Arkham

Looks good to me. If it pulls a cork all the better. 

Daswolf, they are not. But it’s interesting that you asked. I have been looking at various sizes of stamps and pondered the thought of making my own. 

The shoe turned out wonky, and the horse head was a collaboration with my son. 

Here’s a few I made for Christmas gifts. 

Cool little lathe. I sure wish I could stumble upon some vintage tools from my forefathers. 

So I asked for hammers, I was very specific. Made some bottle openers for my sons and brother-in-law, corkscrews for my sister-in-law and mother/in-law. The wife already wrapped the bottle openers before I could get a picture. 

So as a new blacksmith, this is the first time I have ever asked for coal for Christmas. I was just wondering what some of the popular blacksmith gifts are this year. What are you asking for or what are you giving?

Thanks for all the advice, especially jlpservices, by the way, love your videos. I will probably rewatch some of the chain making videos and start there. By the way, I am using coal. 

I have decided to try forge welding. Should I use flux or not? And, what size of stock would be best to start with?

I have mocked up a chimney for my forge but have little faith in my design. I've read a lot of posts and looked at lots of designs for super sucker and side draft chimneys, but I'm still not confident in my understanding of how this will work. My design is a bit of a cross between the two, I'm trying to achieve a traditional look, but if it doesn't  function why bother? I need advice/input!!! 

Great advice from the Senior members, I will certainly adhere to the hammer and welding knowledge.

Kevin, thanks for sharing this, I make my way to Branson almost every year, I will have to make this one of my future stops.

12 hours ago, Gergely said:

 

And yeah, in rust we trust - is the #1 scrap yard rule. Shiny means you have to know more... or leave it...

Bests:

Gergely

Thanks for this witty bit of advice. I like it.

Now to figure out what to do with all this shiny stuff.

3 hours ago, arkie said:

Nicely built forge!  Heavy firepot, good.  You're gonna love those big wheels.....

Oh yeah, it rolls real nice. That was important to me, I was wanting to make sure it would be easy to move in and out of a small shop. Those wheels have all cast iron spokes and hubs, they each weigh about 50lbs.

Thanks fellas. I will take your advice. Unfortunately I have access to an almost unlimited supply of the cylinder rods. 

I came across these pins and a cylinder rod, I believe they are case hardened, the fact is, I don't know what they are made of. Is it a bad idea to try and burn it?

Good ideas, I think I will follow up soon with a swing arm. I have just started researching hoods and chimney's, I wasn't sure if I would need one. My thought was if the smoke is blowing my way I could just turn the whole forge down wind for now. 

7 minutes ago, Bearded Guy said:

That looks good. How big is the fire pot? One suggestion i have would be to trim a small section of the angle iron flush with the table top. That way you can lay your workpiece level into the sweet spot in the fire. That's just my opinion. Now, show us a couple pics of some hot steel in it.

The fire pot measures 8"x10" at the top and 3"x5" at the bottom its 4" deep. I welded it up out of 7/8" plate. I had considered opening up the angle as you have suggested, it just slipped my mind. I will do that now for sure.

So I had a couple of days off in a row and I used my time to finish up my forge.

I plan on removing the pipe plug and adding a proper ash dump as well as adding a tool rack somewhere.

Sure would love any input. I plan on heating some iron either later today or tomorrow depending upon the weather. 

I much prefer these hammer control type exercises, tapers and s-hooks. My family has been telling me that I was born in the wrong century for sometime now.

Taper/Upset-Wax on/Wax off

Thanks Papadooks, I had considered that but didn't know if it was a good idea or not, now you have confirmed it. 

Thanks all for the advice. Particularly the advice on mild steel. And repetition of the essential methods of shaping and moving metal. 

Frosty, I love seeing your posts on the forum, my topics as well as others. Ironically, the scrap yard had enough angle iron today you could build scaffolding around the St. Louis Arch. I picked up a couple of pieces of it, some 1/4 inch plate, an 11 feet piece of 5/8 round bar and this chain that weighed in at 121 lbs. I'm not sure what I will do with it, but I figured it will find its purpose some day.

My plan for my anvil stand was actually to build a sand box like that which Loralie Simms references in her book. Is this a good idea or is there better?

So these are some of the ideas/suggestions I was hoping for. Thanks much. 

I am going to the scrap yard today to pick up plate for an Anvil stand build. I am new to this, so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for beginner projects and what kind of metal I should be looking for. I'm not that concerned about making and having something. I'm more interested in learning the proper methods of moving metal as well as the best materials to begin with so that I don't get myself frustrated.

Good looking forge brickman. I had a chance to buy a rivet forge just like that, I seriously regret it now. 

Mel, some dirt and an air supply added to that round shaped object in your last photo, and you have your forge. Just a thought.

Thanks Crytin.