Anthony Mans

I would sure like to. Currently my free time is zapped. My only Forge time is if I stay up late at night and forge through the night but I try to get in where I can

I appreciate it! I think I struggle with timing and burning metal. I pulled the shovel head out of the coal and a huge chunk of it was missing right in the middle. I tried to salvage it but it definitely feels good to complete my first actual tool. Rivets and all!

I took your advice @Charles R. Stevens and I made a shovel. The shovel head was quite frustrating but I had a lot of fun with the handle. I'll make a better one in the future but this one will work for right now. What do you guys think?

Got my membership in with SaltFork a few weeks back. Byron invited me up to the Cleveland Co. Fair this weekend to meet some folks. I'm going to try to get out there but it depends on my work schedule. Terry has also invited me to his shop to help me work on some basics. Really great group far as I can tell! I'm looking forward to getting to work! Thank you for the hospitality!

That's a good idea. I've got some 10 gauge sheet metal I was thinking would make a good little coal shovel too. 

***Update***

Ive been told over and over the best thing I can do is get on the anvil so I finally did. My smithy isn't anywhere near done yet and my wife has relocated me to the backyard, but I am undeterred! 

Its not really that pretty, but it was the very first thing I've ever made. I found myself constantly shuffling coals around my firepot with a stick and inevitably, when you poke a stick into a red hot fire, it always comes out on fire and it was getting on my nerves so I took a piece of 1x2x1/2" steel and forged it into a coal "spatula". Let me know what you guys think!

Charles, you're right I only meant about shoveling new coal in. I'm going this weekend to hunt for steel to start making the basic tools. I have a 2.5# hand hammer that I may just dress for now and start with tongs and fire management tools. 

George, thank you for the advice. I can't bring myself to not use this vice. It just wouldn't be right in my mind. But I do take care not to hammer on it. I mainly have used it so far to hold things while I'm grinding and cutting. 

Hmm I don't really want to use a shovel...  

Im already starting to see where my forge design is flawed and things I can do better for next time. 

For now, I may leave as is while I'm using anthracite since it doesn't coke anyway. That way I can put some forge time in and hopefully see how to best remedy the shortcomings. I have about 160# worth of anthracite before I'll switch to bituminous. 

Oh I see. So if I keep the firepot higher than the table then most likely no coking

You're right it needs to go down about another inch. I was also thinking about tapering some firebrick kind of like a ramp up to the lip. Think that would work?

Thank you! I may make a plate to sit in my firepot to shallow it until I can get some softer coal as Charles suggested

This is where I'm at with the face of it. 

Yeah I worked a small bevel into the edge all the way around. I wasn't sure how big of a bevel I needed but I was trying to maintain as much work surface as possible, but there aren't any sharp edges whatsoever. 

Oh good deal! I read it from start to finish after you linked it last night but I'll keep my eyes open for next month's.

Another update, I got my boards cut for my new anvil block and after about 2 hours worth of hand filing, my "anvil" is now flat faced. Hit it with a wire wheel and some boiled linseed oil. Pictures to follow once I get everything together. 

Oh that's awesome. TSC is where I got the anthracite. They had it on sale for 40# @ $4.49  I'll go back and snag a flapper. Thanks!

Okay awesome. I'll check it out!

I'll check into the semi stack cap. Any idea where to pick up one other than internet?

Charles, I had heard there was a coal pile in Norman but I haven't been able to locate it

I got me a little $10 hair dryer from Walmart to start with. That's what was blowing the fire in the video, also have a leaf blower and a shop vac that could be repurposed if needed. Hopefully soon I'll be able to get out to Douglas where Salt Fork sells their coal and pick up some of that and then maybe look at switching over to a hand crank. 

I wanted to get your input on my ash dump. I had an idea to use magnets across the bottom of the pipe. They are about 4" long and 1.5" wide and I use 2 to cover the pipe completely. I can split them a little or a lot to dampen the air flow to the fire pot. Seems decent but didn't know if there was any reason NOT to use magnets?

I got some anthracite to hold me over until my SaltFork Membership comes through and then I can buy the bituminous they have

Think it's too big or no? I suppose I could downsize it...

Thank you! I'm hoping to get the sides on it this weekend so that I can crank up the heat and see what happens. I bought a couple bags of anthracite from the TSC near me. Hopefully it burns okay. The hairdryer seems to be putting out plenty of air. 

Did a little test fire with some wood scrap just to make sure everything was on the right track. 

Managed to get a good looking burn going. Slid a piece of angle iron in it and managed to get a good 4" spot glowing red. 

IMG_1603.MOV

***Update***

Progress has been a little slow due to some unforeseen work stuff but I am coming along for sure! 

Forge is coming together nicely. The firepot is 13x13x6 making it 4 1/2 inch deep. It is constructed of 5/16" plate steel. The forge table is a combination of 1" square tube and angle iron with a top of 10 gauge sheet metal. The tuyere and air pipe are cuts from a oil drill pipe. I harvested all of the metal from my local steel yard's drop pile. In total I have spent about 80 dollars in metal and I still have enough of everything to build a nice work table and a tool rack. I will be adding 2 inch skirts all the way around the forge to keep the coal in. 

Yeah, based on the feed back I got in another post about my block, I've decided to actually cut those outside boards flush with the next layer in to alleviate that partially closed off gap. I originally put those 4 gaps in on purpose to use as accessory holes but I can definitely see the design flaw there. 

That is a good idea. I need to measure jaw height and compare it to my plans for my new anvil setup. May have to put a spacer to raise the vice. 

That vice is an old Columbia that my great grand father bought and passed to my grandfather, then to my dad, and now to me. It's marked NO 504. Don't think a lot of monetary value but priceless to me considering it's one of just a small handful of things that my family has passed down through 4 generations.