Irondragon Forge ClayWorks

Good information to have. I picked up over 400 pounds of cut up sucker rod and have made many anvil hardy's from them. They were cut to about four foot lengths and many of the ends were cut off which I have. Some one put them in the city metal dumpster where I worked and the mayor and shop foreman gave me permission to take anything I wanted. Too bad the city did away with the metal dumpster years ago.

20 hours ago, Exo313 said:

I think that's a bit dramatic.

Dramatic would have been what I really think about someone grinding on an anvil face.

Because this is a G rated forum I held back and yes a flap disk is grinding.

Thanks Mike, the beauty of the cart is it cost 0$, made from all reclaimed materials (cannibalized BBQ grill and some heavy gauge sheet metal from a metal building).

Today we finished the bubble alunima coating. Had to put a layer about a third of the way up and let it set up then roll the forge and put the top layer in. I found an old pool noodle that fit the burner port so used some as a form to keep the port open. Also solved the secondary air problem a while back. Just had to insert the burner about a quarter inch deeper so now the choke works as it should.

Will let it cure overnight then fire it up tomorrow to slowly cure it.

56 minutes ago, CHUCK M said:

Sounds like I made out really well!!! It is in great condition I will try to get some better pics outside in some better light.

I think ya done good. Please do not take to sanding/grinding on the face of the anvil. All it needs is hot metal worked on it to shine.

At under $2 a pound it was a good deal. Without seeing the before pictures it's hard to tell how much damage you have done with the flap disc. If it was very light then maybe you only removed decades from its face.

Thanks for the reminder about the rubber bladder. We'll be sure to cut them in half with an angle grinder or saber saw, to get the badder out.

I would wager that there are some Blacksmith's organizations near you. If you can join one the chances are better than even they have coal to sell members. You might start here with the FABA. Look in the resources/clinker breaker area on that site.

http://blacksmithing.org/

Not 1 but 2 water pressure tanks and 3 heavy mower blades. My wife sees 4 fancy fire pots out of the tanks. I love the guys at the county trash compacter who let us scrounge for free.

3 minutes ago, JHCC said:

Non, nous avons reconnu l'asperge.

 

 

Now that's funny, I don't care who ya are.

Y'all missed my play on words. Asparagus is my term for aspersions. But I totally missed the opportunity regarding casting.

Are we casting asparagus on my avatar?

In one of the threads (can't remember which) you asked for suppliers. Here is the supplier that we use. They are in Nixa, MO not but an hour away from us. They will get anything asked for and ship everything if needed. The site has a great list of MSDS for supplies.

http://landrspecialties.com/

Here is the stock rest like on some old coal forges, works well and is out of the way when not needed.

As a footnote, if you are working with kiln shelves, do not let them fall off the table because they don't bounce.

This one was going to be the back door but because of my clumsiness plans have changed.

http://i66.tinypic.com/2ni2x6w.jpg

There is no way I would give $350 for it, maybe $200 if I really needed it and it passed the rebound test.

That's what it is, also used by electricians to heat the coppers used to solder wires together prior to the wire nuts used today.

A retired electrician I know has one and hated using it, instead he used a gas blow torch and solder ladle, twisted the wires, heated them and dipped them in the melted solder.

It's been a long time since I was a youngster. My grandfather started me on the tool road 65 years ago. He gave me his crosspien 2 lb hammer and a tool box full of hand tools used on model A Fords, Franklins and Pierce Arrows from when he was a mechanic.

Some miscreant broke into my van in the '70s and stole the tool box but didn't get the hammer which is my favorite and I still use. Every time I picked up that hammer I felt a connection to my grandfather. The sad part is the handle broke last month and it doesn't feel the same with the new handle. I'm planning to make a smaller hammer with the old handle to see if the magic is still there.

That's what I use my Dremel with a flex shaft for. For heavier jobs I use my air powered die grinder.

Debi read that page and laughed then said "we have every one of those ingredients including VeeGum. Then she said I'm through with experimenting (from her pottery days) and will go with what works so more bubble alumina is on the way.

In the meantime, I made a folding stock rest that attaches to the forge cart.

Like Frosty said welcome. Always nice to have folks from different places posting here. I've learned a lot from the members in Australia, Germany, Great Britain etc. Would love to hear about the tool's and knives of the Gaucho's.

If it's mainly rust, I would use Evapo-Rust nontoxic and contains no acid but works like a charm.

http://www.evapo-rust.com/

We mixed it to troweling consistency like concrete, don't think it was too wet. The bubble aggregate was larger than expected though and it did not cover as much as expected. What I did was tamp the bubbles in with my fingers to get it as smooth as I could, like tamping concrete to get the aggregate below the surface.

I figured it was a chemical reaction that set it, like epoxy because after a couple of hours it was hard as a rock.

This morning we fired the forage and could tell the difference in heat right away even though only half the forge was coated. The same piece of rebar reached forging temperature in three minutes and after six it was at high orange (almost welding heat).

Debi figured out that it will have to be done in sections as you said so we will order more and coat the rest now that we know how to work it. Still contemplating applying a IR reflector like Plistix if we don't reach welding heat after the exhaust ports are closed up. The test this morning was with both ends open. 

It depends on what is wrong with them. If they are clogged up with shavings a file card will usually get them clean. Some folks etch them with acid but I don't like to do that. If they are very good American or English files, it would be worth it to send them out for sharpening. I have used this service in the past.

http://www.boggstool.com/

I would put a little blackpowder somewhere, now that would get their attention.

Today we put in the bubble alumina, hope it wasn't a mistake. That stuff is very difficult to work with to say the least. We could only get it about half way up the sides, doubt we will use it again. Letting it air dry overnight and will fire it up to cure it tomorrow and hope it sticks to the Satanite.

Nope... not TMI. The scale formed when I took the bar out of the forge and upset the end a little, no scale in the forge. A second heat and I was able to walk to the anvil 30 feet away and still draw the end out so it's getting hot for sure.