arkie

Apparently there was a toxic chemical spill in Charleston, W. VA. this past week wherein the city's water supply was contaminated. The news report indicated the chemical is one used to "treat coal". Why in the world would coal need to be treated...for home heating or what? I assume that most of the blacksmithing coal we all use comes straight from the mines with the only processing being crushing and/or sorting. The coal I'm using comes straight from a strip mine operation and is not treated. This post was moved to this thread as it is a part of this subject.

Dust the sides and feet with some flour and brush off. Sometimes that shows a lot of detail.

I got it too! Thanks :) Good info there.

I keep my coal damp by sprinkling. I use a tin can with some holes poked in it and a handle attached. I keep the can in a small bucket of water next to the forge and sprinkle when needed around the fire.

Glenn, I used the search function all through "Pages", "Blueprints" and even the "100 Series" and found nothing for BP0189. All the search found was a hammer ring and bellows using BP0189 for the search term.

Cool idea, thanks for sharing it. :)

Not to worry if your hardie seems "crooked". I use one that is squared to the anvil, either direction. Another is skewed about 30-45 degrees, and comes in handy when the work piece has a bend in it.

My old bench grinder and wire wheel is single speed...too fast for comfort when polishing with the wire wheel :-( Behind the times I guess, but I saw a variable speed bench grinder yesterday. Just what I need to slow that wire wheel to a "slow and hopefully safer speed". Gotta get one :-)

Great link and info!! Thanks for posting! :)

Great looking Hay Budden...hang on to that one, looks to be in very good shape! Probably 208#. You'll really enjoy it. I picked up a 170# Hay Budden in very good shape a few months ago and it's a wonderful anvil; glad I was able to find one.

Jimmy, If you have a nearby blacksmith's organization or club, check them out. They are a great educational source, good fellowship and many will buy coal in bulk then members can buy it in smaller batches at a price much cheaper than stores.

DSW, We live in the country...I use the post drivers all the time for t-posts and small pipe. :) The ID of the post driver is much larger than rod and the rod just bounces around in it, so I just wondered if the pin drivers would be acceptable for say 1/2" to 1" rod. I'll see if I can find some small ID heavy-wall pipe a couple of feet long and weld a thick end on it similar to post drivers. Problem with small pipe is that it doesn't have much weight for pounding. I suppose one could slip the next size pipe over the first smaller one, weld it on the ends and increase the mass some that way.

I see a lot of guys using hot cut tools who just do a quick dip in their quench water, not leaving it there for a short count to really cool the tool down sufficiently. I know time is of the essence when your work piece is cooling down, but a little more hesitation on the dipping may save your hot cut tools.

jmc, thanks X2 for the info on the bending test. Sometimes the spark test is not very definitive.

DSW, can you drive a rod with one of the ground rod drivers you referred to using a sledge hammer? Would the sledge damage the struck end?

Thanks to my wife, I have EXPERIENCE :wacko: hanging curtain and closet rods!!! Stephen's idea is probably the simplest. Some sliding hooks have small rollers that allow them to slide effortlessly (think shower curtain hooks). You could use steel pipe or rod, the center support would take care of the sag and the hooks would slide easiest on a round profile.

A very good rust preventative/inhibitor is camphor. It can be bought in some drugstores or on ebay. Normally comes in a small block about 1" to 2" square and about 1/4" to 1/2" thick. Just place a small block of camphor in a tool drawer or other enclosed space and the fumes will coat the tool with a microscopic layer that will inhibit rust formation. For tools in the open, a cover of some sort to keep the fumes contained is usually used. Google "camphor rust inhibitor" or "camphor rust preventative". Camphor is one of the main ingredients in Mentolatum chest rub, so it's safe to be around. From what I've read, the amount of camphor in chest rubs is too minute to effectively work as a rust inhibitor

Here are some detailed pics if anyone decides to go that way. You figure out how you would slide the gate. I just made a hanger out of scrap and control it from the side. With the fart fan, I normally run it between 1/2 and 1/4 open.

Coal and coke are black. Coal is heavier and denser. Coke is light and less dense. The shiny is probably your coal.

Admanfrd, Depending on what type of plumbing you have on your forge (I have 3" black iron pipe) you can make a simple blast gate to control the air. Just use a pipe connection, cut slots on both sides with a hacksaw or sawsall, slip into that a piece of scrap sheet metal with a hole cut in it to match the pipe ID. Rig up some method to slide the valve in and out. You can have great air control at very little cost and don't have to wire up rheostats, controllers, foot switches etc. Here is a pic of mine before adding the fart fan blower, gate hardware and weighted ash dump. BTW, the $15 fart fan provides my forge with ample air. Added another pic....with the fan connected.

Glenn, over the months I have downloaded a BUNCH of them...great resources. Still reading them. :)

Glenn, I checked out the link you gave, but further down the thread I noticed the links to the Best of "The Forge" which had three volumes of GREAT information on blacksmithing. It'll take a long time to work my way through all that info.!!! Thanks for the indirect reference to some great stuff. :)

Nice forge, DSW. You'll like the high sideboards...keeps the coal in better! Mine were only 1 1/2" originally and I fabbed some 3" with tabs to slide onto them. Now, I'm not scattering coal on the ground. I gotta make an ash dump like yours. Now, I just unscrew the pipe cap on my 2" black iron...getting to be not fun with my stiff old back.

If 1/2" or 3/4" plate is all you can obtain and want something thicker, just stack two together and weld the edges.

Cufflink, Here is one beeswax coating formula commonly used: BEESWAX MIX STEEL TREATMENT 1 PART BEESWAX 1 PART TURPENTINE 1/2 PART BOILED LINSEED OIL HEAT BEESWAX OVER LOW HEAT (SUCH AS A DOUBLE BOILER), REMOVE FROM HEAT SOURCE, ADD TURP AND LINSEED OIL. MIX WELL. COOL