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I Forge Iron

Drako11

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Everything posted by Drako11

  1. Chain Saw: Normally found in a woodland setting, although occasionally found in a more urban or shop like area, this tool was developed for the quick removal of wood and flesh, especially of the lower limbs. Spud Bar: Used for the maipulation of stubborn materials, and the securing of implanted posts, the source of many an impromptu dance and swearing session. Claw Hammer: Useful in the removal of nails and other such materials, although when used improperly they begin to show a true calling of smashing noses as they slip off of nails.
  2. To light my coal I use a bit of charcoal. I make a little pile of charcoal over the air source, soak it in some starting fluid, let it soak in good for a few minutes, then light it. I let the charcoal burn for a few minutes until I can see some embers forming, then I put on a little air. I start adding small bits of coal, usually what is left over from my last forging session, around the outside of the charcoal making a sort of volcano which cuts down on smoke and such, once I have a volcano built I add more air, pretty soon it is roaring. My friend does about the same thing except he uses bits of pine woods and soaks it in diesel. I think part of your problem is putting the lighting source, the wood, sandwiched in coal. You want it right next to you air source so it can get real hot and light the coal. Try putting your wood in first, let it burn some, give it light air, add your coal, then give it a good bit of air. Should work! In a whole day of forging I will go through about a 5 gallon bucket of coal, and I use a good bit of air. I have used a hairdryer as my air source before, and for me it just wasn't enough air at all took forever to light and couldn't heat anything up fast enough. It created a really small hot spot that was difficult to find and if my stock wasn't right in the hot spot it wouldn't heat up. I normally use a small shop vac on reverse as my blower. I am not certain how to form a bee hive, but I think it involves starting some dry coal, then adding a sort of paste made from fine coal and water on the outside and it makes a sort of shell then you can scoop some of the coal from the middle of the pile. Don't take my word for it though! Well that's about all the info I have, good luck!
  3. Mr. Hofi I hope one day that I can have half the skill at working metal that you possess, your work is amazing!
  4. Thanks for all the great tips guys! I like the sound of the clothes dryer blower, I want whisper quite! I know where a clothes dryer is to, just gotta take the clothes out ofi t and get to work!! HAHA! XD Mom would kill me! Francis Cole I looked on Daytona's website it looked like they had some good blowers, there was a 15volt blower actually might have been 12volt I don't remember, but that sounded kind of small would it work for a forge?
  5. I'm working on stuff for a festival I will be demoing at this weekend. : ) First one ever! I got some knives, key chains, nails, necklaces, letter openers, hooks, and various other things. Gotta finish up a bird feeder hanger tomorrow. Oh and bigjohn I will help you with that ark! Has been raining here almost constantly for the past week or more, been having a devil of a time getting anything done because every time I get a good fire going a front moves in and puts it out....sigh....I need a roof!
  6. Heyo everyone, Tis I Drako : ) Well I am tired of using the little shop vac I have for a blower, I need a good, QUIET, electric blower that I can easily attach and run. Any suggestions? This shop vac is just killing me, and I am having trouble getting my hand crank blowers going. Any suggestions?? Thanks!
  7. Nope your not T-mack, Frosty lives in Alaska to he is really good with metal and such as well, or so I've heard.... XD
  8. Looks like fun man! I am doing my first demo the 24,25, and 26 of this month. I hope mine goes as well as yours!
  9. Welcome aboard cloud!! To answer your question quick and to the point YES! Yes you can learn by yourself, this forum is a great tool for that. As long as you have a forge of any type, a hammer, metal, and something to beat on you can learn all kinds of things! I'm 17 and I've built two forges, and been teaching myself to smith for some time now! It is a wonderful hobby and I love it to death! After you get into the hobby some and really decide it is what you want to do you can start spending some money for more tools and to travel to classes if it is what you want. If you do some searching you may find someone around you who has been blacksmithing for awhile and is willing to teach you some tricks of the trade. : ) I wish you the best of luck with your endeavors and if you have any questions feel free to PM me or ask any questions!
  10. Hey everyone! I am heading down to the Alabama Forge Council Blacksmithing Conference in Tanndeehill, AL tomorrow. Gonna stay Friday and Saturday. Hoping to take the Green Coal class and buy some new tools. So I was wondering if anyone here is gonna go to or maybe is already there? If so I would love to meet up, maybe shoot the bull a little while. : ) Oh also I was thinking about taking my Buffaco handcrank forge blower (pictured below) and selling it, to use the money to buy some new tools. How much do you think it is worth, it is in working condition, and do you think this is a wise decision? Should I hold on to this?
