Will-I-am

Agreed, legality is important. Here in Washington state you are allowed to build a small "agricultural building" without a building permit.

I used these simpson titan bolts to attach rafter hangers in my concrete shell monolithic dome home to suspend the entire loft. Hammer drill and screw in. You could forge the L brackets like bending lawnmower blade. Even twist a railroad tie for anchor. I broke many heads off of cheap anchors, very frustrating after drilling a hole in concrete. Titan bolts are $1 per but will not break, worth the money.

I will be firing up my ground forge tomorrow. The stock for my tongs was heavy round maybe 3/4''. Going to cut off 6" off end and draw down the reigns and get comfortable using the edge of my new anvil. Using the improvised trailer hitch anvil was getting old. The super thick sway bars off of that hitch will be many future projects. I got my hands near roasting a few times trying to get the vice grips just right, tongs will be nice.

Mike Reynolds author of all the earthship books, uses lots of solar devices. Solar panels for pumping dc water pumps, batteries, and fans. He also does some really neat solar chambers, one is a solar toilet where the wastes drops and gets baked to ash by the sun or heated for faster composting. Solar distillers, solar water heaters with black painted surfaces, he uses perforated metal to filter graywater which bakes the filtered particles to ash so the grow beds are not clogged. Collecting rainwater in cisterns. I built a rocket stove smoker years ago but I goofed the design and now it makes an excellent grill with the used forge coals. Used an old metal 40gallon cylinder and reciprocal sawed it in half. A rocket forge and mirror forge are interesting and I will study further.

Simpson strong tie makes a huge variety of metal ties sold at every hardware store. Use a hammer drill, drill into concrete, use concrete expanding bolt with Simpson tie or drill through treated wood base plate and use concrete expanding bolt. Some hardware stores have display with different types of concrete expanding bolts also only use drilll bit specific for concrete.

Beautiful work sir, your forging is giving me all sorts of ideas for future projects. The super sucker concept is something new since I just started with forging recently. My main house woodstove has a long straight pipe 20'+ long by 6". For the last 17 years when the conditions are just right I will get downdrafts. I have used a blowtorch to start the woodstove for the last five years with no problems. I clean the flue every year and get a gallon of creasote. As the creasote builds up the diameter gets smaller and the draft problems start; usually the buildup is on the 5' section above the roof where it cools. As long as I clean the flue yearly all is good, but since I cut my own firewood from the forest it isnt always dry, but semi green last all night better. The super sucker concept makes me think my draft issues could be eliminated with an 8" stovepipe.

My family visits the Washington beach at cape disappointment every year. They have a lighthouse with similar lens. Using solar oven ideas, someone probably could create a functional "solar forge". Nadar Khali in his book talks about using tall towers with rapidly rising hot air to create wind tunnels, creating ice in middle of desert on north side of thick wall. The opposite could also be created with same concepts like a "solar rocket stove" with fresnel lens in parabolic enclosure.

Since you already have a nice, assuming level slab, I would go with standard 2x4. 4x4's are expensive and better if you are digging a hole and cementing in the ground. You could attach 4x4's to simpson bracket with titan concrete bolt and make it work fine, but. I would use treated 2x4 for base plate and then drill and bolt into concrete. Use torque screws, assemble wall, fold up wall, plumb wall, bolt into concrete and repeat. Double plate top of wall and make rafters with overhang to keep rain off of wall. Metal roofs are fun. Make sure you allow clearance on lean to roof rafters for forge pipe. Best luck on project.

Here is the anvil monster you folks wanted. Softened core edges a little with angle grinder. Looking forward to next day off for first hammering tapering tongs.

It would actually make an excellent solar cooker but I am going to cut it then bend and bolt together into a super cool hood over my fire pit. I sketched it

That’s a good one frosty. I pounded too many tires to count for that earthship cabin. I also dig out the 10’ deep hole with a shovel and mattock. That was when my back was younger; I still thrashed my back on a few pounding sessions. It took an entire summer to build. I drew the plans myself and presented it to building department. Each tire holds over 300 lbs of sledge hammer rammed earth. It’s subterranean and all you see is metal solo roof. Takes 45 minutes to reach cabin from my monolithic dome home in flat. When I got the final ok from the grizzled old timer building inspector he commented “ you’ve come a long way boy”.

This is that 7' diameter aluminum 1/8" thick+ dish I can get for free to build forge hood on my ground firepit. Using a truncated cone formula layout a 4'diameter firepit would be 13' base circumference and the top of cone would be 1' to accept 1 foot exhaust pipe. My reciprocal saw would make fast work of this see-through thick perforated aluminum. Resizing it cold hammering. Even 3 arches could be cut. My forge is used as a regular firepit for entertainment and a forge, all I need to do is adjust air accordingly. Their is already existing rock that the cone will sit on. The cone can eventually be covered with smeared fireclay then rock.

