keykeeper

Anyone in the Novi, MI area looking for a small coal forge might want to check this out on eBay.

item number 190173753614

link Antique Hearth and Blower Forge - (eBay item 190173753614 end time Nov-20-07 16:08:22 PST)

Looks like a miners pack forge or similiar, not sure.

I wish they would ship.:(

As a lover of fine cutlery, all I have to say is....WOW.

That is some fine work you do, Ed.

Q: Who really appreciates you?

A: Everyone I DO NOT try to help in any way.

Seems like in my case, almost everyone I have EVER done ANYTHING for in the past to be generous and of good moral character, mistakes kindness for weakness and tries to take advantage of that trait, but that is another story altogether.

Seriously, though, my wife appreciates my work, has to have the "first one" of most anything I make at the forge. I think my daughter does also, because she already has her own hammer and anvil. She likes the Ding, Ding sound Dad makes when he's working. I think I can live with that!!

aaron c.

1. Never climb up on top of anything you can't handle falling off of.

2. Never hold a pencil flame torch (lit) in one hand, then twist your body and reach with the other hand while sitting. The twist/pivot/burn leg/drop stuff/howl loudly sequence is not pretty.

3. Never assume that the older male (dad) standing behind you has a good hold on the 20 guage poke-stock shotgun you are about to fire for the first time in your life as you pull the trigger. That was at age 7, scars on right cheek from hammer ripping skin still visible 28 years later.

I-BEAM at your good fortune, Mike!!!

Ruinite,

Have you read this whole post? This is what we are talking about. You can't start at the top and work backwards. We are here to help, to the best of our individual abilities and skill levels. Sure, I myself could probably teach you a few things, but I am not a master blacksmith, don't know if I ever will be. But that's how it is, learn all the basics, then move on to harder projects as skills permit. It's a cruel world, but that is how it is.

That said, I see you are from WV. Some of us here are also from WV. Give us your location, maybe we know someone close to consult.
Have you checked into classes at Cedar Lakes? Have you checked out the Appalachian Blacksmith Association website? Have you read every single blueprint on this site? Other sites for info? Try a google search on the words blacksmith association then check each site result for the projects and links pages there. You won't even have time to smith if you try to read all that is available where I've mentioned.

All these are ways to further your knowledge of the craft.

Maybe I'll see you at the ABA Spring Conference or a hammer-in. Hope so, it seems you have the enthusiasm to succeed in this craft.

Well put, Rich. I agree completely. Also what everyone else said.

That said, I'll re-iterate some already mentioned topics.

First and foremost, research, research, research. There are more books available on topic than one has time to read. I read everything my local library had to offer, then used the Inter Library Loan system to get more. I even have bought some of the books I read for reference. Check out this site and other sites on the WORLD WIDE WEB. It's there for the taking, if you want it.

Second, get to somewhere that metal is being forged. The demonstrators always have something to add to your trick-bag of forging knowledge. The "Veterans" outside the demo are a veritable encyclopedia of forging knowledge. MUCH can be learned just hanging out with them and Listening.

Finally, practice the craft. If it's only s-hooks, fire pokers, and dinner gongs, so be it, because you are still forging something, and learning the basics needed to succeed. If you just heat up some metal and move it around, you are forging. A lot can be learned just seeing how the hammer moves the iron under heat.

I have been a member on this site for about one and one half year now. I have been playing in the fire for about a year. Am I forging? You bet. Have I made a dagger, bowie knife or sword yet? Fancy furniture, medieval armor, or power hammer? Heck no, but I am still forging and having one heckuva good time doing it and enjoying every new friend I make here. I am a blacksmith, no matter what my skill level. You gotta start somewhere, fellas!

YEAH, I CAN LIVE WITH THAT!

So far, the worst I have burned myself smithing was when I first started. I had decided to make an eyebolt and hook hasp for my shed out of 1/4 in. round. I finished the eyebolt and had laid it on the anvil while I went in my shop to get some other tools and such I needed to finish up. I came out, and started to get back to work, and Yep, you guessed it, picked that dad-gum eyebolt up to move it. With my HAMMER hand, nonetheless.

