JHCC

Okay, Frosty, a serious question. I was under the impression from our previous discussions (and from my reading elsewhere on IFI) that for forging with charcoal, you need about a six inch diameter fireball: smaller will not get enough heat, and larger will just burn up fuel. The profile of the clay that I just put in and fired yesterday for the first time was basically intended to be a circular version of a Tim Lively-style oval tub forge, and was sized to hold a fireball about that big. It may not have been a classic duck's nest (and that term may well not have been appropriate for what I was building), but is there a problem with this design and construction for what I'm trying to do?

All history is living for the Irish.

What I have is a lot of sandstone veneer block, about 2" x 4" x various lengths. Most of it is sitting on a pallet outside, but I have a few pieces in the garage, that I actually used in the last (equally Frosty-savaged) version of the firepot. It's a very porous sandstone, so it dries very quickly. Shouldn't be a problem.

I've got a lot of pieces of sandstone sitting around that would probably work.

First fire in the new duck's nest. Took a lot of time to get up to forging temperature; I think the clay had some residual moisture that was soaking up the heat. Also, I am still new to charcoal, so that's an adjustment, too.

It's all in the de-tails.

There's a short rail line near me that went out of use about fifty years ago and then was legally abandoned in the early Seventies. Jump forward a few decades, and one of these private railroad groups buys the line and sets about restoring it for use in excursion trips. Turns out, some joker had decided to tear up a whole section of rail and sell it for scrap, thinking that "legal abandonment" is the same as "free for the taking". Getting arrested and charged with theft cured him of that misapprehension, and I gather he's still paying back the current owners after a civil case.

Same reason bentonite is used in slurry wall construction.

This happened to me once or twice when I was in my teens; fortunately, I was forging outside.

Others here are much more qualified than me to discuss gas forges, but regarding an opening in the back, you'll need this if you ever plan on putting a twist in the middle of anything over a foot long.

What we call a "dingleberry"; hence Frosty's last comment. Okay, I'll catch you later. I have to hoof it.

Check out this thread. If scrapartoz can make sheep, I'm sure he can offer some tips on coyotes.

My subsoil here in Ohio is heavy clay, a big chunk of which is currently drying in my forge as the new duck's nest (mixed with a decent amount of sand and wood ash).

We used to drill glass and ceramic at the art restoration studio all the time. The diamond bits worked best for our applications, but the most important thing (after lubrication and getting the bit up to speed) was making sure that the bit didn't wander in the hole; that could snap both bit and workpiece. Clamping the workpiece down and using a drill press gave us the greatest success rate.

About 30" x 25" x 11" for us Yanks. Decent chunk of steel.

They want to get pasturized.

That's just what I herd.

I'm not sure wether I should make this one....

Flockin' A!

You're such a card.

You really rammed that one in, didn't ewe?

I can think of a few more jokes, but they're all pretty baaaad.

I like the tire stand as well; makes it easier to move around, I suppose.

Nice!

Here's a thought for you: why not just use a wood that's closer to the final color you want? Walnut gives a lovely chocolate brown, maple is a nice blonde color (and sometimes you can find pieces with attractive grain patters, like tiger, fiddleback, and birdseye), and cherry darkens in time to a really nice warm reddish-brown. Sand or scrape the wood smooth, give it a clear finish, and be done. Another option is to do a "fire finish", which is to take a piece of wood (preferably one with a distinct pattern of growth rings, like oak or yellow pine), lightly char the outside over an open flame (got any open flames handy? ), and then brush off the charred surface with a stiff brush or a wire brush. With a little care, you get a terrific grain pattern and a nice color, and it's quite appropriate for forged work. Your bits of antique wood could do well.