  11. Hello hello hello everyone, Well I went and got myself an apprenticeship of sorts. (Of sorts being that it was never officially stated to be an apprenticeship, but that is basically what it is.) Met a local blacksmith who lives close to me named Lester Beckman, don't know if anyone knows him here or not. Went out to his shop yesterday and worked with him half the day, LOVED IT! Things were so much easier with all the right tools and such. Anyways, he agreed to teach me things, and I am going to help him out whenever he needs it. : )
  12. I just found the archive the other day after hearing about it over and over again, and searching relentlessly....Who knew to look on the BOTTOM on the page? I use the archive all the time now, and love it! I think that if the archive was put in a more obvious spot people would use it more....
  13. I think a tattoo of the Vulcan Arm & Hammer would be cool.
  14. Thanks for the help everyone! Son of Bluegrass, when you say "Thumb on top" when you use the carpenter's grip do you mean it is sitting along the spine of the hammer handle? Because everything I have read says not to do that, yet I feel I have more control like that although I try not to use it because as I said everything I have read said not to do it.
  15. Here is what I started with and used for quite some time. 1 Hammer, 1 tong , 1 Forge, 1 Anvil, 1 Cutter (Small axe works, I used a draw knife for some time as well) and metal to beat on. That's all you need! : ) Don't even really need the cutter at that, although I do use it a lot.... Looks like you have all that, although if your "tongs" are like those in the picture I would recommend getting yourself a set of long handles pliers of channel locks like this. That is what I have been using. The one's you have pictured are hoof clippers that farriers use. I think they will be hard to grip anything properly with. If you use long stock you don't even need tongs, I actually prefer working like that, but eventually you always have to use the tongs at some point when the piece gets smaller. I wish you the best of luck and feel free to ask questions we have a lot of very experienced smiths here who are happy to help! Although I'm not one of the very experienced one's I'll still help when I can! :D
  16. I am holding the hammer properly believe, I looked at a blue print for it. Fingers curled around with my thumb down along the side of the handle over my pointer and middle finger, I find when I am hammering my wrist is angling down putting my thumb in line with my forearm, is that bad?
  17. I have been forging a good deal this week a couple hours every night, and my wrist is hurting. Are there some exercises I can do to strengthen my wrist and keep it from hurting? I think my anvil is to high, could this be causing the problem?
  18. Being a teen, Dragonlair, your post does kind of hurt a little bit. It seems to me you think very poorly of the next generation. I know that the next generation is in a rather poor state, but we are not all running wild and having parties. Most spare time I can gain when not finishing highschool, working at trade school, writing stories, or acting I devote into hard sweaty hours of smithing which I find fulfilling. Anyways, Zanzetuken, glad you found what you were looking for. I can say that the reason some people jumped on you and your post is really just the way it was worded. You may not have meant intentionally to say or come off as impatient and blunt, but that is really the way it came off when I read it. If you go back and re-read what you have typed you may find that as well, and in the future you can better word your posts to get a more supportive answer. : ) In conclusion, I don't think that anyone's feeling's are hurt to bad here and we can all continue to support one another in our endeavors. Cheerio everyone! :D
  19. Yep you got it! That is really nice I didn't think work done with a torch could turn out so well. I like the design you used it's rugged and crude, yet elegant; really make me think of weapons of old. Can't wait to see what kind of stuff you make when you have a forge setup! : ) Good luck in all your future endeavors!
  20. Hello everyone, I was talking to a guy at a car garage today where my car was getting fixed. He said he'd be happy to give me some old parts for smithing if he had any that I could use. So I was sitting here thinking about what parts I could use; leaf springs, coil springs, torision bars, and I think steering columns can be used. I was wondering about head bolts though, can those be used?? I know a lot of them are made out of some material that stretches and probably wouldn't work well, but what about solid steel ones; is there even such a thing? Also if you know any other good parts that would work I would be grateful for your insight. ^_^
  21. This is really good looking, did you forge it or make it through stock removal?
  22. O.0!!!!! i.....welll....I.....I can't think of what to say!!! That is gorgeous! I love how you present it lol! Ohhh just a little something I whipped out today.....you know nothing much....AHHHH! I can't wait till I am remotely near your level!
  23. Hello Ben!!! Hehe that sounds kinda funny to me....my name is Ben!! XD Anywho welcome to IFI, I am 17 only a bit older then you and I started smithing a few months ago. I can tlel you it is amazing I love everything about it, I hope you find as much enjoyment and fulfillment with it as I have and plan to for the rest of my life! Unfortunately I don't know anyone who lives near you, and neither do I, but if you ever have any questions feel free to PM me. OR If you ever want to fly out to Tennessee and stay for a while we can smith together haha! Well best of luck!
  24. Shweet!! Maybe Frosty can use it on those Alaskan mosquito's instead of trying to use that "Victorian" Mace XD Anywho, I love it!!
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