LemonAden

Thanks guys!  I likely won't have my set up done by your visit in July JHCC, but if you are in my area maybe you can give me some advice when you are up my way.  I have an idea of which building I want to use but don't really know yet the best way to set it up. 

Yes. I never thought I would end up in VT, but I found this old farmhouse on 150 acres and fell in love with it. Can't wait to get my forge set up here.

I have seen that and think it might be my best option! I do not do any sheet metal work so will need to find someone who can make one for me to fit my forge when I am ready.

I just logged back on for the first time since last year. I put in another post that I relocated my home and farm to Vermont.  Found a property I couldn't say no to. We finished the door and I was so glad to be able to make a major and final change before passing the home on to the new owners. The strap modification worked beautifully and I used pine tar for blackening (my favorite out of everything I tried, even after deciding on the used motor oil I went back and did pine tar).   With the door handle I posted last year, I ended up deciding to keep it and take it to Vermont with me because I loved it so much.  I haven't used it up here yet, but the one I ended up putting on the new door worked great also. 

Here are the photos of the door and hardware before and after.  (I modified the straps and curled them in on themselves to fit the door by taping them together while forging to keep uniformity).  I made the hook holding the leather bell collar on the inside of the door, and also some of the door bolt hardware.  I used lag bolts to hold the straps on to the door, but I put them in the forge to hammer and blacked the exposed head so that it looked old, hammered and matched the door straps.  

Much has changed since I posted this last year.  I found a property in Vermont that I couldn't resist so I relocated my farm over the winter.  Fortunately I didn't spend the money on the 8" flue prior to moving (would have been a big waste of money) and kept bringing my forge outside while I was working.   The new property has a great building I am going to set my forge up in and I have been told by countless people since my original post that 8" would be a bad idea. I may try to do some sort of powered side vent with the new property so I can avoid having to run pipe up through the new forge area as it is 2 stories and has a metal roof.  Unfortunately I am still bringing my forge outside until I sort this out at my new location but it gets the job done.

2 hours ago, Frazer said:

LemonAden, there is a place in Springwater, NY called The Coal Shop that is pretty close to me. I can't link to their site, but they sell what I am guessing is the same coal you're looking at out of PA for $10/50# bag, and they deliver. I'm not sure what the shipping would be, but I imagine it will still come out to less than $800.

Dang I wish I saw this earlier! I already paid for a pallet from the place I mentioned above.  Next time I will call The Coal Shop and get one! 

I asked them what coal it was and got the below response. Looks like I might be placing an order soon! What do you all think?

Pocy low vol Smithing coal, we've never got any complaints about quality and we have alots and lots of repeat customers.  The coal is very soft so it can have a lot of fines, maybe 20% with the Pea size, but that's the low vol nature of the coal that makes it almost smokeless.  It's high BTU, nearly 14000, low sulfur 0.6%, low ash approx 6-7%.

That is a good point!   Its from Penn Keystone Coal.  They call it blacksmith coal so I assumed it was well known.  

I sourced some bituminous out of PA and can get 50, 50LB bags on a pallet delivered to me for $800 (including LTL freight).  It comes out to a little more than double the amount of what I am paying for my anthracite but the good thing I can just sell it locally as you can't get it around here. It would take me a VERY long time to use a pallet! haha

That is great that you get to make the most out of the trip. It is always great to see family

1500 Miles!!! That is a hike! Ever since you all explained to me that bituminous is easier to control I have been looking on getting a pallet of it delivered to me. I found a good price but its much more expensive than anthracite

I considered propane however most of the things I want to make would be too large to fit inside of a propane forge. I want to make hangers and hooks and things with scrolls.  I also don't want to hear the sound of propane burning while I work.  I do hope to grab a cheap one to have on hand once I get much better at coal forging.  For some reason I really enjoy starting up the forge by lighting the coal. 

I will certainly do that once I finish getting my forge set up. The more things I make, the more excited I get about it.

You hit the nail right on the head Thomas!  We both run our businesses out of the farm we own and adding to the constant work we have two senior dogs, one with cancer and it makes things tough. Haven't had a vacation in 7 years but am not complaining. Love the property we have so very glad to be able to call it home.

I agree! I wish I had the option of going to watch a pro but its impossible for me to leave my farm pretty much all day, every day.  I mounted a nice flat screen near my forge so I can watch YouTube videos and learn but I do hope to have someone with a lot of experience come out at some point and give me some private lessons. 

Thanks anvil! I will keep practicing with the linseed mix. I enjoy the smell a lot more than the motor oil! Haha.  Here is a side pic of the handle.

I will check it out, Most of the TV I watch is British so I just might enjoy it.

Haha. I was going to say I have no idea what you all are talking about but I figured it was a movie

You are right! Sometimes we see the way people put these additions on and it ruins the house when other times it looks like it was built that way originally. I think when it comes time we might hire an engineer who specializes in old homes.

The porch was indeed added in the early 1900's.  We hate it and plan on ripping it off and putting a larger expansion on the home at some point.  Just need to plan carefully so that we can do it right.

Just now, ThomasPowers said:

Can be colonial style as they were building them ever since!

By Colonial I am referring the the style and build of the home.  Here is a pic

I did read that article and decided on anthracite because I can get it from TractorSupply near my house.  I did also try bituminous but it was SO SMOKY.  I find that the anthracite works great between heats though so I am not sure why it says otherwise in the article. I have turned off my fan for 20 minutes and come back to turn it on and it heats up again very quickly. There is a coal supply company in my state that can deliver me bituminous but I am very  happy with the tractor supply price for anthracite.

Thank you very much for that info. I happen to have a can of pine tar that I used for other things so I am going to give that a try.

Thomas, we are burning coal.  We are working with anthracite only.

Thanks David, by resin do you mean the pine tar stuff they sell in those metal cans?  Do you heat the metal before application?  That is very good to know!