genesaika

Mine is about 4 inches deep, total. The heart of my fire is usually right at, or just above, my tuyere. I ended up digging out the sides to get my stock into the fire and level. The sides are also lined with bricks to block the wind and bank my charcoal against. I use a hairdryer for my blower and can get it well past welding temps.

It's all personal preference, I like 8 inch blades, but my friend loves her 10 inch chef knife. I think that for a chef knife 10 inches would be the max, with 6 being the minimum. Now you could make a longer meat chopper, but it would mostly be used more like an axe. So ya, find out what she likes and make that. It will already be special and, if you do your job right, will be her go to knife.

I lined my BBQ grill with sand and red clay from the yard. I recently added in some hard firebricks just to give it something a bit harder, hopefully it stays together a bit better. Here is the thread on mine.

I generally just use grade 8 for anything that will hold weight. It's probably because I have access to all the grade 8 bolts I want for free. I guess check the prices at your local hardware and go with what you feel safest with.

Cranes and heavy equipment, which rattle and go through infinitely more abuse than forges, are held together with bolts. Get some grade 8 bolts and make sure they aren't coated with zinc if they are near the fire. My forge is one of those cheap BBQs you can get for like $20 at the corner store. It's still held up by the flimsy little nothing legs it came with. So I'd think bolted together angle iron would hold up.

Yup, I think my anvil is on that thread. Just been looking because you can never have enough tools, plus I haven't found anything to make a mandrel from yet. I'm hunting, it's going slow though haha.

I wish I could find an anvil near me, even one like that. I'd definitely buy that at the right price. Only cleaning up I might do to it is on the horn, but I've been wanting a nice smooth rounded area to work on lately.

Judging by how the forge flares up I'd say it's something flameable. Kerosene sounds about right to me, or some sort of degreaser.

I didn't even get to take either. I moved each year of high school and practically had to start over from the beginning. My senior year I was taking physics, advanced software development and intro to algebra. Mind you I had taken algebra and algebra 2, but the school required that I have intro to algebra ( which wasn't a thing in my other schools) in order to take trig or calculus. I should also note that I was teaching my class and the teacher in mathematics. I feel that one of our main problems in education is perpetuation of the idea that test scores mean more than actual knowledge. The worst part is that those tests are standardized and we do not all learn in the same way. It's like judging a fish on how well it can climb, just because 90% of the class are animals that can climb.

I wish I had access to shop classes, but at the same time I know I wouldn't have taken advantage of them. I was focused on programming and thankfully had access to classes on that later in my high school career. I learned those skills from my dad while on the job. You would be amazed how many people I meet who can't even read a tape measure. When we hire a new person for flooring the first day is spent teaching them to read tapes and perform basic math. It's sad how far our school systems have fallen. When I was in high school trig and calculus we're the advanced math classes that only gifted students took.

I made my first kydex sheath today. Only took one reheat to get it shaped right.... I did make it for the wrong side though... Might make another one just because haha.

I just what to say that for thousands of years beautiful swords we're made with whetstones, a lump of steel, and a small pile of coal. If you put forth the effort to learn how to manage heat and steel than you don't even need anything more. Infact larger forges are generally ill advised due to the huge fuel consumption. If you want to use more modern techniques and tools, then feel free to. Don't, however, assume that you need those tools in order to work on anything.

Oh man, I wish I had access to some crane chains. Them suckers have 1" x 2" links and often come between 3 and 5 links wide. I'd guess about 5 - 10 pounds per foot, but it's been years since I handled any. Might be worth looking for though.

For me it's rain stopping my forging. Hard to work when the ground wants to slide out from under you. Even with a roof my shop is a sloppy mess right now, plus it's 170 feet away through even worse sloppy mud.

I have personally seen springs break arms and legs. If hit in the chest or head it could cause severe internal damage, concussions, and lead to death. I have also seen springs shoot straight through the top side of cars and even leave dents in cement. If anything frosty is under estimating the damage they can cause. I have also seen pressurized fluids knock people out and send them flying 15 feet. Never, ever under estimate the dangers of anything under pressure. If you don't understand the dangers it is always best to consult a professional. Every mechanic I know, or have known, would gladly inform you of the dangers free of charge.