Charles R. Stevens

Metal isn't necessary, more strictly is fire rated drywall but when a red hot piece of steel goes flying across the shop because you missed a blow its nice to know it won't be lodging in a crack between to bone dry pieces of 2x4. Like I said, I don't work in ideal conditions, so I keep a fire extinguisher in the truck, and I have the client drag out the hose "to fill my slack tub". Lose hay can be a real hazard. At home the main shops is tin lined, but I forge out of an old cow shed, that I haven't lined yet.

Hear, hear!

Speaking of work, how's the new job going, Thommas?

Oh, I figure the looks was just gravy Thommas.

Yea, tried that as a kid, moms hair dryer and sewing machine rheostat... She still holds a grudge... I have used an old style flore starter switch and a reostate on a old heater motor, worked well.

As long as it gets the job done and looks good to boot I see no problem with it.

The common consences is 12" flue pipe, as to fire risk, old barn tin on the lower half of the wall isn't a bad idea, then again I get careles and many the upper half the wall with long stock. If you have exposers you are worked about (any building close to or attached to your shop) that you don't want to risk burning, a couple of layers of drywall is pretty cheap insuarace. That said I forge either off my truck in fields and barns or in an old cow shed on my place.

Yep, Rich that's how I understand it, the USMC seaweed controls of rubber plantations in South America for the rubber.

Depending on the size of your fuel, I've seen spirels made out of 3/8 rod (two prices spire led to gether flat then seperate them to have two grates) as well as a peice of 1/2 bent up like a yin/yang symbol. Lots of options. When you set the fire pot in to your table, don't set it to close to the edge, having table all around is nice, as well as having room for a side draft hood to the side. So lets say you have a 2.5x5' table, placing the fire pot in the dented of one of the 2.5' halves will work out well, gives you a nice space aroung the fire to work as well as a nice space to lay out parts of the project you are working on (mine looks like a big chalk board most of the time, but a full size fire resistant blue print is nice to work with.

If you put a counter weighted flapper on the down end of the pipe (ash dump) then you won't restrict air flow any more than the 90. Depth isn't your problem, it's width. 12x10 is huge. 5" deap is good. Try reducing your pot to 8" wide, leaving the 10" of the original curve. Maybe try a removable baffle on each end? So you can expand the fire pot for when you need a big heat. Other wise 6" of hot steel is usualy more than you can really work effeintly before it cools.

Ok, one a 10" by 12" fire pot is huge, 6 or 8" by 10" would be more efficient, plan on bricking up the sides except to heat treat a 11" knife. Second, lose the round cut outs, a 5" deap fire pot isn't to deap, you need a bit of fuel under the work to use up the O2 before it reaches the steel. Third, as your welding looks good, just go ahead and fish mouth the pipes together to form a "T" and eliminate the elbo. You want to make the air path as short as practical as friction will rob you. ( don't forget to cut the hole in the side of the pipe first, I have had that kind of "du" moment) and that will solve your ass dump problem. 4 add some kind of table for tools and such., just ad a 1" flange around the fire pot cut a hole in a fire proff table and hange the fire pot.

Brian makes rounding hammers and he or one of his students can give you a good idea how hard you want a hammer. The other side of the coin is you give a bit of efenceincy up, but for a beginner its better to redress a hammer than chip the edge of your anvil because you missed.

Heat it to red and quench to harden. You will need to then heat it, to temper it so it doesn't shatter. Realy, unless its dead soft, like a hammer ment to drive stone carving tools I'd just go ahead and use it. Other wise you have to strip out the handle, normalize it, do way ever cold work you want. Then reharden and temper.

I agree Vaughn, it's not economically or ecologically viable to stop using petrochemicals. Just possible. As to wool, took to growing it our selves. The big issue is economics, the wool buyers in the US, are paying a price that is only marginally higher than production costs. So their has been a shift to hair sheep for the meat trade. The market for fleases in the US ifs for colored and exotics for hand spinners. But I have an ace in the hole, Linda has worked as a profetinal seamstress and costumer, as well as a spinner, so I can have custome garmets. I had to build her a 8x8 walkin closet, but it's all good.

Great, it's side ways. can you say technology challenged, where's a moderator when you need one?

Well let me try and post that picture again. Ok so now you can see my traveling anvils stand. As I said it is a bit light weight, but plenty strong.

As I said the stand is a bit light for general forging but I can stake it down, the anvils is firmly clamped to the stand. On the truck I don't have any problems (rubber feet on large washers) I have abused this little set up straitening 2" bail spikes with a 14# hammer. Again stay over the waist for heavy work.

Up side, they are optimized for turning. So scrowl work is a bit easier. My stand is a bit light, but then again this is my traveling anvil not my shop anvil. I have the capability of staking it down if I need to get crazy. With farrier anvils I find that if I keep to the 20 to one rule hammer to anvil it works out better. So for a 75# anvil stay under 3.75# so a 4# hand sledge wouldn't be out of line. And a 2# as your "daily driver".

Heavy forging is a PITA, you have to stay over the waist. You also need to consider hardy tools that are made to have their working surfaces close to the waist.

Mine starts out sharp, and works out to nearly 3/4 at the heal (farriers anvil so it's heal ends in turning cams)

Sorry, double post.

He did say they were old....

Lets start at the beginning, about a forge. There is a huge amount of information here about building one, but remember, except for heat treating you only need to heat a big enugh part of the peice your working in to work in one heat. Viking (and most Iron Age swords) were forged in forges with a hotspot all of about 6" on blocks of iron les than 40#. So you don't need to go hog wild. Tommas is the man that chimes in for most things late Iron Age and midlevel. Rich and Steve are the guys that answer up most often (and can back up there answers) about knives. There are a bunch of others that can advise you on the prices of the puzzle and how to put them to gether. Now back to the forge, I'd suggest low buck, simple and versatile. The 55 side blast is a good place to start. The Britts on the forum can help you with the care and feeding of a side blast (as can Tommas) Now just because I pointed out 3 names, there are hundreds of names I recognize and trust (new ones crop up every day) on here. But the best advice, after listening to what we have to tell you, go and ask the steel. It will let you know with even more certainty if you have it right or wrong.

Wasn't there a post about archaeological evidence that indicated early smelting and smithing in Africa? Contemporary with northern/western Europe and Asia? Just because triabalism let the "white ants" out compleat the natives doesn't mean they were pore smiths. The current thinking I'm the Western Hemisphere is that the central and South American natives were early Bronze Age before the Spanish arrested their development.

I hope your not using the pipe cap as a ash dump. PITA.