Brasilikilt

Thanks for all the feedback! It definitely reassures me that my thought process was on the right track.
Just a little something to remind me that my welding cert. course wasn't completely wasted :-)

I did a little net searching and saw that the FCAW wire is definitely more expensive than regular mild steel wire, but for now I won't have to buy a tank, which makes it much cheaper for me on a short-term basis.

I've been certified with FCAW, but my welding was always shielded with gas, and without gas, my welds always came out looking like they came out of a dog's back end, so I never really had considered a gas-less flux wire as a viable alternative.

I will head out and get some of this wire and start putting my stuff together. There's certainly quite a few little things that I've been wanting to weld up, and it seems like this wire will do the trick!

Thanks again for your responses, I'll be sure to post my projects on the forum to show everyone how it all turns out

Iain

Thanks for all the feedback! It definitely reassures me that my thought process was on the right track.
Just a little something to remind me that my welding cert. course wasn't completely wasted :-)

I did a little net searching and saw that the FCAW wire is definitely more expensive than regular mild steel wire, but for now I won't have to buy a tank, which makes it much cheaper for me on a short-term basis.

I've been certified with FCAW, but my welding was always shielded with gas, and without gas, my welds always came out looking like they came out of a dog's back end, so I never really had considered a gas-less flux wire as a viable alternative.

I will head out and get some of this wire and start putting my stuff together. There's certainly quite a few little things that I've been wanting to weld up, and it seems like this wire will do the trick!

Thanks again for your responses, I'll be sure to post my projects on the forum to show everyone how it all turns out

Iain

Yeah, I saw that red one, plus a couple nice heavy anvils.....Where the heck were they when I was looking for an anvil!?!?!?

Hello all

I have a Millermatic 250 CV/DC welder that was previously set up for GMAW in the shop that I worked at.
When they gave me the machine, they asked that I leave the mostly full spool of wire and the leased tanks.
Here I am now with a perfectly good welder, but nothing to feed it.

The expense of buying a full spool of wire and leasing tanks is expensive, and I was wondering if I could use one of those small rolls of no gas FCAW wire, so that I may do a bunch of little things such as making hardy tools and a better fire pot for the forge.
I'm guessing that this No gas FCAW wire would be a bit like a continuous welding rod in it's application....Am I close to being right about this?

I've asked some of the more skilled welders that I know, and have gotten mixed answers. One Blacksmith/Welder friend of mine said that he uses the little 'no gas' flux wire rolls from Home Depot in a Lincoln Buzz Box and sees very good results...some others say not to bother as it produces inferior welds.

I'm just needing to do some work, don't have a lot of money for welding supplies, and just want to know if these welds would be strong enough to work for the time being.

I was hoping some of you veteran welders might chime in with your thoughts.

Thanks

Iain

Old treated lumber contains arsenic and reportedly burning it can eventually kill you. I am not sure what they are using to treat treated lumber now-a-days.

I paid $400 for this 180 lb Trenton and had to drive half a day to go get it.

I live in Oregon, and good used anvils are a bit hard to come by, so I consider myself lucky to have found it.

Hey guys, I'm wondering exactly why it's a bad idea to use charcoal briquettes in my forge. I've heard that it puts off some harmful fumes but does it do anything detrimental to the steel itself.
I've used it before and it has some cons. It burns up super fast, and it's expensive. If anyone has any other points let me know. Thanks guys.

To get a roof and walls built around my smithy, as cost efficiently as possible!

Being happier with what tools I have, because a better blacksmith can do much more with much less.

To become proficient at forge-welding, because not being able to do so is holding me back.

Include my 4 year old daughter in what I am doing in the smithy. You never know....some of you might buy an autographed picture of her at the anvil someday.

Wow....
This thread is echoing my plans for the past year or so to build a portable smithy to do reenacting events.
What's being written isn't exactly encouraging, but I think it's best to approach this with the mind set that you do it for fun and not to make money.

It would be difficult for me to make money at an event that charges you a fee to set up shop there. (the larger events always do) If they know you're making money, they'll want some of it.

I thought to myself that I might strictly do demonstrations, but have my nicest work displayed for all to see, and have plenty of business cards to hand out....This might work for later sales for commission type work, but I think a large amount of sales you would get from an event would in large part be from impulse buys.

