Ohio_82

Its 2.75 in. and their is one bolt that is 3/8th's. Im going to add two pieces of rebar to make the grate. I have some 3/8's I think that should work. I did find some things about my forge out today. The fire pot is too deep I think. And as you predicted glenn it smokes with only a 8" opening at the top. Im not sure if I want to scrap the drum and start over or try and run it pretty much as is for now. I might see if I can find a break roater and do some modifying but for now I think I should make due with what I have and then I will know better what I need when I make another. Thanks for all the response guy. I hate to admit this but I am kinda used to having my hand held when working on new to me things and not just goin out and doing it and figuring it out as I go. Today was a great lesson for me in more ways than just smithing. Thanks Anthony

Thanks for the advice rich. That's exactly what I did. Turns out its not a fire problem at all. Its a forge problem. I only have one bolt going across the air pipe. The gap is way to big. I believe what happened was my fire ball fell down the great. When I went back out to start another fire I started the cranking and after 30 seconds or so of cranking I had a small fire ball. That seemed odd to me and when I looked down at my pipe it was glowing red. I moved around the coal a little bit and sure enough my fire ball was down in my air pipe. Now for another questions whats the best way to put it out? just let it burn its self out or toss some water on it. Some times I over react and just start fireing off questions when what I should be doing is figuring it out myself. Thanks Anthony

Ok so up until now all of my post have been mostly asking about buying things, and values. So now I actually have a smithing question. I know I'm a noob so this is a dumb question. I fired up my forge for the very first time today. I actually got it fired up quickly and all was going very well. I was working with some .25 round mild steel and that went fine. Then I wanted to have a go at the project that got me started in all of this making a rail road spike into a camp ax. The first heat went well and I was able to start my cut for the handle. I put it in for the second heat and my fire died!! The fire ball just went out. I did had some more coal to the fire right before is That what made it go out? I'm really not sure what happened there but I was a little disappointed when it did happen. Any and all help is always appreciated. Thanks Anthony

I will have to re-read that. And my math is terrible it priced at 3 at a pound. I will still go look and see if there is any negotiating room. It not a far drive for me so only a little time lost if i cant strike a deal. Thanks for the input and i will post back if it follows me home. Thanks Anthony

Yes fostoria and they are at 4 dollars a pound. Thanks Anthony

I posted up some pics in the it followed me home thread. I did good on it. Im happy with it and in the end thats all that really matters. Im planning on getting the forge fired up for the first time this week. I can't wait. I have to do my smithing outside for now until I can figure out how to rearrange my garage to fit my small set up in. Thanks for the advice guys. Im still on the hunt for a heavier anvil and may have found one but that's another tread. Thanks Anthony

I came across a 205 pound fisher anvil. The face is in great shape. I dont know about rebound but I will test it before buying it. Any info on the brand as compared to other would be great. I have read a little in the anvil reviews. It sounds like they dont ring like other anvils do. Any other pitfalls to look out for? Maybe a ball park of what I should pay? I will post pics from the ad. Thanks for any and all help. Thanks Anthony

I love ohio. We have a few brown recluse spiders. Mostly wolf spiders though. They are big hairy suckers. My mother-in-law had one on a glue trap that was pushing 2". Have seen a few garden spiders that were pretty impressive to.No venomous snakes to speak of. Have some black snakes that can be pretty aggressive if you mess with them. Yes i love Northwest ohio.

