chrisfrick

Good idea on the canvas roof, Covforge--gonna try it. Sounds a lot better than the PVC/blue tarp deal (cheaper and quicker, too). Hey, just got an idea--now I need to make some "tent" spikes!! Sweet...

Hillbilly, I'm gonna pull a Frosty and ask you to click on the USER CP button at the top of the screen and then enter your location so we can best address your question. As for the charcoal, I've been exclusively using Mesquite charcoal in my forge and it burns really clean, is pretty easy to break up into useable chunks, and only sparks way too much when I really crank up my blower. ("exclusive" means that it's the only 'natural' charcoal my local grocery store sells and it's cheap and they never run out of the stuff.)

Howabout a blue tarp and some PVC pipe for a roof--I'm going to have to build one soon for the rainy season.

Very, very nice! You're one lucky guy!

Okay, here's a picture of my smaller forge--variable speed "blower" ('modified' old hairdryer) that's capable of the smallest whisp of air to full on blowing the coals completely out of the forge. I made two separate bricks of a refractory mix I was able to find online so I can add charcoal to either the back or the front, one at a time (plus, it's a little easier to handle that way). I've been playing around with the airflow, and seems like much lower settings work better, however with a higher setting, it'll heat a 1/2" round of mild steel to cherry in about 2 minutes.
Okay, gonna try adding a thumbnail, if it doesn't work, please forgive me as I'm obviously still trying to figure it out.

Hey there Divermike--There are days that I absolutely *will not* run my forge in the summer due to the excessive heat (you know how it is). I've been trying to figure out a way to eliminate or cut down the sparks--was thinking that maybe sprinkling water on the charcoal or something like that, but then the heat required to evaporate the water and burn the charcoal gets wasted and by that time, you've once again got dry charcoal. Best thing so far is either long sleeved cotton shirt, or lots of beer! (set my grass on fire several times, now I water the lawn before starting the forge.) As for the pics, I had something come up last night that's lasting into tonight and wanted to get a picture of the forge running--I'll shoot some tonight with it cold to show you the top I made for it.

Does anyone know of anyway to reduce the sparks from natural, lump charcoal? You may be able to apply for a patent if if works! :)

Nice looking swage block!

I hate you already!! Nice find! It doesn't look *that* beat up from your pictures. Put it to work and let us know what you think.

I've been using a "Lively" style for about a year now and have just made a slightly bigger one for bigger stuff. Works fairly well for general blacksmithing and if you're doing a lot of small stuff, all you gotta do is either slap some mud over the last half of the holes or just only put the charcoal in one end and you've got a half size forge! I'll post some pics of my setup tonight when I get home. Nice little rig you got going, by the way. Just keep in mind that if you're using charcoal, it's going to get ashes *everywhere* (I use mine exclusively outside on my back lawn).

Well, Rosco, I can honestly say that I've never done that before (and never will again!). That's exactly how I feel when you say, "...I soon learned that the curtness or bluntness of any response was pretty much proportional to the degree of risk, expense or thoughtlessness of whatever action I was embarking on..." And agree 100% and have the same mindset when you say, "...In the interest of avoiding abrasive summaries of my ability to do things like walk and chew gum, I learned to think and use the information that had been presented rather than come up with a stream of shallow questions or act without careful consideration. Once I had done so, my questions were usually received with the recognition that I was honestly trying to apply myself to assimilating knowledge..." That is how I believe it's supposed to be done.

Just an observation from a "newbie"--I originally got into blacksmithing because I was (sort of still am) interested in/convinced that I could *someday*, create a Japanese Katana using the same materials and techniques from old Japan. However, I do realize that an endeavor like that takes almost a lifetime to achieve, and I have at least started on the long, long road of creating something very, very difficult (and may never reach my goal).

That being said, I have never been belittled by anyone on *any* blacksmithing site and believe that the tone set by experienced smiths trying to steer beginners away from sword making is not angry, but a factual representation of what must occur before such things can be made. If the tone is percieved as "elitist," when trying to explain to someone that has ZERO experience in the craft, that there is A LOT of hard work and pre-requisite knowledge that MUST be mastered before, then so be it. I *try* to research my questions *before* asking you guys just to "save face" and not look too dumb, but then again--for the most part, everyone here usually helps out or points me in the right direction. (And there's got to be at least one person on IFI that's looked at one or more of my posts and either laughed out loud, or threw something across the room!--hopefully not this one!)