I have also seen, and have been a little disgusted at what some people are selling as 'period correct'. Since I am slowly but surely migrating towards the 'stitch nazi' side of things, I figured I would do reproductions of stuff that had been excavated, or resides in a museum collection somewhere.

I think it would help sales a lot with certain re-enactor crowds if you had a binder or something full of pictures and descriptions showing the original items, their origins, and the context in which they were found.

Reenactors are there at events to make connections with history, if they like something you make, and you show them, not simply just tell them the origins of that piece, it reinforces the fact that it's likely the closest they'll come to owning an original.

I've had certain vendors try to tell me that some cheapo made in China knife made from 440 stainless was 'exactly like' what they used to carry 200 years ago.....Ha-Ha-Ha

anyways, I hope these thoughts are of some use to you

Ahhh.....very nicely done!

I make blades and do leather work, I think both the knife and the sheath show lots of careful planning and skillful execution.
I've never been a fan of tanto style blades, but yours is unique enough that I would be excited if someone made this one for me :-)

Did you use zebra wood for the handle?

anyways, this is quite a nice piece of work that will be admired by many.

I got to thinking..........

I initially decided to go with a coal forge for ease of construction, and the traditional aspect of it, plus so many veteran smiths explained that coal is also a lot cheaper than using propane. It didn't occur to me at the time that the guys saying that lived in places like Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky, and likely had not ever purchased coal in Oregon...

If I build smaller fires and act very frugally with my coal, I can squeeze 12 maybe 16 hours of forge time out of a sack of coal, but this practice usually allows for forging of single pieces at a time.

If Blacksmith's coal is $23/bag, and you have to drive 1/2 hr one way to get it, and propane is around $2.50/gallon and sold right down the street, ......would it be cheaper and more effective to go with a propane forge?

I'm not quite sure how quickly your average home-built propane forge (capable of welding heats), burns through a gallon of gas, so I'm not able to do the math on my own.

I'm also thinking that the type of regulator you use, and cost of purchasing/leasing a propane tank adds to the cost of a gas forge.

I know too little about gas forges, so I was hoping that you guys would chime in and help me understand them a bit better, and perhaps suggest some versatile fuel efficient models.

Thanks

Iain

You might be a blacksmith if, you have run your tongue over a piece of steel in order to determine it's carbon content.

Some trivia for yall..
Lignum vitae is the desnsest hardest wood with a janka score of 4500 compared to hickory at 1820, osage orange at 2050 etc..Its so dense it wont even float and was used to make ship bearing etc..I think the next wood down on the scale is around 3650 or so..

Ahh...I love the look of those French pattern anvils with the feet, I've seen the same being used in Brasil.
What kind of wood are the stumps? From here it almost looks like oak, or maybe hickory....I'm a bit jealous :-)

Currently my anvil is resting on a stump made from Douglas Fir, which is very abundant locally, but it's pretty soft and starting to split.....
You've given me plenty of ideas on how to remedy the situation

thanks,

Iain

Thanks for all of your excellent replies....
Every once in a while a guy has to discuss his plans with other like-minded individuals just to see if he's on the right track.

To answer a few of your questions: #1 The tree is staying as long as it's alive and doesn't look like it's going to fall down.....

My budget is severely limited, but having done a little recon mission at the local Home Depot revealed that prices of materials aren't as much as I figured, and I haven't even done any serious shopping for better prices yet.
I can likely sink some 4X4 pressure treated posts in some concrete, and throw some galvanized roofing over the top to get the rain off my head.......
Later, as time and funds permit I will throw some sheeting on the sides......They have stuff to match the tuff shed at Home Depot, which will ease my wife's concerns :-)

Sukellos............I really like your setup, and it just makes me jones for a similar little smithy of my own!
I like the sand idea, and was thinking that I could throw a little sand on the ground as I wet it and tamped it down, and that would make the dirt a little more solid.....a little like adobe I think.

I do have a welding machine, and considering the humid climate I live in, and the likelihood of thievery (I've been ripped off twice already) I think I will keep it in the garage.....the only 220V outlet is there anyways, and it's only 10 feet away from the smithy, so it just makes sense.

I'm short on time now, so I will write more later

thanks again for the excellent feedback..........I'll certainly keep everyone posted on the progress.

