zsutton92

I would say that you are probably correct.

Honestly, not sure. Got it from a buddy of mine and I didn't think to ask. It did not take it long to get hot, though.

Yes, I am using coal. That is a good idea, too.

Cool! I was not really sure what those were, but that makes sense. I am sure down the road I may do something different, but this will get me going.

So, notches it is.

Thanks for the feedback. I will agree that it does look a bit odd, but hey, I was using what I had available to me. I agree, after running the first fire, I thought about cutting a notch in the drum. Either that or building the fire higher.

I have always had an interest in blacksmiths. I enjoy the folklore and their presence in mythology. That being said, when I found out a member of my church had a forge, I was excited to watch him work. I visited his forge and the weekend after, I had plans to make my own forge. It took me a couple of weeks (between working full-time, making sure my family didn't feel abandoned, etc), but I finally finished it. My smithy is not complete, I just need a stand for my "anvil", then I will be ready to roll. I just thought I'd share some pics of my forge build. I had never fabricated anything before, so I learned a lot through this experience. My forge is not pretty by any means, but she works, and works well for that matter. For my first project, I made a small coal scraper.