Lou L

Make him a set of brands (one large one small) with his restaurant name or logo. I think custom branded meat would be cool.

Wow, apparently role playing and blacksmithing are deeply intertwined. I have some old connections in the gaming world as well. My best was back in my bartender days. I befriended a regular female customer and she turned out to be Margaret Weiss’ daughter. I ended up meeting her a few times and she loved me. She offered that, if I married her daughter, we could have our wedding in front of the castle at Disney. Very cool lady...originally trained as a classicist, became a travel writer, got a job at TSR..etc. Her story of how the Dragonlance story actually came about is neat. A good pal of mine (from our original gaming group in high school) is highly connected. He is the guy who brought Warhammer to Japan. He knows basically everyone in the industry. He also won a miniature painting competition as best of the year in White Dwarf magazine. I think that’s how he landed his gig at Games Workshop. Me? I just like playing ridiculous characters like a fighter with ridiculous strength, low intelligence, and a deep belief that he is destined to be a wizard. Clumsy, loud thieves are fun too.

The only thing I could find on the MSDS was a vague mention of a cancer risk associated with long term exposure. I don’t remember if it was on the document or somewhere else but it seemed to be specifically about people working around furnaces and kilns using the stuff at the industrial level. I was assuming it was the dust from created by daily use over years. Personally, when I do it, I’m following the advice mentioned by the big dogs and starting it off with a bulb for a few days or more.

You have an excellent collection that anyone should be proud to own. Please start using them...or send one to me

If they are wrought iron you can make all sort of small trinkets and key fobs out of them, give them a bath in vinegar to etch out the wrought grain for cool factor. If they are modern steel but thick you can do the same but not get the cool grain...or if they are thicker you have a lifetime supply of rivet stock. You could always straighten them and neaten them up and resell them as vintage nails for those people who want purely traditional jobs done. practicing forge welding with them is a good idea too. Remember to keep your eyes out for hardware and other metalwork! Lou

The first five things I thought my anvil might say would have gotten me banned. This thread is bound to get someone in trouble. Speaking of which...my anvil would likely say, “strap me down ...this sand isn’t doing if for me.”

Similar story here. I tried out the coal I got from my brother-in-law. He has about 15 cubic yards of it in his small barn. Thought it would be super Smokey but it wasn’t. It burned rather well. I l8ke it better than the stuff I normally use. So I have a huge, free supply of old coal....just it is nearly two hours away. I forged the latest version of the fantasy dagger my friend asked for and I’m pleased with it. It is my final design. I got to starting the next one but ran out of time. Hungry children+me forging=angry wife. Life math.

Just saw the post of the first anvil. It is an Isaac Hill beyond doubt. You can see the remnants of “Birmingham” underneath. The “I” is a dead giveaway and it looks very much like my Isaac Hill. This is next one is a no brainer. I agree with JHCC about the lines you see. Those are the edges of a weld. It has made it this long with that weld not breaking. It could be a weak spot but it should never receive shear forces there.

Your humility is only outpaced by your ability to feign humility! Anyone who can maintain a grasp on an ancient language long after their study of it has their wits about them. My Attic Greek faded...

My wife gave me this for the shop. It’s a good rule for hot metal handling.

I agree with that. There is so much information, some counter examples that seem to disagree, and generally an overload in those threads. But, for fear of the curmudgeons and, because I’m tenacious, I dug through them at least twice each. I still have a few questions I couldn’t quite answer. We definitely need to get a simple breakdown post with some of the little details covered...but even then, the information will change as improvements come. In the end, you are work8ng hard to do it right and to do it safely and you can’t be faulted for that! There are plenty of people taking bad information from a YouTube video and settl8ng for what they think is good enough.

Just google “high pressure regulator” and get one that has a pressure gauge on it. I read on one website that it is a good idea to have a gauge with higher psi capacity than you intend to use to avoid damaging it with spikes that can cause the needle to stick when you turn the gas on. I don’t know how true that is. Either way, a gauge for 0-30 psi is what most use. You can get one that claims to be for forges on amazon for pretty cheap. All the charts you are referencing are likely for gas appliances and not for forges. I’ve never seen engineering specs for propane forges and I’ve done a LOT of reading on the topic. Your time would have been best spent reading all the gas forge stickies here and taking notes. That’s what I did. I admit that it took a lot of work and, one day, it would be nice to put together one short sticky with all of the most basic information consolidated...but Mikey has done GREAT summaries of late that cover much of it. I learned what regulator I need by reading those same posts. Lou

Thomas, I am only going on what I know about Capstone projects. I’m assuming. His project seems to be about much more than just the process of creation. His focus on the cultural aspects of the weapons and tools, to my thinking, should be the core of the project. The creative process is a great side note. Him acquiring the skills seems tangential to the topic.

