Ohio

Thanks for the kind words, you all. Yes, the charcoal was too big. I broke up the first few batches and then...didn't. I have something I can use as a screen and tomorrow when it's not seven billion degrees outside, I'll get a respirator and smallify the charcoal. I've been thinking about that as I design my charcoal retort----perhaps I can modify a cheapie wood chipper so I can go from retort to screen and into the chipper, where it gets chomped, and then into storage bins. Maybe not. For now I'll get out a machete and split the charcoal into bits. And not to worry, Frosty, about changing things. It's a JAGOD---I can re-arrange to my fiendish little heart's content. I have some ball clay I mixed with some screened dirt and a little charcoal dust (I don't know why, I saw it on the internet and I had some, so whatever), added a little water and voila---I formed a little cup inside the fire coffin* I'd made with the brick. One of the reasons I liked the JABOD idea so much is that you can just shovel and shape as needed. Since I'm trying to figure out what will work for me, this is perfect. I've now experienced three different types of forge. One was in a class when I made the World's Worst Leaf, which was natural gas, and one is my neighbor's, which is propane. The class forge was dragon breathy and loud. It worked and if that was my only choice, I'd be content with it. My neighbor's forge is quite clever---it's essentially a work table made with soft fire brick and has moveable burners. He builds a forge by stacking other fire brick in any configuration as needed for whatever he's working on. Right now the table is covered with junk. Love the guy, but honestly, "no one can see it" is not synonymous with, "I cleaned up all my crap." He did just tear apart and put back together a 220v welder he got for $40 off C-list. He texted me to come over so he could show it off and I have to admit, it's pretty formidable. Anyway, the JAGOD let me try charcoal and I have to admit as neanderthal-y as it is, I found it pretty hypnotic. Of course, it was really hot and the peacefulness could have been sunstroke, but it was quiet and beautiful. Until I started hitting stuff with a hammer, but that's a different sort of beauty. *Fire Coffin would be a great band name. I call it.

When our beloved propane grill finally died broke, I decided to take all the inspiration I'd gotten reading about the JABOD Mark III (thanks, Charles R. Stevens) and make Just a Grill of Dirt. A JAGOD, if you will. I had two goals: Spend as little money as possible Forge using charcoal I'll just admit now that I am way better at spending money than not spending money. I scrounged up some thin firebrick I'd stashed and since I had to dig footings for some pier blocks, I rough-screened a couple of 5-gallon buckets of that dirt. I put the grill in a level area always in the shade. I had to snip some of the sheet metal to get a length of pipe thru. The pipe isn't sched 40, but similar, with an ID of 1". I got it from my neighbor, who is a blacksmith and thinks I'm insane using charcoal (then he admits it's kind of neat, which is how our friendship usually goes---Me: "I have an idea!" Him: "You crazy. Can I try?") I used the firebrick to build a little chamber for holding the charcoal and pipe, and then filled in with dirt. I mixed a pound of powdered Lincoln fire clay I've had forever in with a bit of water for the are around the pipe, then added a little water to the rest of the dirt, screeded it, and compacted with a firebrick. I think I have some first-rate dirtmanship going on here. The next afternoon, I grabbed my bag of blacksmithing tools, a RR track anvil my neighbor gave me, a piece of mild steel I had smithed into the Worst Leaf Ever Made in the History of FireTM, and a bag of lump charcoal I bought at the store. Ok, yeah, I spent some money. But I already cheated on Goal #1 because I didn't think my blower plan would work. I had an old beekeeping smoker that uses a small bellows and I was tempted to try it as my air source just for fun. Then I realized that was taking the No Spending Money goal a bridge too far and got an Intex air mattress pump (a la the Mark III) that cost less than the bag of charcoal. We spent almost twenty year heating houses with wood, so I know how to build a fire. That charcoal started glowing quickly and I realized maybe playing with fire on the hottest day of the year was again the mark the slightly insane. Oh, well. Once the coals were glowing, I slipped in the mild steel with the Worst Leaf Ever Made in the History of Fire. The leaf was so thin it got to temp really fast and I tapped it over into a loop with half a tap of my totally undressed Harbor Freight hammer. Yes, I have to dress those hammers and I will---I even know how because there's a thread here with how to do it, which is awesome. But today I was just seeing if the JAGOD was a cromulent idea. I quenched the end of the mild steel and slid the opposite end into the fire. Gave it some puffs with the Intex pump and when it was bright red, took it out and gave it two taps to bend into a little coal rake. Two taps. With a cheapo HF ball peen hammer. And I had a tool. I immediately put it to work raking the charcoal into a mountain for the next piece. I also had a 12" length of cold roll steel my blacksmith neighbor had given me (he also gave me two pairs of tongs because he's a great guy and he treats me like the son he never had). He didn't tell me what kind of steel it was, but that I should try working with it for experience. (FYI, that's the fire rake I just made on the left. I am stupidly proud.) I got it to temp and whaled on it and it hardly moved. Back into the fire. Whack whack whack. Hardly moved. Not at all like the mild steel. Back into the fire... I managed to square up the end and draw a taper, but man, it took forever. I'm going to bet he gave me a piece of something he knew would teach me a lesson. IOW, I believe I was the object of a blacksmith version of a snipe hunt. High. Larious. I used less than 1/4 of the bag of charcoal I bought. I'm already re-designing the JAGOD to make it easier to work with---probably more like a Japanese-style forge. I got a taste of smithing with charcoal, which I really liked. I need to dress those hammers, get my anvil at a better height (either lower the forge a la Tim Lively so I can sit or raise the anvil), and buy some mild steel stock I can practice making simple things with-----hooks, leaf key chains, etc. Build a charcoal retort because man oh man have I source material for charcoal. Then I'll focus on fire management and hammer control. I want to say thanks to the knowledge and inspiration here and I wanted to give you all an opportunity to point and laugh. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go teach my neighbor a lesson.

