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I Forge Iron

jgourlay

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Everything posted by jgourlay

  1. Gents: Apologies in advance for the long question! After many years of planning and scheming, I am finally able to set up a VERY SMALL blacksmithing space. I know in advance this space is way too small to be optimal, but I'd appreciate some suggestions. I don't plan on doing architectural iron. This setup has two purposes: edge tools (chisels, carving gouges, knives) and facilitating my young son's interest in the craft. It won't be great, but it's what I can get! The space is just under 6' wide x 10' long. The 10' length runs North/South. There is a door in the southwest corner, and a window in the South wall. Wall height is 8' w/gable roof. Now, I have another workspace that is larger, but it is of such a nature that I can never have any fire of any type for any reason in it. But it does house a lathe, grinder, bandsaw, other tools of that type. So though I would LIKE to have these close to the anvil, I don't need to fit them in the forging space. I'm right handed. Given the size and layout of the space, and where the light and air come from, I am having a hard time figuring out where the forge and anvil should be positioned. Also, ventilation is a concern. I can penetrate the roof as needed, and I can drywall/steel sheath the walls as needed: this is a 2x4/OSB room. I've been thinking that downdraft forge may be best. I've seen (ye olde) pictures of them, but don't find any modern references. How do you all think I should lay this out? Also, any specific suggestions about a coal/coke forge would be appreciated. Note that I have easy access to 3100 degree castable hardface and 2600 and 2800 degree rated castable insulating refractory. Thus, I can build things (a forge?) able to resist fire if building my own forge looks to be the best option.:)
  2. First time working with anything other than kingsford....so forgive the idiocy of this question, but I really don't know. How do you tell the difference between "clinker" and unburnt coke?
  3. Great information all, and thanks. Here is the reason I ask. I work with several chemists and several metallurgists. I posed this as a simple question to many of them. At first they gave the flippant answer of, "you just add carbon to molten iron" with "stupid" being the subtext. So then I started asking things like, "well, at that temperature, how do you keep the carbon from simply burning off as C02?" and "with such different densities, won't the carbon just sit on top of the iron?" and "will the iron wet the carbon?" That just got gaped mouth stares and stumped expressions. So, I thought I'd throw it up here....and sure enough get better answers. Not that I plan on doing this, it's just monkey curiosity.
  4. You have two things. 1. low carbon steel 2. A lump o' coal. How do you get the lump o' coal into the low carbon steel to make high carbon steel?
  5. Looking at getting an oxy/acetylene torch setup. I want something that will allow me to go from FIRE LOTS OF FIRE!!! down to the little pencil point flame. Who makes a good one? I see a bunch out there, but anytime I see wide variations in prices, and names like "Generico" I know it's the type of tool where it's easy to get burned (harr harr harr). What brand(s) do you all recommend? What are some "watch our fors"? What's the general set of tips/accessories you all would recommend? I don't by the way, plan on doing anything like cutting 1/2" plate. 1/4" maybe. I do plan on using it for melting (very) small heats of silver/bronze/brass for casting, some cutting of steels, heating up/melting of glass (general mischief), brazing copper tubing, things like that.
  6. Why do forges tend to have the gas enter from the top or side as opposed to the bottom?
  7. Alan, where are you building your log home? That sounds like quite an undertaking. I have an ulterior motive behind all this as well. I want my son and daughters to actually learn how to DO things, and I figure between a woodworking shop, blacksmithing shop with foundry that can double as a glass/pottery kiln, a chemistry bench and an electronics bench that anything they want to pursue, they can. Made anything since Paul's class?
  8. Glen, the cruel irony is that I plug and unplug now. When I ran the circuit to my garage my breaker box had just enough room for a 50A, 240 breaker, and that was it. So, that's all I've got for my shop. What I did, however, was hook a second breaker box in the garage in an easy location. Because I have small children, I have an iron-clad rule that I never, ever leave a 240 circuit active unless I'm running the tools that are on that circuit. This shed will simply be an extension of that rule. Okay, so from your rule I basically need at least an 8' diameter space + the "depth" of a forge. I think I can swing that.