Logan, I am of the understanding, correct me if I’m wrong, that you don’t actually intend to learn all the skills. Rather, you want to witness and document the process. If that is the case you have a chance. It would be worth it if you could schedule the trip and meet with an expert to film his process. If you intend to walk away with the skills you have very little chance of succeeding. I’m being nice...you have no chance. I believe your Capstone project would be served well with video of an expert crafting and talking about the process. Many people rely on expert interviews for their Capstone projects. Yours would include an expert in action. It would be effective and valuable. If you are lucky you will catch the bug and start trying the learn the craft. Hey, I just did a quick search (My Google-fu is strong) and I found James Austin. He is far north of you, in Oakland, but Viking era tools and weapons is one of his specialties. http://forgedaxes.com/ Lou

All, I hope you understand that I posted the idea as an exercise (which I will act upon if a realistic option comes out of this) and, in no way, did or do I think my suggestion was viable. Still, as usual, the experts on IFI came through. I sure am glad I only spent a couple minutes on that drawing! I assumed that I was creating complex air issues with the idea but I had no idea it would involve that many variables. I had considered using a small air pump (think fish tank) and using 1/4” copper tubing to feed more air through the existing inlets. In reality, I just want to determine if more air volume is beneficial Now I’m thinking that it may make more sense to experiment by changing the geometry of the air inlet first. I honestly don’t know but this is how I learn: Theory, concept, seminar, then experiment. For me, learning the how and whys of the NA burner through a discussion like this is WAY better than just building by Frosty’s design and using it without really understanding how it works. I sincerely thank you for entertaining my juvenile foray into this. I just coached my sons baseball team earlier today (all 5 and 6 year olds) so I know how you feel. I felt like Lou Gehrig in my baseball skills standing next to them....

Okay, Frosty, here is my ridiculous idea. I have a 100 CFM blower that doesn’t have super high static pressure. I don’t believe it can power a regular ribbon burner but thought it might increase be fun to see if it offered increased ability for me to power a slightly larger burner or perhaps offer more tuning options. We’ve already established that I am ignorant and this would be my way to play around with some 2x4’s, experiment and learn something. I would make a regular burner using your formula first and use that once I get it right. Then I may play around... I found loads of options for every part I could imagine needing at great prices at supplyhouse.com. Awesome web reseller so far and I even grabbed thread protectors (steel merchant couplers) super cheap. It was better than playing games with the guys at the plumbing supply who didn’t even want to deal with me when I was buying the stuff for my bathroom remodel. They only like contractors. Anyway, I found a 2” wye in black iron and would attach that to the 1x1x3/4 Tee. To that I would add a 4 or 6” nipple (thinking I may need more distance for the fuel air to mix. I would weld nuts to the opening of each 1” opening on the tee to install governors. I assume the governors would have to have holes in them so,it is impossible to completely shut off the draw of air through them. The forced air would enter through the wye connector on the bottom of the burner. I love your NARB because it requires no power and no expensive blower. But I figured it may be worthwhile to see if a cheap blower could be added to the design to any benefit. Be prepared...my drawing looks like my five year old got his hands on the sketch app on the iPad. That’s not far from true. But I think the concept is clear enough. It is obviously not to scale... It is, in fact, embarrassingly bad. But I figured it works good enough for the purpose. I read Mikey’s post about fitting blowers in the shell and the effects of air gaps and realized that more air can often be a bad thing. This could result in a fuel hog that burns dull red at best. Feel free to tell me I’m tilting at windmills. I wouldn’t share my dumb ideas with the pros if I wasn’t willing to hear that Lou

Check anvil height. If it is up too high you are definitely losing power. Hammer technique is important too. Littleblacksmith isn’t a big dude but he sure can move a lot of metal with long, smooth strokes of his hammer. You could try hardening it to see if it is high carbon, just in case your spark test missed something. In reality, Das is probably right...practice, practice, practice! Lou

I think you will find the shims to be a temporary fix. Just a guess, but I think it will be noisy even if you fasten the anvil down hard. I imagine you would have to weld or bolt the shims on and the clamp the anvil down in order to keep the anvil from shifting around while you work. Steel stands and old anvils are a crapshoot. In the end I bet you will find yourself adding a sand basin on the top of the stand or using silicone as JHCC suggested. I’m a sand user because I switch between two very different unique anvils on one main stand. One, the oldest, has a belly in the center of the base and rocks profusely on any flat surface. I know it sucks to build a great design only to find it isn’t perfect...but don’t settle for a simple fix. Just a little more work and you will have exactly what you wanted.

