JustAnotherViking

few more done, gas cylinder empty, so I shall change it tomorrow. Artsy shot provided by the wife

Just finished making this as an experiment: Gas turned off and just giving it a wipe of oil when the wife walked out to the forge. Now it is lit again and I apparently have another five to do this evening...

Don't absent-mindedly switch hammers or you'll end up with a sore head. I went to move a small claw hammer out of the way after spending the previous hour swinging a 4# hammer. Needless to say it left the bench at a much faster rate than I expected it to.

I didn't have a vice installed in the new shop at the time and couldn't get a good enough grip with the tongs to do the twists.. i've remedied that now, so will stick some heat into it later today when I get home from work. Might also hit it with a chisel to put a bit of a taper against the edges of the cuts for more profile

I was trying out a new bottle opener idea, but it didn't quite go to plan. Started with some square bar, turned it into a hexagon, cut it into segments, and was planning to try and twist them at offset angles... going for a stack of hex nuts look. Didn't get the twisting done due to some technical difficulties (and i'm not even convinced it's going to look the way it did in my head) This issue led to the second venture... bolting the leg vice to the new bench in the shed.... I plan to have it on a movable stand, but I need to get hold of some thick plate for the foot of the stand first... so it can be bolted to the bench for now as a temporary measure, as the lack of a vice is proving difficult.

Funny you should say that. I was told of a chap who came down to the local group to try blacksmithing for the first time after becoming an expert at it in a game called skyrim. Basically you run around gather up materials (ingots), click a few buttons et voila, you have forged a sword. After many hours of this game and several spent at game 'forging', the person is question was quite frustrated when trying to move real steel for the first time because it wasn't as easy as the game.... Imagine that.

You may also find that changing the size of the hammer doesn't necessarily mean you'll move more or less metal with it. I can move more steel, more quickly with my 2.5# than I can with my 4#. All down to technique and practice. I'm slowly improving my heavier hammer technique, but due to the extra weight I don't have the same level of control. Then again I'm only a beginner. Other people likely have different experiences, this is just mine.

Please excuse my ignorance here, but how to you maintain a clean fire with it full like that? Cleaning out clinker etc to start a new fire, do you also have to dig out a layer of the filler too? Apologies if that's a stupid question, I only use coal once a week, and it's just in a cast fire bowl, so I empty (and sift) the whole thing to clear it out before lighting up.

You've just given me an idea for a new twist (or maybe it's already been done)... I shall have to try it out this evening and hopefully it works... I shall report back. Dice twist is another effective one... this was to be a bottle opener, but I cut too deep on the last cube

If it's near the a bedroom, remember head height is lower when asleep. Be safe!

You are incorrect. CO is lighter than air. 'air' has an approximate molecular weight of 28. 97 g/mol, carbon monoxide 28.01 The misconception of having the alarm at floor level is due to power socket location for the ones that need plugged in.

I have a CO alarm mounted on the wall around head hight, not too far from the forge, and given the EU regulations it's pretty sensitive, giving plenty of warning before things get close to a dangerous level. There are two opening windows, one beside the forge and one across from it, allowing adequate cross draft. I also have the double doors open when it's lit. So far I haven't ran it for more than about 2 hours continually, and the alarm hasn't chirped at all. I am however considering adding an additional vent at the top and bottom of the wall behind it, and possibly some sort of extraction hood just as an extra precaution. I did a quick test on Saturday night, and with the doors closed and windows only cracked opened, it will trigger the alarm after about 20 - 30 minutes, so at least I know the alarm works.... and it's exceedingly loud, particularly in such a small space! Regarding the silicon, I tapped on it with a small ball peen last night, and no ring out of it at all. More of a dead thud now... would it be worth adding a chain too, or am I at peak quietening with the silicone? Other than the small fixed bench, I was planning to keep everything movable so I can accommodate projects of different sizes more easily, and i'd like the option of moving everything out of the shed during our two and a half days of summer in Ireland The enclosure is great for heat retention... even when it's freezing here, i'm forging in a sleeveless tshirt and the sweat is still pouring out

Last weekend I got the magic pixies installed, so I now have light and a couple of sockets for the spark making machine and the metal glue gun. As a temporary measure to prevent burning it down, I'm resorting to a couple of big concrete slabs as heat shields, until I get either some vermiculite board, or a few sheets of metal installed on the wall behind the forge to shield the walls from any escaping dragons breath: The first piece produced in here was a hammer/tong rail (and by produced, I mean I just curled the ends and punched two screw holes... not very exciting)... a second rail needs added behind it for smaller stuff... and I also need to buy more hammers and make more tongs... and rather unimpressive collection Yesterday I managed to sort out a very small work bench, and aim to sheet it with steel, but for now wood will do. I also screwed together a few chopped up fence posts as a new anvil stand... There is now half a tube of silicone between the anvil and the wood, so this evening I plan to make a few holding pins to properly secure it, and possibly a few metal straps screwed around (although I did go a bit overboard screwing it together in the first place, so the straps would be more decorative than anything else) The next steps will be to sort out a movable stand for the leg vice and bench grinder so I can move them around as required without taking up my very limited space by fixing them in place. I've a big piece of 4" box section in the garage for a few stands, but i'm out of gas for the welder, so hopefully get that sorted soon and i'll be on my way to a more completed shop. Slowly getting there.

Nicely done. Any tips for doing feathers? My attempts always end up looking like leaves.

You're really coming along with all this welding practice! The grinding is definitely getting neater

A nice quick one this morning. A small hammer/tong rack. Works OK, but would be better with a second rail behind, so I'll hopefully get a few minutes later to sort it. I'll also need to work on my hammer and tongs collection. Far too small.

Today I got a decent haul of small square bar, and some slightly thicker round bar. Offcuts from a local engineering firm. Hard to tell the scale from the picture, but the bin is about 18" diameter. Most of it would be about 1/4", so i'll have to find some suitable projects for the smaller stock. The round would be about 1/2"

Today I installed a couple of sockets and light in my new workshop/shed. It means I can finally move everything out of the garage and return it to a cleaner state for the bikes and general use. I also made a handle for the wire brush (and decided to hang it on a previously made hook... because why not) Other than that, just a bit of lifting and shifting. Need to get a small bench of some description added, and make a few more hooks and hangers for things like the grinder, hammer/tongs rack, and other bits and pieces now that I have a more permanent place to work.

Is it not unlucky to have the horseshoes that way up?

...well, more of a shed than a 'shop'. Concrete base, just got it installed over the past two days. Approximately 9' x 9' on the longest sides. (you'll have to exclude the below image, I was losing daylight and my phone camera is awful in low light... was trying to capture it 'open'... blurry, bad light, so had to shrink it quite a bit... hopefully you get the idea) I've made a start on bringing power out to it, but have quite a bit more trenching to do... so once I have light and power, i'll start bringing all the gear out and getting it setup. Small, but should be enough space for a bit of forging, and I can then get my garage cleaned up again for the bikes.

If you want a challenge, try a bc rich beast.

Going by the lines on the above drawing, I assume thats a 2' window/opening on the left side wall?

Nicely done. They are good fun, and fairly quick to do... nice to have on hand as a little sample or gift.

Sure i'm already a grumpy git, so might as well try and be a mildly helpful grumpy git.

Not a problem... plenty of info on the subject about, but not always the easiest to find.