Irondragon Forge ClayWorks

This came to me via the BOA news letter. My grandfather worked in a blacksmith shop when he was a boy, and he used to tell me, when I was a little boy myself, how he had toughened himself up so he could stand the rigors of blacksmithing. One story was how he had developed his arm and shoulder muscles. He said he would stand outside behind the house and, with a 5 pound potato sack in each hand, extend his arms straight out to his sides and hold them there as long as he could. After awhile he tried 10 pound potato sacks, then 50 pound potato sacks and finally he got to where he could lift a 100 pound potato sack in each hand and hold his arms straight out for more than a full minute! Next, he started putting potatoes in the sacks.

About the only thing a gauge on the forge does is give you a reference point to your forge, say when firing it up. I use the gauge to get close then adjust as nessessary by sight & sound. I once fired the forge not realizing the regulator was set at 20psi. A big surprise when a fireball rolled out the door.

Correct... BTW, you might want to edit your last post, quoting the post just prior to your reply is not necessary and frowned upon. The reason behind that is we have members world wide some who still have to rely on dial up internet/bandwidth or pay extra for data and that type of quoting uses both. OH while you are at it, if you edit your profile to show your location, you may be surprised how many members are close enough to visit and lend a hand and a lot of answers require knowing where in the world you are located.

Welcome aboard... I always suggest reading this to get the best out of the forum. READ THIS FIRST It is full of tips like editing your profile to show your location, never know if there are members close enough to stop by and give a hand. Other tips about how to do the most effective search (the forum search leaves a lot be desired), on downloading pictures and many others some may help in flying under the moderators radar. You have to resize pictures by 50% for them to upload without timing out and getting an error msg.

Let your wife know we appreciate her camera work too.

You can put the name in and let folks look it up, but putting a link to a commercial site is not allowed. The moderators are pretty strict about that.

The only markings I see are punch marks where the blacksmith tested the hardness of tools he made.

A very well done video. I like the single edge on the peeling knife, here we call them paring knives. First time I have seen that twist for a handle and love it. I especially liked the ending where you hang up the PPE, would have liked to see a guard on the angle grinder though.

Not knowing where in the world you are located it's hard to try and give you advice. Do you have any pottery supply stores by you, when we needed advice on our pottery kilns that is where we would go. One thing you don't want in a forge or kiln is any type of cement.

Welcome aboard. I always suggest reading this to get the best out of the forum. READ THIS FIRST The burner gurus will be along shortly with advice. Still pictures will tell them more than a video, just be sure to resize them 50% to get them to upload without timing out.

I have faith that science is the answer.

I learned, that knowledge, like gold, is where you find it. ~ Mikey98118

Wrought iron comes in many grades and no it isn't too ductile/soft for springs. This thread explains all that. https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/21734-grades-of-wrought-iron/ You can see pictures of the spring I made here. https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/65553-leg-vise-spring/?tab=comments#comment-690536

This may have been posted before but merits repeating. 1000 hours forging on a $100 anvil will make you a better smith than 100 hours forging on a $1000 anvil. ~ ThomasPowers

Welcome aboard. Have you read this yet? READ THIS FIRST I use MAAS Metal Polishing Creme. I don't know if it's acidic or not but it works on any metal. We can't include links to commercial sites, so just Google it.

I made this one out of a small piece of wrought iron. Very easy to make them. Been working fine since then. I copied the design from my permanent shop leg vise.

Welcome aboard, everything Thomas posted will get you started. Reading a lot on this forum will help with terminology (Blacksmith jargon) and how to do this or that. If you haven't already I recommend starting with this thread. READ THIS FIRST It will help with all of the forums idiosyncrasies.

Welcome aboard, I always suggest reading this to get the best out of the forum. It is full of tips & links like editing your profile to show your location and others, how to post pictures etc. some may help in flying under the moderators radar. READ THIS FIRST

Welcome aboard, have you read this yet? READ THIS FIRST It will help in getting the best out of the forum. As far as price $4.09 a pound for a 116 lb HB is not outrageous but a little high. A couple of years ago I bought a 106 pound HB for $1.89 a pound in the same condition as that one. When the Craig's list ad said "Antique" you know the seller is looking for top dollar. I would definitely try haggling, by pointing out the damage and you want it for using in the shop and anvils are not considered antique till they are 200 years old or more. I would start at $350 which of course would depend on the ring & rebound test, which will show if it's a usable anvil with an intact hardened face plate and not separating from the wrought iron body. Good luck with the contact.

Yep , in my time with the Coast Guard we heard that call many times.

I remember some 70 years ago while in elementary school, we would celebrate May Day by dancing around the May Pole. Seems that tradition has died out. Still we celebrate The Festival of Beltane.

Where might that be, if you are close to me, stop by and take your pick from the resource pile inventory.

I agree with everyone about the marks are not damage and should not need repairing, which usually does more harm than good. Interesting history about it because when I saw the picture my mind said Hay Budden. You have a fine anvil and it needs to be put back to work.

As well you should be great first links indeed. If I can find mine, I'll give everyone a good laugh a them.

It doesn't matter that the simwool is not in contact with the flame. Micro fibers will separate and float in the air so it should be at least ridgized, better to be coated with refractory. If you want to take a chance with contracting lung disease that's your choice. I suggest reading this. https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/53239-ceramic-wool-insulation-safety-alert/ BTW: Have you read this yet? READ THIS FIRST It will help you get the best out of the forum with tips like using the quote feature The quote feature and some tips will help staying under the moderators radar.