PapaDooks

just a few bits i made at different times. top two are basically same thing just one has crystal drops. last isn't really mail but i figure kind of fits the theme

don't even know if that's the right name for bottom blowing or not but i was wondering if exhaust pipe was "safe" to use for this purpose? would i need to de-gal it first if it was galvanised piping ?

sweet thanks guys. put it on watch list ready for sniper action 

i think the last word of Tom Powers post is the most important one. that's for him. i'm guessing everyone else's mileage may vary.

oh and i watch my wife constantly go to the wrong side of the car. 30 years in australia and she still defaults to getting into a canadian car at times 

see and here i thought you'd want your lesser hand on the blower. that way you ended up with balanced arms instead of one giant and other puny  

very nice looking job Digger. you burning coal or charcoal in there ? 

33 minutes ago, Jim Coke said:

I would work on hammer control and try to keep your thumb off the top of your hammer handle. You will find that after continuous forging you will do damage to your hand..Just an old boys 2c. Keep up the great work. 

well spoted jim. got better eyes then me i had to scroll back and have another look

So found on an auction site them selling a bunch of " bolts pins and sundry" and being a nosy bugger i had a look at the picture.

now obviously is a bit of surface rust on it all but if i'm not mistaken is a couple of hammer heads n other useful tools mixed in this lot ?

wow that's one heck of a good draw ya got happening there. good to see you getting to put your work to use

very nicely done mate. it's a jabod without the box  size of them flames could probably do with a lower powered hair dryer. that should save you a bit on charcoal aswell 

have a couple of old hoops from barrels behind the shed. might have to weld some bar across em and chuck in a hub n make one of these puppies.

I guess you could also make your own from some flat bar if only you have some kind of heat source and some kind of rounded metal item to shape it over 

can't wait to see some shots of it in action. i have plans for something very similar myself and was considering a side draft just like you have there.

like the took rack on the end bu maybe you want to think about adding a few pegs on the front for the tool your currently using to hang on. i could see myself getting sick of having to slide the handles in and out everytime and end up leaving things laying on the bench near fire and end up ruining the temper on things.

yes if your not familiar with electric motors about all you can do yourself is check the wires running to the motor are intact (cheap multi-meter and hold contacts to each end of the wires) and visual inspection of rubber casing on them(old wires tend to crack which causes shorts). if all that fails definately seek professional help. electricity is not something that you want to have running wild when working with large metal objects your going to be touching.

i guess if you "really" wanted a knife with a RR spike handle on it but a good hard functional blade you could always go with the japanese style and forge weld a fold of harder steel around the softer spike core. if you did it from some nice damascus style fold welded steel and etched the blade up folks might not even realise/care that it's not the "original" spike steel 

wish i could find a few of them bed rails. would sure save me buying angleiron for my forge table

On 9/19/2016 at 0:34 AM, JHCC said:

Very true. Different waxes have different hardnesses (carnuba is extremely hard; earwax, extremely soft),

cool. now i have a use for that excess ear wax i seem to have now as i get older 

yeah this worked well to learn about bashing iron a bit and make some really dodgey looking tongs up but i want something a bit more advanced now. am going to order the steel for it next week 

yeah this was last years start up forge. like i said i'm looking at making something a bit more permanent for in the shed and can get the iron hotter and more consistant but this bad boy got me started up and most expensive part was the hair dryer

fuel isn't too much of an issue i have a way of getting wood pretty cheap and have a charcoal kiln/retort 90% built. i'm looking at making something a bit more advanced then current forge and semi permanent in the shed

no so far i just have the plans drawn up. i still the okay from the supreme overlord of finances(wife) so if i can make it for less will be more chance of getting the go ahead

would it be worth looking at lining the firepot with a clay/ash mix ?

oh ok 3mm. wow seems like i might be over engineering a touch

G'day folks,

So i already made myself a little basic forge last year out of some scrap steel and a couple of car rims and while it was "ok" and let me heat up n bash some steel to get an idea of working the iron and seeing if i enjoyed it(loved it by the way).

I've decided i'm going to make up something a little more permanent and able to heat to higher temps for forge welding and hopefully making damascus style steel for myself. My basic idea is i want to have it built into a bench top style of thing with a side drafting flue burning charcoal. 

Now for my firebox i was looking at using 1/2inch steel plate and making a trapezoid shaped box 4" deep. 6" square at the bottom and 12" square at the top with a 2inch bottom feed air pipe.The top of the firebox being level with the "bench" top

is this going to be deep enough and large enough to get a good hot burn in from charcoal or would i need to go deeper to get the top of the box lined up for the sweet spot ?will the 1/2 inch put up with the heat ok or should i go thicker/line it with something ? 

thanks in advance