I immediately dropped it and proceeded to get intimate with my slack tub. There were chunks of ice in it, so I kept grabbing those and holding them between my fingers. The fellow that helped me get started had told me to immediately quench in this situation, and keep it quenched for at least 15-20 minutes, and I am thankful for that advice.

I had the prettiest round burn on the pad of my thumb and an arc on my index finger. The hurt went away after a couple of days. I think the extra cold water helped to suck the heat out of the burn quickly, and stop the cooking process. The skinned just peeled away after about 6 days and I have very little scarring to show for it.

Like a few people mentioned earlier in this post, I never did finish that hasp up. I still have the offending piece hanging up on the entry doors to my shop shed, as a reminder.

(As an aside, I worked for several years in a pizza shop, we ran the ovens at 550 degrees, and I kinda built up a tolerance to heat on my hands. Got a few burns there, but Never was prepared for what this felt like, though.)

Peyton,

The fellow called it a ring mill. Two large rings, one top and one bottom, with indention to hold the balls in. A cone shaped yoke in the middle directs the coal into the balls. Both rings rotate. All of this enclosed, so the dust is sucked out to a burner to mix with air and ignite, to run the large boilers at power plants.

He had a more refined explanation, but that is the short version.

aaron c.

by the way, he added that the balls start out as 12 inches in diameter!!

This rolled into my truck at the ABA Fall conference earlier this month.

Weight: 110 lbs
Size: 9 1/2 inches diameter

3 1/2 inch bench vise for size comparison.

Cost: Nada, Zip, Zilch (traded an old axe head for it!)

Cast steel, baseball-size hollow core, should be good for something around the shop!

Doc,

Where did the "hotspot" tend to be in the forge? Was it centered up on the floor, or more toward the side?

Most designs have the burner coming in more from the top of the chamber. Just curious, is all.

aaron c.

Ok, I understand the method now. Thanks for your help.

aaron

Nice work either way. I've been studying on the pipehawks and their construction. I have a friend who wants one made for him. Trying to read and ask all I can before I try one myself. Thanks for the answers.

I will probably do my first with a piece of muzzleloader barrel, as he has some to play with. Any suggestions on getting a good weld between the bowl and the rest of the head? I figured I would split the barrel, then forge weld it into the eye area, then do my drifting for the haft.

Wow, That is simply beautiful, Stuart. Some day I hope to make a hawk as pretty as that one.

One question: How did you make the bowl? Turned on a lathe or completely forged using fullers, etc.?

Again, beautiful work.

aaron c.

Simply awesome, Peyton.

Man, I have got to make one of your guild's hammer-ins. Looks like a blast, judging from your pics and some that Mike posted the other day.

Very nice work, Julian. I like the contrasting forged vs. ground areas. The fit and finish on the scales are excellent.

How much are the raffle tickets?:D

IF it's in good shape, buy it, then tuck it under your arm, and run away quickly while laughing an evil laugh, something like a villian would do after tying the helpless lady to the railroad tracks........Mwah haw haw hawwwww.

When you get it home, covet it, as one good anvil tends to attract more good anvils (And other metal objects), to the smithy.

Good luck acquiring it.

The last one appears to be a tool used in setting the individual tooth angle of large saw blades. I have seen similar tools with a hammer head on the back opposite the slot, for use in "tuning" the teeth.

Looks like a very useable tool to me. Congrats. Be careful working in the dark, you may damage your eyes from looking into the coals without ambient light around your work area.

I find that after looking into a forge fire, I can't even see what I'm doing for a few seconds after it gets too dark outside. That's when I quit for the day. Just my 2 cents.

Forge on!

SILT, silt in a river

gilt,gilt, Gilt

I had the forge so hot, it made the metal WILT.

Newbiesmith:

Very good start you have. As Frosty said, drop the drum into the deck. It will make tending your fire much easier, allowing new fuel to be easily raked into the firepot when needed. Also, try to rig some sort of ash dump as part of the air supply. Without one, the ash that falls through will eventually clog up your air flow, and cause all sorts of problems for you. Do a search of the site here, and look at the pics of different tuyere configurations some of the folks here have come up with, for ideas.

Forge on Brother!

aaron c.

What's that saying, something about "The proof is in the pudding".

Congrats on a fine field trial and review of your product.

aaron c.

Anyone like the way an ADOBE forge works?