You can request permission from the copyright owner if you find images you want to use. It's not difficult (I speak from experience), esp. if the copyright owner is in the U.S. I may even have an Agreement you could adapt to fit your circumstances. (Ping me if you want a copy.) This is pretty common as it's cheaper to clear copyrighted material than create it. You may also want to consider using a stock image (they're available)---before anyone gets all "stock images suck, you hack" on me, this has also gotten really common and stock collections have gotten pretty good. Depending on what rights you need (territory, media, duration) and print run, this can be very inexpensive especially for nonexclusive electronic book in a specialty market. A quick look at Getty Images's terms tells me that for some images, they charge a flat fee based on file size with nonexclusive global all-uses licensing. Other stock image companies may handle their licensing differently, so YMMV. Either of these scenarios do have additional requirements like requiring photo credit and sometimes limiting the kind of image editing you can do, but the use agreement will have those terms spelled out. So this may be worth looking at. I am not a lawyer. My lawyers make me say this.

This is very basic and general, but maybe you can find information that will help you safely do what you want to do. There's a difference between a forge and a foundry furnace. if you want to heat steel to forging temperature and hit it with a hammer into various shapes, you'll need a forge. Lots of ways of building one here, as others have pointed out, with photos and detailed descriptions. While there are a lot of steps, the instructions are usually very clear and to the point. If you want to melt metal, you need a foundry furnace. Again, you've been given links on how to find instructions on how to build such a tool, make a mold, etc., even though this site is more about forging and blacksmithing than foundry work. You can also buy a small foundry furnace and other tools for aluminum casting from Lost & Foundry or other sellers. Either activity is dangerous, especially for the clueless. For example, if you melt metal, how do you know the crucible you're using won't shatter and spill hot metal on your feet? Or what happens if you don't use the correct tools to handle the crucible for pouring? How do you know the metal you're metling isn't zinc, which gives off fumes that can kill you. As I recall, you wanted to melt some kind of metal and cast a tool. My apologies if I am mis-remembering. Please be aware that the chances are you won't be melting steel and casting it, not without some experience working with other materials. Most home foundry work starts with melting aluminum, which is still dangerous as you're working with temperature over 1000-degrees F. Alec Steele (who is a member of IFI) has youtube videos on his attempts at foundry work, including building a foundry furnace and a visit to a local foundry. Alec is a blacksmith based in the UK and doesn't shy away from showing how hard and dangerous forge and foundry work is, yet retains his sense of humor. Finally, I'm a professional filmmaker. If you want to come up with the money to hire my production company to produce the videos you want, I'd be happy to discuss budgets, though please be aware that I don't work with people who are xxxxxxx

