arkie

Condolences to you, Frosty, Deb and all the family.

That hardware store is ripping you off as well. That's $1.36 a pound. Most club prices are about $0.25 to $0.40 per pound to non-members, a little cheaper to members. I'd stick with the charcoal until you can find some cheaper coal. Sometimes you can find bulk charcoal even cheaper. Just keep your air supply a little lower than coal to keep from burning up your charcoal too fast.

Well, in that light, hopefully the coal smoke is not detrimental. I'm the same way with tobacco smoke...I can smell it a half-mile away and stops me up something bad! The main reason I posted the question about coal smoke is that a close friend who is a blacksmith was just diagnosed with lung cancer; he is a non-smoker.

I was more concerned about the smoke itself, radioactive content aside, since one cannot completely avoid breathing some during years of forging. I liken the coal smoke to unfiltered smoke that smokers are subjected to...

We had our demo set up at a festival one time and a heavy metal rock band set up RIGHT NEXT TO US!!! They had the volume cranked up to max and the sound was deafening. We all had on ear plugs and ear protection. Well, If you want an interesting example of how the hammer really reacts with your arms and rest of the body, try this. While hammering with our ears completely plugged off, you could feel the actual rebound of the hammer without the sound effect of the striking interfering. It was really strange and the hammer almost felt like you were using a rubber hammer. The transmission of energy through my wrist and up my arm was really obvious, so like others have said...no death grip on the hammer!

Shogun, I personally think the prices being quoted to you are greatly inflated!! Shop around, as Thomas Powers suggested...you are certainly able to locate some cheaper. Maybe a blacksmith club in your area. The prices others in the thread have quoted are generally in line with what most pay. Our club prices are currently $8 to $10 per 50# bag, others are in the $12-$20 range. Good luck on your coal search.

I wonder if any studies have been done to determine if non-smoking blacksmiths have a tendency to develop lung cancer?

Papy, glad you got it set up OK. Welding machines can be finicky sometimes. Certain welders just seem to "like" some rods better than others (meaning those within a single category such as 6011, 6013, 7014, 7018, etc.) and will produce a better bead with one over the others. Also, the optimum amperage for a certain type, such as 7018's for example, will vary from machine to machine. You just have to find what amperage gives you the best results for a certain brand for your welder. Experiment and you will find the "sweet spot" for your machine.

Try another easier rod type, such as 7014, which is very easy to weld with. 7018 can be hard to restart, you have to scrape the slag/fingernail off the end to get a good re-strike. 7018 is a great rod, I use it all the time, but on DCEP...never used the AC rods since my welder is DC only. Go over to weldingweb.com and post your problem along with a picture of the welder. Maybe someone can identify whether it is an AC only machine or is AC/DC.

Beautiful work on the fork! I second ausfire's comments.

If it works as you say it does, you'll do fine using it. That's what they were made for...feeding enough air for the forge.

Great that you get to use the old forge. How's the blower? Does it turn and blow air freely? Once you get it going, you can re-purpose one or both of those nippers into some nice tongs.

Nice cleaning job, but I like my molasses on a hot, buttered biscuit. Vinegar takes a few hours instead of 9 months. On the other hand,... the slow process of the molasses probably etches the WI and brings out the texture better(?). Might have to try that on some WI rods I have stashed away for a rainy day. Probably will put it in a PVC tube and close off the ends to let it soak.

Good idea. Didn't see that in the photo.

Here's hoping for a speedy recovery, D.C. Very nice looking hammers. BTW, not having a striker, how are you fullering the hammer heads alone? Do you use something like the Smithing Magician or similar tool?

Jim, the demo forge looks great! We use a removable post vise on our demo forge as well. If I might make a suggestion, tack weld some fair-sized "Mickey Mouse ears" shaped tabs on the top of your vise hold-down bolt heads. Makes for a "speed" bolt; fast and easy to attach and detach the bolt.

BOA Meetings scheduled for September 2016: NW Chapter: Sept. 10th, Gentry, AR, Tired Iron Tractor Show NE Chapter: Sept. 17th, Maynard, AR River Valley Chapter: Sept. 10th at Lavaca, AR Central Chapter: Sept. 17th at Pottsville, AR PM me for details if interested in attending a chapter meeting. Visitors always welcome.

I think we'll all be just fine with soapstone so long as we don't snort it or eat it......

Thomas, I had an experience just the opposite of yours. Went out on a logging run on a deep well in S. Texas. They were drilling out from under protection pipe in over-pressure, about 16# mud weight. All kinds of excitment when I got on location! Seems as a hand had left a water hose running in the intake side of the Triplex pump and it gradually diluted the mud weight so no one noticed it right away. Well, when they noticed the well starting to unload, just short of a blowout, all hands on deck, closed the rams, got the mud weight back up and killed the well....close call!!! Got off topic there, sorry.

Das, I've got a picture in my mind of the differences, but if I said it, I'd get banned.

I can see why the Mountain Brook Forge coal is so high. They are saying it is Pocahontas Coal (if it really is), which comes from KY, Va. and W. Va. That's a long way from Washington!! They are having to add shipping from the Appalachian area to Washington and Oregon. Best of luck finding cheap coal up there. Gotta be some smith organizations with cheaper coal prices. Our membership dues are $25/yr, member coal is $8 for 50# and non-members $10 for 50#. I think Saltfork Craftsmen in Oklahoma is just a smidgen more for coal, so that may give you some benchmarks to look for. We all get bituminous from Oklahoma, about 200 miles away. There are some of the largest coal deposits in the U.S in Wyoming...maybe that could be an alternative source for bulk coal distributors.

I store my coal in 20 gal. plastic trash cans outside the forge area (they don't rust). I use about 10 of them. We get our club coal in 50# bags, so I dump two bags per trash can, which conveniently holds 100#. I keep one next to the forge. Easy to move around and switch out with a two-wheel dolly (saves my old back...).

Lou, check the local Ace Hardware, True Value Hardware and Dollar General stores in your area. Often they carry the 20 Mule Team Borax.

Lou, I think a better way of putting it is....."so they can just go ahead and learn this stuff the way we had to." The hard way is not always the best way, thank goodness. Happy forging!

A lot of smithing organizations will sell coal to members for about $10 to $15 per 50# bag. Some, you shovel it yourself. Thirty five $ seems high to me. If you put your location in your avatar, there may be an organization with coal near you. OOOPs!! Just saw your location...sorry.