rustyshackleford

I tired building a small furnace in the side of the hill by our house. I made a pair of bellows from some ziploc bags and composite board, they worked the best out of the whole affair . Anyway, the furnace was a flop, but it would heat up rebar to red hot (barely). I found a hefty, reasonably firm rock, and managed to flatten the rebar out a decent (read: minimal) amount. I was hooked, and have had black boogies ever since!

Later I used an air mattress pump and burned out a depression in a stump, which I lined with tin can lids; my friend found my peter wright and sold it to me for $100 (a great deal I suppose). My grandfather traded fixing a clock for a neglected buffalo forge, which I added a brake drum to. Now I was cooking with gas! well, coal. Now I have a kind of 55 forge that I fun off of a blower/vaccuum.

That was my beginning, and now I'm looking toward the future. I've been looking to what new anvil I am going to buy, a shop, fabricating a new forge and accumulating the basic tools that will allow me to produce items for myself and anyone else. (man, I sure could use a bag full'o money!)

interesting use of weld deposite/ grinder for sculpting, looks great

well, I was thinking of a baby acorn platen affair, so leaving the holes. for the table frame I've got, it might take about 20, maybe less, so that might mean about 2 small spools for my wirefeed

Not to drudge up a dead topic, but does anyone have a picture of a table made from these plates? I'd like to try it if I can find enough of them, as I just priced a measly sheet of 1/4" steel plate for a welding/fab table, and ....goodness.

I have determined that the best decision is to buy a new anvil, rather than find an old one in questionable condition/size/price. I would prefer a ~250+lb; the question is: What brand? A double horn is the preferred form, but Peddinghaus, TFS, Old World (Habermann style?), Refflinghaus? Kohlswa is nice, but not frugal enough.

obviously shipping for it would be a consideration, but its a new anvil, so it's not like it's a steal anyways.

The old world anvils seem rather cheap comparatively, who can attest to their quality?

Did I miss a manufacturer? Thanks everyone

http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f20/show-us-your-location-4252/

I had the same idea!

So has any actually worked with the stuff? Howzit?

that was part of my posting it, the other being an offer for someone to try it. I was aware of the difference chemically, and the idea of its forging similar to wrought appealed to me

s hooks; pick a catalogue for reenactors, and I make a similar product. also, brass brooches, camp gear, etc.

Pure Iron

Anyone know anything about this material? Similar idea as wrought it appears....

My heart goes out to you, truely.

that's it, thanks guys

..red flag?

maybe 200lbs of coal

I'm with Mlmartin, a least for my reenacting ladle tht I make, and like Ian suggests, I customize the handle with varied twists.

I'm boggled! that is the coolest thing I've seen in the past 20 minutes (short attention span )


I mean.... good lord. Would still love to see some anvil pics, the anchor is duly impressive, and those are four men i whose fist I would not want to be on the wrong side of (not that us smiths are 'hot' tempered or anything! )

Can anyone direct me to images/plans for a foot-controlled torch? I've been curious to see a design, but do not have the resources to tinker on one myself, though perhaps I will be motivated once I understand the concept. Thanks gang.

One of these and various five-gals. I need to invest in some 55 gals for the coal mentioned in another post.



Copyrighted photo removed and replaced by a link.

I've made them out of discarded fencing (sword) blades before, same deal as above; people waiting for me to finish as I demo'd them

something hot to to bang on always helps. Might want to make a hardy (supplement with a chisel), a bending fork, a quench tank/bucket, a twisting wrench of some kind I don't have much beyond that, and I get along alright

black iron pipe is what is commonly available here in hardware stores. the non galvanized is painted black, and threaded at its ends (typically). diameters measure from 3/8"-2" in common supplies, and any length up to 10 feet
A scaffolding pole would work given that it is not galvanized, it is thick enough

having seen it (perhaps I overlooked the link, my apologies if I did) I would say: Test it, snag it. They are versatile, and will accommodate you for a good while

I also agree with Larry on the cutting (I had decided that after having a "duh" moment) Perhaps one of these saws will be next on the tool list. Ironwolf: that is a firm method of going about it, and one that I had considered. guess I'll scrounge up a piece and bang one out while timing myself.


Well, thoughts confirmed. Thank you, gentlemen! I'll just throw a number at the client after I make one and see if it sticks ;)

Having purchased my welder and being the proud owner of it for all of five hours, my neighbor brought a proposal to me. The project is simple: make 20 squares out of rebar. 10, one foot squares, and 10, 1/4 metre squares.

I have to price the materials out tomorrow as it was too late to call concrete mixers this evening, but looking at the Lowes website, their cost would be $43.

should I purchase an abrasive disc and just cut them with a mitre saw? should I heat and chisel the lengths out? this determines how long the project will take, obviously. (wish I had a metal muncher!)

Does labor cost typically exceed materials cost for welding? I am at a loss because I have never had a comission welding before.

Thanks guys ;)

We would need t know more about it than the price. It may be a paperweight for that fee, we would not know. Conversely, it might be a great deal! Who made it? What is the model number? How old is it? Where is it coming from? What process is it? electrode, wirefeed, TIG?

Or a large Vulcan, although I have no idea what the largest size they ever made was; I think they were scaled per 10 pounds, and had a number (5 for 50lbs, etc) stamped in them. maybe you could look for one. I just got outbid on a 240lb one not 45 mins from me on Ebay today by a lousy $5. Who needed a nail header then? I could have just chewed some out after that, it was in great shape and ended at only a dollar and change per pound!!

Best of luck to you KYBOY!