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I Forge Iron

sqek

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    Wokingham, Berks, UK

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  1. Thanks for the tips! I'll have a look for some clay once the shops that might sell it reopen... (Hobbycraft and the like are still saying they're staying shut as they're non-essential, at least near me) Also the videos of tiny portable forges have been really helpful, I've almost got permission to get a freebie-discarded-chest-of-drawers, so I can use a drawer as a box for forge dirt, and put it inside when not in use (after it's cooled off of course!) (so there'll normally just be a neat random piece of furniture tucked out of the way, rather than an open box of cat litter spoiling the view or taking up shed space). Also a manual blower (as in not electrical) will be more acceptable - currently thinking of rigging up something like the centrifugal blower that the primitive technology guy made, but with more plywood I hadn't thought of non-ferrous - do they forge similarly, but need less heat? I've got some scrap aluminium angle from an old school project! How much effect does the anvil have on the volume? I'd always assumed it would be the hammer-on-workpiece contact that actually makes the noise...
  2. Update: turns out my family are less supportive than I thought, and don't want their garden to be full of fire/smoke/noise/etc (and don't want to annoy our neighbours), so it looks like this'll have to wait for however many years it takes to get homeownership (or for things to reopen enough to do a course somewhere else) Unless there's some sort of standard argument-to-persuade-parents-that-it-won't-be-that-bad that works?
  3. Thanks so much for all the replies, and for being so welcoming so quickly! The impression that I've got from other parts of the forum is that it's harder to get wood to a forging heat than buying coal? Or is a novice-constructed wood-burning-to-charcoal forge good enough to get started, but just not hot enough for proper heat treatment / forge welding? Also I've found a bag of old ultra-cheap cat litter that's been sat in the garage for years and sounds good for the dirt part of a JABOD, now just need to find a box and some air... How recommended are the 'bootstrap tongs' I've seen mentioned a few times for a newbie? (The idea being to get a long piece of stock, work the ends into something grabby, then bend a springy bit in the middle to get something tweezer-like in operation but tong-sized). Also how long is long-enough-to-hold? I have some calluses from rowing, but they've been shrinking since the boat club got shut down. I've also seen a lot of debate about gloves vs no gloves (pros: can hold warm metal for longer, protection from sparks; cons: bad habits of grabbing hot metal, not being able to get a hot glove off as it burns you) - any personal thoughts on this for starting out? The lockdown changes tomorrow should make finding stuff a lot easier, it's actually going to be legal to go outside for non-exercise and non-essential shopping - suddenly asking round farms/mechanics for scrap metal might be possible (I was looking at ordering online, but postage was a killer for small orders) Does anyone have experience of getting steel within suburban southern England, in terms of what sort of prices are reasonable?
  4. Hello! I've wanted to have a go at forging stuff for a while now, after seeing some youtubers start themselves, and then getting recommended videos from some proper blacksmithing channels. I'm a postgrad student at the moment, so haven't been able to try as shared student houses tend to frown on open fires (and even candles), but I'm at the family home for the lockdown until the unis open back up so now might have a chance! I'm looking to get a basic newbie setup to have a go. I'm near Reading, Berkshire, and have access to logs (a nearby tree surgeon has a big pile of free big logs), an ageing claw hammer, a moderate-sized garden, a couple of old pairs of pliers, somewhat-tolerant parents, and might be able to borrow the family car. Does anyone have any tips on how I could source an ASO / build a basic forge / get some stock metal during the lockdown? (Most things I've seen seem to suggest trawling boot fairs for cast-iron-flat-irons, or otherwise assume that going outside and talking to people is legal) Also a slightly broader question: considering I'll probably be back at uni by the end of the year, and anything big will have to be thrown away/sold as my parents will want their garden back, is this actually worthwhile? Or does the minimum-viable setup need too much investment to only be used for a summer? Thanks in advance!
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