DanL

My floor is sand/dirt. I can adjust anvil height by adding or removing a little soil.
DanL

I understood this to be a gunsmith's vise. I have one similar and it is great for bench work.

DanL

My forge has a shallow fire pot. I wanted a deeper fire. I set fire brick up around the pot like this [ ] with the air grate in the center. Using refractory cement I made a "duck's nest" going from the grate up to the sides of the fire brick for a depth of ~5 inches deep at the bricks. Then I made a fire and "fired" the refractory cement to harden it. Yes it cracked as it cured/hardened. I mixed up more refractory cement and filled the cracks and "re-fired" it.

This refractory "duck's nest" or fire pot has lasted 5 years. It is now time for me to re-do the nest but I only used about 1/3 bag originally and saved the rest. The next few rebuilds are free and easy.

Good luck

DanL

I am not familiar with what grade of steel you are using or what time frame you have. Buttt....I have made a gate out of mild steel and put it outside in the elements until it had a uniform brown finish. Then I lightly carded it and oiled it up good to stop the rust. Best finish I ever did.

DanL

Hi Bear...You will enjoy that Fisher. I have an old Fisher also and it is wonderful. However, you will find some floks who don't like Fishers.

Congratulations on your find.

DanL

Frosty... Thanks, you have been very helpful.

DanL

Hi Primetechsmith. Sorry to be so delayed in a response. I have been away from the computer.

I have no supply of the Wrought Iron that is used for the skelp (bar) used in barrel making. Therefore I would be unable to provide anyone with a demonstration. Also, I have not considered doing any sort of demo on my own since I am just learning the process myself.

If Farmville is anywhere close to Williamsburg...you should go to Williamsburg city and look up Jon Laubach at his private forge called "Williamsburg forge". He is the guru of barrel forging IMHO.

Another suggestion is to travel to Dixon's muzzleloading fair the last weekend in July west of Allentown, PA. Google it and find directions.

My supply of wrought iron for forge practice is old iron wagon wheel rims. It is not the best wrought iron but it is the only supply that I have.

If I ever get around to building a power hammer...I will work this wrought iron into some quality iron and make a barrel or two.

Cheers,
DanL

Hi Yesteryearforge....Chris and Jon Laubach have been forging barrels for over 20 years. Chris has a web site...try coloniallongrifles.com he has the site up but not functioning at present. However, He has a contact e-mail there.

They demonstrate at Dixon's every year. I have been fortunate enough to play in the forge with them at Dixon's for 3 years and learn the technique.
Chris can explain the procedure quite well. I believe Chris said that it takes about 100 hours for him to go from a skelp to a finished properly shaped, bored and rifled barrel. The process is not difficult...The work is! haha

DanL

Gobblerforge...

Your tire hammer is looking great!

Thanks for the play-by-play pics and commentary. This has really been helpful. Please keep the pics and commentary coming.

Thanks again,
DanL

Like Roosko I use Peanut oil. I have many friends that like to fry turkeys and things in the large turkey fryers. They always are looking to throw out the oil. I provide them a bucket and get the stuff for free.

I let the used oil stand for a few days and all the debris in the oil from cooking settles to the bottom. Then carefully pour off the oil from the top. This will leave reasonably clean oil.

A benefit from peanut oil is the great aroma while quenching. Peanut oil also has a reasonably high flash point but will flash like any oil if you are not careful.

A drawback from peanut oil is that it will somewhat solidify in cold temperatures. I get around this by dropping some hot iron in it before I need to quench and it will liquify fairly quickly.

I have found that Peanut oil is a great all-around quenching oil and you get the blackened color on iron which is nice.

DanL

Hi again kids...

ApprenticeMan...I like your idea about attaching/welding a piece of round stock to some squarestock to fabricate the hammer. I am fortunate to have a scrapyard that has many diameter choices of round stock typically available in short pieces. Usually just end cut-offs ~1/4" to a few inches long. I was lucky to find a piece that was 36". I had been watching for about 2 years for that one.

Dodge...I agree about the price. One just has to be paitient and persistant.

Now if I just had some of that precious "free time". ;-)

DanL

I will abondon my other post in favor of keeping together the information that Gobblerforge and others have contributed on this post.

Items that I have gathered so far include:

Solid 8" x 36" roundstock to use as the anvil
5" x 5" square heavy wall tubing to use for the frame.
Tire, wheel and 2 hubs/bearings
1 hp motor and 3" aluminum drive wheel
mucho scrap metal for assembly parts and supports
2' x4 ' sheet steel 3/8" thick for base
3/8" thick high density polyethelene for bearing/bushing for hammer
Coil spring for toggle mechanism

Still deciding on what to use for the hammer at this time
need time to create and fabricate.

