thecelticforge

Yep! That's me!

For some reason, an Italian blacksmith comes to mind. I will go through my old texts.

I have some Lexans. I got them in WV when the steel mill closed. They are dark green, on the heavy side with shields on the sides.

Well, here it is. I made the fire box on the large side. I can always tinker with the draft by moving brick in and out. The chimney was just fun! The cap stone was over 300 pounds.The fire pot itself sits in a large bowl that is a half inch deeper on the rim of the fire bowl than the edge of the hearth.

I had a similar thing years ago. I did the apprenticeship with my Grandfar as a teen. Then for several years, I after the Army, I traveled around the world with a backpack and hammer. I mostly worked odd jobs and for blacksmiths when ever I got the chance. That went on for over ten years. Then when I had the chance to blacksmith full time in my own shop, I took it. According to tradition, that made me a master blacksmith, that and the fact that several smiths told me I was ready to open my own shop. As, I stated before, according to tradition, master is the proper term. There were some that did take issue with me putting the word master blacksmith on my business cards because either I had not gone to a "blacksmith school" or because Joe Blow the rag tag man at the feed store had different opinions than I did on different subjects. Can I do everything as well as everyone else? Heck no! There are some things that I still have to work very hard at, such as symmetry. I even had an apprentice once, Jason Dingledine, had a huge natural talent for symmetry that was astounding. To this day, I still think he and some other blacksmiths out there turn out better work than I do, but that is okay. I think my new shop is nicer that everyone's!

I think it is a simple matter of letting as much air in as possible without letting the coal drop through. I have a 1/4 thick plate on the bottom of my portable forge. with a 4 inch pipe at the bottom full of 3/8 inch holes, as many as I could fit. I made them far enough apart to slow down burn through, about 3/8 of an inch apart.

Also, I have found that my "accidents" almost always happen when I am sick or tired. I have not yet dared try forging drunk, but, that I know better to do.

You go PK! All my playdough is rock hard :~(

I feel your pain bro. I have a torn tendon in my right forearm, right at the upper condyle. Any radial movement at all makes me want to scream. I am really focusing on using my back muscles.

I found the trouble. The day I was working them, everything was on the wet side. I tried again this morning and they all worked wonderfully :~)

I will make some more with the same metal and see.

I had fun with a bed frame today also. I planned on cutting some pieces to hold up the floor of a concrete slab I was pouring. I put it in the vise and started cutting with my saws all. I thought that it was going as smooth as butter. However, it wound up removing the teeth on the saw blade. I think I have some great material for a set of wood cutting tools.

I heard that joke from my grandfar at least 100 billion times :~) Glad to see it's still around.

Well, here it is from the ground up. The anvil is a 3-100wt Euroanvil. The post legged vise I got from a knife maker. The cat is sitting on the slab where the forge is going (if this snow ever stopps), and the wall in the background is a facade over the metal siding so tourist and historians and take photos.

I live in Dahlonega and can sell you iron at cost :~)

They make excellent chopping tools also. Such as meat cleavers and hoes. I have also seen them turned into spades and trowels.

I fished an old anvil like that out of the Ohio river outside of Pittsburgh years ago. It was in much worse shape than this but with a lot of love and care, it wound up being perfect for craft fairs as it was only a hundred weight. So go ahead and offer him fifty for it and spend some time fixing it up.

I am of the mind that if electricity is used. That would mean fabrication. Even for air in the fire. I was a smith at a living history museum circa 1830 for 3 years and didn't have the stuff. I think this would be a good defining line. Now as blacksmiths, we need to redefine our selves as blackfabrasmiths. I know I am NOT giving up my electric fan! Be well, and do good work... Wind

I have used playground sand as flux before and don't remember any white lines. Perhaps you should try it.

I recently purchased an extra heavy duty fire pot and it cam to me broken. The people at Centaur are sending me a replacement part soon! Would it be a good idea to put fire cement between the top and bottom part?

I could use about 25 pounds! send me a pm if you want to ship it! I can pay up front.

I used bellows for years. Mine were mounted to the side of the forge against the wall. I had a neighbor that had his mounted overhead. Truth be told, I will choose bellows every time because of the amount of air control I get. I also had a theory that it kept the left arm the same size as right arm.

I have not done it in years, but I used to make ice caulks on horse shoes with it. We called it penny welding.

Motivation for me is almost never a problem. I get excited over almost every piece, even if it is an "S" hook. I have also found that if I give things away a couple of times a week, the look on the faces of the people keeps me going and happy. I know I am not going to get rich doing this, so I don't do it for the money, I do it for the happy!

Does it work? Any spots rusted through? Is the fan in good shape? If it is in good shape, I would say yes.