Mick

Ya Know Ten Hammers, I reckon if an old time journeyman blacksmith was still alive today, he would be doing pretty much what you just described. Even in his day I don't think his time would have been spent making decorative scrolls, and bottle openers, more likely repairing machinery, fabricating stuff and conjuring up solutions to problems with the tools and equipment available to him, and I also reckon if he could have lit up a gas torch when he needed to make one weld instead of firing up the forge he would have thought himself a lucky man. By my reckoning the work you described fits the spirit of blacksmithing just fine.

OK let me preface this by saying that the best weld I ever did be it gas, stick or mig looks like cocky poo, but in my quest for more knowledge I came across this on a site tonight, (no I don't recall the site) however the advise was to fill a big gap using stick, feed a second rod into the arc like you would with filler rod on TIG. Made sense to me and might be worth a try. FWIW.

Don't worry about having it declared finished! Lots of artwork is 'developed', even the great masters might have made tens of sketches, scaled down models etc, before evolving the so called finished piece. I have seen loads of examples of this in sculpture and painting, so don't worry if you are not entirely happy with this piece. Alter it or make another then another, you will probably never be entirely happy with any piece but guess what, the flaws that you see may be invisible to others. Its called the creative process, enjoy it or at least use it to develop you work. Keep up the good work. Mick

Frosty is that the same tongue position required to execute a forge weld?

I went to a garage sale, the guy wouldn't sell me his garage!!!!!!!!

Keep at it Wes, you will get there. This I would call a character building exersize. Oh and wash your hands before dinner.

A special prayer from me Finnr Mick

Hate to burst your bubble Tom, but technically you still haven't won nothing and on top of that you owe the wife big time. But all in all a fine score.

OK Bill, it seems that both of us are in the same place as far as forge building and smithing experience goes, so you know that what I have figured out is not based in hard experience. If it makes sense to you it may be of some assistance, use it as you see fit. What works on one mans forge may not work on another. The number of variables in any forge set up ensures this. Some of the variables, other than the blower itself :- 1. Diameter, length, shape (bends etc,) air tightness and materials of air delivery plumbing. All of these will have an effect on the percentage of loss in air volume, (cfm) and air pressure delivered to the tuyere. {Your lungs have a fixed capacity to exhale, if you blow that capacity through a drinking straw you can create a strong blast of air, if you do the same through 6 feet of vacuum cleaner hose you would barely notice the result at the other end.} 2. The tuyere design. How well the ash dump seals off the bottom of the tuyere and how much the grate (and fuel and clinker) restricts air flow out of the tuyere. 3. How big you need the 'hot' fire to be. (A fire big enough to heat 1/4" round stock would not be enough for 3".) The bigger the fire you need the more air you need delivered out of a bigger tuyere. Whatever blower you use, hand crank, bellows or electric, it will need to have a capacity in excess of your forges requirement in order to overcome losses and restrictions within the system. The excess air is then 'tweeked' out by using intake restricter, inline air gate or air dump. Obviously if you go too big the ability to fine tune would be soooooo much harder to achieve. From Mr Woolridges post in the thread above I am assuming that a blower with bigger blades that moves more air per revolution is going to work better for forging than one with little blades that is spinning like crazy. We seem to be more in need of air volume rather than high air pressure, but air volume that will not stall when confronted by restrictions in the system. On that basis I would opt for the 128 cfm blower you spec'd earlier. It would not be too hard to glue, stick, weld or jam a round pipe into a square plate to make a manifold for the square outlet on that blower. Being that it is built with an intake restricter this should provide you with the all important 'tweekability'. Oh and I had another 'WOW LOOKIT THAT' moment. To keep track of a thread just click on the bit that says 'Thread Tools' at the top of the page, then click subscribe to this thread. Sure beats the heck out of trying to remember and find the ones yor interested in. Let me know how you get on. Mick

Hi billp, I have been going through the same process over the last week. Just found this thread about half an hour ago whilst trolling through various posts. I think it may answer some of your questions, It did for me. http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f22/blowers-842/ Sorry can't figure out how to do that s a hyperlink, but you can copy / paste it in your browser. Mick Well there you go, hit the post reply button and bingo it turned into a hyperlink.............ahhhh the wonders of modern science.

