humphreymachine

Here’s an oddball Wiley & Russell step vise manufactured in Greenfield Mass. It takes up more floor space than most step vises but I like the heavy duty hardie hole cast on the front. I mounted it to a piece of blue stone which was good for outdoor use but I’ll probably keep it this way in my indoor shop rather than bolt to the floor permanently. Also shown is a large Columbian Hardware leg vise. I mounted it to a super dense old growth wood beam buried in 12 bags of concrete! Needless to say that was a lot of work which seems like a bit of a waste now that I plan to move it into my new shop which has a poured concrete floor. I wasn’t, and still am not, sure where in the shop it will end up so I did not place bolts or a beam in the floor prior to pouring. I’m thinking of welding a steel tube to a heavy steel plate large enough not to need floor bolts. Has anyone done this and if so how large a floor plate do you recommend.

Here’s a style of Buffalo forge you don’t see that often. I like the compact industrial look and it’s easier to move around with a two wheeler than the four legged variety. It came with a Champion electric blower mounted to a bracket on the left side but it tripped my circuit breaker after running for a while so I got another one and had the same problem. Now I use a more recent electric blower which only goes outside when in use. I’m building a shop now as wind is a big problem at my location and also I’d rather forge on rainy and snowy days and do other stuff when it’s nice. The Buffalo name is cast on both sides and the pan measures 24 x 36 inches. The slack tub is an old farm sink.

I am just putting the finishing touches on a shop on my property and despite having a two acre lot I am still worried about some of the same issues as yourself. I think it important that the building itself comply with local building codes so that if you do get busted your city will not be able to order you to take it down. The homeowner’s insurance issue is an interesting one. I was planning on not listing it on my policy and if it burned it burned—my loss-- but it’s not so clear what would happen if a visitor were to get hurt in it—even a simple slip and fall. My town’s building code specifically states that ‘craft studios’ are not allowed but it does not state whether that pertains to professional studios only or hobby as well. Any building in my town over 400 square feet has to have a four foot deep frost proof foundation so I’ve built my shop smaller than I would have ideally liked at 12 x 16 feet with a 12 x 12 foot ‘L’ fully open between to two and a ten foot ceiling throughout. Fume wise, a gas forge is obviously least offensive to neighbors but I hope not to have to go that rout. My forge has been outside for several years and I have been using the “Cowboy” brand hard wood charcoal for small to midsize projects. I don’t believe my neighbors have the right to fuss over my using the same fuel they’re using to scorch their dogs and burgers. The coal smoke can get ugly on windy days which keep the smoke low. I plan on doing my best to use it only on rainy days and during the winter when windows are closed anyway—those are the days I’d like to forge anyway—I wasn’t finding much time to do it in good weather! Sound wise—my Peter Wright anvil does make a racket so I purchased a large Fisher which is noticeably quieter. I hope to get a small power hammer but realize that I will only be able to use it on a very limited basis. I’m hoping not to insulate/soundproof my shop but the tradeoff will be having to be more cautious about when and how much I get to bang on metal.

Well-as I said, I am not the one who forged these, rather they are the work of a lifelong professional smith whose career began around WWII. The open petal flower appears not to have been forged from a pipe but rather individual forge welded petals. The tighter bud has a heavy solid inner core but the two outer leafy layers are either forged from sheet iron or possibly iron pipe.

OK-figured out how to post multiple images in a single post. I hope someone can use these for inspiration.

detail

First time posting photos--let's see if I get it right this try.

I wish I could take credit for forging these rather large flower heads but they are from the ‘sample board’ of a retired south shore Massachusetts blacksmith. I bought these from a third party at a flea market and these were the only two left of what had been a large lot the seller had had! If someone left these two how nice were the others?---sure wish I had the whole bouquet! Any way, I thought they may prove inspirational for some smiths here. I particularly like the large bud/pod which features a solid core with heavy chisel work to give texture and two layers of outer ‘leaves’ which appear to be cut and hammered from sheet iron and forge welded to the stem. Both examples, while relatively simple in construction, exhibit confident and well placed hammering without being overdone. Inspirational—to this aspiring smith at any rate.

Wish I'd noticed this when it was up for sale, not many power hammers show up for sale in these parts. Glad it went to someone local--have fun with it! I'm hoping to get a smaller hammer but I'm not sure I can sound proof my shop enough to use it freqently without ticking off the neighbors.