You may just want to talk with them and show that you understand their concerns. You don't know what your neighbor is experiencing. Literally. A friendly conversation and maybe even asking your neighbor to go to your forge and bang on the anvil and run the blower while you listen from the neighbor's house may show 1) what this person is hearing or smelling may be out of hand and 2) that you're willing to stand in your neighbor's shoes. You may be surprised that by simply acknowledging the other person's experience may go a long way to finding a solution. I have neighbors who like to run a leaf blower until after dark while their bratty children shriek at all hours. And unfortunately, I'm pretty sure we heard the adults having sex last summer and there is no such thing as ear bleach. Here's the kicker: I live in the country and their house is easily 1,000 feet away but because of topography, the noise carries. Interestingly, the reverse is not true---they can't hear us like we can hear them. Thank dog. I'm not going to call the cops on them because it's just how it is, so wev. And besides, I don't know if they'd want to know that we can hear them doing...stuff. Which makes us laugh. A lot. Someone over their needs to do some cardio, if you get my drift. Your neighbor may be experiencing something similar---not the sex stuff, but what doesn't sound (or smell) terrible to you may be traveling right into your neighbor's living space, and dude, that's not cool. And it may turn out to that what you hear from their house is okay for you, but not for them. Maybe they have a kid, or their sick, or they're just different from you. Some people are really sensitive to certain sounds and smells. Some people treasure their quiet. That doesn't mean you have to bend to their demands, but acknowledging our differences is respectful and can make for a better community all the way around.

Hey you all (and esp. 4Elements)... Life intervened in my smithing and spinning endeavors. With a bit of luck I should be back to playing with fire and hitting things with a hammer soon. I did manage to spin an aluminum disc into a cat food bowl last fall and even rolled the edge. Yay me. I may have even sourced a little Karle Spin Shop spinning lathe, but Im waiting to find out about it. I think I mentioned my neighbor the blacksmith is holding onto a swage block and blacksmith vise until my shop is built. I don't quite know when that will be, but maybe later this spring, when I can get back to building fires and hitting things with a hammer. That'd be nice. Been reading up on JABOD designs and I may have some questions about using steel scrap as an anvil in the next couple of weeks. I must say that re-reading so many of the posts here are really inspiring and brain-clearing and I'm again grateful for the shared knowledge and generosity among you all. Just wanted to say hey and I'll be back with annoying and/or stupid questions. Remember, there are no stupid questions, only stupid people.

Well, $225 makes the risk seem less...risky. I'm actively mulling taking a look. I am such a sucker. Edited to add: Looks like it's gone. Well, that'll learn me.

4elements, I was looking at this one, too. I didn't like the price. If there is a delam, is it fixable? Or is this a boat anchor sort of item?

I've been practicing my metal spinning and I'm thinking I need to cut my own spinning circles and perhaps make mandrels/forms out of something other than wood.I did a search and didn't exactly find what I was looking for, so I thought I'd ask. This is a two-parter, so please bear with me. 1. I need to cut non-ferrous sheet metal circles probably no thicker than .050" with a diameter between 3"-10" . I was wondering if anyone has built a Riser Circle Shear or Daniel Remer Circle Shear by modifying an inexpensive Harbor Freight tool. If so, how is it working out for you and was adapting the tool hard to do? If you have one that you never use, would you consider trading/selling? 2. I've turned my own mandrels and follower blocks out of wood or engineered material (I think it's medium MDF, but I don't remember and am too lazy to run into the shop right now). It works well, I have confidence in my glue-up abilities, etc., but I'm wondering if there's a synthetic that may be a bit tougher. (At some point I may make forms out of steel on my metal lathe, but first things first.) A Robert Sorby instruction manual I have suggests Nylatron, but I'm not familiar with it. Does anyone have a material recommendation? I need to be able to turn it on a wood lathe, install threaded steel (like a nut) in the mandrel to thread onto 1"/8 headstock and rod in the follower block to place in a live center on the tailstock, and not cost me that extra kidney I've been saving. Thanks.

Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it. Very helpful. I need to find me some hammer time---and yes, ThomasPowers, crunchy may have been what I was feeling---everything was too thin. I had a moment where I thought I had accidentally folded over an edge because I was messing with it a lot. That 3/8 hot-rolled went into the fire way too many times. Even I knew it was too many. So why didn't I stop? Because I can be dumb. And I was excited about doing something with fire and a hammer because who doesn't like that? Fire plus hammer is like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup---the perfect combination. As far as the spinning, I came in from the shop because I'm just tired enough to do something stupid at the lathe. Time to step away. So if I have any courage, I will give it a spin tomorrow and see if I can make a recognizable something. Or I'll make a mess and then ask you all to help me figure out how I screwed it up and we can give it a name so I can sell it as "art," because I'm obviously in this for the cash and glamour.

ThomasPowers---roger the cat poop and paw print. I'll charge extra for that, too. Dang it, Frosty. I was turning a mandrel to spin a little copper candle cup when I came in for lunch and read this. So if people who don't eat meat are vegetarians, what is the word for people who decide not to spin metal? I need a word for it because with every horror story I reconsider trying it. So I can say, "I am now firmly a [vegetarian equivalent of not a metal spinner]. I'm done with that crazy mess." OTOH, after a bit I gulp and re-assess what I'm doing and why. And then I want to try it again. I have some 3" copper discs to practice on. And I can so call myself a journalist. Pfft on your "facts" and "definitions." The leaf got longer because I mistakenly started out too long, then changed hammers for better control. I wanted to just start over but was told we didn't have enough time, so I practiced wrapping that end around the horn while I waited for the instructor to demo the next step. (I should've just started over, but I was trying to be respectful.) Then I added the shoulder and tried the second taper (quenching the thinned end to control the heat) but I absolutely sucked at the second taper. Just sucked. That felt like a practice thing---like, do this 100 times to get a feel for it. Which is going to be my approach once I get everything set up, basically, like running drills or practicing scales. And the material really did start feeling overworked. I thought it was because it was thin, but the closest I can describe it is that it was brittle? A bit unresponsive? Kind of dragging under the hammer? Am I imagining this?

That...is a great idea. "The Zenpocalypse water feature $495. Zenpocalypse sand garden. Comes with mini-rake, $595. Or combine both in a Surf-N-Turf End-of-the-World Diorama, $995. Not responsible for cuts, scaring, or lock jaw." I knew this blacksmithing thing would lead to riches.

Ha---Olfart. Yes, indeed. It's not a leaf. It's a flame and a miracle of wonder. See? It's all in the marketing. Will W., exactly. You gotta start somewhere, even if it's downtown Craptown. Someone else in this thread said something about better to start than do nothing and that is absolutely right. And BEST. (Hahahaha, now I'm going to use "BEST" in everything I post just to annoy Someone.) ThomasPowers, how do you know there wasn't projectile vomiting? Maybe there was and I didn't mention it because this forum has decorum---hey! that rhymes----and I didn't want to damage anyone's delicate sensibilities. I mean, some people are sensitive. Ultimately, I achieved my goal for taking the class, which was to find out if I liked doing this. And I do. So my next steps are to continue getting stronger, work with my blacksmith neighbor on technique and approach, and continue researching. I also plan on getting back to metal spinning and may impose on y'all for critique, pointers, and inspiration. The Leaf of Infamy is a paragon of skill compared to my metal spinning attempts. I'll just tell you now that there was projectile vomiting caused by those---there's one in particular....well, let's just say it was so bad that I'm pretty sure it was one of the signs of the apocalypse. Rain of toads, four horsemen, and that metal crinkly blob thing that looks like...huh, well, forum decorum prevents me from using the correct terminology here.

