Yance

Vaughn; If you're willing to drive a little over an hour Grace Fuel in North Asheville, (Woodfin) has Blue Gem, stoker size for $385/ton last I bought back in the Fall. Great stuff.

I chose Outaways Forge because it's about 2 1/2 miles from the "main" road before you turn up a half mile single lane dirt road to get to my place. As Jeff Foxworthy says.."If directions to your house include 'when you turn off the paved road', you just might be a Redneck".

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170739739280?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649 This set goes from 32, 26, 20, and 16.

Actually the screwplates are pretty easy to find on ebay and sometimes the prices aren't that bad. The taps are a bit more scarce. I just bid (and lost) on a lot of 7 pieces from 20 to 13 pitch that went for just over $70.00.

Toward the end of this episode of The Woodright's Shop Peter Ross shows Roy how to use a 100+ year old screwplate and tapered tap to form the threads on the shank of a pintle and the nut. http://video.pbs.org/video/1772044886/

That's a lot like the one I have "in progress". Have to get ready for a show this weekend in Marion, NC so the finish work will have to wait another week. I still have to make the grate and ash dump gate, and cut the clean out access door. Since the bottom is still solid I don't have to worry about leaving a mess if the ash and clinkers miss the bucket. Since I'm tall I left my drum intact, and thought an "open top" drum would be best so when it came time to replace the top all I'd have to do would be cut a 10" hole in another drum lid. The 2" pipe parts show that even without a torch or welder you can build a "starter" forge that will hold up a long time.

Ran across this on eBay a little while ago. From the shape pf the feet and tail it looks like it could be a Peter Wright. I bought a "pig-in-a-poke" like this that turned out to be a 123 lb PW that I'm using now. http://tinyurl.com/3guwyqr

.250 dia is correct, and those can be found in abundance at your local supermarket. The castors on the front of shopping carts have (I think) 32 in each swivel section. Stores usually have wrecked carts sitting around back. Ask permission before robbing a wheel.

As I found out those loose bearings are .250" diameter. I spent a LOT of time searching for loose bearings to replace three that were missing from my first 400 only to find by "accident" that the ones in the castors on the front end of a standard grocery cart are perfect replacements.

Congrats CG.. GREAT SCORE!!!!

Great work Todd! I especially like the design on the "working" end of the opener.

Joe; Nice little forge. I've been waiting for a callback on one like that myself. The one I built for traveling has the same problem as a regular rivet forge, that is high sides, and no firepot. Main problems are only being able to heat the "point" of a piece unless you bend it to get it into the fire, and keeping your fire "corralled". Hard to work in a little pile of coke, but it's also hard to keep your fire from spreading to the rest of your coal. I got around these problems by using a bearing race, aprox 8" dia, 1 1/2" high over the grate. This allows me a deeper fire because I can continually pull coke up on top, brings the heart of the fire up to the level of the rim of my forge pan, and blocks the fire from creeping out into my reserve fuel supply. The heat transferred also allows the green coal to slowly coke, ready to be broken up and pulled up into the fire. I used the race because that was what I'd found at the scrapyard. You can use a section of heavy wall pipe, an old el cheapo cast iron saucepan with the bottom cut out, etc., just anything to raise the level of your fire to the point that you can work in it about horizontal.

Long way to haul coal, but Grace Fuel in Asheville, NC has really good Blue Gem stoker size @ $309/ton. Price was when I bought almost a ton late Summer.

Back to wooden shoe suppliers, I ordered mine from Nelis' Dutch Village in Holland, MI. http://www.bluedelft.com/woodenshoes-plain.html They were the only place I could find 31CM size, and they were only $56 & change delivered. Great arch support and super protection from things I drop.<G> Feet stay much warmer than with even good boots, but the snow tends to pack up on the bottoms. I may or may not put irons on the soles since I work on dirt/cinders rather than concrete.

I must've been REALLY bad last year because I got 500 lb from Santa, (well meaning Brother-in-Law), but it was large lump Anthricite. Burns OK with plenty of heat, but it sure ain't Blue Gem. (Too picky I guess)