  9. Swamp Fox: Thanks. The compressor circuit will need to power the whole shed for 240vac but it won't be that big a deal. 120VAC will be a different circuit. Thanks for the dust advice viz-a-viz the compressor. I'm going to have to think that through. Before I build this I'm going to spend a weekend in Waco at the basic blacksmithing class.
  10. WL and Gobbler, thanks for the reply. Insulation in summer won't be a problem because I won't be doing any smithing work in summer. Woodworking, maybe, but not smithing. In winter, well, we don't have winter here. Sometimes we get fall for a week in late January. Thanks for advice on the anvil size. I had always just heard that bigger was better. Glad the dirt floor will work. If you draw a circle, putting your anvil in the center, what is the minimum of radius of the circle for you to be able to work safely and comfortably?
  11. " This seems to be a bit exreme to replace your broken Stanley chisel which you damaged over at the Homestead Heritage School of Woodworking! " I see you know me!!! That class really did wonders for me in terms of my confidence and things I'm willing to tackle. I find now that many things are easier. What was your experience with it? What perversity of character is it that forces us to want to make things ourselves? I don't understand, and I haven't been able to fight it, so there it is, I might as well go where it takes me! :p
  12. Like the previous poster, I'm planning on building a new "shop". I'm not, however, going to dignify the structure by calling it a "shop". It's going to be more like purpose driven shed built for smiithing. Please understand I'm not doing any blacksmithing yet: this will be an adjunct to my main hobby (woodworking) which I hope to turn into a "beer money" business sometime in the next 5 to 10. I'm a "long view" kind of guy, and want to start building the infrastructure for smithing knowing it'll be a couple of years before I'm totally setup. My intent is to build a 4x4 structure with steel siding. Max power available will be 30A@240vac. The shed will share space with a compressor (standup 60). So one consideration is how far does the compressor have to be set back away from everything else so the tank doesn't get hot and 'splode. To the extent possible, my intent is build it to be (re)movable so that if I move I can pack the structure up with me. I don't intend on smithing anything larger than an adze, mostly chisels and other woodworking tools. Maybe some corners strap and other cabinetry "tansu" type hardware. For tools, I know I'll need a forge but I don't want to decide at this point whether gas or coke. I'll be picking up one of the larger anvils in the 300lb range, and then of course the various tools, two grinders or a grinder and belt sander. I have a drill press, it won't be in this shed. I do want room for a trip hammer, the one from Centaur, and a pottery kiln that will serve as a heat treat oven. I also want room for a helper (or witness, depending on the circumstance ) I won't need this shed for raw material storage: I can store and break down material in my garage. What I need to know is what you all believe the absolute minimum size should be for the shed, and the shape (ie. square, long?). I'm limited to 9 or MAYBE ten feet height on the structure. Also, I'd like some advice on ventilation. I have good bit of material from scrounging around in the oil patch, and may want to casually bang around on some of the pieces. My concern is with carbon monoxide and the attendant compounds (nickel carbonele esp.). Lighting: roof made of clear plastic (polycarb or fiberglass) or "half walls" where the bottom 4 feet are solid, and the top half can slide down exposing free air? Flooring: is a dirt (ie. the ground) floor acceptable with maybe a pad for the trip hammer, or does it need to be concrete? How about sand over brick, with a small pad for the trip hammer? Also, is it reasonable to have ONLY the forge, anvil, and heat treat proximate to each other with the grinding in the garage? What I mean by the question is, do you do all or most of the forging in one chunk of time, and the all the grinding in another, or are you back and forth between anvil, forge, and grinder quite frequently? What is the right way to secure the "stump" to the "floor" so the anvil doesn't fall over and crush your legs (or your children)?
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