There is no England stamped on it. There is something about wrought on it though. I will see if i can get a good pic of it tonight. Thanks Anthony

The barrel had white grease in it. It will be burnt out before I try and cut it. But thank you for the words of caution. Any one care to venture a guess at the age of the anvil? Thanks Anthony

Thanks guys for making me feel even better about my purchase. The blower is free and turns pretty smooth. I think it might need a bearing on the crank shaft as its a little wobbly, but it puts out air and I am much happier to have this then try and use my wifes hair drier. Thanks Anthony

This stuff followed me home yesterday. The anvil is a 116 pound peter wright and the blower is a canedy otto. 17 pairs of tongs and a few hammers also came home with me as well as some blacksmithing books. I payed a to much for it at 350 but over all im pretty happy. Also if I were to cut down that blue barrel the anvil is on and fill it with sand would it work well as an anvil stand? Thanks Anthony

Well nothing was really as described. The peater wright was not a 125 pounder. It was a 116 pound anvil. The markings on the side are 1-0-4. The othe anvil was an 89 pound anvil but i was unable to make out the name. It had an arm and hammer symbol on it, but i could not read the stamped in lettering. The forges were kinda a crap shoot both of them had rusted out pans. The rivet forge hand pump blower needed work as well. The other blower was not an electric blower, but a hand crank one. Its a canedy otto. It is setting on a pedistool. There were a total of 17 tongs but they are a bit rusted. I over payed but i bought the peater wright, the blower and the tongs. She was willing to slit it up for me. I payed 350 and she tossed in a few hammers and a stack of smithing books. The anvil is in fair shape with a few nicks on the face and the edges. I will try and post a few pics up tonight or tomorrow. Thanks Anthony

Thanks for the reply guys. Im mainly interested in the anvils, but the seller only wants to sell it all as a package deal. They have a 125 pound peater wright anvil and another 120 pound anvil that they are unsure of the make. The two forges, 8 sets of tongs and 2 hammers. They are asking 650. But like i said im really only lookinf at the snvils and will probably sell the forges and probably the lesser of the two anvils. I just want to make sure i offer a fair price for everything. Thanks Anthony

Im going to look at a smithing setup tomorrow. It includes 2 anvils and 2 forges. One forge is a rivit forge with a hand pump blower, and the other i got no other description than it has an electric blower. I know that is not much info but im trying to get an idea of value and what i should offer for it. Thanks Anthony

The top of the barrel will come off so adding a second barrel or just leaving it open will not be a problem. I guess a guy who has never forged should probably not build a forge but oh well I guess. I only have 15 dollars into this so I'm not really out much if I scrap the whole thing in a few months if I find that it will not work for me the way I want it to. The edge really is not sharp at all. I used a plasma cutter to open it up so it left a jagged looking "soft" edge. I thank you guys for all your help and I will make sure to post pic of my first attempt at forging. I am going to a blacksmithing group meeting tomorrow, and im very much looking forward to it. Thanks Anthony

This is how it sits right now. I will try and cut the bottom to fit the brake drum and the lower the front lip. Thanks for your help and advice. Thanks Anthony.

I built a variaton of the supercharged 55 forge. I have my opening cut at 4 inches from the bottom to match the hight of my brake drum. I am wondering if I should line the bottom with anything and also if I should add fire bricks to the inside? Any and all help would be appriciated. Thanks Anthony.

I had to look up the quad state conference and much to my joy it is on my weekend off. I only get every third off so its a nice surprise that I will be able to attend. I will be puttin my forge together this week. So i hope to have some first attempt photos to share soon. Thanks Anthony

Hello all. Im new to this and wanted to introduce myself before I started asking questions. I have been interested in blacksmithing since i was a child. I would always stop and watch at festivals and where ever else i seen a smith working. Fast forward a few years and I am now looking into this as a hobby. What got me started looking into this was a project I seen in the backwoods man magazine. It was how to turn a rail road spike into a small camp ax.(I know meny here despise rail road spike knives). I have started to collect some of the basic equipment. I have 16in section or railroad track that i will use as my starter anvil. I have a 55gal drum to make my forge and some hammers that i will make due with untill the local flea markets start up and i can get better ones. I have also bought the back yard blacksmith, and red it cover to cover. I just picked up the complete modern blacksmith from the library and have started reading that. I have made contact with my local blacksmithing group and I am planning to go to their meeting this month and the open forge next. I just wanted to introduce myself and i will be posting a variety of questions soon. Thanks Anthony