Goolsby7

Hello again! Its been a bit since i was here last admittedly, but I wanted to share some good news with y'all. So as a step towards being able to afford to start setting up a potential forge in the future as well as learn sills to both have a good career as well as useful skills for later projects, I'm going to be getting a welding and joining diploma. Now originally i was a bit worried about how i would pay for the courses in order to start. sure, 1400 isnt much but with my financial situation (especially with a room mate soon to be moving out) its hard to save. So i applied for a scholarship through AWS (the american welding society). and was surprised later in the month to see i actually was given it! This was a great surprise as it reduced my costs to 400. While waiting for this to go through the school i received another surprise, shortly after getting my first (and only if i can help it) credit card to pay off the rest of my tuition and books/supplies. I was granted student aid in the form of the HOPE grant! so my total costs for tuition have become 28$ in total for my first semester! Still trying to get in contact with the people who handle scholarships at the school so i can see what will happen with the scholarship. Hopefully i can use that for books and stuff or supplies i need. After im a month into classes ill start getting my GI-bill payments and that will cover my future tuition and materials costs and then i can use parts of what save to pay off my car by end of next year (woo!). But yea, i just wanted to share my good news with yall here and show that im indeed still around (even though i haven't contributed much yet lol). Till next time!

I appreciate all y'all help and advice! I've hunted around a good bit on Craigslist locally to almost no avail, and I'm not sure where I can go to find any places that actually use drums near me. So that kinda sucks a bit heh. I may end up trying to make a bottom blast forge that uses coal instead of the JABOD as I feel It could be somewhat more portable and potentially collapsible for storing inside. Although eventually I would still like to make a retort, its likely to be a side project at some point. All in all, I'll start hunting around for schematics and plans that I can use to make said forge, as well as checking the other sections I haven't delved to deep into yet for more information I really do appreciate all of the input!

Alright! So here's the thing, I'm starting from scratch with my "shop" and I'm using that term extremely loosly. Prior warning, I'm being more scrouge then mister scrouge before the ghosts because I have to be. My backyard is soon to be where I plan to start creating the necessary things for getting stuff up and running. I'm planning on making a JABOD forge that will utilize solid fules, specifically charcoal. I'm planning on making a charcoal retort in order to supply my fuel needs once I have everything up and running. Now here's where things start getting complicated. The tools I do have now I keep inside because I am without shed nor a form of safe outdoor storage. So I'm not sure how this may affect how I should plan the builds of my forge/charcoal retort/anvil setup. I'm planning on using pallets to help with my construction of my JABOD, and I know a good number of places where I can get a good bit of Georgian Sandy clay for it. So this part isn't super hard. The charcoal retort on the other hand, is going to be trickier... Most designs I've seen utalized large metal drums, and understandably so. The problem is I don't know where I can find any where I'm not having to chop an arm off to get one. The "anvil" I plan on using is a piece of railroad tracks. Thankfully not an ASO. (I've heard that the small anvils from harborfrieght might as well be ASOs so I've refained from getting one because of this, as well as their very small size.) My biggest question relating to this is just, how should I set it up? I know that my grandfather uses an oak log/stump for his anvil base, but this is a bit different. I'm sure I should follow suit but how should I set it up so that it will be secured and stable for use. And which way (and it's base or on one end) is the best for general usage? My final and biggest question is really this however: while I know I can make my JABOD forge sooner, should I wait until I can make a charcoal retort so that I can supply it with fuel? I'm an adept firemaker, but forging fires are of a different breed. While I can and have created 'furnace like' conditions using regular wood and logs, I feel this would be inefficient and waste fuel. So I look to y'all for advice on the beggining steps of my journey.

The biggest thing with my grandfather is that he's a state away. It's not more then a 7-8 hour drive, but limited budget and work schedule keeps me from visiting him more. He doesn't do emails much lol. Truthfully he may have surplus tools, but knowing how my family is in general, he may not part with any heh. Hopefully I'll get a chance to visit him soon though. I don't know of any local/state organizations, but wouldn't mind looking into them. Also, an update: come January I plan to (hopefully) be taking classes at my location technical college for welding, financial aid allowing.

