IanR

G'Day Jack, good to have you on board. There's plenty of info here for beginners and you don't have to spend a fortune to start tinkering while you save up for the good gear.

My prayers are with you mate. What a low act, I hope you make a full recovery and the the law catches up with this goose.

All the best for tomorrow Dale, it doesn't sound like it's going to good day for the people of Victoria. It's hard to believe the fires are still burning there, keep safe mate. That snow sure is a strange concept.

Ian Ross

Birthdays always have a habit of falling on a work day. Happy Birthday Tom, started my 5th decade last year.

The "Mentalist" just started here in Oz, I haven't watched it yet, but I'll check it out. I noticed on the show "Life" the lead actor has a nice set of gates at the front entrance to his house.

Welcome to the site Mick, sorry to hear your stuck in Queensland and that you haven't been paid. Good to hear though that your property and your missus are ok, great neighbours you have there and your better half, not an easy job fighting fires. There is no shortage of ideas and tips on this site,hope you get a chance to get stuck in when you get home.
Cheers Ian

Some people have negative comments about brake drum forges but mine works just fine. I used a large brake drum from a truck which is nice and deep and after experimenting with many air sources a friend gave me a centrifugal fan from a disused promotional balloon. The piping is made from 50mm square tubing and feeds the forge trough a 50mm grid of holes drilled in a 10mm thick plate which is screwed to the base of the drum. This gives a good blast enough to easily turn 20mm square bar to a sparkler.The only drawback is there is no work area to rake out clinker and introduce new coke from the side. I will be addressing this issue soon by building a steel frame bench with a top made from 20mm cement fibre sheeting covered with a layer of fire bricks. The drum will be positioned to sit level with the top of the fire bricks

Here are a couple of leaves I have just finished.I couldn't source any stainless rod so I used 5/8" stainless threaded rod and ended up with a bonus, the remnants of the thread formed veins in the leaf (is there a patent on this?). :rolleyes:

I was going to work on something else this weekend, but I think I will practice making leaves. What a great project, thanks to Salty and ABA(Vic) for getting the ball rolling. Sad to see the toll has risen, the authorities warned that it would grow, but it doesn't make it any easier for the people involved.

My thoughts and prayers are with any IFI members and indeed anyone who has been affected by the fires in Victoria. This is Australia's biggest natural disaster and most people here are feeling pretty numb at the moment, the media has been showing some distressing images of the damage the fires have done to property and peoples lives and it's hard to fathom the terror these people must have gone through. But Ozzies are are are amazing lot, with people already planning to rebuild, a big thank you goes out to the courages firefighters, the Red Cross, all the many volunteers and the generosity of the public with many Ozzies digging deep to give money, clothing and food. Thanks also to the members from overseas who have posted messages of support.

If you don't want to buy a whole trailer load there is a firewood seller in Canyonleigh in the Southern Highlands who sells coke by the bag. Last time I bought some it was About $16 a 30Kg bag It's a smaller size coke suitable for forging.

Hello from Australia, my name is Ian, I have already said hello to some Aussies on other forums, thought I would introduce myself to everyone else.I am self taught through the wonderful resources on the "interweb" , like this website. It's hard to think of things to make sometimes but when you see instructions like how to make a knot, you can them incorporate them into your own designs. Is there any Aussies out there that know where I can get 6mm square rod the local steel merchant said they don't make it anymore. Cheers

Thanks Dale, I left a post on the events forum, shame I missed the weekend, if only I'd registered early last week. You're right , nothin beats a cold beer after your hot from hitting things all day.:cool:

I don't believe I missed the weekend at Braidwood, i just registered today.Moonys(I don't know him personally) at Moss Vale 10 minutes from me.At least I spent the weekend Forging at home, but i'm up for next year

G'Day my name is Ian,
This is my very first post to any website, so I hope I do everything right. I live in Bowral NSW and work as a Horticulturist. I took up blacksmithing as a hobby a couple of years ago and love it.