Charles R. Stevens

Tommas, wasn't it you talking about the mild steel strapping from steel yards? The stuff that holds the huddles together from their suppliers?

Small rock crusher tooth? Such as used on an excavator?

Google "earth ship" I find it easer to cut out one side wall, drop it in side then fill and tamp, it's a real pain to tamp the dirt sideways in to the case. It's also best to spike threw the sidewalls to the ground or tires under the one your working on.

Glad you do more than lurk here.

If that aplies equally to amateur archeologists, then your wife is a lucky lady, Mr. Powers. I must say, that I'll take one "amateur" of your calaber to a dozen "professionals" that propose there hypothesis and never try to duplicate it in the flesh.

There are multiple grades of lapping compound. And as your only woried about the rough spots it should get you there, tho the drill motor and pilot shaft might be a good idea. The originals, from my understanding were forge brazed, now I have no prctical knolage what that involves, but I would think that with even heating the snakeenes should take care of its self. The tinning that Frosty suggests might be the answer tho I worry that the "splinting" may cause flat spots and his suggestion of apliying release.

Chop it up and put it in a flat rate box? Always fun to watch the eyes bug out of the counter person at the post office

You can annoy me when you feel the need, Mr. Powers. Your oral diaria is most welcome.

Looking good neibor

I haven't had much of a problem, older stock has weathered and newer stock has EPA regulations attached, such as testing for radiation and other contaminants, befor it can be despised of (sold as scrap, or used material)

Ask two blacksmiths how to do something and get 5 different answers ;-)qs

One must realize that in the SSW half of AZ the number of degree days are low and natural gas distribution is good, and all electric homes are common so the competition keeps the price reasonable the price hike is usually in the spring and fall for grilling season. Europe has been paying twice what we do for fuel for as long as I can remember, I remember gas at .75 marks per litter in Germany as of 1985, and the exchange rate was 2/1, so $5 a gallon. Mogas theft was a big problem on post (died gasoline) I use propane on the shoeing truck, but I use charcoal, wood or coal at home. Like many others I have more than one forge and use what is most efficient/convenient for the job. Tho in winter I like wood and charcoal just because of the heat it radiates and the cleaner fire.

Got cha, challenging either way. You should be able to cold twist an annealed bar,, especially 1018. And again as your working on on OD circle you need 18" ID pipe (I guess because I live in gas and oil central 18" pipe dost sound like an issue) again with a such a long bar, one could cold form it to appropriately large die. I use a wooden mallet to convince it in to the form. One might also consider an 18" OD (use the ID) and over lap the ends, as your stock will spring out if formed cold. The pain in the butt will be sweet talking it into laying either laying on a table, or fallowing the center line. Then again there is probably some hard head out there that can forge it all on the anvil.

From the illustration, I don't see a twist, I see the stock changing . So one would forge two even tapers on a square bar so that the one end has the long side 90 deg. To the other. Then turn the ring. It looks like a really good student project. Especially as its an outside diameter as opposed to an inside diameter circle.

If the doc hasent told you, eat plenty of protein, if not the dialysis will kick your butt. Girlfriends mom is on it. Protein keeps the albumin levels up, and that improves your energy levels and your over all out come.

You can rap PT posts with ice dam barrier, it is polyethylene coated with tar. It greatly extends the life of posts, wich usually rot in the first 6" were the soil microbes and air is.

Around here it comes is 3 sizes, but the most common size has 1" flats for coupling it to gether, so it lends itself to a hot cut. One can also fuller or slit the flats to make handled punches, drifts and hot sets. Dinner bells...

In another three descusion the same thing, for the flat face it was recommended it actually be crowned by about a 12" radius, and the corners radiiised to about 1". If the face is flat, and your hammer controls less than perfect the hammer will tend to jump in your hand, leading to you takin a death grip on it. In the same thread it was recommended to used a 6" radius on your rounding hammer. For your peins, it can be all over the place, I have seen recommendations for 6" radiuses on them (wich works remarkably well, as you have a "edge" to work on like a rounding hammer) as well as as 2" for a slege" 1" for a 4#, 3/4 for a 3# etc. for general work I would stick to the 12" and 6" guide, with 1" corners. I also recommend flare in the sides of your handle and smithing off the knob at the end. The face shape, and handle shape help keep the hammer from jumping around in your hand, so you can " shake hands with it, in stead or trying to choke it to death.

Around here you see the same kind of thing on weld trucks, one are simply 1 tons with a welder in the bed and stuffed with rands and tools, others have flatbed, or commercial weld beds, but others, are hand crafted, rolling advertisements of the skill and dedication of the weldor. Must say, it is insperationnal

My apologies, Master Turly. I unintentionally neglected your own excellent school.

CO sticks to hemoglobin 16 times better than O2,

I second VT. While your at it see if you can score a rail spike hammer head. Tommas Powers made a couple of nice double Ended bicks

By definition a forge is an industrial tool, so industrial looking isn't nessisaraly a bad thing. Tho clean lines is desirable A note about your building, that old masonry is most likely "soft" brick with lime mortar. Most modern work uses "hard" brick and cement mortar. Don't use cement mortar and hard brick with the old work as it will have a long term detrimental effect. The soft lime mortar is muck less likely to crack that the cement mortar, and the hard brick was designed for cement mortar. So use like mortar and soft brick for repaires and modifications, along with lime plaster instead of cement plaster. The use of cement has damaged many historic buildings. With such a small space you are just about stuck with the corner for your forge, might I suggest making a pass threw in the wall? A brick sized hole (even a half brick) would alow you to "pass" a longe rod trew the wall so you can heat it in the middle. The deal with chimney is it needs to be high enugh that it isn't effected by terbulance coming of the roof, so the suggestion is 4' higher than anything with in 10' and some times that will bite you, as 4' higher than the highest point will guaranty clean flow. There are several descusions on hoods and chimneys is the forums. Unless you go threw the roof at the highest point flashing clay tile roofs is a pain, ant it will leak if you don't do it right. As to the door, three layes of boards, one vertical, the middle diagonal and one horizontal is pretty clasic, and if you clich hand forged nailes threw the first two layers (the outside facing) you don't have to wory about any one pulling the nailes ;-) as for the hinges, inward sores are more secure, but on a workshop, out ward swinging are better, one, it doesn't toke up floor space, and I case of a fire, the door pushes out!.

Judging from the responses, I'd imagine cutting a slab that just fit a flat rate box would go over real well.

Brian's classes would certainly be the best resource, as not only would you forge (act as striker wile Brian forges) a hammer, he can guid you in fabricating the tools you need.