That roof is the "reciprocal roof" I studied earthbags heavily before ordering the earthship books. I even visited Hisperia CA at Nader Khali ceramic house complex. Earthbags are a massive amount of work. Earthship is easy. Hammer a rebar in ground in center, stretch a string, lay down tire, fill with dirt, hammer. As the wall grows you can stand on the wall as you work. Unless you build a fire against a tire they will not catch on fire; anyhow you cover the inner walls with dirt or cement. Reynolds has some amazing wood stoves built out of chicken wire and smeared clay. His books are mastery.

or a wicker man

Woodstove in earthship cabin, woodstove in monolithic dome main house and ground firepit/forge in shop. Here is pic of shop.

Mr. Tiki, earthbags are fun but the bags will rot in the sun quickly so you have to stucco the outside in a reasonable time. Earthships are easier. Check out Mike Reynolds books and website he has been building earthships in Taos NM for a long time. Tires are free from the local store and you shovel dirt in them and pound with a sledgehammer. I used a metal silo roof for this cabin. I build 20ft diameter earthship cabin at 4000ft elevation buried 10' in the ground about 10 years ago with my hands, it was even permitted, any engineer will stamp it. You can cover the inner walls at your leisure. My shop in the flat is also 20' diameter and used a "reciprocal roof" design but in not an earthship, you just need 14" long poles.

I have been working on my first set of tongs starting with heavy 3/4” round stock. Worked jaws and boss last few days off. Will draw out the reigns on next days off with my new anvil. I tried to punch trough drift but failed and just drilled. I will cut off 6” off each side for more projects and draw out the shorter pieces to original lengths thus reducing weight. They look rough now but they are my first shot at forging. The new anvil is huge step up from trailer hitch. Excited to learn tapering. Thanks for encouragement.

I didn’t have silicone but some fancy caulk dipel left that I used to glue down solar panel to truck camper roof in the fall. I used marker to draw firery eyes and teeth that I will paint another day. The dipel was applied liberally and oozed out so it could be painted red. Maybe it really is an acme anvil.

Great idea, I will paint two large orange -yellow eyes and some sharp teeth, then goop some silicone under the legs. I wont be traveling with it.

If your anvil has a very slight wobble on a wooden anvil stand, is it better to shave wood until perfectly flat, squirt silicone, shim, or what do you recommend?

I think it is Taos New Mexico where the earthship guy lives. I read all three of his books and build an earthship cabin in the woods entirely from scratch here in northern Washington 10 years ago. I moved from North Carolina 20 years ago and love northern Washington; lots of elbow room and more freedom. Recently, I started listening to this viking heavy metal band Amon Amarth and it got me thinking of building my forge, the song goes as follows: "Mjolner, Hammer Of Thor" In the realm of Svartalvheim Where master forgers reign Loke met with Eitri and Brokk With malice and deceit He got them to agree To create nine magic gifts for the Asa gods Brokkr had a sense of foul play in the air So he made a wager for Loke's head Treasures will be forged For the Asa gods A spear and ring For the Asgård king But finest of them all The Crusher it is called Mjölner! Hammer of Thor Loke's treachery Knows no boundaries He hid himself in the blacksmith's cave But as work progressed He feared he'd lose his bet He knew his situation now was grave Working the bellows Heating the forge Striking the anvil Striking with force Then as they worked on the last gift A mighty hammer of war Loke disrupted the work of the blacksmiths The handle came out short The nine gifts were brought to Odin's mighty hall As Loke feared the gods praised them all Treasures have been forged For the Asa gods For the Vana prince A ship and boar But finest of them all The Crusher it is called Mjölner! Hammer of Thor Brokk came to claim his price Loke fooled him twice He saved his lying head But got his mouth sewn shut instead Treasures have been forged For the Asa gods For Sif they made new hair of gold But finest of them all The Crusher it is called Mjölner! Hammer of Thor

A new 136 lb blue steel boy was born today. The FedEx guy kept him 4 extra days for snow ballast but he is here now. He is mounted on sycamore round and countersunk wrapped in old tool belt. It is rumored a 52 hardness but the best steel from China and under $2.50 per lb.

I don’t know what happened with the pic, sorry. I didn’t mean leaving the dish in its original shape. I would cut it with reciprocal saw and reshape the perforated 1/8” aluminum to fit my 4’ diameter fire pit. I would tighten the cone to 12” pipe on top. Then cover with rock and shape 3 arches to my imagination. I have heated my house solely with wood stove for past 17 years with 20’ long flue.

A buddy of mine has an old satellite dish made of 1/8" thick aluminum with perforations throughout. He said I could have it for free. Thinking it might make a good hood form that I could cover in rock and refractory cement later. I know it melts at 1200 degrees but it would be easy to cut with a sawzall and form to my imagination. Any thoughts? Image preview

You know you’re an Irish dancer when you sit down and your feet are still dancing, but you don’t realize it until someone points it out.