Lou L

I'm also concerned that, if I insulate and make a warm, cozy space, every critter for miles around will find it an amenable holdover for the winter as well. Also, I don't have power running to my shed. My intentions are to run a heavy gage power cord from a dedicated 20amp outlet on the side of the house. I only need power for my lights, my blower and maybe a radio. I plan on doing my finishing work in the garage. I'll look around for antifreeze solutions as well. I'm still chuckling a little about Charles' choice of wording..."Mainlining vodka to Fluffy". The real sad part is that the stuff tastes good to them. I've heard of people purposely putting it out for their neighbor's pets simply because they didn't like animals. There are some sick people in this world. EDIT:. I just did the research. Apparently using propylene glycol instead of ethylene glycol makes antifreeze more effective and nontoxic. I guess they had difficulty finding a way to mix it in solution until recently. One brand that sells the new stuff is Sierra. Propylene glycol is also a food additive I won't even have to feel bad draining my tank!

It is very corroded. I found it underground more than a foot down in a very old trash pile. I haven't tried to scrape through to see more detail on it for fear that I would destroy it. But, now that I know exactly what it is I can try without fearing making identification impossible.

Thanks Charles, are there any collectors of decayed, broken 17th century (or early 18th century) buggy harnesses? in all seriousness, I would love to recreate this thing but my skills aren't there yet. I can't even figure the order of production or how to weld that ring in place.

I was thinking the same thing but was put off by two things:. It is very small comparatively and they always seem to be made out of wood. Right after reading your post I went ahead and searched images and found ONE example of something similar but it had more rings and was more ornate. I'd be pleased to find out it is part of a super primitive plowing harness! Thanks for for the insights, Lou

Guys, if it helps at all, let it be known that I've taken your input to heart and have accommodated my design for the lean to I'm planning off the back of my shed. I've been struggling with how much I should button it up. Deep down I want to insulate the space my side blast is in because it is water cooled. Reality is that I'm just going to have to figure out how well it does with freezing. I'm not interested in having my wife and kids find me dead in the back of my shed.

Another hobby of mine is metal detecting and the cool early American items I find in the ground are one of my major inspriations for blacksmithing. I found one item in what I believe was a trash heap along the outside wall,of a mill that started along the CT River well before 1700. There was a 250 year old oak growing in the center of the foundation. Along with loads of bent nails, clam shells and broken plates I found this item. I need to go back and dig deeper because there is more on this site but time is not with me. Anyway, can anyone recognize this or guess it's purpose? It was clearly broken in one place in the thickest section that is handle-like. The other end has a saddle shaped opening the purpose of which I cannot surmise. I've been trying to unravel the mystery of what this once was for a while now. Perhaps someone here (a curmudgeon knowledgeable in early Colonial ironwork perhaps) can point me I the right direction. Thanks in advance for any suggestions. The only clue I can offer is that I found a number of ox shoes and lead horn tips nearby so they definitely had oxen as working animals for the mill. The area was also known for the granite quarry just up the hill that shipped stone as far as London. Thanks in advance for any ideas, Lou

Are you trying to lure me into making jokes instead of talking about blacksmithing? I won't bite.

I don't know who to reply to, I'm in a pickerel. Okay guy, reel it in for a second and talk blacksmithing. I finally got my forge working beautifully today and worked for five hours. I think I made more scale than anything else but at least I was forging! I used smaller coal (pea sized) and nothing fishy happened with my air supply...

Nah, you are good...I'm all tied up in knots trying to keep up.

Man, you are too good, I had a witty reply but it got away from me....

I think he's trolling my thread...

Hey, I studied Attic Greek for three and a half years. Wanted to go back in time and punch Thucydides in the head. I've lost so much of it over the years due to lack of practice....and six years of bar tending. By all means, please do tell what a person who studied the classics can do beside teach! I'm looking for professional change. Let me me know when you are in Central CT and you can stop by and laugh at my forge. Frosty, it's a solid observation. There must be a blacksmithing-fishing connection.

Hey Charlie, I'm new myself and am a bit jealous of your collection. I have a pretty nice anvil but I'm struggling to get my hands on a post vise. If shipping weren't so ridiculous I'd be begging to buy one of your extras! Lou

An excellent plan that increases my chances for success dramatically! Thanks for the insights. Two questions about going: What does one bring to a meet as a newbie (hammers, steel, other tools, etc..)? and, does everyone join (or should I join) the New England Blacksmiths organization?

In that case, I'm already a master blacksmith!

Thanks Frosty, I got lucky in my 28th year and found a woman who was even willing to put up with my being a bartender (natural fit for philosopher by the way). She hasn't even complained about all the coal spilled out all over the back yard. I'll likely hear about it next year when I forget to do something trivial....but it's all good for now. I'm going to hold myself to a high standard regarding fitting in here. I need to make something of merit first... Lou

You'll have no arguments from me about your drink of choice. I could almost taste it by your description alone! As far as wives go though, you'll have no comments from me unless I'm complaining about my own...

Thanks for the welcome all! Just last night I saw the posting for the meetup in Mass. And now I have to convince the wife to have a weekend alone with the kids...I'm sure some of you know how that goes. Thomas, no, I haven't seen that book yet. I have a chunk of a tool that, for the life of me, I can't identify. Found it about two feet down in a garbage pile next to the foundation of a mill from the 1650's. The mill ran for a long time so no specific date on the thing but having a reference to maybe identify the stuff I dig up would be nice! Right now I'm working on improving my air system for my forge, though, and won't leave that task until I have succeeded! Then I'll get on to ancient tool identification. Frosty, you can thank my useless degree in philosophy for my choice of avatar....that and my passion for good bourbon.

