 x 8 13) 40-1/4 x 6-3/4 x 5-3/4 14) 4-5/8 x 12-3/4 x 14-3/8 15) 27-3/4 x 6-1/4 x 4-7/8 16) 19-3/4 x 8-5/8 x 8-3/8 17) 27-5/8 x 6-3/4 x 8-1/2 18) 34-7/8 x 5-7/8 x 4-5/8 19) 16 x 6-1/4 x 7-3/4 20) 9-1/4 x 6-1/2 x 12-1/4 21)18-1/8 x 7-3/4 x 4-3/4 22) 16-3/4 x 4-7/8 x 8-1/4

Apreciate the input fellas. I may have misworded my post, my intent was to purchase just one chunk of steel. Not multiple pieces. Although I could make a few extra dollars selling them on the CL, it's not worth the effort. Time wise I'd also be very limited in trying to sell them.

Thanks guys, I'm limited on time to go out and see this place. So when I go back there, it will be for the chunk. The person up front confirmed all of them to be mild steel. He did mention that they ocassionally get 4140 and tool steels (which will be marked)- although rarely. When they do it's, charged the same as mild steel. So it may be a gold mine for me to randomly check out from time to time. The dude was very nice. It would be really nice to have a nice anvil, which I will definitely get down the road.

Hello All, I wanted to get some suggestions from you guys. I had planned to start building a coal forge soon, only to have it halted by a big "NO" from someone regarding the smoke. The funds I have been slowly gathering for a nice anvil, will have to be diverted towards a gas forge now. At least until I save enough for an actual anvil. I was wondering what hunk of steel you would recommend in the below photo? All of it looks to be mild steel, the can to the right is a 55 gallon drum for size reference. I don't have exact measurement yet. But most of them look to be 8''x 8'' or so. I know it's a little vague without measurements, but this was the best I could do before they closed. This place charges 50 cents for every pound, but the guy told me he would cut a deal for the bigger ones. Thanks! Mud

Thanks brother! I don't know why it looked so much more complicated in my head.

I'm a firm believer in quality tools and anything handmade. Being very new to this craft, I was set on getting nice tools if I could afford. Fast forward a week, having spoken to Brian on the phone- I was directed to several other Blacksmiths. Kinda funny, Brian pointing me to other people, when he could have easily made a quick buck from me. He has my respect for this in the highest manner. An honest person, and straight up good dude. I received a 3.75lb rounding hammer from Dave Custer and Chase Saxton, I was so impressed that I ordered 2 more right after. Why? I wanted a few different weights, and supporting small shops vs. huge production ones is also a big deal to me. Quality and personal touch is really lacking in many things these days. So when I find a quality product, I do my best to support it. This is regarding anything.

EnglishWraith, Do you happen to have any photos of the top section, where the pipe connects to the 55 drum? I had this exact idea minus the stand, then stumpled across your thread. Thanks, Mud

I just use my Oakleys and pop in some clear lenses. I've never found cheap safety glasses to be comfortable for long time periods of anything.

That looks awesome Timmy!

Very informative, thank you for posting this. I've been thinking about giving this a try.

Those look great! Can't wait to make my first set.