Hi all, I just thought I'd introduce myself and see if there was anyone else nearby.
Names Matthew, I'm 28 and just getting my own forge set up here in Bathurst, NSW, Australia.
I'm a contaminated land, environmental and marine scientist who is taking a break from the city rat race to set up an off-grid workshop here. I'm looking to make groundwater sampling equipment for the mining industry in the workshop and research and patent a few remediation methods while I'm at it. Hopefully I'll have time and space to also do a bit of forge work, and build my John Welsford "Navigator" a 5m sailing boat. I have a 200A AC/DC TIG welder, table saw, pedestal drill, drop saw, cut-off saw
I managed to source myself a 45kg anvil for $200, and a forge for $110. as well as an antique set of leather bellows for $120.
The bellows are too far gone and a little on the small side for what I'm looking for for the forge, so I plan to build my own great bellows. I have sourced and stripped a free fake leather couch of its PU leather and will be using that for my bellow material for the time being.
I'm planning to make my bellows slightly lighter than the other plans I have found so far, by using more cross-bracing and thinner planks. I can get hardwood planks free from used Australian pallets. here's a video of the forge before I got my anvil, linked to youtube, so it won't take up server bandwidth.