Rob Browne

Welcome to IFI TC. Lots of info here for you, especially on heat treatments.

Welcome to IFI from the other side of the globe :)

Welcome to IFI Sam. Look forward to your input and some photos.

Welcome to IFI Bob. It is often interesting to see just how people get into different hobbies. Cheers

I have the opposite problem. I would only get the forge up and running about every fortnight, too many other things get in the way so no burn out for me.

If there is a building site near you have a look for some left over reo bar. Its good to practice on.

My youngest son really thought it was great :)

Now that looks too easy to be true. Just shows how important preparation of the joint and the cleanliness of the surface is. I think I will be watching it a few more times yet :)

Click on the Blueprint link at the top of this page and the ones available will come up as active links. Many Blueprints are still unavailable and we area all impatiently awaiting their reappearance.

MM, you may have hit the nail on the head yourself. When I first started trying to weld I had all sorts of problems till one fella told me to "stop blowing the work out of the forge". We often get too carried away with getting up to "welding heat" and make the fire too hot which heats the outside of the work and doesn't get time to soak through the whole piece. We normally do this by really pumping in the air which also moves the oxidising region higher up in the fire so your work may be in this region. Try backing off the air a bit and taking a bit more time to get up to heat. Don't forget to take the piece out of the fire to allow the thin bits to cool and prevent them burning off then put it back in to keep heating slowly. Cheers

Welcome to IFI Berandor. Don't just lurk, you will very quickly get the basic skills together with practice then the world is your oyster and you will have valuable input. Afterall, blacksmithing is the application of many basic skills in different orders to achieve a desired outcome.

Welcome to IFI Sam. Look forward to your input with all your experience.

Just post them in the Blacksmithin forum. BTW, welcome to IFI.

Welcome to IFI. You have the basices to get off to a great start :)

Welcome to IFI. Start looking at the Getting Started series on the front page.

Get there early, have a good look around then only go to your budget for any item. Don't get caught up in a bidding war!!

Only if they are still glowing.

Welcome to IFI Sam. Lots of info for you to add to your experiences in this site. Look forward to your input.

Welcome to IFI Kevin. The only advice I have is what you don't want to hear, practice, practice, practice.........

Welcome to IFI. Plenty ideas here and room for your input as well. A healthy community :)

They are great for long objects like blades and can easily be shortened with a bit of mud if you only need a small fire. As for the clinker problem, just open the end of the tube and blow it away. Great little units for their uses which are basically long thin fires typically used for blades or long twists, etc. They don't have the mass for heavier forging but that is why you have a selection of forges, isn't it?

Only three hours!! I bet you spend LOTS more time in there, especially when they all come back online. Welcome to the site :)

Yep, take them down BUT not before they can teach me how to stop burning myself with scale and black hot metal and how to make PERFECT products that others can't resist, all for $200. Go for them..........................

Don't be so hard on yourself. They are beauties.

Nice work there. Being a bit of a woodworker I especially like the fit and finish of the handles.