Cross Pein

Hi Adam, POWITALNY This is a great site to learn from. I would suggest you search the forums for ideas. There are many ways to build a forge. I am partial to Bran Brazeal's forge. But he uses a cast fire pot. (search for Roger Lorance) Anyway, welcome and have fun here. Bill BTW - your English is fine - the more you read here the better it will get.

I hate to throw a bucket of water on this thread, but she will need a bucket of water! (slack tub) Seriously though - I think it is great that you are that involved. I hope this goes beyond the homework exercise and you help her get these things. If you two get into this together, since she is already taking classes, maybe she will have a chance to teach you! Sounds like a great and different way to bond with her - I envy you. Bill

Thanks Ciladog Great head, learned a lot.

Absolutely, NO Gloves, Slow down or quench!

Yes Colin, Although most of the side drafts that I have seen on this site go out through the wall before heading up. I guess that will be dependent on your particular building. Do a search on the forums for "side draft" it will return a lot of results. I use my rivet forge outside for now, but when I get set-up indoors, it will be a side draft. I have seen several posts where people complain about their overhead hoods - don't recall anyone complaining about a side draft. Also, when you search, you will notice tons of information pertaining to size of the flue, height above obstructions etc. And don't use galvy, you will read about that too. Good luck, Bill

Welcome Colin from the other end of the state. Good to see another Mass resident taking up the addiction. You don't want to be too close to the wall. You may want to consider sheet metal on the wall near the forge. We had a entire smithy burn last year near here. I would suggest you do a search on a side draft chimney. There are a lot of threads on it here. Nice looking forge. I don't know how thick it is, but lining it with clay can't hurt. Have fun and be safe. Bill

I think I got it this time! :lol:

Here's what I did. The biggest that I could build without a permit was 120 sq. ft. So I did 10X12. I built it tall and have a full loft that can be accessed through a hatch in the floor or the front doors. I put a lot of overhang, the eves have 1/4 hardware cloth to let air in and keep vermin out. I need the ventilation because of the dirt floor. I went down 2 - 1/2 feet for the foundation. As you can see, I move my bs stuff outside to forge. There just is not enough room inside. I have a 25X19' barn the will hopefully become my smithy one day. Major work needed to remove the wood floor and redo the roof first. Bill Guess the picture didn't go - will do some reading and try again.

Praying for Kenna and her family in MA. Bill

Absolutely, and a link to the old one! Thanks, Bill

Looks complete to me. Just make your new handle and if the ratchet is working you should be good to go. Don't forget to clay it before using it. There are some instructions here Frosty's recipe. (Post #7 in the thread.) Bill

Merry Christmas to you and everyone at IFI. I don't post much since as a novice I don't have much to add. But I read almost everything that gets posted. I would like to thank you all for being a part of almost every day. I wish you all the best holidays - however you observe them and a very good 2011. Bill

In my opinion, and I am no expert, $3.00/# is top dollar just about anywhere. If he wants to go to all the trouble of ebay and shipping etc., he could hold out for $600.+ but your posting didn't sound like he was trying to make a killing. Bottom line is that it is worth what you are willing to pay. What is it worth to you? That's what it is worth. I love my 100# PW, but I would not pay that much for another larger one. Hope this helps, Bill

Thanks guys, I tightened it up with the existing wedge. It was one of those circular ones. I think I will soak it in linseed oil to keep it tight.

So - Ace has a coupon today for 50% off any one item under $30. The splitting maul I really wanted was $32. They had one 8# sledge (hit the sweet spot - $29.99) Anyway they only had one and the head is slightly loose. Probably been sitting in that air conditioned store all summer long. I want to know if there is a way to swell the wood back out. Preferably with something that will harden and leave me with a hammer that won't loosen back up. I was thinking linseed oil. I think I remember reading something here about oil being bad for the handle. I searched but it is hard to tell by the title what the post is about. Is there a way to tighten this handle up before I use it besides adding wedges? Thanks, Bill

Great thread - pardon my ignorance but- Can anyone post some pictures of froes and clubs - I'm gonna need one and I don't have a clue. Thanks, Bill

Yeah, They left everything that didn't go into the chipper. I definitely have more hickory than I'll ever use. Unfortunately, I haven't found time to make it small enough to move inside. I need to get some of it out of the weather and get the ends shellacked.

