tjdaggett

Thank you! I missed that discussion. I will look into paints.

Is there any need to strip before re-coating, or do you just make sure the piece is thoroughly clean and dry?

I am a gardener first and a smith second. I'm pondering making some plant markers, which would essentially be a stake with a flattened upper half, which could be engraved with "Tomato", "Kale", or even simple pictures of the produce in question. I'm wondering how long forged iron, coated in a beeswax/BLO/turpentine mixture, will remain reasonably rust-free. I don't need it pristine, I just need it to not completely rust over so that the engraving stays visible.

I'm planning on the aluminum. I found a non-Amazon stove/chimney seller that has a five-foot length of just the right stuff, should be able to get it here for about $30. Couple of hose clamps and I'm in business. The plastics I was looking at also had the problem of low-end temperature limits. Even storing them in the shed I'd be worried they'd get brittle quickly. Out of curiosity, why would the aluminum pipe not have the coal gas problem?

Thank you both! I see two options that I like in here. I need to look into whether flexible PVC will withstand the temperature swings in Minnesota over a reasonable amount of time. I can't be replacing this yearly. If not, I think that flexible aluminum will work. I found one that's 10', so I could cut it in half and have more opportunity for experimentation. I'm also keeping a Google doc with links, prices, ideas, and questions, so I can come back to this later if I get pulled away by something more urgent. Should decrease repeat questions.

Thank you Frosty! From all the Googling I've done, I find that the plastic hoses in the right length are all at least $50. I see that I left that criteria out of my question above: I'm looking for something less expensive. If nothing like that exists, I'll save up my shekels, but I thought it worth asking.

Perhaps y'all can help your hardware-challenged brother once again. The duct from my blower to my forge failed. It was a 4" flexible AC vent (pictured above) that I tried to cut down the side and tape to form an opening that would fit over the 2" openings on either end. All of this lives in an uninsulated shed and endures temperatures from -40F to 105F throughout the year. The ducting split, the tape didn't hold, and I had leaks everywhere. I didn't realize how bad it was until I went to a hammer-in and found that I could burn steel in 90 seconds with their forges, where mine just barely got to orange after 3-5 minutes. So I'm looking for a tube with a 2" interior diameter. It should ideally be 5' long, but I could work with as little as 3'. It needs to be detachable from at least one end every time I forge (blower is mounted to the door, but I carry the forge out each time I work), so we're talking hose clamps. It needs to be flexible. It doesn't need to be particularly heat-resistant, as it will stay at least five inches from the pot of the forge, which is itself 5-6" from the coal. Thoughts? I've looked at electrical conduit, spa/pool hoses ($$$), and ventilation ducting. I've heard that there's a part for a pellet stove that can work, but I'm not seeing it. As mentioned above, hardware is not a world I know well, so I'm hoping there's an obvious solution that's just not on my radar. Thank you in advance.

Thank you all! I love this place.

Thank you kindly! I have that finish mixed up already, so I'll just use that and let the spikes dry in the garage, avoiding melting new beeswax altogether.

Now that's curious. Why doesn't the mixed finish I referenced above ignite when applied to metal at a black heat? Also, I have no intention of putting the wax in the oven, only the metal. Then I'll apply the wax to the metal in the back yard.

Smiths, Good morning! I am making my small daughter a pair of free weights out of railroad spikes. There won't be any forging, as the shop door is iced shut and I won't be able to get in for a few weeks. Just going to file off the sharp corners on the spike end. The rust is already off. Railroad spikes without rust look surreal. The question: since I can't get to my forge and I have to do all of this in the house, I'm wondering if a kitchen oven set to 550F will be able to get the spikes hot enough to accept beeswax effectively. I know the BLO/beeswax/turp. finish goes on at a black heat ideally, which I believe is closer to 900-1000F. My guess is that since the weights will have a fabric wrap to function as a grip/cushion that they won't see much wear. Thoughts?

Thank you friends! Pnut, the splash system makes sense. I've short-circuited the gravity piece of the system. We'll take care of that presently. TP, I'm a sucker for existing relationships. I know y'all will provide accurate information from a wide range of perspectives. I'm also not used to dealing with companies who answer their mail; hazard of being in my current job a few years too long.

Smiths, I was given a good gift for Christmas: the hand crank blower from Centaur Forge. My brother-in-law and I put together a mount for it so it can hang on my door, which solved the "no welder" problem and makes setup for outdoor forging simple. However, it developed a squeak after its first ninety minutes of forging. We stopped immediately since we're new and it's beautiful. This raised two questions: 1. Is it a problem that the oil ports are currently on the side rather than the top? I accept that this may be a stupid question, but if it saves my blower I'm alright looking stupid. 2. What kind of oil is used for this kind of machine, and how often? Keep in mind that I forge primarily during Minnesota winter. Thank you in advance for the benefit of your knowledge.

Also, this way JHCC learns even more than is needed, which is useful, and also nice for us chickens reading along.

Informative. Thanks all! My ash stump is starting to split pretty dramatically, and I haven't even had the forge running to act as a dehumidifier. But this is Minnesota and there are always fallen trees for the asking.