Welcome aboard Lanchie, maybe try looking for businesses that use a kiln in their process, maybe the local suspension spring works, pottery, etc. They may be able to help find a local source, or maybe even have some excess materials on hand. A bit of seet talking can go a long way. Mick

2K if you want to experience the effect of work heating metal try this. Grab a wire coat hanger from your closet. With your hands close together grab the coat hanger between your thumbs and fore fingers, bend the wire and without letting go of it, rapidly bend the wire back and forth, pretty soon the wire will actually break. If you haven't already got heat blisters on your fingers you will be able to feel the heat generated in the broken ends of the wire.

For vampires that would need to be a wooden stake and to get a fine looking twist like that in wood, would indeed be a challenge. Mick.

Jimmy has hit the nail on the head with the sincerity thing, and once your learn how to fake that you are home and hosed.

OK so the minute I clicked the post thread button I realised I was probably asking 'how long is a piece of string'. However I am developing a great faith in the clairvoyant skills of IFI members and their ability to provide enough clues to set me on the right path regardless of how badly I phrase my questions. One day I may even post a thread consisting of just a question mark, ?, and I'm guessing it would still elicit, a bevy of well reasoned, informed and helpful replies, and hopefully as long as the bear does do-do in the woods, Frosty will be throwing in a measured dose of humor. You guys are sensational. I suffer from Blokes Disease :- It can't be that simple, I will have to find a complicated way to go about it. Big is good - bigger must be better. One of anything could never be enough. I know deep down I am probably trying to re-invent the wheel but I will forge ahead regardless. There is no known cure but I try to manage the symptoms. Thanks to you guys I now know that anything that will deliver air at 1.5 - 3 p.s.i. through the tuyere and grate is going to do the job. I don't need 25,000 pounds of jet thrust. Mick

Still gathering resources to construct my first forge. Can anyone help me with some tech specs for a blower for a charcoal forge. Is there an optimum range for air flow volume and pressure, This information will help me source a non forge specific blower, hopefully a very cheep one. Thanks Mick

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, thanks for that fantastic 8,000 word essay Mark. Learned heaps from it. Mick

Beware any man who undertakes to operate on the 'Merit Point' system of trade and negotiation! The devil is in the fine print of the 'UNIVERSAL STATUTE OF MERIT POINTS'. 1. The value of merit points awarded is on a sliding scale and shall be determined by the Finance department. This decision is final and negotiation will not be entered into. 2. The redemption of merit points shall be at the sole discretion of the Finance Department. 3. The value of merit points at the time of redemption shall be determined by the Finance department and may be subject to inflation, account keeping charges, taxes, duties and the law of diminishing returns. 4. Once redeemed merit points will be regarded as having never existed and can never be referred to in mitigation of a purchase during an audit being conducted by the Finance Department. 5. Merit points have a use by date that shall be determined by the Finance Department. This date is a State secret and will never be divulged to the point holder. 6. All merit points can be cancelled without notice or explanation by the Finance Department. Don't want to scare anyone but you need to know the risks before entering into any kind of investment. But don't let that stop you 'cause remember..........He who dies with the most toys wins.

Now that far side edge might be be fairly munted to you, but being left handed that would just about be the near side edge for me. To save you all the angst and dilemma about repair or not, I could take it off your hands as a special favor, no charge. I could pick it up on my way through in about 3 weeks. No need to thank me, its the least I could do for you. Mick

Thanks Ian, I just lost myself for an hour browsing through Alan's site, should be in bed for my usual 4.30am start. Unfortunately I am 250 km west of Mackay and about 1300 km north of Alan's smithy. Will be heading home in another 24 sleeps, not that I'm counting and already have a full load, or willhave buy the time time Julie flies up to join me for the trip. Bowral is not too far from Traralgon though and we might be able to catch up one day. Mick.

And Frosty that is a mighty handsome looking hammer you made there, but by the look of that porch railing you might have to have a try at forging yourself a paintbrush.