Bantou

That's really helpful, Thank you. I have Anvils in America on my wishlist. Maybe I can sweet talk the Mrs. into letting me get it for Christmas.

I'd be happy with a rough time frame of when they started appearing. I suspect that getting anything more than that is going to be more than I want to bite off right now. My focus is going to be on bottom tools, specifically a hot cut hardie tool. I'm venturing into social media marketing and attempting a "here's this thing, a little history about it, now lets try and make one" format. I'll jump off into other tools as I need to make them.

Can anyone point me in the direction of sources regarding the history of the Hardie Hole, especially when it started being put in anvils and how it got it's name? I'm working on a video about the history of the hot cut hardie and other bottom tools and google is absolutely failing me.

Welcome from Central Texas. I’m going to disagree with Frosty and George a little on the rebar. It isn’t something I would ever use for a product I was going to sell (unless you are going for the post apocalyptic look). However, if you can get it cheap enough (read free or nearly so), it has seemed to be ok for experimentation in my experience. It does seem to be harder to move than A36 though.

I just bought a mr. volcano. The shell and burner come pre-assembled. The insulation an refractory are provided but end user installed. I haven’t been able to put it together yet but the instructions are very clear and should be easy to follow.

Bag Balm works fantastic as well. I just never liked the way it made my hands feel until it wore off or worked in.

I second this. I keep a jar of O’keefes Working Hands on my bedside table and a travel sized tube in my truck. My hands dry out something awful in the winter and O’keefes works like a treat. The paraffin in it seems to help it stick around longer than lotion without making your hands feel greasy like Vaseline does.

I could do that but it would eat up my already limited time. I’m going to keep the coal forge but it will probably serve as a table for my propane forge most of the time. Assuming of course that the propane doesn’t annoy me to the point that I go back to coal.

I ordered a Mr. Volcano single burner and a couple of heavy duty fire bricks (to use as a back stop) last night. I’ll order some plistix (sp?) either sometime in the near future or when I need to replace the liner, depending on how it performs. I’ve heard good things about the volcano forges from several people. It is also open on both ends so I can work longer pieces. I’m just going to have to be more careful about when I do certain bends.

I appreciate it Frosty. I just ordered a Mr. Volcano single burner for now. If I need to do something that the volcano can’t handle, I’ll put it in the coal.

I’ve tried doing it both ways (leaving it burning and turning it down). The clinker build up was definitely worse when I left it hot. I have a rheostat hooked up to the blower that is marked for various temperatures and fire pot conditions. I’ve spent several hours dialing in the marks to get what I need out of it from a long soak to a rapid heat. I keep my coal piled on the edge of the fire pot to coke and then move the partially coked coal on top of the fire to finish coking before it gets down into the fire. I’m careful with how I put my steel in so that I don’t drag a bunch of partially coked coal down into the fire. I seem to get a marginally smaller amount of clinker if I don’t wet the coal down but I go through the coal faster that way. The coal I can get is known for having large amounts of clinker though. I get it from a local school and they have similar issues with it. Unfortunately, I live in an area where coal just isn’t readily available so you are stuck with whatever you can get.

I understand and appreciate your concern. However, I have put a lot of thought into this and believe that the opportunity is there to make this work. I’m not playing the short game here. I’m figuring 3-5 years before I can even think about going full time. I have a BS in economics with a minor in management. I know I am new to the craft and that’s why I’m not jumping in full time right now. The plan is to sell mostly online and at local events. I have next to no overhead outside of web hosting and smithing supplies, negligible risk if it doesn’t work, and the opportunity for significant gain if it does. I am situated in a rural area that both sees a lot of middle class weekend traffic during the summer and has a reasonable population of people with more money than sense. I’m also closely tied with a vastly under server group who enjoys the more… medieval products of our craft. If I start with the simple things (cooking utensils, coat racks, camping equipment, triangles, etc), I should be able to expand my customer base into more high end pieces as my skills and shop expand. I know there are very few wealthy smiths. However, there are quite a few who live comfortably and have a level of flexibility that most people can only dream of. I have reached a point in my life where flexibility is nearly priceless.