Trust me, I’m not sensitive and you were right to tell me to rethink sharing my thoughts. Oh, the limitations of the typed word. In person you would have understood the humility....oh, and the clowning. I sure did learn something from your gentle rebuke and I’m the better for it. In that instance my ignorance hid the right question from me....that’s why I opened with a full disclosure of ignorance. Still, I didn’t have to couch it as advice...even if it was disclosed as amateur advice. Edited to add: The Athenians put up with Socrates challenges to expert knowledge far longer than would be tolerated in any forum. Only a lunatic would choose his methodology here!

I figured that, by qualifying my incompetence, he would know to take me worth a grain of salt. That begs the question: why bother saying anything at all? Well, my response is, “So Frosty can learn me!” I just learned something that, after having read dozens of threads in the gas forge and burner sections, hadn’t been articulated in one coherent way. But, you are right, for now on I’ll just add my thinking on all,things gas in a way it doesn’t sound like advice and keep to the questioning. Thanks for the lesson anyway Lou

Once again, all my knowledge comes from reading most of the gas forges and burners sections.... Frosty, thanks for the insights about examining the flames. Being completely inexperienced, I didn’t even think to examine the flames but checked out the forge and burners instead. I know Mikey looks at flames first and then everything else afterward. That sure is some blue exhaust and orange/red at the forge floor. Simon, I’m pretty sure that those T burners can be tuned way down simply by controlling the pressure with your regulator. In fact, that’s the only way to tune them. If you don’t have a pressure gage on it you are flying blind. I think you will find your biggest challenge is finding a balance between your burners and your insulation. Without ceramic fiber you will lose heat. With the burners turned down you will produce less heat but you will not produce loads of CO. It may be tough to get good forging temperatures....then again, it may not be....either way it will cost you more propane to get what you want. My advice isn’t to tune the burners, figure out how to use it effectively and monitor your fuel costs. If it gets too expensive or when it needs to be relined, use ceramic fiber for your first layer. Lou

That’s a beautiful outcome! I’m envious as usual. It looks like you learned much from my many mistakes. At least, I’m hoping that is the case so my forge build wasn’t all for naught. The biggest issue I had with using the sand/ash base was having my coal buried and intermingled in it. Every once in a while the cleanup was a pain. It was rewarding to have the forge back to fresh...but my wife wasn’t pleased that I absconded with the metal colander. Fortunately, I do a lot of the cooking so she gave in. I’ll be trying an overhaul to my forge this summer, I hope, but not until I get the propane forge built. Please update with usage insights. How much and where does your clinker build up? Are the sides high enough or do you lose a lot of coal to the floor? You know...stuff like that.... Thanks for the inspiration, Lou

I’ve been pouring over the gas forge section lately and I can predict a few responses. I feel confident that the gurus will say that the forge is in the wrong orientation. Because it is shorter than it is wide your flame impinges on the floor (and steel) inside and likely does not achieve full combustion. What I know is only from studying and so my input should be taken as such. I am curious about the materials you used but, if you share, be prepared to be told other ways to do it when you have to redo it. That sure is a whole lot of forge...it just guzzle propane. I’m curious to hear your experience, though. Your choice of insulation sure could amend that issue. I don’t believe Alec Steele used ceramic wool on his and, as built, it is terribly inefficient. Gets good welds though!

This iPad autocorrect along with the new weird keyboard brings me endless trouble and frustration. Finally, though, it has brought me joy. Since Peter Pan started blacksmithing, Tinkerbell has never been the same.....

You are unlikely to determine a maker on an anvil that old, but the weight would be hidden in the two numbers to the left of that three. Still, a scale is a lot quicker and more accurate. Either way, it’s just awesome, in my opinion, to get a relic like that back into action. As long as it hasn’t been in a fairy and lost it’s temper it should be a perfectly workable tool. If it is soft, and you love it for its historic value, then perhaps you will want to baby it. But use it no matter what if for no other reason than to honor the many who have used it before you. Dont bother grinding or otherwise reworking the face of it. As Thomas says (I’m paraphrasing), those flaws on the face and edges can become assets to your forging once you get used to the various places on the anvil. Lou