Dave Parker

Looper is right if you go with the Diamondback that fits closest to the type of work you will be doing you cannot go wrong. I am thinking serously about buying another model myself. Great product, good prices and no, I do not work for them. I should have mentioned, all my “tools” are stored inside my house. I live in an area where the homeowners association has absolute power over all us minions’ unlucky enough to live under their regime. Since I cannot leave anything outside my home overnight, any work I do requires the movement of forge, hammers, anvil etc. Followed by a complete clean up when I am finished (or I just get plain tired). The more I move all this stuff in and out the more I love my little one burner, light weight, quick cool down, easily carried and stored forge. Now to be fair am I also growing very fond of my lightweight portable anvil. I use a 55-pound harbor freight ASO with a snap on 30 pound, 3 inch thick steal plate. Works like a dream and can be moved in sections. When I get time I am going to hollow out an old grill and use it to hide my hay budden. xxxx the HOA, lol. Cheers.

You are welcome. I just went back, found this and checked out your pictures. Now I am even more impressed. I think I drooled on my keyboard. Very Nice.

I bought one of their single burner forges last year. Price was not as much as a concern as my limited free time. I knew that I might never get around to finishing my own forge and decided that the cost of buying one would have to be weighted against the cost of rounding up supplies, building time and design. In the end, it was a good decision, at least for me. It heats up quickly, burns abt 20 hours on a tank (just an estimate I did not time it). The down side is the size; it is fine for knife makers but not much else. Even small projects are tricky if they have angles. It works fine for straight pieces as they can pass through. The up side is it heats up fast, regulates heat well and is easily moved (let it cool down first). I have a larger forge now but still like to use the smaller one when I am in a hurry. I use mine mostly to make small projects for practice it works great for that. My advice would be to consider cost, time, effort and when you think you would need a forge. Although these small forges are limited, it may help you get started and you can always trade up later. Hope that helps. Dave/swordsmandp

Impressive work. I have never made a katana but I have made saya, tsuka and the occasional habaki. I always felt that I have way too much to learn before attempting to forge a sword. As a collector, I have seen hundreds if not thousands of antique Japanese nihonto and even though the picture is small and the purists will point out that it is “Japanese like” and argue that it is not a true katana. My counter would be it is quality work, forged by a real artisan and will outlast us all. Great job, thanks for sharing. My only complaint would be that I wish you would have taken more pictures and showed the progression. The new owner is very lucky.

Mite, Before I had an anvil, I used a counter weight from a tractor that weighed in at a 100 pounds. When a friend gave me a 55-pound HF ASO I welded flanges to a 30 pound chunk of steel and welded the head of a bolt on it. It snapped on and off the HF ASO with ease and made a workable 85-pound anvil. It allowed me to use hardy tools and when taken apart it was far more portable than the counter weight. The counter weight became a swage and I still use the make shift anvil when I need portability. The shape didn’t matter as much as the practicality and at the time I needed the hardy hole. If you already have an ASO and a chunk of steel you do not need to weld it, you can band it on. I say use what you have available, you can always upgrade later. Cheers,

Nice work Odd Duck, George I like yours too. Both designs should work fine. Keep those hammers swinging and the anvils ringing.

Nice design Bryan, I was looking at using a tool cart for mine. I saw one in Harbor Freight about the right size and it already has wheels. The top will need reinforced. I have to have a mobile forge. The blower is almost finished; the firepot is my next project. A pre-built cart will cut down my work time. I probably should have started with the firepot and hearth but a blower fell into my hands and with my limited free time, I’m doing this a little at a time.

Try this: http://www.cd3wd.com/cd3wd_40/JF/JF_VE/SMALL/04-110.pdf

Johan, This will help: http://www.cd3wd.com/cd3wd_40/JF/JF_VE/SMALL/04-110.pdf I am going to use this to rebuild my blower. Dave

It is amazing what a little determination and ingenuity can do. I plan to work on my little project this weekend, I’ll be sure to take a few pictures. After seeing those pictures I have even more motivation. Thanks everyone.

Ours hearts and prayers go out to you, your family and especially your son.

Nope, I am a gentleman and gave my lady a break. She gave me a bad case of tendonitis so I remounted her and now she is easier on my back. You have to learn to love your lady or she will hurt ya.

Wow, thanks Imsrgn. She is looking good for a 110 year old girl, normally I don't even look at one over eighty.

Try asking it real nice or option B, lightly wire brush the sides and look for a name. It looks a lot like a Hay Budden to me. Hope that helps.