I was going to suggest the dust collection blower that I saw at HF yesterday. HF Blower But If I were buying one, for the $50. difference, I would go with Grant's. It is flanged and has the volume control built into it. It's built for the job. My guess is they are both Chinese. Grant can correct me if I'm wrong. Bill

Doug, It was great meeting you on Saturday night at the Prospect Hill Forge Barbecue & open house. If you are not committed to the ash, I can probably set you up with some hickory. I don't know if that will be much better or not rot wise, but it will be much heavier and denser. There is a picture of the tree when it was a tree in this thread: Big hickory They left me everything that didn't go in the chipper - I'm sure that we can find a piece that you can use. Moving it - that might be a different story! PM me if you are interested, I am about 15-20 miles south of Framingham. Bill

My anvil is mounted on red oak now, and that is a bear to move outside when I forge. But I did ask for a 30" long piece of the trunk to mount my leg vice on. Fosterob, the tree is not dead - although as you can see several of the branches have died in the last couple of years. The rot at the bottom is a lot worse than I thought. My wife had Hosta planted around the base and the extent of the rot was not evident to me until she moved the hosta out. Phil, that tree is the only shade in my back yard from about 8am until 4pm at this time of year. So you bet I will be replacing it. I was reading the other day that they have cross-bred the American chestnut with a blight resistant strain from China and they now have blight resistant trees that have the characteristics of the American Chestnut that can survive here. I would like to get a few of those if I can. I would also like to find Butternut and give that a try. I probably won't live long enough to enjoy them, but the land has been in the family since 1924, so I hope the next generation gets some good shade! Bill

Thanks - Sounds like a lot of good information. I would have never thought of sealing the end grain on my own. I guess I will split the logs in the lengths he leaves them and put them into the barn. I will play with some in the oven, but I suspect most will wait it out until it drys. I suspect that he will be happy to leave it behind, but I don't think it will get me any break on the cost. He stopped by today and marked the 4 trees he is taking down. I hope he gets back before Earl. Here is a picture of the tree I took today. That is my humble smithy behind it. Thanks for all the advice, I guess it will be a while before I can offer any to IFI members. Bill Now to learn about froes!

I have read on this forum that hickory is good for making hammer handles. A large pignut hickory in my back yard is dying due to rot at the base. A tree guy is supposed to take it down later in the week. I may ask for a couple slices for hammer handles. I will saw them up for blanks that can be shaped for handles. Archiphile is excellent with hand held planes and shaves and I figure I can learn a thing or two from him. My question pertains to the size to saw them to. What do you folks think would be good dimensions for blanks? (I ask because I may be able to share with you guys.) Also, should I cut them up after seasoning, or dry them after cutting? I did not think of this before he priced the job, so I hope he is willing to share! I also hope he gets here before hurricane Earl - this thing is way too close to the house! Let me know your opinions. Thanks, Bill

Thanks for all your advice. I was seriously considering it, with the proper controls in place. As it turns out, when she learned how much the anvil weighs - it is only a 100 pounder! - about 150 to 175 with the stump - she changed her mind. I guess she wasn't very serious in the first place. I liked the brass hammer idea, Thomas, that one sounded safe.

A co-worker asked me today if I would consider lending my anvil for a musical performance by someone he knows. He sent me an email with a couple of links to what she has in mind. With this one, I may consider it, provided the percussionist promises to only strike the table - not the face or out on the horn. It would be cool to have a video of my anvil in concert! The second link was far more disturbing. If this is what she has in mind, no way with my old PW! What do you guys think? Would you do it? I need to get more information from the artist.

I have been a Steel Worker and a Paper Worker. I have mixed feelings about working in the union shops. I went to school nights for almost 20 years in order to get out of the factories. I have worked more in non-union jobs than union jobs. I have a few observations. In a union shop the people who are 'in' with the union officials get favored status. In a non-union shop the people who are 'in' with the managers get favored status. A brown-nose is a brown-nose. If in a union shop someone is caught stealing, the union may help him if they like him. If in a non-union shop someone is caught stealing, a manager may help him if they like him. A thief is a thief. I could go on, a slacker is a slacker, incompetence is incompetence, favoritism is favoritism ... The fact is that it all happens in both. There are good people and not so good people everywhere. I have made a very good wage working in the unions. I make a better wage working in a non-union now. The bottom line is that some people will excel regardless of where they end up - and some will fail - union or not. I personally feel that there is a great need for unions today. Not in the traditional trades, but in retail and the service sector. I cannot believe the way Walmart treats their people - And I wind up paying for the health insurance that the country's largest employer doesn't provide to most of their employees - through my taxes! Between their treatment of employees and their shipping jobs to China, I get PO'ed every time my wife shops there. I like Bob's idea of the satisfaction of a job well done. I have always strived for and often found this satisfaction. Here is one of my favorite quotes: "Work is an essential part of being alive. Your work is your identity. It tells you who you are. It's gotten so abstract. People don't work for the sake of working. They're working for a car, a new house, or a vacation. It's not the work itself that's important to them. There's such a joy in doing work well." Kay Stepkin, baker, as quoted in Working, by Studs Terkel