Avadon

Okay.. mine does not have a smoke shelf. I thought about making one but for the dimensions I kinda felt like it would just be pinching off the volume of air incredibly. Most in here tended to think I shouldn't do it when I asked, so I left it out. Hopefully that's not a mistake. First non-rainy stormy day we have here in mass. i'm going to spray paint the whole forge with black hammered spray paint and light this bad boy up. I've been working on it forever and a day. Finally I can start rubbin elbows with yah all. ;-)

The opening is 9.5" x 9.5" I'm limited with the rest of the flu because it has to fit through a mand door The Flu is about 25" wide x 9" deep x 38" tall and then it goes into an 8" dia stove pipe. Cant go wider then 8" because the top is only about 8.5" The one thing I believe i have going for me is that the flu entrance leans over about 45% of the firepot. So i'm reading between the lines that putting something heat conductive around a sheet metal flu entrance does nothing?? :confused: Any help much appreciated! :)

Here is the flu entrance.. i'm just curious if I weld some strips of copper or something that would conduct heat a great deal if it would draft that much better?

Can someone reccomend a good flux? (for working A36 and most mild steel?) can it be bought locally?

I gotta say you a are totally right. Although I think there's much to be said about making your own tools, i've seen some people who clearly spend their entire day making tongs and selling them on ebay for dirt cheap. Your not going to get as perfect as they are mang them unless you probably make a jig and re-arrange your shop exactly as they have most likely done. Therefore it's probably wise to make some tongs so you can make them and feel confident in tool making but probably when it comes to working with some higher end stuff just rely on someone who's completely spec'd out their shop for making them. Making 6 tongs for example, that are xxxx near perfect will probably cost you way more in your own hours then it would just to buy them from someone who has the process down pat on an expert level. well that's just my 2 cents on it.

Hello everyone, I have a flu just behind and slightly above my firepot and it is constructed of sheet metal and I was wondering if there is anything I can do around that sheet metal border at the mouth that might just give me a little advantage for pulling the smoke and heat off the fire pot. Someone said once that if you put firebricks near the entrance of the flu it keeps the entrance warm which tends to pull the heat towards it. I'm not sure if that is true or just wishful thinking? I don't have the room for firebricks but was wondering if welding some copper around that face might make the opening of the flu really hot and tend to pull air faster into it. Would this work? Or is it jut crazy talk? :confused:

That sounds really cool.. what does one look like.. I couldn't find a picture on the web.

what is a rasptlesnake?

Is there any blacksmithing use for old files, chisels, and hacksaw blades? I know people have made blades from files but outside of that are these of any use for their tool steel? I mean I don't have a foundry or anything lol.

I See the usual suspects from armour archive are also here hehe I like Nimbas anvils, but i'm partial since I have their gladiator. But people with little money and perhaps equally small desire to drop a huge amount of money into a hobby/career that they might not actually stick with, might find this advice helpful. I've gone to my local steel supplier and they have giant billets that are cut-offs and and you can easily find a chunk of steel that puts railroad track to shame for quite cheap. Often the cut off billets sit there since very few people go hunting for them and they might be able to give you a good deal. Always tell people your a blacksmith and they will generally take pity on you lol.. Most steel yards appreciate people who appreciate metal as much as they do and so more often then not they'll do you you the favor over someone else. Failing this you can usually look up a railroad company and ask them if they have a section of rail track you can have. Failing that call your local ABANA chapter (Artist Blacksmith Association of North America) and ask them for advice. Whack that metal :D

Very Nice! Roses are my favorite. I've even seem people take a rounded three shaped pattern. (*think three big roundish looking leaves with a hole in the center) Then they shape the three leaves, then shape another piece of metal just like the first, and so on, and so on. You can even make them smaller and of thinner metal as you go. Then one offsets the pattern of each piece of metal as they assemble it. If you get good with this technique you can turn out roses quicker then making petal by petal and welding them in.

yah I am taking back the 6" to Home Despot tonight and gonna try your recommendations. How tall of a 10" or 12" stack should I attach ontop? It obviously has to be removable since this thing has to go in the Uhaul at some point when I move. When I do have a permanent installation i'll rebuild a coal forge inside. Just can't do that "renting".... have to (coal) forge outside for now Propane forging I can prolly do inside if I get enough ventilation in my basement.

Thanks Everyone. I guess my worry is that since the flue is not very deep about 8" that putting in the smoke shelf would significan't decrease the volume. I read something about chimneys that said that smoke shelves are a bad idea, but clearly chimneys and forges are different animals. I guess my concern now is that if I put in the smoke shelf i'll decrease volume so significantly from the little volume I have that the smoke shelf will cancel about any efficacy it would have had lol:rolleyes: I guess i'm still on the fence about it. Just for curiousity where would I weld it in. Would I start at the base of the flu and go up X amount of inches and then build a shelf (concave slightly downward on the shelf part from diagrams i've seen. Is it a very slight angle? or does it need to be fairly steep? The front of the flu also contours back (towards us in the picture) so the smoke shelf would actualy create a pinching structure, and i'm guessing that's no good. Perhaps the angle of the front slope may just work as a psuedo smoke shelf? And perhaps i'm totally over building this sucker.. but I got tons of argon now and tons of rod, and i've put everything aside from a drink holder on this baby so why not finish it up in style. My friend asked me if I was going to weld a chair attached to it. I said "Don't tempt me!! :D"

I'm new here, but I usually kick it at the Armour Archive since my main focus is armor and medieval weapons. I've been fabricating for a long time time and making jewelry but new to the blacksmithing. Anyhow i've had help at A.A. with my forge building but I'm getting near finished and i'm wondering if I should install a smoke shelf in my flue. I had to cut about 1" off theb ack of the flu and send it from about 9^3/8's to 8^3/8's because I found out it would not clear the man door hehehe.. yah I had gotten so involve in fab design that I forgot it actually has to be able to go outside, and probably back inside time to time for repairs and modifications. So I have about 8" deep by 25" wide. That oughta give you a feel of dimensionis here. I'm going to put a 6" wide cylinder/pipe at the top to give even more suction. So i'm wondering if a smoke shelf is overkill? So my option here would be to install a smoke shelf before I seal the back up and try to get "Bernouli" to help me more. As it is I think I probably have a fairly good amount of suction because of the volume involved in it. Not a bad little setup so far huh I'll show you the whole thing and progress pics when i'm done. I hate to even show this much cause I don't wanna spoil it heheh Any help compliments, criticism appreciated.. this is my first forge.