DanL

Hi again folks,

Gobblerforge...Thanks for the information on the other post. I just saw it after posting the above.

I really like the way that you tackled the pivot bearing and toggle/spring mechanism. I am going to have to leave out the 2 beagles however. I do not have room fo them in my shop ;-)

Thanks again,
DanL

Thanks folks....

I have talked to Clay Spencer in person at a local blacksmith conference. He he did not have any drawings for sale or otherwise at the time. He said that the upgrades were changing a a pace that did not allow for drawings at the moment. He offered for me to sign up and come to an "assembly" demonstration for around $1200. I do not wish to spent that kind of money on my hobby. I have however found most parts for under $100.

As I mentioned earlier, at this time I am in need of more specific measurements. I can always wing the measurements and assembly but I am hoping to have a little more guideline for cutting to fit parts and such.

Please continue with the information. It seems that more than just me are interested in these nice machines.

Thanks again,
DanL

Hi Kids....

I have been scrapping for a couple of years and I now have most of the items I need to fabricate a tire hammer (at least it's time to start fabrication). I also have been collecting a few pictures and ideas from various folks as to how to put this thing together. Many folks have been very generous showing pictures and such.

What I am in need of at this point is some basic measurements of the components. e.g. ...the toggle/spring mechanism. ; distance from center of tire to pivot point; hammer travel; etc....etc...etc

Any and all drawings, more illustrative pics, and info would be very helpful at this point.

Thanks in advance,
DanL

Hi Apprenticeman....You are correct. However, I was depending on the contractor to haul it to my place. From my place the dissasembly, lifting and hauling is not practical and too expensive for scrap prices many miles away. The contractor will have to haul it off site somewhere. Easier for him to haul it to a scrap yard at this time but I don't think I could convince him to split the profits with me. HAHA! I am a scrapper but I recognize when it is no longer feasible or profitable to obtain the scrap.

DanL

Apprenticeman...I suppose that I could still get the bridge but I turned it down. I only wanted it if it had WI in it. The metal would be nice to have but difficult at best to take advantage of. The deck is concrete. The piers/pillars are concrete. Only the superstructure is steel. Not much care will be given to it's removal. Without containing WI, I deemed it too much trouble for the effort.

Ed Thomas...Yes, but I have selfish reasons for wanting free WI. I happen to believe that steel is over-wrated.

Thanks all for the input.

DanL

Thanks for the info. Turns out to be a more recent (1950's) built bridge which the Co. Engineer says the records show all steel construction. Oh well...you can't hit the ball without swinging the bat.

Thanks again,

DanL

Hi Kids...I rarely post but read a good bit.

I may be able to acquire an old Iron(?) bridge. I am researching now to find out the age of the old one lane bridge that is being removed from a local road. I am reasonably familiar with wrought Iron and what it looks like. However, other than the grain and such in WI...what might be some "indicator" points to examine when I get the chance to look it over up close and personal in a couple of days. I want to determine if WI was used in the construction of this thing.

Thanks for any pointers,
DanL

She is so ugly...She would make a freight train take a dirt road!!!

Folks,

Thanks for the info.

Hi Folks,

I thought that I would get your input on Sources for wrought Iron. I am refering to places to acquire quality WI. I have some old Wagon tires but they are of low quality. Quality WI might be cost and/or shipping prohibitive but I want to see what is out there.

Thanks,
DanL

Folks...I stumbled upon a refreshing idea about a year ago for staying a touch cooler while forging. An athlete friend suggested that I wear compression pants (spandex athletic clothes) under the cotton clothes that I wear forging. I got a pair of compression shorts and shirt and wear them under my regular clothes.

The sweat goes through the shorts and is absorbed by the cotton clothing. It leaves a dry material on the skin. As the moisture evaporates from the outer wear, the dry material feels much cooler next to your skin. I have even become chilled on a 95 degree day just stepping out of the smithy and into a nice breeze outside.

You may think me silly wearing this type of clothes, but the athletes wear it for a good reason and I know why. It is not expensive and is mostly carried by the local walmart or other department stores in the exercise section of the store.

Spandex is not just for fashion any more...besides...who is going to make fun of a blacksmith with a hammer in his hand? :mrgreen:

I am Scotts/ Irish and Southerrn thru and thru. The Flag hanging outside the forge is the Bonnie Blue. I got real creative and called my smithy "The Bonnie Blue Forge". What else could it be?

DanL