Allan545

That makes a lot of sense. I was on the fence about it, but I think I'll give it a shot. Is there a guide on here on how to use it? Is it the Forges 101 guide?

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Yeah I have a propane tank I'm working on now. Hard to find time to work on it now since I'm working nights. I have one question about my forge. Can I build it without using kaowool? I'm concerned about using it. Maybe I'm misinformed, but after reading some stuff about it, I'd rather build my forge without it. Could I get to welding temps without it?

John thank you so much for letting me know about that event. I learned a lot watching different smiths and got some ideas on how to construct my forge. My favorite was the guy that did the decorative twisting, and the guy making nails. I hate I didn't get to meet you in person, and thank you. Thanks Allan

I'm mainly interested in making knives right now. I've been experimenting with a forge that I made, but after looking at some of the forges on here, I can see that I need to make a better one. Some of the tools I have access to are a milling machine, lathe, and welder. I'm no master fabricator, but I've been teaching myself to weld, and my dad is a machinist. We made a burner that works pretty well, but it is only one burner and I feel that for the size I have it at now that I need a second burner. I'm sorry I don't have the dimensions on my forge, but I will get them. As to the construction of the forge it's just some fire bricks that I bought from my local Tractor Supply, that I stack into a rectangle. Originally we used this to heat treat AK receivers, and it worked well. I started skimming through the Burners 101 Section on here, and saw that Mikey recommended Gas Burners for Forges, Furnaces, & Kilns. Where can I find this book? We experimented with it last week and was able to get a rail road spike cherry red, and was able to work with it, however it seems to take a lot of fiddling to get it to that sweet spot. Oh and my anvil is a rail road track that I have secured to a stump with lag bolts. I think I have the height right. I don't have to stoop down to work with it. I did read that the height should be from the height of my knuckles. My hammer is a 3lb cross peen from Harbor Freight. It was the only one they had at the time. After swinging it, I can tell that it is too heavy for me. The hammer I used in class was much lighter, but I could control it and hit hard when I needed to. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I can include pictures of my current setup, but I want to be sure to do it correctly per the guidelines. Thanks

Hello, My name is Allan Hoyle, and I'm a beginning blacksmith. I took a beginner railroad spike knife class, and it has fueled me to learn, and start making things. I am eager to learn, and will do my best to research before posting a new topic. Thanks