Have you been happy with the 100HT? I can get it and a volcano from Amazon vs having to order plistix from somewhere else.

Fire management is undoubtedly part of the problem. Changing both the fire pot and blower at the same time kinda threw me for a loop. However, I’m not the only one who has been having issues with the imported Utah coal. I had the kinks pretty well worked out with my JABOD and was still having issues with significant clinker buildup.

That’s been my experience with the import stuff as well. It burns and gets hot but that’s about all the good I can say about it. I’ve heard rumors of good cheap coal out East but who knows anymore.

Quad state is on my bucket list. As much as I would love to go, it wouldn’t be a smart financial decision right now. I’m taking steps to get my smithing business up and going though (part time for now). So, maybe next year unless things go totally sideways before then.

Unfortunately, it’s the only coal I can get right now within reasonable driving distance for a reasonable price. I debated making the 7 hour drive to Oklahoma to get some from a different mine. With the price of fuel right now though, it would more than double the price of the coal. It’s a big part of the reason I’m going to give gas a try. I love the feeling of working over coal but it is becoming less and less practical. Between the low quality, start up time, and cost of running coal; I think gas is going to be the better option for my current circumstances.

I pull a dinner plate sized chunk of clinker two to three inches thick out about every two hours or so. I got a better handle on the ash today. I didn’t expect this big of a learning curve moving from a JBOD to a metal fire pot. Although, in truth, I haven’t had a whole lot of time with it until the last couple of weeks due to sudden life changes. I didn’t understand why they painted the whole thing. I get painting the ash dump and the handle on the clinker breaker. Why they painted the firepot itself is beyond me though. All of the paint burned off as soon as I got it good and hot.

It’s been a continuing trend unfortunately. They truck it in from the old Vintas mine in OK which I think brings it in from Utah via train. The price isn’t horrible but the continued increase in price with the decrease in quality has me concerned. They are the only place within about eight hours that I can even get coal reliably. I’ve been debating making the switch to propane for a while now anyway for convenience. My forge time is limited and it feels like a waste to light coal when I’m only going to have a couple of hours to work.

I’ve been using coal for a while now. I like it but supply is becoming an issue. The quality from my usual supplier has been getting worse and the price has been going up. The last time I bought, it cost me $18/50lb bag and had a lot of rocks and fines in it. It also makes a dinner sized plate of clinker about every two hours.

I was afraid you were going to say that. Unfortunately, $400 isn’t in the budget right now. Maybe once I get some stuff sold.

I wonder if I am in the wrong site then. I’m looking at Diamondback Ironworks. They show a series 1,2,&3 single burner forge. The series 1 is $185, series 2 is $250, and series 3 is either $410 or $365 depending on if you get the blacksmith or bladesmith version.

Ok, I’ve had the pot up and running long enough now to have formed a decent opinion. It works pretty well but has a couple of issues. First, the fit and finish leaves something to be desired. The paint (maybe powder coat) was applied too thickly and had to be removed from the bolt holes for assembly. The rod for the clinker breaker was slightly warped and had to be straightened before it could be installed. It also had too much paint on it that had to be removed before it would fit in the mount. Second, it doesn’t burn completely. The fire burns as a circle instead of matching the profile of the fire pot. As a result, ash and fines build up in the corners and along the front and back. This results in the fire getting progressively smaller over time. I find that every 4-5 hours, I have to completely rake out the fire and scrape the corners/edges. This may be a problem with all rectangular fire pots. I don’t have enough experience with them to say. All in all, I’d give it a 6/10. For the price, it works well enough. However, there is definitely room for improvement.

Mikey, A couple of questions about the Diamondback single burner: 1) Their website lists three grades with varying prices. Which one would you recommend as the best “bang for the buck” for someone wanting to make this a self-funding hobby or possible side business? 2) Would you recommend changing out the insulation? It appears that they primarily use firebrick for insulation and as the forge floor. IIRC, you have recommended against firebrick in other posts. Many thanks, Bantou

That is a slick looking JABOD. I’ll be interested to see how the tile holds up.