John Leroy Brown

For anyone wanting good updates, working on my anvil/vice stand (small anvil and only a machinist vice for now) currently and have some good progress photos. My shop is small so being able to move stuff is currently a high priority to keep things clear. That being said, I already know I either need to weld some more supports on it cause it tends to sag a bit under heavy load or hitting the smallest debris on the shop floor. Photos show gluelam (liquid nails caulk) process of bonding 4x4 (Home Depot so closer to 3.5). Router leveling and cut out for anvil (dropped some silicone in there and it’s so much quieter). Char sealing (oil to come later) and strapping and embellishment process (rigging points will be set in multiple points on the strapping). I plan on wire brushing and oiling the wood, and finishing the strapping in some type of brassy/bronze and black. Any and all questions/criticisms are welcome!

I appreciate the response George. That pretty much encompasses my major concerns as well, I think a large amount of that can be Mitigated by two things though, cutting my working area depth (25” is a bit deep) and making sure my burner is properly matched to the work area/volume I have (which is part of why I’m looking at doing a ribbon burner). I’d love to have a nice coke forge, but I’m in city limits and they already fine people about using their wood burning stoves in “bad air” conditions (which oddly tend to peak in cold weather when the stoves are mostly needed). They actually have enough budget that they’ll fly planes and drones to get on to people for it. Regardless, we’re actively looking at places farther out of city limits so a nice coal/coke forge may be in my future soon.

Trying to answer in the correct order here… Goods, it’s not nearly as much about it not holding the temp enough to get that billet heated, as it is that I know I want to do larger work (my first axe was a pain) and that little guy is stretching it. George, sounds like the perfect type of community to easily fit into, though my own little girl has two OIF vets as parents and sometimes she makes us blush… kids these days. Billy, 1st Mardiv “No better friend”, 1/7 weapons, CAAT (anti armor), small world. The knife show is what got me thinking that it wouldn’t be that hard to get into. Casting and diving are what drove me the most to pursue it. There’s something about having to hyper fixate that drives everything else and brings some peace and quiet and sleep at the end of the day. Btw, the wife raised her glass to ya. Scott, we basically live in downtown/old Gresham, just a few blocks from the park/splash-pad! I wish the metro area felt more like it did when I was a kid though, so remember playing street hockey just off the side streets of 82nd in SE… nowadays i worry about letting my kid walk the 4 blocks to/from school without something happening. How’s that humidity treating ya? Thomas, “constipation of the soul” ha! I love it. When I was 10 someone in the family decided it was a good idea to move to Elk County, Kansas… about 30/45 minutes from both the Oklahoma and Missouri border. The wee foothills of the start of the ozarks. Shainarue, get yourself a power supply and you should be good to go! Just make sure your work area is properly ventilated and you’re wearing good PPE! Can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Hey all, I’m at the starting phase of my actual build and wanted to have a thread to both document the process, and hopefully get feedback of the older and wiser, and hopefully get a few questions answered. Not only do I fully acknowledge my own ignorance/inexperience, but I also appreciate constructive feedback (I.e. … I get that some of my ideas may be misguided, but I’d appreciate an explanation or link that explains why/how I’m wrong or what I need to reconsider). Starting off, I believe I have all the materials needed with the exception of a few components for my new burner system. I’m wanting to build a two piece shell-D shape(figure it’ll make repair’s easier if I’m just having to replace the floor). My shell is a piece of old line pipe that is approx .375”-.38” thick, with an ID of approx 15 5/8”-16” and is 25” long. I’ve already split the seam on the pipe (be careful cutting anything under pressure, whole thing shifted open an entire inch after cutting it, thankfully I wrapped it in chain) and I’m planning on straightening the bottom ends at it’s widest point (approximately 16” widest). From the floor (which will be formed and cast as it’s own separate piece) it should have inner dimensions of around 16” wide at its base, 20” floor to ceiling (this is the one dimension that I have the most concern about, that I may want to keep it a bit lower), and 25” deep (which could easily be shortened). The floor, doors and anything else will be made from a sheet of .2” thick plate, 33” by 60”. Please remember those inner measurements do not include the 2+” of kaowool or refractory. As far as insulation goes I have 12 and a half feet of 2” #8 kaowool (I’ve heard it’s better to do two separate layers of 1”, if there’s truth there I can make that happen) and I have rigidizer. I also have 220 lbs (4 55lb bags) of mizzou castable plus, and a dozen or so rutland 2700* hard firebrick. I haven’t settled on a refractory coating yet, but I figure I still have time on that one. Ok, so time for the questions. I’m not strictly planning on just knife forging (honestly it’s the lower end of my interests) and am hoping to do larger work (gates and hardware, possibly more sculpture work, axes and other tools). That being said I do worry about building something with a ton of space that I won’t need, and wasting that fuel. So I’m wanting to know if, first, my forge area seems to big. Second, depending on my work area/volume, what’s the formula I want to figure out how thick my refractory coating needs to be (any positives or negatives on thicker vs thinner is appreciated). Lastly I’d like to know what formula/considerations I need to look at to build a burner (I’d prefer doing a ribbon burner but I’m sure Frosty might have something to say that may sway me) given the approximate volume I’m looking at. Thank you for your time and feedback, pictures included are of the shell and cutting process (was a bit of a pucker moment while cutting it and listening to it groan/shift), and sketched plans. Lastly, I apologize for any shortsightedness in my posting or posting etiquette… I’m having issues with my home network (I think I dropped a driver) and am doing this on my cell.