I don't exaggerate, Frosty. I document. This is essentially journalism. And you're right---if I had positioned this as, "Today I made an arrowhead that goes around corners," I could've claimed I was enormously talented. You're also right that it went into the fire way too many times. The steel felt overworked. I don't quite know how to explain that, but it did, and yet, it didn't stop me from continuing to put it in the fire. I spent most of my time heating up the steel and then whacking it because the instructor (a she not a he) didn't explain what we were supposed to do until everyone was at a certain place. I did finally just stop and wait until everyone caught up but that wasn't very fun. And she kinda forgot certain steps---the irony (which has iron in it) was that she kept calling out, "You should always be thinking about the next step," which is good advice but only if you know what the next step is. She would also kinda neglect to mention something until it was too late, like, "You should only taper the A and B sides," after we'd all been smacking metal and everyone looked up and said, "What?" And then I thought, "Little late for that bullcrap now." So I tapered too long a piece and then spent time wrapping the end around the horn of the anvil and then straightening out. I learned I am very good at putting a shoulder at the bottom of a taper. I am not good at doing the second taper below the shoulder. I'm also good at holding the piece as the instructor demonstrated the veining. I was also pretty good at peening the edges to draw them out when the instructor said we had time for only one more heat. That was kind of weird, so I just heated so I could wire brush the crap off but the steel brush had disappeared by then. But everything about it was really fun. I was chuckling most of the time, which I guess would make me seem slightly insane. Another one of my neighbors just came over to see if I had any scrap hardwood for a handle of his first knife. I gave him some 1/4" x 1.5" x 10" lengths of black walnut and maple to laminate and use that I cut off from a cutting board I made. I have a slice of black locust burl that I told him I'd give him, too, when he felt ready for it. Kinda seems like that's part of the craft---pass it on be it tool, material, or knowledge.

...are way more interested in the toasting fork than you are in the marshmallow.

I give you...the Leaf of Infamy. Frosty, dude, I'm serious---I'm so proud of myself. I can see it's terrible and I just don't care. Oh---now I know how parents feel about their ugly kids. And don't be saying how all children are beautiful because that is demonstrably false. I have a brother who would agree that he was the Leaf of Infamy of the family. Of course, he grew up good and turned out a handsome fellow, so just because someone starts out ugly doesn't mean they'll stay there. Dang it. Frosty shows up and I wander off-topic like a cow with amnesia.

4elements, I think we're going to Longview. I have a film festival screening and Q&A at noon in Gig Harbor on the 27th and we're planning on driving down---depends how long the Q&A goes, I reckon. If I shut up early, we may get there mid-afternoon. swedefiddle, I'm not disappointed that I suck so bad because I've never done this before and I'm okay with that. The Play-Doh thing is a good idea, I'll get some and just practice. My neighbor is a blacksmith and he just said he'll clear out the crap in his garage so we can fire up the forge in a couple weeks. So I'll focus on basic techniques in Play-Doh and building strength, with occasional forays to the fire because who doesn't like fire? Not to worry---I am far from ashamed or discouraged. Sometimes I think I'm just not smart enough to know when I should be ashamed of myself but let's call this a feature, not a bug. I'm just so impressed with myself. I moved steel around with fire and muscle. That was amazing.

So I took a blacksmithing class last night. Mostly I wanted to find out if I truly liked hitting hot metal with a hammer, to which the answer is yes. I also learned that I could hammer for an hour and a half without any strain when I made the absolutely worst leaf-shaped object in the history of fire. And I am ridiculously proud of it. It's just terrible and I'll keep it forever. I also want to say thank you to everyone who has shared their knowledge on IFI. The info has been invaluable and has really helped me think about what I really wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. Instead of being daunted by how much there is to learn, I am excited by how much there is to learn. You have my gratitude, though if you all start with the punning, I will retract and insist that my account was hacked and I never said nice things here. Then I will call you all names. To anyone is wondering about trying blacksmithing, I say jump in. Make something. The steel is hot, the anvil is heavy, and don't look too closely at what's floating in the quench tank.

