Reverend Boxcar

Thanks a lot for the advice! I am going to start using lump and going to use the water bucket instead of a cap. What is the benefit of using blacksmith coal over lump?

Here is my homemade forge. I messed around with some scrap to get a feel for the hammer, I tried to make a pair of tongs which did not turn out well, but I plan on messing with them some more. The first thing I made form start to finish was This rail road spike oyster knife. I got a bit of a concern that I dont get enough heat from the forge would that be fixed some coal. any ideas what might help?

Yeah the hardie is a little disappointing, but I had a great face and a nice ring. I am going to try put a hardie holder on my vice stand. A peter Wright you say? thats great news! I didnt know I should be boiling the linseed oil, Ive just been rubbing it down unboiled.

Here is my new anvil, It needed a little bit of cleaning up it took some work but I think she looks pretty good. It had spent the last 20 something years in a shed which was occasionally water for prolonged periods of time. Any idea what kind it might be? I think it weighs about 150. The only markings I can find on it are a stamped 0 and a 5 nothing else.

I have a 3in section of pipe for the dump gate, My tyre setup is almost the same as yours without the welding to receive the pipe. As far as being on a budget, I spent that over the course of a few months. I dont have a lot of tools that were required in the other forge instructions (welder, saw for cutting steel) I also own a small car, so i couldn't fit most things necessary to build the other forges in my car i.e. 55gal drum. I had planed on using clay instead of refractory cement but I found out mississippi mud is no good which bumped my cost up about 40 bucks(S&H) and the pipe cost me 45. everything else was 5 bucks here and 5 bucks there.

Thanks for the info... So just hit it with a wire brush and oil?

I got my hands on this old anvil and was looking for some tips on how to clean it up as well as protect it, I live in a very humid place. I was thinking of going at it with a wire brush and some sand paper to knock off most of the rust, then I was planing on heating the anvil with a torch to burn off the rust and then coat in burnt Motor Oil to protect it from humidity. Is my plan going to have any negative repercussions? if so why? and what other route should I take? Thanks in advance for the advice. P.S. any idea what kind of anvil this may be?

hey everyone, I have been hiding out for a few months absorbing as much information as I could for my first attempt at a forge build. I dont have a lot of money to throw at a forge so I have designed one that has only run about 125 in parts and materials. I am trying to make a small tinkers coal forge. I was hoping you could point out any shortcoming in the plan that may be a future problem or more importantly, outright dangerous. Thanks for your time and help. I am using an old flat bottom BBQ pit as the base of my forge. I will cut out a hole and place an old brake drum from a car into the hole to create my fire pot. I will create a grog out of kitty liter, smashed firebricks, and Oatey High heat furnace cement to line and insulate the entire pit. I will run a 2in non galvanized steel pipe up through the brake drum with holes drilled into the cap to allow airflow. The pipe will connect to a "T" pipe the bottom being a reservoir for ash and the right angle connecting to my air source. Anything stand out as particularly stupid or dangerous?