Wow, I have to say I’m fairly surprised by the response/activity of this group. I figured I’d be waiting awhile before hearing a response, much less hearing from other vets or people in my area! George, both my wife (she’s army as well so there’s a fair amount of trash talk and poking fun in our home) and I have a fair amount of time working with the veteran community. I have to say I whole heartedly agree with you about art/crafting as a good release for vets. I think for forging it has to do specifically with the fact that you kinda have no other choice but blocking everything else out. Also, much respect to cavs. I spent my time in CAAT before switching to a training command. Irondragon, I spent half my life growing up in the foothills of the Ozarks, and one of the coolest, most hard core, and down to earth guys I ever had the opportunity to meet and work with was USCG. People tend to forget if you aren’t assigned to baywatch, that coastlines get to do some cool stuff. That all said, forging does give you a certain atmosphere that tends to block everything else away. Swede, thank you for the info, I hope to see you there as well!

We used a Cricut and a semipermanent vinyl for the resist. Then a tiny bit of ferric chloride in a container and let it sit. I’ve been working on an ax and wanted to do an etching on it so this was my test.

Hey all, thank you for taking the time to read this. Before starting out I wanted take the time to give thanks to those that have stepped up to create this forum and share their knowledge. I’ve lurked on here for quite awhile now and just wanted to say that it’s refreshing to see a trade/community where the experienced guys are so willing to assist and lend their experience to us that are still a bit green. So, my quick and dirty background/intro. I live just outside of Portland, Oregon and I’ve been forging as a hobby for about two years. I have experience doing ag/farming metalwork and welding my whole life, but honestly that just means I just know how to clean up with a grinder. I got into forging after taking a few college art classes and learned how to cast (lost wax/pla). I’m an OIF USMC vet, and am lucky enough that my disability is enough that I really don’t need to work. I would love to be able to get good enough to provide a supplemental income to my home through my forging/metal working, but to be completely honest I enjoy this mostly as a means of therapy (ptsd) and enjoy the challenges and artistic opportunities of it. As far as my shop/smithy/supplies go I do most of my work in my garage (I keep the forge just outside the open garage door while working until I can come up with a hood/vent fixture). My starter forge was a tiny little Mr. Volcano Hero and if I just wanted to do bladesmithing and tiny projects it would have been fine, but those things are horrible about holding heat (to little insulation). I was able to make a nice Damascus billet, but after getting it set I couldn’t really get it hot enough to move it. Part of the reason for me starting an account here is because I’ve just gathered enough materials to make a bigger and better insulated forge and I’m sure I’ll have questions while I’m building it (If someone wanted to point me to any of the formulas to pay attention to while designing and building a forge, calculating work area, insulation/refractory thickness formulas/rules, ribbon burner and blower formulas/rules… it would be greatly appreciated). I just got done building my first 2x72 grinder (HouseMade) and still need to finish the wiring and tracking/tuning on it. As far as anything else… using a vector knock off Amazon special 66lb anvil, 60lb fuel tank, 2lb Nordic rounding hammer, pair of old engineer and cross peen (3.5 I think) and a few random others. I made my first set of flat jaws and haven’t finished the others yet (got one done, all you need right?) but it’s one of the quick/rapid blanks from Amazon. I think that’s the important stuff. Anyways, I look forward to sharing more stuff and appreciate any/all feedback! Test etching plate and first piece of Damascus for your time. Damascus is 1095 and unknown high carbon steel taken from old handsaw blade, plate is just sheet aluminum.