geofthesmith

well when you use coal you make your own coke in the process so not much sence in buying coke and im pretty sure coal is about as hot as it gets for solid fuel only downsides are the smoke at the start of the fire and when you add new coal and the clinker left over fromt he non organic parts of coal that dont burn, they can clog the airways and you have to poke em out, charcoal gets almost as hot as coal but ive not been able to get it to welding temp and its virtualy smokeless, and wood..well i dont think wood can get hoter than maby orange i wouldnt use it unless i was out of everything else.

this is my forge, i jsut set the pot on top, (cuz i ran out of O2 before i could cut a bigger hole ) i welded some lilttle 1/8 inch steel bar to the bottom of the drum to keep clinker out, just to give you some ideas,

BP are casualtys of reacent updates, so they be back soon ya just go scraping, and for blower it realy depends on the size of your pot and how big the stuff you are forgeing, i personaly only do small stuff right now, like no bigger than one inch so i can use an industrial hairdryer and blow it into a dryer exaust tube then into some gas pipe from plumbing in home depot, and that get my stock to a nice light straw color. but realy anything that blows air will work, i think there is also a BP on making bellows...

well i personaly think all that stone is unnesesary, i could be wrong but unless your forging realy big things i think a steel one would be more ecanomicle and work as well. check out blue print 133,

i useda brake drum from midas for the pot, put it on an old charcoal BBQ for suport, and i can still grill with it! but for anvil usualy just a big 'ol piece of steel from teh junkyard works, railroad *rail works good as well...aparently the ties are the wooden part.

welcome to IFI! loads of informations here, so enjoy your stay! PS i cant answer any of those questions i just thought id welcome you

Remember, if you want to run with the big dogs, you need to learn how to pee in the tall grass. i dont know who said it, i dont know how it pertains to shop, but i think its funny so i have it welded to my forge and this is my daily prayer Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to hide the bodies, again dont know who coined it but its catcy

many thanks rich, i usualy would just google stuff like this but i figure this was potentialy important enough aska more reliable source.

.. for stainles steel to also have a high carbon content?...i know that stainles is stainless because of chromium i just dont know if that would interfear with industrial carbonizing procesis..also are bucks stainless? cuz if so ill stop oiling mine

my buck knife is named sever 'cuz it severs teh hide of my fish and game..guess my point is name it for what youd use it for, but a cool word for it

haha neither am i, i jsut hope i can scrape out a steak fork, or spatula for em thats passable liek it was from a garage sale

sounds good to me, but dont take my word for it im just a novice, there is a blue print for it tho BP0093 and the url--http://www.iforgeiron.com/blueprints/blueprints-000-100/bp0093.php

dont know if these have been sadi but i cant stand to read 6 pages, "A wise man learns from the mistakes of others, a smart man learns from his own mistakes, a fool learns from no one" i dont know who coined it and "you dont wait until after the cobra stikes before you put your boot on its head" -Theodore Roosevelt

if your anvil is close to the forge, would it work to run some thick steel cable from the forge adn wrap it around the waist? would it be conductive enough to heat the anvil?

4" buck knife, in my pockets i got keys, pencil,wallet, cell, a whetstone of ancient and unknown origin...i cant even tell what its made of.., some wire paperclips and a bic

i live in the suburbs were i have neighbors on 3 sides, so i intend to make free items or, if need be, to pay them off to keep there mouths shut if they start heckling me

i like the twisted handle, is it made from a railroad spike?

does it have to be more than one hole/slot or does it matter so long as you get teh airflow to the center? also does the air always have to come in from the bottom?

my grandmas dog...she wouldnt stop jumping throuhg the firework fountain.

they are b-e-a-utiful! nicely done!

ty for the info, not intending to make a sword for a wile but just wanted some base knowledge and clarification on previously known knowledge