Steve McCarthy

Grant whenever the the whole blueprint issue is sorted out, I hope you post all of these helpful instructions. It sure would be nice to have them all in one place.

Grant you are too much. Gotta love those pics. :)

What kind of reciever are you trying to rebarrel? Brownells has the largest selection I know of.

Semper Fi!!!!

When we bought our place it came with one of those portabl e metal car ports. The former owner bought it extra tall, 12 ft center, to park his tractor under. Since the wife decided the 28x36 shop was actually a garage for her to park in, I've started to convert the carport into a blacksmith shop. It's 20 x 24 and so far I've got the sides closed in and a walk in door hung. The West end will be closed and my side draft ran through it. The East end will have 2 5' swinging doors. Working on it has been hit & miss, but hopefully it'll be done before the weather changes too much. The floor will stay gravel and dirt. Someday hope to pour a slab and instal a power hammer.

Shoot it. But to keep from having to carry off the smelly critter, I suggest gut shot with a 22. That don't sound very humane BUT, it sure beats carryng off a dead polecat.

Cut limb from the tree in the winter time when the sap is out.

Love and prayers to Frosty & Deb from Missouri.

Another option would be to buy a handle for a sledge hammer or splitting maul and make several hammer handles shaped to your hand.

Thanks guys for shareing your experience. Krush, did you buy one ready to work or build it from his plans?

I'll concede 2 points. 1) My experience with gas forges is limited, and 2) burn was a poor choice of words. My experience with insulation and refractory material comes from dealing with industrial wood fired boilers that operate in the 2200 to 2400 degree range for months on end. In that harsh environment unprotected Kao wool will deteriorate.

Does anyone have knowledge or an opinion of the air hammers by David Robertson at artistblacksmith.com? I have watched some of his youtube videos and it looks pretty smooth to me but I have zero experence with a power hammer of any kind. A hammer build is in on my radar but haven't decided on tire or air.

The wool blanket will burn if exposed to direct flame. It's only purpose is insulation and must have some sort of covering before adding fire. As long as the wool has been kept dry it should be fine. After applying the 900F let it air dry over night. There is no need for a bake out as with pound in refractory plastic.

Plastix 900F is a great product. I have used it for years in repairing the refractory of wood fired boilers. When I built my gasser I did exactly what you are asking. I used 2" of wool and covered with about 1/8" of 900F. One nice thing about 900F is that you can mix it to any consistancy you want. I have used it from "thin paint" to "sticky oatmeal".

Are the Tuesday night blueprints stored in the forums somewhere or are they only available on chat? My dial up connection is so slow that I've never been able view the chat. Maybe they are right in front of my face and I keep overlooking them? Glenn thanks for the work you do keeping things up & running

My first anvil was a piece forklift fork I brought home from work. 4" thick 8" wide and 46" long. I used it for 6 months before I found a P.W. I could afford. Lots, and I mean LOTS of missed hammer blows struck the "face" and left only a few small dings. Just starting out and not knowing any different, I cut it in half and welded the pieces together. Giving me 8x8x22. I would have done thing differently had I known better. Anyhow, I still have this 200 plus pound hunk of steel laying around that I have future plans for, I just haven't figured out what yet.

Thanks for the imput guys. The tunnel draft has a lot of advantages and I'm glad to hear it'll suck hammers.

Thanks for the reply Phil. I am pretty sure I'll go with the tunnel and 12" flue. Where is Hamilton? I'm about an hour from Rola on 63.

I am making the move from outside and setting up my forge inside. The Hofi blueprint of a side draft looks to be simpler all around. No hole in the roof, less construction, and no rain water in the shop. Will the side draft draw as good as the super sucker. Not that I doubt the word of Hofi, but who else has experience with a side draft set up?

Ptree I'm sure you know that June is National Safety Month. Sure glad you didn't have a recordable on your own time.

Howdy Keith. Glad to hear from another Ozarker. I'm a couple hours south of ya.

Tom, what did you use to get that wood grain texture? I've used a small cross peen and was satisfied, but it don't look nothing like that. Great job.

It's kind of like the drug companies with the lattest greatest new cure all. That first pill cost $250 million, but the second cost 3 cents. Why does my 30 day perscription cost $65?????

Thanks for all the words of encouragment. Bob JS, when the canoe gets to small for a slack tub, there's an 1860 modified v on the left side of the photo. I havent decided if it will go inside or outside yet. If inside then I will have to come up with a base. If outside then I'll taper it and stick it in the ground. My mother is 74 years old and has more nick nacks than shelf space, so I'm leaning toward it going in the flower bed.

I finally turned out something I thought was good enough to take a picture of. It will be a mothers day present for my mom. The stock is 1 in. and I thought I would cut it off about an inch below the twist and attach it to some sort of base. I would appreciate any suggestions on how to make a base from the stock already there. I know it falls way behind the majority of work I see here but is the best piece I've made yet.