pnut

The collapsible hose shouldn't get that hot. I'd just keep an eye on it to make sure for a couple sessions though. How do you like that little accacio anvil? I have one and was pleasantly surprised by it. Unbeatable for the price. Pnut

A five gallon bucket with a clamp in lid like frosty mentioned is exactly what I use. The only difference is I have a few holes poked in the lid and when white smoke stops coming out I cover the lid in dirt and let the fire burn down. I only make ten gallons at a time. Two burn barrels and two five gallon buckets. Pnut

I'm sorry Charles. She can now get some peace free of pain and worries. It's never easy to lose your Mom. We're here for you. Pnut

The best advice I can give for working with corn as fuel is to "coke" up a good bit before you start working because it burns quickly. Pnut

I think they started adding that disclaimer after a post here about an anvil they sold. Pnut

Lillies are much more pleasant to gild. Pnut

Is that a jiggler key on your keyring? Pnut

Customer service is excellent also. It's not often you can speak with the owner or possibly the actual person that did the casting. Pnut

I don't know why I didn't mention it before. Walmart has an ac mattress pump for about nine dollars that I used for my forge until I got a Buffco blower. I used a ball valve as a way to control the airflow. I've seen you have a cooling fan. I haven't tried using one so I'm out of my element in that regard. Pnut

I wonder how it would perform with a downward spring assist to add a bit more force to the blow? Pnut

Grainger sells a suitable one for about $45 Pnut

I like the addition of the retention clip. I have an older Blackie Collins combat knife that has a sheath with a retention clip and I like it very much. Pnut

Looks like you may need to adjust the depth of the firepot so it's a tad shallower and you don't have to angle the stock down into the sweet spot. Looks good else wise. Pnut.

Anything other than a rivet forge is a pretty large investment for a hobby you're just starting and may not stick with, not to mention you don't really know what you'll need out of a forge. You can build a jabod for little to no money and be forging by tonight. I'm currently on my third jabod and would recommend them to anyone looking to get into smithing who wants to use solid fuel. Good luck, be safe, and remember it's supposed to be fun. Pnut

Looks good. So long as you have at least two inches of clay between the wood and the fire you should be OK. Pnut

The space between the two bricks where your tuyere is will hold a split firebrick put in edgewise. You're forge looks just like mine. It works great after some minor tweaking. Pnut

She's in my thoughts. Pnut

Hacksaw, cold chisel, hot chisel, O/A torch. I got the idea from someone here to use a bow saw with a metal cutting band saw blade to make a hacksaw on steroids. Pnut It must have been Thomas as he's describing it in the above post. Hahaha.

If you were closer to me I'd take you to the hump yard I used to work at and they'd cut a piece to whatever height you need. I got Lucky and didn't have to make the hour drive because a maintenance sub contracting crew was staying at the hotel where I work and I stopped by the job site and they cut a piece about thirty inches long for me. Look for people working on the right of way and show up with cold drinks in the summer or coffee in the winter and explain what you want to do with it and you may very well find a piece for free. Pnut

I used an angle grinder to grind a semicircle in the corner of two bricks. Before that I just put a split firebrick between the two bricks and overtop of the pipe. Pnut The depth of mine is the thickness of one bricks but the bricks on the side allow me to pile fuel above the level of the hearth. Pnut

That's great news. Hopefully she's back home in the loving bosom of friends and family soon. Pnut

it's a lot quicker and easier with a stitching awl versus a plain leather awl. Pnut

Radius edges on both will help mitigate the chance of chipping too. Always dress your hammer faces and knock down any sharp edges on an improvised anvil. Pnut

I've found all the bricks I use. It seems like it's getting harder to find new clay bricks. I dug up about twenty behind my house. I tried to use some pierced bricks but they cracked in about thirty minutes. You're on the right track looking for old demolished buildings. You can also just use clay without the bricks. It's not as easily portable though as bricks and dry fill. Pnut

Just a regular old clay brick. Those look like concrete. Also pierced bricks with holes in them tend to crack. Pnut