chrisfrick

One thing worth mentioning about the preheating of tooling: DO NOT heat excessively!! You could possibly ruin the tempering/hardness of an anvil, etc. (basically don't get it too hot to touch).

Thanks, guys. I'm going to try calling the "air police" of Sacramento county as well as the California Air Resources Board with a "general" inquiry. I'm going to tell them that "...I'm interested in getting into blacksmithing and need to know the regulations regarding the burning of coal..." (although I'm not going to tell them that I burned about 5 lbs. last weekend and the weekend before that, and the weekend before that...) The "under a 1/2 ton" sounds familiar, although I'm at a loss as to where I found that. As for my neighbors, the ones directly to my right/left know what's up and don't care--one's dad used to be a smith and she actually *likes* the sound of my anvil. I've made various items for the other one, including S-hooks for the hanging plants they have, a heart for valentines day, and some BBQ tooling. -Chris

Hey everyone, got a question for mainly the Northern California people, but if you have any info, any and all would be appreciated. Last weekend, a coworker went to a gun show in the greater Sacramento area and met a guy who is a blacksmith in Sacramento who said my name sounded familiar (only guessing said individual is a member of this forum). In any case, my coworker asked if he used coal in his forge and was told that it's illegal to burn coal in Sacramento (whether it be City or County, I don't know). I've scoured the internet and have only been able to find documentation/legislation on coal powered industrial operations, such as power plants, cement factories, etc. Does anyone know if it's illegal to burn small quantities of coal (under 25-50 lbs per month) in either the city of Sacramento, or Sacramento county? I'd hate to have to switch back to charcoal!!

The square hole that a square can pass through--lemme see, I have made hundreds of square holes using a recip saw and then filing to final dimensions. Only done it once with steel, and that was the hardie hole on my anvil (annealed 4140 about 2.5 inches thick). Most of my files are used on custom aircraft instrument panels, so final fit must be precise due to the cost involved. Much, much easier in 2024 aluminum than any form of steel. Hats off to anyone who can file a square hole, a square to fit through that hole, and have minimal light pass through!

Nice pics and shop, Sam! Especially good for a phone! Curlygeorge--I have AT&T also an although I haven't done it in a while, you *should* be able to send the pictures from your phone to your email, the same way you would send a text message. Instead of a phone #, just put in your email (or someone you want to send it to), insert the pic and hit send. Of course this is all theory, at this point, and also depends on what kind of phone it is, too. :)

If that was a little taller, I'd say it's the Nimba Anvil's great grandfather. Nice chunk of steel you got there!

Exactly what I've come to figure out. I originally started out using charcoal, as it was readily available from the local mega-mart in 10 lb sacks. Came out to about $0.85/lb (US). My wife's friend's husband used to be a blacksmith with his dad, who gave me about 10 lbs of coal to try. Been hooked ever since as I don't have to constantly shovel charcoal onto my fire, it gets hotter with less air blast, and I can get it for about $0.35/lb. I would make charcoal if I could, but don't have the space to do so (used to but hat's another story all together).

That's an overwhelmingly impressive collection. It's a shame that all of those tools are just sitting there, doing absolutely nothing.

Thomas--I haven't gone around to the auto suspension shops. Managed to hit a u pull it yard during a 1/2 off, buy one get one free type sale and got ( seemingly) tons of stuff. Gonna be a long time before I run out of 5160!

Thanks again for your generosity. At this time I'm going to have to pass it up (I know, I'll probably be kicking myself later. I love 4140). If you were reserving a box, let someone else have the good fortune. -Chris

Monstermetal-- please email me. I'd be very interested in buying a couple feet. That's an awesome deal and I'd like to say thank you for sharing! -Chris

All the scrap yards in the Sacramento area won't sell to the public. I just go to one of the (seemingly thousands) u-pull it yards and get leaf and coil springs off old fords and such. However there are a couple of places that sell to the public, such as Blue Collar Supply and (I think) S&K steel.

Chuck, Just out of curiosity, where are you getting your coke? I live in Sacramento and have been having a hard time finding coal (well, at least at reasonable prices). And I have a bottom blast forge that works very well--haven't tried the side blast. Let us know how it works. -Chris

Brian, Try looking at McMaster-Carr's website. I believe the correct nomenclature is "oil cup." A little "thingy" with a spring loaded flip-up lid, right? Sounds like you're looking for a rather large one, so M-C might not have something that big. You could also try making one out of 3/8" brass (I like the brass--just looks cooler!) and use a threaded cap on the end. If you decide to make one with a screw-on cap, just remember to drill a tiny hole in the top of it (maybe use a #60 drill) so it won't develop a vacuum and provide for better lubrication. -Chris

I get my coal from Lazzari, too. I get their "fireplace" coal, which is about $15 per 50 lb bag. Only real problem is that coal comes in bowling ball sized lumps they take a couple of hours to bust up. Other than that, it's ok. I figured it cost me about $0.35/lb for coal versus about $0.85/lb for charcoal. I'm sticking with the coal!

That's absolutely beautiful!! Maybe you could post a blueprint on it sometime? Nice work!

