arkie

Probably a little bit of coal gas and/or carbon monoxide accumulating below the tuyere. You need to keep some kind of air moving upwards through the firepot, even if you just open or crack open the ash dump. Those explosions can sometimes get rather violent! Be careful.

DHarris, I don't believe I am a party to this conversation....

Irondragon.....or, "what I just walked into this room for??"

Randy, thanks for posting the reference link for folks...quite a memory you have! Yes, it does serve me well. Gets a bit frigid in the dead of winter with a stiff breeze...open end faces NW. Temporary tarps strung up around parts of it can ward off the wind in winter. Great in the summer, being open for breezes not so chilly. I now have a 12" flue pipe running out the front end...got tired of the smoke.

Good info on hooks in actual use on the farm/ranch.

These days, it seems that a lot of folks are buying homes off the internet, sight unseen, often with unpleasant surprises. Buying land sight unseen is like playing Russian Roulette with 4 cartridges in the cylinder!

gmbobnick, that's a nice looking hay hook. I might copy that. I wouldn't worry about the bolt and nut being a distraction. Blacksmiths made bolts and nuts; besides it's easier to replace the handle should it get damaged. There are sources on the entrynet for square headed bolts and nuts for a more "authentic" old timey look. Good idea with the square punch to keep the hook in place. Frosty, (and gmbobnick) thanks for using his picture to explain what you were describing on the construction of your hay hook.

Your rose garden is outstanding!! You must spend a lot of time keeping your flower garden so beautiful. And, in one of the shop pictures, I noticed the neat hole in the wall for pass-through long pieces of work...good idea. Have the birds found it and tried to build nests in your shop?

Don't those bandsaws have tracking adjustment rollers/wheels? Not the same, but my small belt grinder has an adjustment wheel with an oval cross-section that you adjust in and out to change the tracking.

Frosty, since you have made and used your design which should be "blister and sore spot free", I would be interested in trying your design out. I had a bit of trouble following your directions, so would it be possible to post a picture or drawing so that an old duffer can better visualize them? I surely can see where the flat parts could really work on your hands.

Continue your "entrynet" search just for hay hooks...must be gobs of pictures of them. (unless you have already done that...) Your hook looks great, just don't know how functional it is.

Dave, that will make a fine anvil for starters. Our blacksmith group had a member who was a metallurgist working for a steel mill. He came across about 8-10 round drops like that from the mill. They weighed between about 110# to 140# as I recall. He was selling them to some of our members and they went like hotcakes! You can grind and polish an edge of about 1/4" radius along one quarter of the sharp edge for smooth forging and to prevent cold shuts. Sharp edges on an anvil are not good except for a few special purposes.

Patrissimo, I believe DHarris is a Saltfork member, might be mistaken thought. You might try the Saltfork website. Look under "Newsletters". They list all the newsletters which are readable/downloadable except for the current month, which is viewable only by members. If you look at the most recent non-member readable newsletter, they probably list meetings, albeit a month late. Last time I looked, which was last month's, there were not meetings scheduled at all the four sections/chapters, I suppose due to COVID.

Fab up some fan blades and USE IT FOR A FORGE BLOWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!! ('jus pullin' yer chain, there).

Good find on the Mousehole. I recommend that you find or buy a copy of Richard Postman's book Mousehole Forge for lots of information on the famous old anvils. It has a detailed history of the forge where the anvils were made.

Smart man!!!!

One common use for the carbide chainsaw chains is when one believes he/she will be cutting wood that has nails or embedded metal wire. Often, these are common in farm and ranch situations where the trees were used as posts for fencing and signs. They don't cut as fast as a sharp conventional chain but will get the job done. Also, can be much more expensive.

Also, you might rub some flour over the markings. That sometimes brings out the markings.

I agree with JHCC agreeing with me....LOL!! If one watches videos of thermite welding there is indeed an overflow and it runs out of the mold into a puddle next to the rails.....looks like slag from a furnace.

George, your scholarly comments on certain legal matters here on the forum are not only entertaining, but are of considerable value in a general sense. You have often imparted information that the general lay person would have never considered in certain matters. Keep 'em coming!!

Well, for the record, I *was* what they call a Native Texan, but after being born there and living there for some 62 years and seeing what Texas has become...I wouldn't live there again for anything, any reason.....off soapbox.

When we lived in Texas (heaven forbid I should ever set foot back there....) it was out in the country when we first bought a house. There was a shooting range about 5 miles away. Never bothered anyone out in those parts then. Fast forward 40-50 years and the shooting range is now completely surrounded by subdivisions of homes. The shooting range is still active and in business. Gets really noisy around there in Sept-Nov. when folks are sighting in their deer rifles and shotguns......I often wonder how many (unsuccessful) lawsuits were filed against the range, considering George's explanation of "moving to the nuisance".

D, I think the simplest, less stressful way to solve your problem is to spread a tarp around one side of the bag. Make a small cut in the lower part of the bag. Start shoveling the coal into your smaller containers. The tarp will catch any spillage. You won't have to worry about a catastrophic mess if it bursts open uncontrolled while trying move it. I've shoveled tons of coal and it ain't that hard. I think you are borrowing trouble trying to move the full bag instead of just moving the coal in small batches.....

George, thank you for your service, from another vet.

Possibly runoff and slag from thermite rail welding?