Ferrous Beuler

Victor you do nice work indeed. Looks very well balanced. Dan:)

You have peaked my interest ApprenticeMan, now I HAVE to go back to the library and look up a book I had my nose in once. Subject was history of man's use of metals, title escapes but I will find it there. In it is an early iron age dig in persia (Iran) which I described to someone else here on this forum. This archaeological dig site unearthed an early blacksmithing settup which was VERY basic. The "forge" was a shallow hole in the ground. The bellows was the really neat part and I will see about getting an image to post. The bellows consisted of a pair of "airbags", goatskins, one presumably held under each arm and alternately one bag would be squeezed and then the other to produce a steady stream of air. Each bag had a wooden stem or "pipe" leading from it and each of these terminated in a ceramic tip, right at the coals. Charcoal was the fuel used. What I could not get from the description given was how the bags filled with air once empty. As I said, all in all a very simple and ancient approach to smithing. I'll find it this weekend and get back on this one. Keep on hammerin'. Dan:)

Aye Aye! Well put irnsrgn! Let us not forget all the fine folks who are serving "over there". For anyone who reads this- To me "supporting the troops" means just that, DOING something for them. Those magnetic yellow ribbons folks put on their cars are a nice gesture but they can't be seen from Iraq or Afganistan. At the local V.F.W. we have a box on a table which gets all sorts of stuff added and when full gets shipped off to the troops and a new box gets started. Simple stuff like toothpaste, sox, skivvies, hometown newspapers, etc. etc. etc. is all taken for granted and given no thought by us in our day to day lives but it can be the sort of stuff sorely missed by the troops. Don't forget the ladies, lots of gals "over there" too and feminine products are greatly appreciated. Don't know how to help? Just go to any V.F.W., American Legion post or any armed forces recruiting office and ask. These programs are going on all over. Sure, those yellow ribbons are a nice gesture, but a pair of skivvies can be downright heavenly. Get involved and keep on hammerin'. Dan:)

T-Gold its good to hear you are O.K. I spent three years on Oahu and felt a few minor tremors while I was there, always a bit scary. Just got a call from my mom last night to tell me she and my dad were finally able to return home from her sister's in Ohio after nine days. Buffalo New York had a sudden out of season storm which quickly dumped two feet of heavy wet snow on the area. The trees have not yet shed their leaves this year and all that weight brought down a lot of timber and with it a lot of power lines. 700,000 people lost electricity for days and many still do not have it back after almost two weeks. Just goes to show that Mother Nature is really the one running the show and she can get moody sometimes. Good luck and keep on hammerin'. Dan:)

Welcome Aristotle! I too am new. As you have been previously told, lots of good stuff to soak up here. I don't live in a college dorm but I do live in a rented farm house. Lots of wide open spaces so I can make as much noise as a rock concert and outbuildings I can use but I can't go putting holes in roofs for chimeneys, etc. So I am building a forge on wheels. Roll it out of the barn- clang bang woof hiss- roll it back in the barn. Or put it on the truck and go anywhere. The on campus thing might leave you without a forge unless you have enough ingenuity to fabricate something you can store in the trunk/bed of a vehicle and go someplace off campus to work your magic. You will find a club to join and they will have a forge to instruct you on/ one you can use. 23 is not so young, I had four years in the Marines behind me by then. I am assuming that since you are in college you are single. If so you have more freedom now than you know. Now could be a good time to leave your major behind for a semester and take a sabbatical at a blacksmithing school, they are out there and releatively short term. If you have truly been bitten by the blacksmithing bug then maybe now is the time to bust a move. Good luck and keep on hammerin'. Dan:)

Hey R.C. I hope you are having fun learning welding. Advice for anyone this way- GET EDUCATED FOR REAL, take a welding course. You will Actually learn proper methods and SAFETY practices. R.C. you say you are learning arc welding. Try mig, you might like it better. It is of course personal preference but I find it so much easier to deal with than stick and in a small shop for that now and then quick bead you need just flip a switch and there you go. This is possible in the small shop with an inexpensive 110v flux-cote wire feed (no gas). Quick Simple Cheap. Keep on hammerin'. Dan:)

Perhaps a cargo net over the bed or one of those landau covers could help with this problem?

Welcome aboard MountainMan! Go to Alex Bealer Blacksmith Association | and all of your wildest dreams will come true. Dan:)

I have read several different accounts of the deliberate destruction of anvils during the civil war. It seems that it was common practice and possibly even standing orders most notably on Sherman's march through Georgia that any anvil found by union troops in the Confederacy was to be destroyed on the spot, i.e. horn busted off, etc. Dang yankees! Makes me want to hurl. Dan:(

