billp

OKkkkkkk I'll give the pic post at try thanks for the help. BP

Thanks, I do hope to grow as you have as time goes by and skill grows. For now my wife wants me to make an outdoor candle chandelier. Will be looking for advice and instruction when the time comes. Want to try and get a real anvil first even if it's a cheaper china made make do.

:D Will I'm as proud as a new Poppa as I just finighed my new forge. It's made from a car wheel rim where I added 5/16" plate to the bottom, with an old metal hair dryer as a blower. I know to many of you more experenced hands this may sound silly but for me, Wow. I fired it up with charcoal (all I had) and made a small tool to help manage the movement of fuel plus a small bracket to help hold my blower/dryer in place. As for the hair dryer it's an old one I had stored away in my parents things (there both gone now). It blows kind of slow to dry hair and has a switch to cut off the heat so it blows regular air without over heating the dryer. It's not strong or fast but did OK on the charcoal. I just can't wait to be able to get enough money up to order my first bag of coal and try it out and a better blower. If I knew how I would post a photo but! Like I said before I know it sounds silly but, beating out those parts on my railroad anvil using my tire rim forge I almost felt a little like my GreatGrandDad who was a blacksmith (also the black sheep of the family, but not because he was a smith ). ;)

Thanks guys I appreciate all the advice. Your right WagonMaster not to far from me in Memphis we have the Metal Museum and they teach classes but want start back up till Sept. and end in Jan. (just missed them). They are 2 day classes on the weekend and are progressive type classes if you didn't go to the first you can't do the second and so on. As for the equipment I'll have to keep a look out for the junk shops I all ready have a scrap yard close by where I can pick different metal pices to work with. Only problem is there may not be enough or may not be just the right thing. Like now I'm trying to get only a few feet off a coil of steel wire but they are not to willing to cut it, just to much trouble. But so far I make do I was able to make a work table to cut and weld on, holders for my welding rods, and now working on my car wheel forge. Thinking about it I may have a fan from an old heater if I can build a housing for it might work for a blower if not I'll try the blow dryer. Right now all I need is for the money fairy to drop a cool $1000.00 in my lap for an anvil and if lucky a few extras, but I want hold my breath. Again thanks to all, looking forward to getting to know you all better as time goes by. Bill P

Just want to say hi, I'm trying to get started into blacksmithing and I'm very new to it all. I have some experence stick welding but that is about the extent of my metal experence. I''m trying to start my forge with a tire rim a design I got off line. So far my biggest problem is finding blowers not costing an arm and a leg. Right now I have a man at a hardware store looking to pull a blower from a dishwasher when they get a used one in for me. Not sure how I rig it up but I'll come up with something. Plus I'm finding good anvils are not cheep either, right now I'm using a piece of railroad railing welded to a steel plate. I know it all sounds so pitiful but with money tight you got to start somewhere. So if anyone has any advice on places to buy equipment or on what or how to do something I'm all ears. I never turn down advice but to claim the right to chose whether or not I will follow it. Thanks to all and Hello again. Bill P