TASMITH

Scott;

Just another small conundrum for you on the blower for the forge. If you can, get a blower with 'paddles' as apposed to the squirrel cage type of fan. The paddle type will produce more air pressure per volume than the squirrel cage type will and will withstand more back pressure. A good gate type valve can be installed in the air output pipe to control the amount of air delivered to the burners.

Terry

One thing to be aware of is the tripping hazard of the feet as you work around the anvil. As your blacsmithing skills progress you will find yourself not standing at 90 deg to the side of the anvil. You may be standing corner wise to it as you forge something on the horn or working on the heel. you could get your foot inside the leg of the anvil stand and catching it ,throwing yourself off-balance. Any good sized anvil will sit on a nearly vertical leg stand without tipping. You have a lot of mass in a small area and unless you are bending a bar in the hardy or something similar that is giving you leverage, the anvil is going to sit pretty well stable.

Terry

I'd stay away from anything galvanized! Read the sticky on Galvanized,zinc fumes and Milk. You will be doing yourself a BIG favour. Thats why it is a sticky.

Terry

Yup! Have to have a little piece of humble pie on this one! After some further research it seems I was wrong,but, I've been wrong before and will be again I'm sure. Most of my understanding had to do with modern methods of carbonizing. It is a field in itself and I have only drawn some conclusions on a limited experience with this. Oh well!.Live and learn!!

Terry

Thomas;

You are correct that it can absorb carbon directly, but it is only a bare minimum on the surface. I believe(and I may be wrong here) though that the carbon cannot diffuse into the steel and that it is only the surface that absorbs any. I will have to search a bit to find this information again though. When I find it I will post a link.

Terry

Right fine bit of work! Theres nothing wrong with thata at all and the best thing is that you made it yourself. Something from the heart can NEVER be bad!

Terry

People that build Fire trucks do That to all the aluminum surfaces that aren't painted to hide the scratches caused by everyday bumps and scrapes from taking equipment in and out of the compartments. Of course they do it on a large larger scale and use angle ginders with a fine disk or scotchbrite pad. Same effect though.

Terry

If ya want blacksmith humour...Just read Frostys POSTS:D

Terry

Dave is correct in his explanation of the fire zones. One little bit I will add is the zone that he calls reducing. At this point ,most of the oxygen has been consumed, but there is some still remaining. If you are burning coal or coke the remaining oxygen will combine with the carbon in the fuel and produce Carbon Monoxide gas (CO). This is what is called reducing and it is at this point the steel will absorb carbon from the CO. It is the same as what happens in case hardening. Carbon itself cannot be absorbed directly from the fuel. It is absorbed from the CO formed at the elevated temp. and the oxygen and carbon combining first to form the gas.

Terry

Nothing better than enthusiasm to get the addiction firmly embedded in ones heart and soul.....LOL

to the site Henry. Plentiful amount of introductory reading on this site and more posts than you could read in the winter, all chock full of information and techniques as well. Also if you can't find what your looking for ,all ya gotta do is ask! Somene, (many someones I'm sure)will give you the answers you need or tell you where to find them. Plenty of us Canucks on here, and if we can't help there is about another 50 or so countries with the answers too.

Pretty difficult to pre-order all your stock unless you have every demo planned ahead of time and KNOW that you will be sticking to what you planned. There is nearly always a change in plans at some point. Some demos cancelled, new ones added or as tribal forge said there will probably be someone who whants it different from the one you are making.
best you can hope for is to order most of what you use all the time and only order what you need for a special demo when that time approaches.

Terry

It's from old sailing ships that the term "Freeze the balls off a brass monkey" came from!
A brass monkey was a plate that had slight depressions in it and sat on the deck of the ship by the cannon. The bottom row of cannon balls sat in these small depressions and then other rows were stacked on top, pyramid style. In the winter, if the temperature dropped low enough the brass plate would shrink slightly and the bottom row of cannon balls would come out of the depression and the weight of the others stacked on top would cause them to break loose from the plate and roll across the floor of the deck. Hence the expression!

So now ya know!

Terry

If your power supply is that erratic I would definitely go with a gas/diesel powered unit. It is not just a lack of power(blackouts) that would be a concern. Under voltage and voltage spikes could be hazardous to your welder as well. With the gas powered unit you are producing your own power and at a consistent rate which will also greatly improve any welds you are doing. My 2 Cents.

Terry

I have no problem with neighbours here. I have ten acres of land with about seven of it cleared (and about six of it I mow!... I know, I Know....LOL). My house sits just about dead center of the property so I doubt I could disturb my neighbours too much.

Terry

Sounds like you are on your way! Won't be long before you become addicted and start posting along with the rest of us. Happy hammering:p

Terry

Nelson:
There is a tremendous amount of information on this site that will help you build a forge and tools using whatever is available to you in materials. There are Smiths on here doing tremendous work with the simplest of set-ups. Just spend some leisure time reading the threads in this forum and you will be posting pictures, over-run with ideas, and having some of the most informative and lively discussions anywhere.
Welcome to the INTERNATIONAL world of the friendliest bunch of people you will ever meet!

Terry

Matt :
We were ALL beginners at one point. The beauty of it today is you have the opportunity to learn from people all over the world just by sitting in front of your computer. You can't actually learn to do it that way of course, but you certainly have the advantage of posting a question about something and getting the answer back almost immediately and in a number of different methods. then it is just a matter of going out and trying it for yourself.
A lot of us OLD TIMERS never had the advantages you do today. It was either find another Smith by chance OR FIGURE IT OUT ON YOUR OWN!

So ,welcome to the forum, get yourself a snack and something to drink and start reading. A world of information is at your fingertips.

Terry

First off, Welcome to the site!

Well you have learned some things right off the bat! I think almost everyone shuts down the air on their forge when they pull the steel (powered air supply) and of course if you are using a hand crank or bellows you cant be working them and forging too. Charcoal is good fuel but as you have already discovered it goes quick. Good quality blacksmithing coal lasts much longer if you have a good source nearby. Check out the "coal suppliers thread on this forum to see if there is a supplier in your area.

By the way, if that is also your very first attempt at forging you have done a right fine job. Both the forging and the twist. read the section on metal working listed on the right hand column of the home page. Good place to start and LOTS of info on this site. Research the site and post any and all questions you may have. We are more than willing to help!

Terry

Lucky YOU! I'm not too far behind ya though!

Welcome to the site. You are correct in this is a diverse and interesting group of people, and the reason we are all here IS to share our ideas and knowledge with one another. Some of the very best FREE information you will find on the internet anywhere!

Terry

Super job! I may just have to "borrow" that design. My oldest son collects dragons and would absolutely LOVE that one.

Terry

Now Thats a forge! Looks like something Frosty might build!

Terry

AWWW...... now everyone's gonna think I'm pickin on ya Frosty! Now I suppose I will have ta make ya lunch when you stop in!

Terry

Scott,
I don't know if you have used any of the "For Dummies" series of books but they explain things in plain old every day language. They also have examples to try (tutorials) and throw in a little humour on the side. Sound like anyone we know?....LOL.

I have used them a few times and find them to be good primers and even some advanced work. Amazon.com has them listed for $16.49 (SketchUp 7). I really like them myself. Check them out on-line.

Terry