I was using coal for this weld, and what I presume is either 1018 or A36 (that stuff from the home depot). I only had about an inch or two deep fire, at that. I suppose it was probably pretty easy due to the material and it's size (1/4 and 5/16" dia rounds). I'm not going to expect success every time, but it's very encouraging and I'm on a mission to learn how to do it without even thinking.

Today I made my first forge weld!! It's nowhere near as hard as people make it out to be. I was making some scrolling tongs and needed to let them cool before I could forge the other end, so I decided to not waste fuel and try welding. Got the box of borax out, along with 2 12" sections of 1/4 and 5/16 1018,stuck them in the forge, waited a little bit to apply flux, let them heat until I saw a *small* amount of sparks, took it out and gently tapped them together. I figure it's about them same as soldering electronics-some preople get it, and some don't. -Chris

I recently switched to coal from charcoal as I really liked how much hotter the coal seemed to get versus the quantity and burn rate. I've found a place in SFO (Lazzari) that sells coal and my first couple bags turned out to be their "fireplace" coal--bowling ball sized chunks and got em for about $15 per 50 lb sack. I then spent *way* too much time busting them up, but then again had to do the same with the charcoal, so I count it as a wash. (long story short, I had my brother pick up the coal and he isn't familiar with it, so didn't question the "lumpyness" of the sacks--next time I'm going to pick it up myself.) Anyhow, I figured out that I have been spending approximately $0.70 per pound of lump charcoal from the local mega-mart, about $0.33 per pound for the "fireplace" coal, and have been quoted approximately $0.54 per pound of the nut-sized "blacksmith" coal. Added into the equation would be the travel expense of going from Sacramento to San Francisco, but I do visit my brother on occaision for other reasons so it's just a matter of driving about the same time to the mega-mart to pick up charcoal. The only other "cheaper" option would be to make your own charcoal--if I could I would, but then I still like coal! -Chris

Okay, finally got around to taking some pics (wife left me alone for a couple of hours--what could *possibly* go wrong? A couple of leaf key-rings, that's what!). I absolutely LOVE this hammer!! And after taking Mr. Hofi's advice of kissing the hammer and then walking around the anvil 7 times each day, it *does* forge by itself! (oh, and the black stuff around the anvil, if you couldn't tell is small pieces of coal/dust from busting up bowling ball sizes that I got for cheap) -Chris

I got in contact with Lazzari and they're selling 50# sacks of bituminous coal from Kentucky for about $26. I have relatives that live about 25 miles from the Lazzari facility whom I visit about once a month, so I think I'll drop by and pick up a couple of sacks next time I'm down there. I'm still working on the free "yards" of anthracite from my wife's friend's husband's dad, which may put off my trip to Lazzari. I'd rather get it free, than have to pay for it! -Chris

The only blower I've ever used is a hairdryer that I "borrowed" from my wife (bought her a new one that was "better" before "borrowing" it). What I did, was to remove the heating coils altogether. I then constructed a variable DC power supply, complete with a circuit breaker and an on/off switch. It is capable of running from zero to full blast with a turn of the adjustment knob. *Most* hairdryers actually use a 12 volt, DC motor and utilize the heating coils to step-down the rectified AC input voltage. The power supply I built will actually run from zero to approximately 32 volts DC (and so will the motor!). Total cost for the blower setup was about $50 US (including the $12 "replacement" hairdryer for my wife). Anyone interested in how to do this can go to either a public library, Radio Shack (in the US), or use the internet to learn how to construct the power supply and hook up the motor. I'd say that without the heating coils running, you'd be looking at about 1/4 the cost than with them. You'd also be introducing much denser air into your forge, requiring less air blast than you would by blowing in *hot* air. One of these days I'll grab my camera and post some pics and maybe even a blueprint or just some drawings about how the power supply/hairdryer setup is wired/constructed...one of these days... -Chris

Thanks, guys. Fe-wood, I'm intimately familiar with the Horseshoe barn in Sac, but try to avoid the place like the plague due to their extremely high prices. I have a few farrier buddies that think the same. I buy the Lazzari charcoal all the time, and couldn't remember if they were the people down in the SFO area (suppose I could check the address on an old bag), and remember someone mentioning a coal supplier in that area. I've also checked out Penn Coal (or something to that effect) and found that they have 50# bags of bituminous coal for about $15. Problem is, I live in California and they're in Pennsylvania (or somewhere around there)--I was quoted just for the shipping, a price of $65 (which seemed high for something that can be shipped ground freight), and then started to make the Horeshoe barn look a little better. As for forge welding with charcoal, I just haven't figured out the *right* configuration for a forge yet (keeping in mind that yet stands for You're Eligible Too). The Japanese have been making beautiful laminated blades for centuries using that as a fuel, and I'm still going to pursue trying to weld with it, but the coal just seems that much easier. My father-in-law works as a piping engineer for a major oil refinery in the SFO bay area and I'll check with him to see if he knows of any sources for coke. Still waiting to hear back from my wife's friend's husband's dad about filling up my pickup with *free* coal. I actually convinced my wife that she wouldn't have to look at it in the back yard, as I can store it in a pile behind my shed, so I've won 90% of the battle already! -Chris