Iain

Hey all

I am tired of my blacksmithing activities being governed by the weather. Here in the Pacific Northwest, it's either too cold, too rainy, too windy, or a combination of all of the above......an exposed, outdoor smithy clearly is not a good choice for my area

An unappealing picture of mud, rust and gloom. Photo 1

My current shed is wooden-floored, and is being used for woodworking and such, so building forge fires inside is not a good idea.....

My goal is to build an addition that would expand the existing shed to make it half wood shop and half smithy...preferably with some kind of door or opening between the two.
I figure I could use wood scraps and sawdust to help get the forge going, and the forge could possibly provide a little heat for the whole structure.

Apparently, moving a 'Tuff Shed' is not as hard as it seems.....especially if it's only a few feet. I have space on the other side of the shed..why not take out a short section of fence and slide it over to allow more room for the smithy?

Photo 2

Plus, my friend who owns the forge deserves a proper place to put his anvil and set his tool box.....When we were both working there we got in the other's way a lot....It seems like it would be only a matter of time before somebody gets branded.

So after all of this, my question to all of you: After looking at the photos, what kind of structure would you suggest?

I was thinking that a lean-to with a tin roof would be cheap, and relatively easy to build.

Are there any blacksmith-specific considerations that I'm missing here?

I know plenty of you have been in the same boat as me, and any feedback will quite likely keep me from making costly mistakes.

Please share photos of your home-built smithy as I would enjoy seeing what other 'backyard blacksmiths' have done.

Photo 3



Thanks, and take care

Iain

Wow, that's such a sweet space you have there. I like your forge, and that nifty little bench too :-)

I think a knife as impressively well made as that one is enough to cause the jaws of Jim and Rezin Bowie to drop.

That knife certainly would have been very handy for any sandbar duels :-)

I am in Oregon and currently pay about $23 per 50 lb bag and have to drive about 1/2 hr one way to get it.

I too am wondering if a propane forge would end up being cheaper for the fact that I can buy fuel right down the street, and for the fact that it's easier to work on multiple projects without fear of burning my stuff up.....

I am JEALOUS of you guys that buy 2,000 lbs of coal for around the same price that I buy 200.........

Most everything in my shop falls into the categories of: sharp, heavy, very hot or various combinations of the three.

If anyone comes into my tool shed, I ask simply that people ask before touching and to use caution and common sense.......
Unfortunately these traits seem to be painfully lacking in our culture today.

This last summer I had troubles finding a *good* anvil and considered making my own, but I kept up with internet searches, asking people at work, asking people here and phoning other blacksmiths in the area......
What eventually turned up an anvil was doing craigslist searches. I not only searched my local area, but did searches in all areas within a 100+ mile radius of my city.

I took a lengthy but scenic road trip up north into Washington and got my 178 lb Trenton (and a couple beers) from a nice guy for a reasonable price.

can we see pictures of it?

As one of many who enjoyed and learned a great deal from Mike's posts, we can be comforted in knowing that Mike spent his time here on earth doing what he loved to do....

I unfortunately never got to meet Mike, but I have for years been a big admirer of the many historical items he made..... from the reproduction strikers, to the sheet metal smoking pipes, to the viking fish spears...the list goes on and on.
The more I think about it, the more I realize how much of a giant of the blacksmith world we have lost!

After getting the news, I went out back to tap my anvil to salute Mike and spent a few moments thinking about how many beginners including myself were inspired and improved their skills from what advice Mike had given.

I then lit my forge and was able to FINALLY after several failed attempts produce a good serviceable set of tongs.
Even though Mike has crossed the river and has taken his rightful place with Hephaestus, I'd like to think that he knew I was thinking about him, and he gave me a nudge in the right direction



Thanks for everything Mike, we will miss you.

Hey Matheus

Where in Brazil are you?

Hey

My family and I are heading down to Rio at the end of the month.

I would love to visit a Brasilian smithy while I'm down there, or just meet some blacksmiths and have a beer or something.

My in-laws live in Sao Jao de Meriti which is on the outskirts of Rio proper, but I have friends/relatives to help me get around to places.

Any Blacksmiths located in or around Rio on here? Anyone know of a smithy or place of 'blacksmith interest' to visit?

thanks

Iain