Blacksmith Jim

Hollis, I can't speak for John, but in my setup, most of the box is filled with fines. If I want to clean it out and get it in tip top condition for forging, I'll remove all the coal / coke off the top, and be left with big bed of fines. Then I'll shape a long fire pot in the fines perpendicular to the tuyere. Using a little water to help pat it down in place helps.

I'll have to get back to you on specifics... Roughly speaking though (this is all speculation from my memory), the cone is about 10 inches wide at the back. The air blast is about 1" wide. The nose of the cone is about 3" wide. The cone is probably about 14" long. The tub holds about 3-5 gallons of water, I only ever fill it 3 gallons full or so. Never had a problem with the water or tub getting too hot. Tomorrow evening is my forging night. I'll try to take some pics and measurements then. The digital camera has been acting up though...

My forge at home is a side blast. A good friend of mine who is an Englishman built it. He welded up the tureye by rolling sheet to get a cone. The center is a pipe and a large washer connects the end of the cone to the pipe. I love it. Seriously.. It is so much easier to heat a specific section of metal then any other forge I have used. No more worries about building the fire up huge to pass a bar through, or bending a piece so it fits down in the pot. It is awesome. I just stick the metal where the hot spot should be and make sure the part I want to heat is right there, then pack the coals around it, then pack the coke around the coals, and its hot in no time. It is seriously easier then every bottom draft or gasser I have used (I've only been smithing for a year and a half or so tho, so I'm not an expert..). My friend the Englishman was always ranting to people about how much better a side blast is, and everyone thought it was funny he would rant so much. Now that I've been using it for a while, I've started ranting too! Build one, you won't be sorry Now I just wish I could get a local source for metallurgical coke...

Yeah, I think he had to fab a few parts, one being the foot treadle. It looks great in his shop, and you are right about Dave using it to its potential. He has some very large an impressive sculptures around his place. That's funny that you sold it to him. He told me the story a while back about how he got it. It was a fun one to hear. Another neat deal, was that I met some old woodworking tool collector at Dave's. He told me a few stories about how he had found some old sites way out in the woods where railroad companies or sawmills had set up shops then abandoned them after their work was done, or after a fire, or what not. Sounded interesting. Then he mentioned that he actually knew where there was a hammer similar size to the 4b just rusting out in the woods somewhere. He said a railroad company had brought it out and used it, then when they were done, just pushed it down into a ravine with the rest of the equipment they didn't want to haul back. I'm sure it would be prohibitively expensive to try and salvage, and is probably rusted through, but it was a pretty neat story to hear non the less..

That was the one mike He's got a great shop, and is a real nice guy.

Yesterday, before I read this thread, I was out looking for a few tools. I decided I would try to buy American instead of Chinese just to support the US economy. I quickly discovered that the problem was I couldn't find any US made tools. I did find a couple of tools made in Mexico.. A little closer then China, but still not US.. I went home empty handed..

Looks great Blackbeard! Should be a lot of fun :)

A different acquaintance of mine has a Nazel 5b. He makes a lot of hammers with it I believe. Seems like big hammers like that would be great for a lot of different production forging applications. You can move soo much metal in one heat it just seems ridiculous. The guy with the 5b has been threatening to hold a party / hammer in for the last year+ But I haven't had a chance to visit his shop yet.. I was really bummed when my camera didn't work. I wanted to post a picture of forging under it up on my cube wall at work. It would be a wonderful distraction from the desk job..

Sounds like a fun thing to try! You might be surprised ;)

From what I hear, propane gas is heavier then the general air around us. So it will settle into low spots. I've heard a lot of people caution against using propane in basements or other below ground areas...

I was able to forge under a Nazel 4b last night. What a fun experience! Those things move metal sooo fast. I played around with a long 3/4" rod and just tried to get the feel of the hammer with it. I made a few playful designs on both ends. Then I tapered down a jack hammer bit to fit my hardy. I think I'll probably make a bending fork from it, or a bic for starting penny scrolls, etc.. Before I went I had to try and think of something productive to forge with such a big hammer! I wanted to get pics but my digital camera wouldn't hold a battery charge :(

I hear lots of people like hickory. I'm just a lowly beginner, but I buy handles from the local farm supply store. They actually carry a 'blacksmith hammer' handle that is pretty much what I'm looking for. One thing to look out for when using a store bought hammer is whats holding the head to the handle. Most are covered over with a resin or glue, so you don't really know. Most store bought hammers that I have forged with have come off of the handle with moderate use. Some of them are half resin and a small metal plug or something. Not a good solid wedge job at all..

Great score! I've been looking for a few of those things for a while now! Congrats :)

Yeah, I just found it from searching. Thanks for the heads up.

Hi All, I am working on getting my post vice up to usable condition. I had to forge a few parts to mount it, and build the stand, etc.. Anyway, most of the work is done, but I need to pack the the screw / housing with grease again. When I opened it up while initially cleaning, a lot of dried grease came out. There was none that was fresh, as the vice likely sat unused for years.. I have some 3 in 1 oil for the base joint, but am not sure what type of grease I should look at for packing up the screw. Does it matter? Should I just look for some form of generic grease? Any info is a huge help. Thanks

That sure looks versatile! Especially if it was heavier then 15 lbs.. Very cool looking.

I think it's relatively hard to find a good anvil on the west coast. They are out there, but its few and far between, and often you have to jump on it quick 'cause someone else might want it. I paid 3$ a pound (or slightly over) for my Peter Wright. It's in pretty decent shape, about 115#s. If I would have been more patient I might have snagged this one for nothing.. My parents recovered it from some contents of the old family barn. The anvil had disappeared for a while, but some inquiries in the right direction were successful at getting it returned. I haven't seen it in person yet, but am pretty anxious about it. I'm thinking it might be a Trenton? It looks like it has a diamond on the side.. I have much higher resolution pictures, but wasn't able to post them because they are too large in size. This one came out a little grainy when I scaled it down..

Looks great AM. A friend of mine recently picked up two sets of leaf springs from a log truck. Those things are huge. Some of them get as thick as an inch or more and are about 6 foot long. Huge.. Anyway, a guillotine tool sounds like a good thing to use the stock for. I want to put one of those together sometime soon..

If you take a welding class at the local community college, you can use their welders for stuff. I took an arc welding class, we spent 3 or 4 hours every Saturday welding. I know they wouldn't care if you ended up working on your own project. Also, if you are going to college, look into their crafts program. The local college here has a large crafts program that has tools people can use for free. Tools like plasma cutters and welders. They actually have a nice new anvil I here, but its inside and there is no forge..

Here is a picture I found of a Rush Lamp. I had never heard of them before, but it sure makes good common sense. I love common sense. I wish we all had more of it :)

Indeed, it is a darn fine movie clip. I wish there were more old movies around. Industrial smithing from back in the day is pretty fun to watch. Thanks for the link :)

It wasn't just the rollers. It was the mounts and everything. I left it sitting. I had a run around looking at welders and didn't have time to go back. I wanted to take another look at where stuff should be mounted to the frame, etc.. Now I just want to pick up some scrap for welding, and probably a 4 1/2 inch grinder with a cut off saw on it :)

The working definition of "art" for me, is something that conveys emotion.

I work it from both sides. My anvil has only limited access to sharp corners. So depending on the piece and what my needs are, I move around the anvil..

Well one thing I was thinking about was that it could be used as-is (with a new motor of course) in the vertical position. Really I only need the guides for horizontal cutting. Well, I guess with no guides it would probably still wobble in the vertical position. At HF I saw a portaband for 100$. That seemed like an OK solution too :)