Hello all, my name is Lou and I'm from West Hartford, CT. I worked in a few of the trades for a number of years but my current job is a mostly shirt and tie type of thing. I first learned to forge steel at a friends farm years ago and have always wanted to get my own equipment and learn for real. After doing lots of woodwork in my garage I have finally gotten started with blacksmithing. I am not chasing the dream of making millions by making knives (though I'm bound to try making some). My interests lean more toward historical recreation and decorative work. I also metal detect early colonial settlement sites and find all sorts of interesting ironwork, most of which is difficult to identify. My goal is to learn how to recreate some of the things I find. I've been using IFI as a resource for research for a long time now and that's why I say thanks...for what I've already learned and for what I will learn later. I'm finally forging and making the tools I need to make the tools I need. I don't think it ends. Lou

Total shot in the dark but I think it looks like a cable anchor that would be used for bridge construction and would be mounted in concrete. Lou

Did some researching on inline fans for possible forge use. Thanks for the heads-up Bcrosby71. Here is what I found: The Ventech fans that Fiery Furnace Forge used are strong but have some negative reviews for bad bearings and terrible customer support. They are still a good option. For about the same price ($68) you can get one made by Active Air that has good reviews. There are speed controllers for brushless motors that are pretty expensive but I dug around and learned that you can apparently use a router speed controller designed for brush type motors 15 amp and under. These can be had for $20 at HF if you are willing to be seen there! So, for about $88 I could have fully controllable high volumes of air without even needing my terribly designed air gate. That would be $2 less than I paid for the materials to build my forge and I'm cheap...but I'm tempted to try the experiment. Im still going to try to make my current system more efficient per Latticino's suggestions and see if that works first.

Oh man, I'm back to laughing about the "ninja" thing. It had me seriously gut laughing for some reason. You all are saints for patiently ignoring nonsense like that! Thanks so much for the input all! Latticino, I can't help but think you are right. The flexible hose was connected to the vent fan. I made my decisions for convenience and I think I set myself back. I was also concerned about coal size. Small pieces of coal have kinda gotten wedged into the tuyere outlet and large ones have redirected the air flow causing me to have two separate fires on the side rather than one in the middle. The dirt devil vacuum powers right through it Åland the air always diffuses right where I want it. I was working under the assumption that the side blast would have less problem with air pressure. I'm going to rework my knuckleheaded air ductwork, remove the backdraft damper from the fan and have another go at it. Currently I'm using nut coal but I'm going to pick up some pea and rice sized and do some comparisons. Bcrosby71, I've seen a bit on inline fans. I was trying to figure out which might work. They make them for boating ventilation that run on 12v and others for home heating systems. I'll check out your sources, thanks. I'm still looking for any other insights into the design of the forge. Everything about it is educated guesswork. I used videos from Joshua Delisle on YouTube as my most useful bit of insight. http://youtu.be/ypahcig1KQw I'd love to hear any suggestions or ideas, even if it is just guessing. This forge is a work in progress for sure and it's about time more than one mind work on it.

I just noticed that autocorrect changed "there were" to "ninjas". My favorite typo yet! Buzzkill, I already have a 100 CFM bathroom vent that is super quiet but can't push through the coal pile to maintain the fire well enough. When I put work into the coals they move around and just one piece of coal can plug the air outlet such that the fire loses its mojo. When I move that piece of coal two more fall into its place every time. Raking coal is quite possibly the most frustrating thing about blacksmithing so far. I swear the stuff is alive and actively trying to get itself where I don't want it! What I'm trying to figure out is whether or not pressure drops in my air system (venting, air outlet diameter, etc..) are causing my problems or if it is an underpowered fan. If others are succeeding with bathroom vent fans then it must be my air system. If that's the case, I need to keep asking questions and seeking fixes.

I'm a bit late to this Rockstar and I'm completely inexperienced so take my input for whatnot is worth! I just posted on my side blast design and, based on my experiences, I have some insights for you: Dont stress the volume of water too much. I think you figured that out already though. It takes a long while to get that water really hot...it's pretty effective as a cooling method. Also, you may find your blower is not enough for coke. Come and anthracite both really need constant air. My air issues have been the biggest hurdle so far. I'm learning more about supplying air for a forge than I am about forging right now.

Thomas, do you prefer to use charcoal or, more specifically, do you think it would be a realistic option for long term, regular use? Latticino, I rigged up an air diverted out of a pvc three way connector but haven't used it with the dirt devil because the connection between the two is a minor pain but mainly because I hate the loud whine of the thing. My neighbors can hear it three houses down and I find it maddeningly loud. Does everyone just learn to deal with the volume of their blowers? My jury rigged air diverter: I am thinking that maybe the air flow should be straight through and the release should be the angle. I did it the way I did just for convenience because the smaller pipe section fits my tuyere pipe. Thoughts? I have to take moving to charcoal seriously but I want the forge to be capable of using any fuel successfully. Do you think increasing the diameter of the air inlet at the end of the pipe will help? I would have to drain the bosh in order to drill it out with a unibit because making it any larger will compromise my welds. So I'd also have to reweld it once I finish. It's a bit of a pain to do but, if it would fix my air problems it would be worth it. I guess this is what happens when a novice tries to build more forge than he needs! I sure learned a lot in the doing though.