BrindleDog

This piece looks tiny compared to the one in that thread. Thanks for the links. I'll just call around. Cincinnati has a lot of railroad and machining industry.

I'm guessing this is antique track? I've seen varying dimensions of rail track online and know nothing about it. I was able to take this piece from the school I work at. It's been sitting in the shop forever. It weighs about 12 lbs. I'm sure this is far from ideal, but my wife will kill me for spending more money on a hobby if I go buy a chunk of steel at the moment. Given that this is what I have to work with, how should I mount it? Is surface mounting on a heavy piece of wood enough? I thought about cutting a "T" shaped keyway into a log with a chainsaw and driving it into place so the the underside of the top rail would make contact with the log. Make sense? Worth the effort? I would like to continue anvil/ steel hunting, but I have no clue where to look. I'm in Cincinnati and there is a lot of steel around, but all the scrap yards are buying scrap, not selling pieces to the public. The junkyards seem more suited for car parts and stuff like leaf springs for crafting material. Just looking for ideas as I move towards shaping my first piece of metal. Thanks for any guidance.

Hello BillyBones. Thanks for the offer and the info. So what I'm gathering is that hard firebrick is unnecessary in a JABOD. I was planning on making a propane forge until I read that the hard firebrick isn't a good choice. Glad to read that it doesn't need to be over analyzed. I'm really just trying to heat metal occasionally for hobby projects. I was going to use the cat litter because it was used in the Mark III JABOD post. I'm also a cat guy and have nine cats that I shelter. So cat litter is a material I'm very familiar with. HAHA! It's all new to me and will take whatever info I can get my brain on. I have plenty of clay soil here in Cincinnati. I like the idea of digging a trench in the ground for a forge but the ground is wet until summer and I don't want to be soaked while working. I believe I live on a fragipan soil (for George N.M.) that creates seasonal pools. It's muddy and miserable during the winter and humid and miserable during the summer. I've seen the forges with the holes in the tuyere and firebrick forming a v shaped channel for the charcoal. I guess these are used by blade smiths? That looked appealing as well. I have access to plenty of material (brick, stone, wood, metal) for whatever configuration. I should probably just make a fire and heat the metal. I'm excited to learn these skills. Thanks again everyone. These smaller forums, are to me, the most valuable places on the internet.

Thanks very much George, I love to learn about things like this. Funny how I try to complicate things and spend money when I don't need to.

Thanks very much for the information David. I might be mixing up the properties required for a propane forge? I also hate digging clay

Okay, I was under the impression that the air space in the "dirt" was beneficial for insulation. If the litter is going to stick together, is there any reason to use it over clay from the ground?

Okay, you guys have already helped me clarify some things. Should I hydrate all of the litter or only the firebowl walls?

Hello George, thank you. I'm in Cincinnati, Ohio in mud and slush and would gladly trade places! I was thinking about using the brick to cover the surface of the dirt box. Also didn't know if I should use them to hold the soil/litter back and form the fire bowl. I've seen that bricks are used behind the fire bowl to pile charcoal. All new to me. I see that there are a lot of questions like this and often times the response is to just go for it. I have 1"x24" black iron, a 1"x4" nipple, and a ball valve. I am planning on using my 18v Makita floor blower on a very low power. Any advice is appreciated.

Hello, This is my first post on iforgeiron. I've learned a lot from Charles R. Stevens posts and if you see this post, thanks for sharing your knowledge . I have a plenty of hard fire brick that I bought from a reuse store for $5 a box. I bought them years ago because it was a good deal. I'm now interested in building a forge to form a cant hook for my wood working materials. I'm just wondering what purpose the firebrick would serve in a ground forge or jabod. I've read that the hard bricks are conductive to heat and don't insulate like soft brick. Anyway, just wondering if and how I should utilize these bricks to make a more refined or durable forge. Should I coat them in a refractory material? Just general newb questions having never forged a thing. Also, is using a dry bentonite cat litter better than wet clay or soil? Thanks for any advice. Dan