Hey there! Hunted a bit for a proper place but couldn't find one, so I'll make a post here. This isn't my own work, but that of my grandpa. He made this piece years ago and I aspire to someday reach his level of skill and knowledge. He did everything, including the glasswork and wiring! These aren't the best of pictures truthfully but I took then after o had gotten off work. I plan to latter take some during the daytime and hopefully they come out better

Thomas Powers Welding is something I've planned on picking up, even if I have to teach myself lol, a friend of mine has a small mig welder im hoping to use to learn with eventually. Daswulf I did dip a toe into the JABOD threads, though I need to read more I'm sure. And as for solid fuels I've been planning on trying to make charcoal once I can get the proper bits and pieces to try. I'm used to propane furnaces that my grandpa used but I knew solid fuels would be better to start out with as they can be a bit easier on the wallet once you know how to properly make it. CrazyGoatLady I always remembered being able to get lost in the small projects I would work on or parts I would help my grandpa make. I always enjoyed making scrolls. He had a cool jig he could put in a vice or his anvil (don't know what the square hole is called) that we would use to bend strips of metal to make them. Didn't require heating as we used thin strips, but still needed some force as it was cold heh. Frosty A proper anvil will take some time, but I'm sure I'll get one eventually. Hopefully I can figure out the best way to set up the railroad tracks piece I have in the meantime. I DEFINITELY need to scour for any local yard sales I can and hope I can get lucky. I always remember there was a massive flea market in Florida my grandpa and I would go to where he'd get all kinds of tools. Theres a small one a city over from me but I've not noticed anything useful, but that was also a few months ago. As for tongs, they are probably my #1 project when I figure out my setup for the forge I plan to make. I feel like I'll really need them. Most of the work I did and watched my grandpa do utalized them often. Chisels and punches will be a big thing for me eventually as well, they are great for detail work making leaves and feathers out of sheet metal for decoration. I had never thought to use Allen wrenches though, but now I definitely have!

Thank you for the welcome! I wish I could work with my grandpa, but he's a state away and semi-retired. I plan to visit him when I can though, hopefully soon. And I'm only just now doing something with what little knowledge I do have lol, been kinda of back and forth with a bit of depression I think. Keeps me from doing things I really want. But I'm pushing through because I really want to learn and improve! Just starting from scratch is the hard part.

Hello there! M'names Brandon, but ill just as easily answer to Goolsby or gools! I was looking into various workings of attempting to start up a small forge so that i could try and practice and learn more about blacksmithing, and stumbled across this wonderful place! But let me tell you a bit about myself before i blabber on to much. I'm a young and dumb 25 year old living in a xxxx humid Georgia in the US who learned a bit about blacksmithing back when i was younger from my grandfather. My grandpa has some amazing skills and has done some amazing work in the past and its been somewhat of a dream to continue on the trade in some way. While i know that many younger blacksmiths tend to want to be blade smiths in reality, and honestly id love to as well, its not really my current goal. My current goal as far as blacksmithing goes, is to learn to craft lanterns and fixtures like my grandpa. Later i plan on uploading a picture of a light fixture he made and gave to my mother and i years ago that we still use today. May the day be long away and never come, but when he does leave i hope to be able to inherit the plethora of jigs, tools, and blueprints hes made over the years so that i can continue his work alongside my own. Now as for what i posses now.. well.. i posses a limited knowledge of smithing, heating, and shaping. I have only one maybe two of my old hammers from when i worked with my grandpa. I have the will to learn. Aaaand i have a small piece of rail road track that i'm hoping to use as my starting anvil. The biggest obstacles right now are my lack of knowledge, lack of materials and tools, and most importantly my funds. I know that i can find materials here and there but the most important part is the knowledge. A good chunk of which i'm sure ill be able to find here!