Andre Of Astora

I have a bit of an issue with some large nut coke...I've used small nut before and it's worked great! Burns hot and everything, but now I'm almost out, but large nut (averaging 3 to 5cm) isn't getting hot enough, I made a roaring fire with wood today, slowly placed the coke in the fire, the coke heated up, and got REALLY hot... But only on the sides..The centre wasn't even burning even after alot of poking and prodding and shaping so I started to get quite frustrated...I was wondering if I could request help with this problem. I have a small...I dunno what you'd call it..I guess a small old 'rivet' forge, it's got a hand cranked blower and reasonable room for coke, so by rights it should work, but it doesn't. :(

And thanks to everyone who provided me with help :D

I posted all of these in general because, as Chinobi said, I'd rather do that and get all my questions answered at once than clutter up the forums with individual posts, and while I COULD have searched the forums before posting, at least this way I can phrase my problem exactly as I need to. Sorry if I annoyed, but I just considered it easier for everyone.

Hi everyone! Got a few random questions, I know some of them fit into other categories on the forum, but I think this is faster and less hassle..SO! 1) Is there ANY such thing as 6mm square bar in south australia? I recently found myself a supplier of steel that sells most sizes for a really good price (It's mild steel or somethin') But they don't have 6mm square, and it's ALOT of effort to square up a 6mm round bar from end to end. 2) Can I sink a piece of thin metal without the use of a swage block? I'm only just starting out and it's hard enough to find hammers in this country :P I'm thinking things like leaves and spoons, so nothing major...I've read that I can carve out a dip in a log and soak the dip in water to stop the wood burning, but it seems like alot of work for something I'm only going to do occasionally... 3) Is borax I buy from the shop 100% suitable for forge welding? Or do I need to cook it first? I've seen on here that most of the time moisture gets back into the borax anyway, so is there REALLY a point? 4) Do I really require another person when I want to make a hammer (Eventually?) Is it something that IS possible on your own? 5) Is there any other source of coke in South Aus besides Farmweld? I don't mind buying coke from there if I need to, but I live a fair way away and it's a hassle to get down there.

Yahoo2, I'm not sure if I'm skilled enough to be altering heads, plus I lack a bandsaw :P I'm curious about ball-peins though, all the ball-peins I've seen have an annoying angle on the head that'd dent my work...Do I overcome this by dressing the hammer first?

I'm hugely inexperienced still, so making tools is sadly out of the question for awhile. Contacting farriers was going to be my next plan though..That and farm sales. :D

I contacted you a long while ago about blacksmithing workshops, but it never came to fruition (Other commitments unfortunately) but I wouldn't mind a bit of guidance...I've gotten the Prospect Hill Museum's forge more or less up and running (still lots of kinks to work out though)

Hi guys, been absent from the forums for awhile, but now I need your advice! I live in a rather rural part of South Australia, and I've semi-recently come into looking after a historic blacksmith shop. LOVING IT as I've always had a love of smithing, only...Now that I'm (slightly) more experienced, I'm noticing that the hammers there just aren't up to par..I have a light claw hammer like thing that is good for light work but is terrible at squishing a piece of metal, and a really heavy cross peen hammer, that is great for squishing metal, but not so great for my arm. Now, onto my problem...There is a SEVERE lack of blacksmithing tools in australia, I've scoured the internet and I've seen that almost all the tools come from america, which would be fine, only postage is about 50 dollars, on top of a 30-50 dollar hammer, since I'm only starting out and I make literally no money from the work I do, I don't see a point in spending this much. So, any aussies that can point me in the right direction, or anyone for that matter?

Thanks everyone. I've thought about making my own anyway, because currently I'm reviving and using the one at an old country history museum, but I want to get into home use. I've heard using breakdrums is a good option to start with, until I get a bit better, but you said the lid off an appliance? What kind of appliance?

Hi everyone, I'm new, both on here and to blacksmithing in general. Just a few questions I'd love to have answered, I'll try to keep things simple, haha. 1) I've mananged to get my forge up and running, it's been used a few times since I cleaned it up, I burn coke as fuel etc. But the last time I used it, I heard a massive bang and saw that the forge has split right through on one side, I'm assuming it heatcracked cuz it's old..I've heard you can't weld cast iron forges to great effect, and I've also read about fishplating, if that's the right word..Anyway, what would be the best course of action? I've thought about welding it, then claying the bowl, but I'm not all that adept with technical stuff. I'm addicted to smithing now and I want this forge fixed well enough to use again. 2) How long does charcoal burn efficiently for? 3) Can a type of coke be made from charcoal? I use small nut coke in my forge, but occasionally I see fairly large chunks of coke that I have no idea how they got there. I know that coke is the end result of coal, but I KNOW I don't use coal, just burning wood. I think that's all the questions i have for now, thanks for any answers. Peace