pnut

Steve beat me to it. I wasn't trying to be snarky I was suggesting more to the moderators than you that it may fit better in another section of the site. I would venture to say that you probably will find the answer to your question here. Welcome aboard and sorry if you got the wrong impression. A castable refractory may solve your problem. Pnut

And the casting/smelting section. This would be a better fit for the shop forum perhaps?

It looks like the type of thing a salesman gifts to customers or maybe something that was an internal gift for dealers or employees. These are guesses on my part though so take them with that in mind. Pnut

I used to have to kick the pups out when we'd play live music. They didn't like it but I would rather have them sulk for a bit than them be deaf. Basil Bob has caught a couple pieces of scale as he likes to be right next to my feet, but I have a table I've been teaching him to hang out on when I'm at the forge. You'd think a feral cat wouldn't want to be anywhere near the ruckus of an electric mattress pump and the noise from hammering on hot steel but it seems to attract him instead of scare him off. Pnut

I'm not sure if it is still being sold but Elmer's used to sell mucilage. it seems like it would be excellent for this application. Pnut

Nope, don't know him from Adam. I was assuming he was in Minnesota but I wasn't sure. My post was more about my dislike of clubs and groups calling themselves a guild. I guess it sounds old timey and I'm a "to each their own" type of guy so it's just my personal opinion. I think the word guild doesn't mean the same thing here. It's turned into an old timey way of saying club or group, but it's really inconsequential any way. The group closest to me calls themselves a guild. I guess it fits in with the image of the blacksmith that people have in their heads. I suppose it's my version of "Get off my lawn!!". Dinner at three o'clock in the afternoon is next. Pnut

Phone batteries, artillery batteries they can both detonate explosively. Pnut

I seem to recall a friend of mine who would make a slurry from ground leafs, newspaper, and water that he would compress into cylinders with a log splitter that seemed to work pretty well for heating his cabin. I don't know if they would pyrolize and you could use the resulting fuel without it crumbling which wouldn't be good for forge fuel but some small scale testing would answer the question. Pnut

I'm going to have to do something soon. The battery seems to be functioning fine. It holds a charge no memory issues with the battery not charging all the way. I don't think this phone is worth a new battery. When it finally gives up the ghost if it's not already been replaced I'll have to get another one or suffer iforge separation anxiety. Pnut

Nice work. I like the improvised dozer counterweight anvil. Did you grind the fuller in the left side or did it come that way? Pnut

I'm too poor for an iPhone. I have a weird brand of phone that's Chinese. I think the company is on a list of tech companies that the government can't use due to security concerns. It's old and I'm surprised it works at all. The browser shuts down about half the time if I try to do a search, and I have to access iforge through an email notification or the browser stops after a few minutes, I have to use speakerphone or the person I call can't hear me. It's on its last legs, but I think my insurance plan may offer a free cell phone. I'm going to check in to it. This one is probably six or seven years old but I'm not sure. I just looked at the battery and it's date of manufacture is marked as 2007 so it might even be older than I think. Pnut

Have you thought of using a short section of steel pipe welded to a piece of plate as the negative die? Pnut

Are you talking about a club or group to join or a proper guild for professional craftsmen like a labor union? There's a list of clubs and groups here you can look at. It's at the bottom of the homepage. Many clubs call themselves guilds but are essentially the same as a club or group of blacksmiths who get together for demos and open forge nights socializing etc. Google ABANA affiliates and blacksmithing groups in St. Cloud. I think there's a club coincidentally called the guild of metalsmiths who are in Minnesota. Good luck and remember it's supposed to be fun. Unless you're looking for a labor guild and then I guess it should be good luck and remember if you're not working you're not making money. Pnut

I got started for less than twenty dollars. I've since spent money but I hesitated to get started for so long because I thought it would be too expensive. As soon as my eyes were opened to how low the initial investment can be I was all in. Pnut

I put off taking the plunge for a couple years because I couldn't afford all the expensive equipment like dirt Familiaritydoes make people more comfortable. As an example, When I was a kid riding a skateboard required being able to defend yourself from the idiots and knuckleheads who would inevitably start a fight with you. Now it's completely acceptable and no one bats an eye. Pnut

Antique ordinance publishers has a book called field artillery traveling forge no. 61. Also the ordinance manual of 1863 has info on it. The browser is acting foolish so research time is over for me. I have to access iforge from an email. I need a new phone. Pnut

I just seen this on a civil war site. All the tools for traveling forges were based on the Mordecai drawings by Capt. Albert Mordecai. I don't know if that will help but I would try googling it and see what you come up with. Pnut

Without a sheet metal shell around it it's going to be fragile. If you have a piece of sheet metal from a dryer or a stove or whatever so long as it isn't galvanized you could make a box out of it. You also need some way to connect the sleeve that will hold the burner. You could use bricks for the outside of the forge but if you cut pieces of sheet metal the same size as the fiberboard and mitre the edges of the fiberboard at 45 degrees so they fit together and then use the angle iron to hold it all together you should be good to go. You will want to use a castable refractory to protect the walls on the inside from getting knicked up when you put your stock in the forge and a reflective coating to be able to get to welding temperatures. Do you have an ammo can? That would work good. A .50 cal ammo can would be a decentforge shell and they're pretty easy to get where I'm at. Harbor freight sells them. Pnut

Went to the woods and broke up the clay from the old jabod. The rain didn't help a bit. It was too hard to absorb any of it. There was an ant colony in it too. I busted it up with much difficulty and was wore out by the time I got done with it. I felt like a convict sentenced to hard labor. It would've been easier if I'd had a pick or mattock but all I had was a bar and a RR spike and hammer. Tomorrow I'll be putting it back together hopefully. Pnut

Trust me, I'm not thrilled about it. 306lbs. seems right. It looks like a pretty good sized tool compared to the size of the box on the truck. Pnut

It's pretty hard to see any fine details due to the 2.5x3.5in. screen on my phone not to mention my eyes. I was going on the assumption that the last p was for Peddinghaus. I don't know much about anvil manufacturers. I know some folks enjoy digging into the minutiae of different foundries and manufacturers because I am the same way with other things so I appreciate the info. Thanks. I also counted 3 half cwt. Instead of three quarter cwt.'s. brain glitch, seems like they've been happening more frequently lately. Pnut

I agree.

A thin layer of refractory would help make it a little more durable. It's more durable than ceramic blanket but still needs something to protect it from accidental gouges and such. A reflective coating will also help with getting up to welding heat. What do you plan on using for a shell? Pnut

No kidding. I've seen some surprising things for sale in the old catalogues. Weird drugs and patent medicines, quack medical devices, and yes many of the "rare" and "valuable" treasures offered on Craigslist and the like were the cheap late 19th early 20th century equivalent of today's harbor freight tools. People today equate age with value regardless of quality instead of quality with value regardless of age. Pnut

Sears used to have everything. I have a lever action Winchester that's a Ted Williams Sears and Roebuck branded model. Old Ted licensed his name to Sears for about any vaguely sports related product you can think of. Pnut