Looking at a photo of my friend’s hammer I see that the pitman arm itself is a single piece of forged iron and appears factory original. There is an approximately 4 inch slot in the flywheel in which the pitman stud adjusts. On either side of the slot are open spaces in the flywheel as seen on some other Champion hammers. This slot seems like a potentially weak design and as I mentioned the casting appears new under some flaking paint(also newer) leading me to believe that the original may have broken.

Thanks for the info—I’ll reread the thread. The one I may be able to purchase must be a 35 pounder then. It doesn’t seem that large so I assume it’s their smallest. Any theories about why they chose cast bronze over forged steel/iron for the pitman arms?

A friend is thinking of letting go what appears to be a 25# Champion though it is unmarked. Several things concern me including that the upper ‘flywheel?’ to which the ‘pitman?’ is attached appears to be a newer gray iron casting(cast to the original and appropriate pattern). Does anyone know if they were originally simple gray iron or should they be something stronger like malleable iron or cast steel? The pitman, if that is the correct term, is hand forged and though well done, does not appear as sturdy as those pictured in this thread.

I like the overall aesthetic of a smaller pipe but ultimately function is more important here than looks and I do plan to run hot fires so it sounds like 12” is the way to go. I Googled metalbestos and found thousands of sites none of which were the manufacturer's giving specs for the full product line. It appears that some companies stock it in sizes up to 10” and 12” may be available by special order. I’d prefer to use only a roof breach section and one section beneath it and regular uninsulated pipe for the rest. Does metalbestos come with fittings to transition to regular pipe or do they try to trap you into using their product for the entire run? Also—If I choose to use uninsulated 12” pipe can one get a factory roof flashing kit for that size? Did anyone here make their own roof flashing kit and have it work well?

DANBRASSAW---thank you for your input. I see you are from Cooperstown NY. I went to school down the road in Oneonta NY. The D&HRR had a huge shop complex there of c 1865 brick buildings including a massive blacksmiths shop with anvil station after anvil station and a wide array of power and steam hammers and a huge two story punch and pretty much everything else a large industrial shop would need. The complex was mostly closed in the late 80’s and torn down in the mid 90’s. Not infrequently do I wonder if any of the blacksmithing equipment was saved or did the scrapper get it all? An auction at that shop would have been talked about on this site for decades! I highly regret not photo documenting the place. I wonder if anyone did? There was some stuff piled outside and I found a top swage stamped A&SRR which was the RR which built the line in the 1860’s and was bought by the D&H several years latter.

Thank you for your informative replies, links, photos etc. The consensus seems to be that 8” pipe is too small which is unfortunate considering that I have a nice antique partial hood to work with which is set up for 8”. Also, for fire safety, I was hoping to use double insulated ‘metalasbestos’ type pipe where it breaches the roofline. I think this is commonly available in 8” but I don’t know about 12”. If one uses 12” uninsulated pipe how much clearance is needed between collar ties, roof rafters, sheathing etc. My collar ties and rafters are 16” OC so I’d probably need to remove one tie and a section of one rafter? One of these days I’d like to build one of the adjustable height hoods one often sees in early industrial forges. Usually a large inverted funnel shape with a pipe slightly smaller in diameter than the main chimney allowing it to telescope up and down. The funnel section being suspended from above buy fine chain, pulleys and counterweights. I was thinking that for smaller projects/fires a secondary/removable surround with a much smaller side opening could be placed directly on the forge and the hood lowered onto its pipe for better draw?

Hi,I’m sure this topic has been covered before but I am new here and would appreciate input. I’m putting the finishing touches on a building where I can finally get my forge in out of the weather and am ready to start planning a stove pipe chimney and wonder what the minimum diameter pipe I can get away with is? I’m hoping 8” is sufficient as I have a neat old 8” diameter sheet metal pipe and partial hood which I hope to use as the starting off point. My forge is a Buffalo pedestal base type design and I plan to use a rectangular hood suspended overhead. I will be working some larger stock so the blower will be used liberally and the fire hot. Is 8” diameter large enough or will it be overwhelmed at high heat/air volume? Also—should one use a stove pipe damper to reduce draw for smaller fires?