Looks like you found some stuff Glenn! Boy it sure did'nt come easy for me at first. It took me two years to find an anvil, but I found one at a barnsale for $65, was marked $100. Wieghs 2.1.17 and I know I'm lucky. My advice to other folks like me who are starting out is bite the bullet and pass up that $250 post vice (I did, was hard to do) but I found one for $40. We all have bills to pay so let the antiques dealer put his own kid through college without fleeceing you. Get involved with your local blacksmithing club (google [ABANA] Affiliates) and you will find folks to help you find tools at a fair price. More importantly you will now be among blacksmiths and your learning curve will take off like a N.A.S.A. launch. Enjoy the ride and keep on hammerin'. Dan:)

Welcome to the club. PrimeTech has good advice, JOIN THE CLUB. Find out about the local smithing group in your area- just google A.B.A.N.A. (Artist Blacksmith Association of North America) and check out the affiliates. You will likely find an active group of blacksmiths near you to get involved with. Lots of good stuff here on this site but join the local club near you and you will soon be surrounded by experienced folks who can show you how to properly get started and you will learn so much so fast... Dan:)

Welcome to the forum. You are not alone in being new to smithing. Plenty of us newbies here. Lots to learn, see, hear, awesome site. Enjoy. Dan.

Hello Terry and welcome to the forum. Awesome site, lots of good stuff, you will like it. 14 years EMT? You deserve some kudos - (trumpets and fireworks) Dan.

Man I love this forum... so much good stuff here. My question is how does one add carbon to something BIG, like say, a buggy axle. Lots of wisdom from oakwoodforge but even today, as in days of yore a smith is likely to use something from the heap first rather than seek a specific piece new and take it from there. Once I watched a man named Herschel House "add carbon" to some small pieces he had just forged, gun parts, a flint hammer and a frizzen. These were small bits of iron which he placed in a crucible of about cup size with some hardwood charcoal from his forge and steeped it in his fire. At this point he mentioned what Thomas cited, horn or leather could be used here as all organic matter is carbon based. He made it all look so simple and I don't doubt his work as many a backwoods smith did just this for many a rifle. Could this be done on a larger scale, such as for a long rod like a buggy axle or anything else of that size. Some of us LIKE doing things the hard way for the sake of nostalgia. Dan:)

Go - No - Go gauges are just that, if you think about it. Simple and a quick answer for the user. Mostly they are used in repetitive production work to maintain consistency of the product. Also used to quickly determine a measurement when needed. An easy example is the open end box wrench you have in your toolbox, you know what size it is because it says so right on it and you can trust that. Slip it on the edge of a sheet of steel and you can see if it fits or if it does'nt. There you go, you have just used a Go - No - Go gauge. Drill bits (backwards) work nice for holes. If you work in a machine shop you probably have a drawerfull of designer gadgets made by such names as starrett etc. You don't have to get fancy, just know for sure what you are using is accurate. Hope this helps. Dan:)

Thanks for the heads up on the zinc- nasty stuff indeed. I used to weld full time and all of the hazards are the main reason I refuse to make my living that way anymore. Even with respirators and ventilation systems it's just not worth it when I can make just as much money doing something else, ANYTHING else. Once I quit welding (mostly galvanized) I felt much better right away. I won't go back to it full time. Period. Dan:D

There is a book entitled "Farm blacksmithing" which you might find helpfull. Dan:)

I'm with blkbear, WHERE is Peter's valley???? Blacksmithing school??? Would like to hear more about this.Dan:)

Welcome, Another smith downunder, looks like you guys are taking over! Lots of info in the blueprints... you will find a blower there to suit your needs. All kinds of good stuff in the blueprints actually, easy to get lost in there, so much stuff... Welcome and enjoy, Dan

Only for those who have tackle that clanks

I'm with Victor, my little bitty T-rex arms are hurting just looking at that thing. What do you feed it?!?!:o

Willkommen im klub! Wir alle sprechen eisen hier. Ich bin ein aufanger auch. Schluck ein bier und hab spaB! Dan.:)

R.C., I recall seeing in a book some pics and description of an ancient forge site found somewhere in Persia (Iran). The setup was very simple. A shallow hole in the ground served as the "firepot". Air was delivered from two goatskin bellows, one bag under each arm. Alternately squeezing one bag and then the other produced a constant stream of air. I don't understand, or it wasn't explained how the bags filled with air. Air left the bag and traveled down a wooden stem, or reed, which terminated in a ceramic tip, right at the coals. If there is a ceramics shop or school in your area, perhaps you could have some sort of sacrificial tips such as these made up to suit your setup. They may prove to last quite a while, would be cheap and easily replaced. Food for thought. Good luck and keep on hammerin'. Dan.

Welcome to the party. I'm new too, like me you will learn a lot here. Like RegionalChaoss I also find a desk to be absolute kryptonite (can kryptonite be forged? Hmmm...) Good luck and keep on hammerin'. Dan.

Bowfish, you have to go to where the copper is if you want copper. These days scrap prices are up so people are bringing it in from all over the map. Go to the scrapyard and ask. Tell the guy what you want and be prepared to pay a little extra for it. He has what you want because he is the point where it all goes. If it is worth a buck a pound to him, what is it worth to you? Give him a buck fifty and everybody's happy. Good luck and keep on hammerin'. Dan.:)