So, from my very limited experience, I have not seen evidence of anyone on IFI being "elitist." This forum provides a wealth of knowledge, gathered from thousands of people, all with their individual specialties, who are willing to help people like me and share their experiences.

Mix up some clay/refractory cement/whatever and make the inside the shape you want it. Looks like you could make it both a side and bottom blast at the same time--just add some valves/doors/etc.??

Just re-re-checked the listing. "Seller" states "CASH ONLY"--specifically states, no checks, no money orders, etc. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm now thinking that I would definitely NOT EVEN ENTERTAIN the idea of even looking at this stuff. Guys with pinky rings and baseball bats come to mind! who ***** would walk around with $27K in CASH anyway? Sounds like a scam to me, now that I think about it (but then again, could be some old, crusty guy who doesn't trust banks...oh wait, that's me!)

Coalfired--google "charcoal retort" for making charcoal. I don't know what kind of neighbors/neighborhood/yard size/proximity to other houses you have, but you may be able to get away with making a small retort out of maybe a 30 gallon drum (may be able to get away with using something else, like an old webber grill, but I think the metal may be too thin for it). I, unfortunately live in a neighborhood where the houses are maybe separated on the sides by about 20 feet so can't really do it in my backyard. I've been thinking about going over to my Dad's house to give it a try as he lives in a more rural setting.

You could also ask your boss/supervisor/owner of the mill, space permitting, if you could make a small setup there (may open up a whole new branch of business for them too, if you have massive amounts--truck loads of scrap)?

I've got one and use it frequently for checking the temps on avionics equipment--haven't really thought of using it for tempering, though. Just might have to give it a try. Thanks for the idea!

Yeah, but I'm not a "serious investor"--that's why I haven't entertained the idea of taking a look. (I believe my wife would do something rather nasty to parts of me that I really like if I even mentioned something like..."there's this guy with a ship load of anvils for sale and I'd like to take a look at...") ;)

I still hate this guy! I'd really like to see this lot in person to see what kind of condition everything is in-could be total junk, or could be brand new never used stuff (and I could have the $27K in cash to purchase... I just pray that someone who knows what the heck these things are and are worth buys them up. I shudder at the thought of them being melted down!

Thanks for all the compliments everyone--I came up with the design of the anvil and stand after "borrowing" some elements from various blacksmiths all over the internet, after "researching" for about a year, all the while using just the track section to forge on (which was too loud for my neighbors and I had to resort to only forging about an hour or so every other day), so technically I can't take credit for it. I did, however, come up with the face piece on my own, and feel that it's a pretty good size and beefy enough for knife making and small stuff.

DennisG--forgive me as I'm chuckling quietly to myself on your question about a Bridgeport mill--This is a large machine tool that pretty much any machine shop would have (google "bridgeport vertical knee mill" for a better understanding of what it is). You can "rent" one by going to a machine shop and having a machinist do the work for you. Fortunately, my younger brother has one in his garage and doesn't mind letting me use it from time to time--especially if I buy him more end mills than I break! A manual vertical mill would run anywhere between $1K and $20K (US dollars) depending on the condition and optional equipment. And then there are the CNC models...

I think I'm going to add wheels and handles to the back of the stand in the near future so the whole thing resembles a hand truck (thanks for the idea, DennisG) to make it easier to move around--I don't really have a dedicated area in my yard (YET) for my setup, but am anticipating building a smithy in about a year or two's time--many pictures to follow.

Again, thanks for all the compliments.

Okay, thanks for the compliment. Face dimensions are 4 1/2 inches by 10 inches and 2 1/4 inch thick. I cut the hardie using a bridgeport vertical mill--took a long time, as I had to use a 1/4" end mill for final dimensioning (just a bit over an inch square), and had to flip it over to get the full penetration. Weighs in around 70 pounds, and the base weighs almost the same--doesn't move at all when smacking stuff.

I was going to attach some wheels to the back side of it, but the hand truck idea sounds better--thanks.

