zsutton92

4 minutes ago, Daswulf said:

If it's a bit softer( and breaks up easier)  easier to light, clumps up a bit while burning , probably bituminous. If it's hard, hard to light and wants to die off faster when the air is off, probably anthracite. 

I'd guess bituminous if you had an easy time getting it going. Bituminous is more blacksmith friendly in my opinion. 

I would say that you are probably correct.

14 minutes ago, Daswulf said:

Bituminous or anthracite? ( just curious, they are a bit different in how they burn.) 

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. 

1 hour ago, Daswulf said:

It looks like you are using coal, is that your fuel?

Yes, I am using coal.

30 minutes ago, Glenn said:

Rather then cutting the brake rotor and drum, just extend the air pipe up a little bit and fill in the bottom of the drum with clay or dirt so it is level with the air pipe.

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.