St. Louis. The Donut Stop. The donuts are so good, ice cream would detract. They have a greater variety than they used to but the simplest donuts are still the best. Like the french donuts aka french crullers, which are unbelievable. Heaven on a napkin. Or skip the napkin and just stuff your facehole with them. Just don't try to go on Sunday as people stand 4 rows deep at the counter and around the building and around the parking lot in the bazillion degree heat and humidity to wait for their goodies. People buy the donuts by the dozens----note the plural. We're weird because we only by 8-12 donuts at a time. Good thing we don't live here or I'd need a shoehorn to get into my truck.

Forging aluminum...I was wondering about that. Wish I could have seen that. I'm out of town until next week and while I'm bummed I missed the forging demo, I am in a city with the best donuts I've ever had. Seriously. I don't joke about donuts.

I live forty-five minutes from Stevens. I used to ski up there before my left knee got cranky. I've seen it ugly, like when all the city slickers rush up there on a Saturday and it's bumper to bumper then someone spins out and blocks the road because who needs to chain up? And if you want to talk about fire, how about the Everett tire fire? Smelly and ugly---but it has fire, so there's that. Yeah, I'm familiar with Dunning-Kruger. In every field of endeavor I've entered, I've seen the D-K effect in action. I've also learned that if I'm doing something and don't find anyone being all D-K, I better check to see if I'm the idjit.

Ya mean like this?

Nah, he could see fine. Still can. It was a test. And I was ok with that because it happens on every film project---somebody always sets up some kind of challenge. I don't mind it when a person I'm filming is challenging me, that's part of why I do the work, but it annoys the crap out of me when it's about film production and post-production gear. And often they get it totally wrong. I could go on a Frosty-style rant about this, but I will refrain. I've got a ton of stuff to get done today and I best use my energy elsewhere.

I did not volunteer. Did not, did not, did not, nyah nyah, I can't hear you. Be a funny show, though. I was once approached by a suit with a deal at Bravo about another doc I did. He wanted me to turn it into a series based on small family businesses that were kind of unusual or the last of their kind. My doc was about a guy (he was 73 then) still working in the family business as a diesel machinist. They rebuilt engines that basically blowed up. It's a pretty good 1/2-hour show and I was interested in the series but the suit was...ehhh, let's just say his concept a a fair percentage had the decimal point in the wrong place. The machinist finally "retired" when he cut his schedule down to going in 3 days a week in his 80s. He's 93 now and not doing great. I should also mention that one of my proudest moments was when he showed me how to use a micrometer really fast and then asked me to measure something. I got it right. He offered me a job---and he meant it. But I was launching my fashionable and exciting career in the arts so I had to pass. Anyway...those RVs aren't OLD. They're gracefully vintage. Geez, get with it. Of course, if you were really and truly rugged, you'd just use a tarp and a stick, like real men. If you find anyone in the family involved in the Massacre, let me know. Stage 2 for that project is an expansive website to house all my original research. One goal is to see if we can find any family of those involved. I did find some of the families and I did convince them to go on camera, but the most are just lost. Anyway, thanks all for the warm welcome. Much appreciated.

4elements, you know, that TripTik of historical smithies could be a photo book or even a documentary. Call it, "Run Like You're on Fire," or something (that's a joke; it needs a way better title) and get images or footage of each smithy and interviews of the people who work there, featuring some nightmare stories, like worst injury and most annoying visitor. I've got it---"Smiths Gone Wild," only no one's allowed to remove their clothing. Just, no. For some laughs, you could intercut the footage with smith folklore given by drunk people, like "Drunk History," for example, someone reciting "John Henry" while imbibing. I smell a hit. Smells sorta like Everett. Frosty, lookee here, a vast array of RV choices for Deb to consider. BTW, I know Everett pretty well. My doc is about the Everett Massacre. Took 15 years to make. It's called (link to trailer for some shameless self-promotion) VERONA. Coming to an online platform on 5 December.