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I Forge Iron

Resident_Within

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    Anchorage Alaska

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  1. Had a great time at the meeting yesterday. Got to know quite a few local smiths and learned a lot. I was not expecting to see so many people there. But it was my first meeting so I really did not know what to expect. Looking forward to the one on Nov 5th. Hey Brandon, I'm no pro at all but I made my own forge and anvil with a friend of mine (and his property heh) to give this craft a try and I am glad I did. totally worth it. I will say don't be discouraged if the first thing you make isn't what you had in mind. Try different things, different metals. I would even suggest buying some rebar and hammer that into blades, add some curves and such. It really helped me with hammer control and shaping a blade. I am now planning to move on to some other metals like rail road spikes, leaf springs and coil springs. Even if you miss a meeting or two, I am sure some of the local smiths wouldn't mind letting you see the setup they use or help you with your own. I use a coal forge and hand crank blower. But I discovered yesterday that most of the guys are using propane. Which isn't a bad idea. It lets you decide how long you plan your forge sessions. Since I use coal, my forging sessions are usually several hours.
  2. good to know Frosty. So it starts at 9 and ends when? I have some things I have to do in the early morning out near Sutton but plan to swing by when I am done. I usually wear welding type gloves, long jeans that cover my boots and a thick hoody. and safety glasses of course. will that be good enough?
  3. Count me in. I thought I missed it. I will say the forge set up my friend and I have isn't really portable. But I look forward to seeing what you guys use.
  4. Is there to be a sept meeting? Or did that happen already? I missed the last one.
  5. You guys make your own tongs? I wouldn't mind learning how you do this. I've come to realize one tong is not enough lol
  6. I'm also in anchorage but very new to blacksmithing. All I know (next to none) has been learned from books and YouTube. But it would be great to get together with some smiths that are in the area and just see how you guys do things. How you guys have the forge set up and such. I joined this forum to late and missed the july meeting. I guess I'll have to go out to the fair this year and see metalmangeler at work @AKhunter. Anvils are hard to find. I was lent a 50lbs anvil from a friend but it is not really the size for what I want to do. The same friend and I ended up making a 150lbs anvil out of scrap parts from train tracks.
  7. I bought a hand crank forge blower off amazon. Its a Zomax. I really wanted to try and give this blacksmithing a shot from as much of a down to earth approach as I could. So coal or charcoal forge with a hand crank blower. I was looking at a propane forge but in the spirit of the old arts I wanted to try it with fire heh. The one thing about the semi truck brake drum is that I have it filled with fire brick and have a screen on top. Its really only about 3 inches deep so the charcoal doesn't fall out. Gives a nice area to place metal on the coals as oppose to having to bury the metal to get it hot. But even with my very limited beginner skills I know charcoal does not get hot enough. I can get a rail road spike glowing just about yellow on the outside but it turns cold quick under a couple hammer blows. The charcoal just can't produce enough heat to get the metal hot all the way through. And I guess I might just be tossing dice. I don't know the first thing about how to tell what coal is good and what isn't. But thanks for the tip on the energy company allowing smiths to take up to a ton per year for personal use. I have no plans to sell coal myself. Not even sure I will sell anything I make. At least not as a business or anything. This is a hobby for me and I'm enjoying it a lot.
  8. Thanks for the tips on putting in my location. I live in Anchorage. The idea behind using a semi truck brake drum was for two reasons. 1. lack of knowledge/available resources. 2. because my friend brett who made the forge with me is also using it. The drum works well at retaining heat and allows room for both of us to heat metals at the same time. Sadly right now I only have access to charcoal from Lowes which does "ok" but we simply used that to see if what we had made for a forge was even going to work. Where do you suggest getting coal? I've been meaning to get out past Sutton because I've been told by several sources that coal is just "lying around" out there lol As long as it can be gotten to off a trail then I shouldn't have to much issue getting it. But I would like to know some local sources where I can purchase some good smithing coal as well. I'll mark my calendar for the next meeting.
  9. Greetings from Alaska I must say having watched those Forged in Fire shows and Iron and Fire, my interest in blacksmithing was born. I recently (and with the help of a friend and his property) made a forge out of a semi truck drum from the brakes. We fashioned legs for it from an old ladder rack. and I bought a hand crank blower from Amazon. We even built a 150lbs anvil out of old rail road track supports and plates. We got the forge working and it does ok with charcoal. Its all we had but I know we need real coal. But aside from watching you tube videos and tv shows, I have no experience in smithing. But it has been fun so far. I have made two blades out of rail road spikes although neither are finished yet. I have a little bit left to do on them before I harden them. So just saying hello and introducing myself. Looking forward to learning all I can from the rest of you guys.
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