I unmounted my anvil, brushed under the horn and it does have a SN. It is 23788 or 28188 the 2nd and 3rd numbers are very hard to make out. Can someone give me an idea of the age? Thanks, Dave

Before I found an anvil I could afford, I used a 55lb Harbor Freight ASO. I took a 30 lb steel counter weight roughly the size of the top of the ASO; it was almost 3 inches thick and I welded a drop down flange on both sides of the plate. It stayed on with the ASO with the flange holding it on both sides but shifted down when I used it. I solved that by welding a nut on the bottom roughly the size of the hardy hole. With the nut in the hardy and the flanges on the sides, it was rock solid. It stayed on top of the ASO without movement and made a passable 85 lb anvil. By pulling, off the steel plate I could use the hardy hole. Worked great.

Thank you Rich, I think that is enough for me to get this puppy running. Our ancestors really knew their stuff. Without those pictures, working out the ratios and gears might have taken quite a while. You have been a big help. On a side note, my wife was checking our some of my favorites, saw a few blacksmith suppliers, and asked so sweetly, why I did not just buy a forge or a blower. I could only offer this little pearl: for the same reason a man doesn’t call a plumber until the water in the basement is two feet deep, sometimes we just have to try. I know all of you understand, I do not need the blower fixed, I need to fix the blower. Next project: build and mount it to a forge. Cheers

Thanks Rich, I would love to see them, especially how the pump handle works and the skillet firepot. Cheers

Great tips Rich, thanks. I had never considered a cast iron skillet for a firepot. I was going to use a 10 x 10 stainless sink. The replacement blades will come from a couple of chilli cans. I really did not mind emptying them, yummy. Anyway, I think I can visualize what is needed. Your description was excellent. A quick google search and I have a picture of one mounted just as you described it. I’ll experiment with bike wheels and if I get the results I want, I’ll bend up a more traditional wheel. It might be fun to see if I can work out a pump style. One of the guys here in Florida is building a portable forge and we are holding our Florida Artist Blacksmith Association (FABA) meeting at his forge this Saturday. I’m planning to bring both the blower and my make shift firepot to get an experts opinion. If I am too far off, they will help me out. Great bunch of people. If any of you are ever in Florida, there is a FABA meeting every weekend somewhere. Check the site for details: Florida Artist Blacksmith Association, guests are encouraged.

Unless I missed it mine does not have a S/N. It is marked 135 the bathroom scale showed it at 134. It looks like it was an outside anvil so the S/N may just be hidden.

Excellent ideas, thanks everyone. I did experiment on blade shapes and tolerances using cardboard and a rope. I should have taken pictures it might have won some money on one of the videos shows. The cardboard “blades” were fastened with zip ties and the rope wound around the pulley and yanked-lawn mower style. I got a good blast of air but I think Cross Pein is right; a hand crank will not turn it fast enough. It is going to need a series of gears to step it up and down until I work this out. I’m going to try using bicycle wheel rims and a large belt next. Once I have the size worked out, I think I can make this baby earn her money. Next time I promise pictures. This thing might start looking like a tinker toy blower before I get it right.

Hi everyone, as you can see from the pictures I have part of an old belt operated forge blower. All that has been done so far is opening it to see what was left inside and a very mild cleaning. I

I have one like it and picked it up with a NC stand for $225. The price was higher until I explained that it was going to be used. He was happy to drop the price and not sale to a collector. He was a retired blacksmith and picked encouraging a newbie over profit. When I can no longer work on melted metal, I will do the same. If you are not a natural barterer, a flea market or swap meet pro then consider how long you searched, how far away you had to go to found one. I think you will decide that you are getting a deal. Time, effort and availability are almost as important as price. New anvils are considerably more and you cannot go wrong with a hay budden unless it was severely abused. IMHO jump on it and get to work. Someone will always find a better deal but while they are out pitching pennies; you will be smashing hot steel. Enjoy, it. Dave

"Have you thought of maybe singing a special during the service!?? Or maybe asking the preacher if you could give the sermon next Sunday? Just a couple thoughts to help you acquire your anvils... " Lol, nope. I don

Ragnarok, I know you were kidding about finding a huge log but I moved my anvil off the NC anvil stand because it was too high and hammering up hill hurt my elbow. The anvil rests on a log most of the time and if I travel, I bring the metal stand. They are ok for small quick projects. The log was another great search. My wife would not let me drop the oak in the yard (dunno why) so that left me without a source for a big chunk of wood. In the end, even my slow mind gets an idea if I wait long enough. After finally remembering I live in Florida; it dawned on me farmers are everywhere. To find farmers you have to find a small country church. Convincing my wife I wanted to attend one almost caused her to drop dead from surprise and shock but in the end, it worked just as planned. I met farmers, one invited me over and I picked out a nice log anvil stand, which that nut thought was firewood. Now I need a plan to convince my wife I no longer need to attend church. Oh, I forgot the men are full of stories of old blacksmiths, most have a few hammers, tongs or other passed down tools and two have family anvils. They will not part with the anvils (yet) but love to tell me about who used them and when. I have not found anyone with an old forge yet but I