Well, version 2.0 of the RR anvil--I used to use the track section by itself, but came across some A36 plate and some 4140 for the face--got the 4140 annealed so I could more easily cut the pritchel and hardie holes. The heat treating only took about 3 hours in the charcoal forge (I have a "lid" for it which drastically helps) and quenched in 7 gallons of ATF, then water after the oil got a little hot. Tempered at around 375 degrees F for 3 hours, then MIG welded to top of track. So far I'm quite pleased and have been unable to dent it. Gonna check rebound once I find a sizeable ball bearing of known hardness, but the hammer bounces quite well. Doesn't really have a ring, more of like a thud, however I haven't bolted the bottom plate to the stand yet. The stand is made from 2X12 sections that are staggered to allow the storage of tools--I have yet to make some strips/brackets that wrap around the sides to prevent tools from slipping out. Height at face is approx. 29 inches and it's just right for me--very comfortable to use. One drawback is the absence of a horn--I was thinking of putting a piece of 3/4" black pipe in the 1" hole that's in the side of the track just for the time being, until I can get a hardie cone/horn thing. Another drawback is the space under the hardie hole--I used a router and routed out about 2" below the hole for retreval of "lost" items, or to jam a prybar in to wedge stuff out. I'll post more pics when I get it 100% finished. There's more pics in my gallery of this anvil and also my charcoal forge setup using the "modified" hair dryer.

Not sure what you mean by 'newer', stretch bolts have been in use since the '80s, Escorts had them.

Never seen a sodium filled intake valve, there would be little reason for such expense (intake valves don't need the cooling, they get cooled by the incoming air). The sodium filled exhaust valves are easy to spot, they have big stems since they are hollow. The real danger is not corrosiveness, but explosiveness. But even regular exhaust valves are high temp alloys, not much good to a smith.

The Sodium filled exhaust valves were used extensively in the old aircraft piston engines (and VERY large--4360 cubic inches, 28 cylinder was the largest ever made) and although I've never seen it or heard from someone who's had first hand knowledge--the sodium filled valves have a tendency to EXPLODE when the sodium is either heated and exposed to air, or just exposed to air. Having this information beat into my head for years and years, I just stay from them to be safe.

I just finished and got to use my RR anvil for the first time last night--the track itself is actually a support piece that's welded to a 1" X 8" X 8" piece of A36 plate for the bottom, and a 4 1/2"X2 1/2"X10" piece of 4140 (that only took me 3 hours to heat treat using about 8 pounds of charcoal) on the top as an anvil face--the track section is 10 inches long and the whole assembly looks pretty darn good. Very, very quiet operation with a really nice "ding, ding-ding" sound when lightly ringing it. I would have posted pictures, but for some reason my camera's focusing ability has left it taking blurry pictures.

Wondering if all that stuff came from the demolition of the old rail yard? Why doesn't he want to break up the lot? Like Brasilikilt said--it's guys like that who make it so hard for guys like me to find a decent piece of steel to beat on!

Just checked his page and it states CASH ONLY over, and over, and over again--I don't like this guy already!

I've used liquid wrench, WD-40, diesel oil mixed with lacquer thinner, and my current favorite is a product called Mouse Milk (google it, there's a website)--used extensively in the aviation industry and from my experience is pretty good.

Tim Lively's video is great--I've owned a copy (downloaded from amazon.com) for a little over a year now. I've made the forge, used the charcoal, and have nothing but good things to say about Tim and Marian and their video. There are TONS of little things they do in that video that they do not mention--very minor details, such as how he forges the choile (sp?) or finger relief, and lots more (I haven't watched it in a while). Everytime I watch it, I pick something up. I made a mini version of his knife and it works great--I could have gone a little easier on the tempering, but for what it is and does is fine. On the forge design, I just finished lining my second "Lively Forge" and have added more holes in the tweer (sp--I know it's wrong). I'll be firing it for the first time on Saturday. The thing that really, really helped was using appropriately sized charcoal--I bust up the lump charcoal (not briquettes) to about a 3/4 to 1 inch size and fabricated two "bricks" out of a refractory mix I found on line somewhere for placing over the top--sort of like making a small oven. I haven't tried welding with it yet, but I'd bet money that it'd go pretty good. Been using a "modified" hair dryer with excellent results for the air supply.

Anyhow, buy the DVD if you can--well worth the money and then some. Have fun!!