Pat Roy

I was working in a plant a few years ago and saw a crew going on the start of shift for a large fabrication job. One was a kid in a white tee shirt. I saw him again at the end of the day of welding. I guess he never put anything else on. The exposed parts of his body were as red as a cooked lobster. I'm sure he didn't come in for a few days. I wondered why his supervisor or co-workers didn't caution him. On the other hand he was a kid.

One day I took a short cut. I needed to clean up a burr on a piece and so too out the die grinder. Just a little burr so I didn't reach for the face shield. Later I spent two afternoons in an eye doctors office while he picked grit out of one eye(luckily just one). I always wear glasses just to see, but the grit managed to fly around the frame and right into the eye. I felt a little hit my forehead but I didn't feel anything in the eye. The next day it was visible. I had to smear goop in the eye daily and wear a patch for nearly a week. That is not something I want to repeat. My face shield is kept handy to my grinders and wire brushes.

I can't believe anyone would consider trying to use this as a heat source for a building. It's a cooking stove as the advertisement says. Unless you put a hood over it with a smoke pipe, you will kill yourself with CO.

I hope you have some way of venting the products of combustion. An open fire in a room, even with the garage door partly open is asking for CO poisoning.

When I first read/heard about the possibility of doing this, I was a dis-believer. I'm not from Missouri but I need to see it to believe it. Then I tried it and found that it works. I don't want to do it on a regular basis though.

I made my fire pot of 3/8" plate and the rim is 1/8". The thing sits on top of the table is not a problem to rake the coal around. It is not attached, just sits there. I could remove it if there was a need to make a repair on the pot, tuyere or table.

I have two leg vises in my shop. Both are attched to portable bases. They are heavy and stable enough that they don't move under use but I can drag them around when necessary. Most everything in my shop is movable except the big bench and the treadle hammer. The treadle walkded all over until I anchored it.

For what it's worth, I operate with an 8" flue. It is about 16 feet tall and has a small offset bend. I have tall trees all around the building so wind has little effect. I wanted to use a 10" flue but the double wall insulated stuff was just too expensive in that size so I went with 8". It works in my shop.

Randy, that crevice tool you refer to increases the air velocity but it is a restriction and the overall aif flow is reduced.

Lovely combination of materials.

Very nice!

The first try at something fairly complex usually doesn't turn out very pretty (at least in my shop). But practice will bring it around. I have some of the ugliest tongs on the planet residing in my shop and I won't provide any pictures.

The other thing, from my experience re-bar is just too unreliable as material for forging. I would not use it for anything but a paper weight.

Good luck.

Mainely, Bob,

Wicked good...chummy...

something Tim Sample would say.

I also use a butane micro torch which has a smaller flame for more control. One thing about copper is that it conducts heat much better than steel, so it is difficult to keep the colors where you want. Practice on some scraps before attacking a finished piece. As a last resort you can drop a piece in the pickling solution ( I use vinegar) to clean off the oxides and start over.

As Thomas reports, a coating of clear lacquer or wax will steal some of the color from your piece, but sometimes it is necessary if it will be handled. Oh well, nothing is forever. Have fun with it.

I use autocad for a lot of planning for my work. I also have a white board in the shop that helps me think things out. But I am a lousy sketcher. I will be looking into this "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" thing.

Well Mainely Bob, I'll give the wax method a try on the files I'll now be reserving for aluminum. I haven't had a rusting problem (yet) although I'm on the coast too (Belfast).

I made mine using the design in the same book(thank you Randy McDaniel) using 3/8" plate. I have been using it steadily for 6-7 years with no sign of degradation. I'm thinking it will last as long as I do. I didn't tig the root passes, just mig. The parts were cut with an O/A torch then welded together. No one can see the workmanship. I don't have a clinker breaker and don't miss it.

My set up is home made and I elected not to put in a clinker breaker (mostly because I was lazy). It turns out that I don't need one in my case. The clinkers form a little above the bottom of the fire box and the clinker breaker wouldn't hit them if I had one. The air enters through two slots in the bottom, about 3/8" wide. Every once in a while I let the fire cool a bit and reach in with a pick and pull out the clinkers. This system has been working fine for 6-7 years.

I agree with Frances Trez Cole, lower the fire pot level with the table. I would also put some cross bracing on the legs. Other than those points, light 'er up.

Tom

What is the size of your smoke pipe? Are both the forge and wood stove burning at the same time? How big is your chimney? I suspect you are trying to stuff too much into one flue and/or your pipe is too small. CO is nothing to fool with. You need good draft. I have an eight inch pipe and with an essentially straight run it is barely enough. The height of the chimney is important too.

Thanks for the images Bart. Looks like I need to try my hand at a nut cracker.

^{I made a bunch of these last year and they were popular. I'll be making more. Thanks for posting the pictures and video, they are great reminders of "how to."}

I don't have a temperature range, but I use a propane torch to reach the colors I like for a given piece. It takes a little experimenting and practice, but it's not hard to do.

Thanks everyone for all the ideas. Peter, if I can find some copper tube I'll try that. Jimbob, I like the hose/storage idea.

I think another method is going to get me some sharp files. My son asked what I'd like to have for Christmas, 13 more days.

NIce!

Well the vinegar didn't touch the aluminum, so I'll do some picking. Thanks guys, from now on I'll prep for the work and clean the files more frequently.