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I Forge Iron

Matt in NY

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  • Location
    Tomhannock, NY
  • Biography
    Old guy with young family
  • Interests
    Cigars, Poker
  • Occupation
    Beekeeper, Farmer type stuff

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  1. Probably the cigar. Some of the larger ring sizes find me slowing down towards the final third and it dosen't burn properly and causes it to ruin the flavor.
  2. Just checked in after quite some time and found this news. Quite a shock to see this about Frosty, a guy I thought of as Iron man. Prayers sent.
  3. Cigar smoker here with the occasional pipe. I smoke mainly Cubans; favorites are Upmann Magnum 46, St. Luis Rey Serie A & Montecristo Especialles No. 2. But, I mainly smoke lower end stuff like Jose Piedras.
  4. What comes between you and your hammer? I have been busting my hump trying to get my place in order for our wedding. I started clearing off the old barn site hoping that the concrete floors would make a good base for the reception. Too uneven and too much work, so we went to plan B and had it in the yard with a plywood dance floor. It all worked out and we got married last Saturday. Now I'm trying catch up the garden. The cleanup of the barn site started in the Spring. My shop that I was putting together in the late Fall got filled up with my Brother-in-law's clean out stuff after a fire in his mother's house. I got all sorts of free tools, but no order in the shop. I just dumped it in, now it's a mess. I'm just glad that all these "problems" are good ones.
  5. I have been checking the pintles I have hanging around as well as looking over the hinges. Most have that wedge, the only one that dosen't appears to have been punched! All but one was in a diamond shape. The hinges are interesting also. I have been looking at the welds here and there. I put a bunch of them together today and looked them over comparing them. Some were very plain but very solid looking welds. Some had a fair amount of work in them but were not even welded! Some looked like they came from a jr high shop class; no weld and not even wrapped too tight. But, it probably did the job. Well it did since I took it off the door it was on. So much for only quality stuff surviving! This barn was from the 1700's These hinges ranged from 6 inches to over 4 feet in length. Something I never noticed before: all the top hinges, and pintles were larger than than the bottoms. I have a set of double barn doors that have 4 different hinges! I think that there must have been local variations in hinges etc as well as those that were a mark of a certain smith. Just because we see a picture of something from a certain time dosen't mean that was how they were all done. I know, I'm preaching to the choir. Good luck with those pintles.
  6. I'd recommend it if you like pictures. Not a bad book, but not too in depth. There are many better books, IMO.
  7. Jeff, If you want to check out my Hay Budden give me a call 753-4037. I'm not worried about posting my number as it is a public record.
  8. I keep bees, chickens and sheep. All done with cows for now; the last one lives in the freezer. I raise a pig or three in the summer as well as a half acre garden. I enjoy a good cuban cigar when time permits. I ref high school Volleyball to pay for stuff I can't grow. Right now I'm making a little maple syrup, just tapped a couple trees yesterday. I enjoy reading, mostly blacksmithing books now, but I picked up Harry Potter again to clear my mind. I try to work as much as possible around my family. If I can't be with them I'd just as soon not do it. That said; I don't put myself in any long term situations that will keep me away from them for more than a couple hours. It's all about priorities for me.
  9. I was going to ask if you were using those big hunks of coal in the earlier pics. They should be quite a bit smaller. How small? Bueller?
  10. I don't know about anchors. I'm leaning towards elements idea. I don't think that is wear on the outside just molded that way. The outside wasn't important that it be smooth. Sure looks like molded steel, not cast iron. There are 2 depressions on either side that seem to line up, these could be for adding lubrication of some sort.
  11. James, How is the mend going? Hope all is well, Matt
  12. above snipped I'm real new at this and have very little empirical knowledge, but I do have some. I am a good fire starter, I heat with wood and have been camping since I was a small boy, often for the whole summer. Imagine my chagrin, after reading all sorts of books and then finally think I'm ready to start, and I can't get a fire going! Back to square one, read all those fire building chapters that I skipped. Get a fire going in the bottom of your pot. Surround your fire with wet coal. I mean wet. Put some coal in a bucket and pour water on it. As your fire gets going keep the outside banked with wet coal, keep it wet with a sprinkler can of your choice. I pat this down with my shovel to keep the fire from poking through. When you need more fuel for your fire push it in from the sides then add more green coal to keep the coke forming and to keep it banked. The coke will fill up you pot and you will be mounding up the center as high as it is deep. In your case 5 inches. The wet banked coal will contain your fire and direct the heat and keep on producing coke. After this is going, keep it going. It's easier to keep it in shape than to get it in shape. As I said I'm real new at this, but I have been focusing on fire and I like playing with fire. Any comments will surely be appreciated.
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