ThorsHammer82

cast Iron wouldn't stand up to the heat changes that brake drums go through on a regular basis. My brake drum forge welded up without any issues.

the drum isn't cast Iron. It's cast steel and will weld up just fine.

why were you wasting time and money looking for fittings if you can weld?

do you weld? or know someone that does? getting a section of exhaust pipe from the auto parts store would be cheaper than using the heavy wall pipe from the big box store. Know any plumbers? They should be able to hook you up with the piping too. but the fittings will still cost you if you don't have access to a welder. old BBQ's make great stands as mentioned above. and don't be afraid to think out of the box. it doesn't have to be pretty, so long as it works for the job it's intended to do.

that sure is a beautiful piece.

They use wire saws in the Quarry industry as well. Dimensional stone used for building cladding, pool tables, ect are pulled from the quarry using wire saws and diamond wet chain saws. than taken to a shop to be cut into slabs for this that or the other using a multi-saw rig. that one on steel was sure working slow.

get two sections of conduit. cut one into three 3'4" sections. Hammer the top 3" flat and bolt to drum. Hammer the bottom 1" flat and fold over to act as a foot. cut the section to fit the distance between the legs about 1/2" up the legs +3" Hammer 1.5" on each end flat and wrap around the legs. over lap the ends and put a single bolt through each leg to hold the legs solid. Note, when you flatten the top part of the legs it should cause the leg when placed against the drum to angle outward from the drum (hint you want the round part of the conduit to be in contact with the drum as well as the flat part). I'd mark the drum at 4" above the bottom lip and line the top of the legs up with the mark. This should give you a wider base than top. This will help with stability.

what were the issues that you were having with the cut? what experience do you have cutting with a torch? for something that thick its' going to come down to travel speed and torch angle. personally I'd send it out to a water jet, but that's just me.

paint can hide a lot.

looks like a decretive piece to me. something to put into a 3D cast scene of a blacksmith or something like that. at least that's what I'd use if for. more of a visual piece than a useful one.

getting rid of the paint, and showing some marks would help them ID it.

The heaven hold a special place for those who serve to protect others, and fight for what is right. The Norse called it Valhalla, The Hall of Warriors. To those who served, to those who will serve, and especially to those who now reside in Valhalla. Thank you!

yesterday I had the privileged of going through a basement, and two shops of a coworker's aunt's who'd recently passed at 101 yrs young. Her husband had been a jack of all trades type of guy and had actually had his own smithy (one of the shops). Alas, the smithing supplies were long gone from years of family members coming in and taking what they needed for what ever reason. sadly my coworker thinks that the Anvil is now being used as a lawn ornament... but I also got to go in before the scrapper so I did come away with quite a bit of useful metal. much of which had already been hammered on. a 3 1/2" vice with an anvil horn on the back. a pipe vice, and many tools. There were a good 10 planer blade from an electric planer. some leaf spring stock, a couple of RR spikes. some very useful hunks of metal (2" x 3" x 8",2.5"-3 round x 5", 6" Round x2") many old tools. but there were a couple of tools that I have NO idea what they would be used for. I will get some pictures of them when I get a chance and see what you guys think. I honestly don't even know how to describe them. So I'll be starting my own "now what is this" thread soon.

Mine is the drum from an s-10 so yes, it will work fine. it's more a matter of the table you use with it than the drum itself. The larger drums and the deep rotors just make it less likely to dump coal out of it if you don't have a table.

there isn't a single person in this thread thus far that I don't consider to be a wealth of valuable information in the craft of metal working. all of you are masters compared to where I stand at the children's table. I soak up as much as my feeble brain can in a single sitting on the little time I have to soak it up. alas my hammer time is extremely limited due to work and two very young kids but I do what I can when I can and I'm learning, absorbing, and sharing what I can. I don't claim to be a master I don't even claim to be an apprentice at this point. And I for one thank you for your crumudgeony, and some times harsh responses. I have spent half my life working with metal. from welding to now blacksmithing. I can't get enough of it. it was an addiction the moment I sent electricity flying and made molten mental do my bidding. having a source such as this is such a blessing in these days where craftsman and crafts themselves are dying out in this world. where there used to be a smith in every township to have someone within a days drive now in some places is a blessing. To collect the thousands of hours of experience in one place for all to share and access from around the globe is something that never could have happened 30 years ago. something that many people take for granted. I'm just glad to be able to take part in that. Jim, if I may give a suggestion. one way I've found that gets me over road blocks, be it mental, physical, or theoretical is to take a step back and try to learn something from the beginning from someone else entirely. setting aside the "been there, done that" mentality on some things can sometimes open up a whole new road to travel from the same starting point. Not to mention having the experience of traveling down a similar road once already will allow you to pick up on things that you may have missed the first time down it.

hope you're caught up on your school work and doing all your chores. I know I'd be hard pressed to drop $1000 on something for my kids on short notice. but if you've been buttering them up for a while now it might be worth it. Especially if you're going to pay them back for the cost.

I wish it was like that in the US.

I'd make a base for the larger section. something to spread the weight and impact out on the ground. maybe a section of 3/4" plywood with a box for the plate to sit in. It will keep you from beating the plate into the ground over time. and give you that much more solid of a hit.

count one more for locking it in. leaving it to move adds additional wear when it's not needed.

it's posts like this that make me SO glad I don't live in the city, or in a neighborhood with a HOA. doing it at night doesn't sound all that bad. makes for cooler pictures of the retort too.

kinda looks like it might just be a counterweight. maybe for a self closing door, or a curtain lift of something. something that the speed needs to be easily adjustable based on the job at hand. weight pulls the door closed, but when it's hot, you just pull the weight off the ring and it stays open. Want it to close faster or stay closed on a windy day? add more weight.

use the galvi on the outside of the shop and black pipe, or something non-coated inside the shop. The further away from the fire, the cooler the stack will be.

hair dryer from the thrift store, or a $13 bathroom fan from a big box store. The forge looks fine. as for restricting air flow, that is going to depend on the blower, and the fuel. I use a shop vac and don't restrict air flow so much as I vent it. I open the ash dump to reduce the amount of air that is going to the fire. play around a bit with different blowers and air speeds to see what you like. You can add a dimmer switch to most electric blowers to reduce the air speed/volume. as for hammers, that's going to depend on you. what's comfortable for you and what you like. everyone is different. and with the hundreds of thousands of possible combinations with handles, shapes, sizes, weights, etc. it's really something you've got to fetter out yourself.

Ian, PM sent. if anyone else is interested just PM me and I'll send you the info.

I use my double barrel kit for a wood fired smoker. which reminds me. I need to smoke something soon....