K. Bryan Morgan

thanks for that Oak Hill Forge, I will look into that. Thanks for the information Frosty, thats the kind of input i needed. I believe I know where to go to get what your talking about. On a side note I will be moving up to Alaska in the not too distant future. Into the Fairbanks/North Pole area. Is that very far from you? Keeping in mind I have no idea about Alaska. :D

Would a multi speed hair dryer move enough air? Ya I know, take out the heating coils....:)

Thanks Finnr, I hope to get it up and running before too long but it may be a while. Also, no clay where I live. Florida has clay just not here. Welder, what would be a reliable source for kaolin? Is it in something I could find and purpose differently or would I have to buy it directly from a source?

I've been looking on the site and internet for days looking at solid fuel forge designs. I have an idea and I would like to ask the more experianced smiths here what they think of it. The basic design would be a square BBQ grill, the kind with the rounded corners and a flat bottom for the box. Put a 2" hole in one side and then make a tuwere, or however you spell it, out of 2" pipe ending in a neck down to 1" four way junction. Make a square ring of straight pieces with 90 deg. corners, and the final junction the straight piece, would be capped in the center. 2 or 3 holes in each section for air flow. Coming out of the forge I would have a gate valve to control air flow and would be using a leaf blower for an air supply. All of this black iron of course. For refractory, bentonite clay, ash, and perlite? Not to sure about the perlite. Some say use it some say don't. Put about 4-5" of refractory under the tuwere and make the depression for the lit charcoal about 5" deep. Building it wouldnt be hard to do for me, I'm handy like that. I guess my question would be, does it seem like a sound design?

Hand Forging by Thomas F. Googerty, published 1911 Pgs 52,53 Found on anvilfire.com "Iron can be welded without using any flux. However, in some cases a good, clean, sharp sand should be used, because this forms a fusible mixture or slag which offers a protection to the iron, excluding the air and also tending to promote an even heat. Borax should be used on iron only in welding very small pieces. Some soft steel can be welded without using a flux, but it is always advisable to use one of some kind, such as sand. A good flux for soft steel is made by heating a piece of white marble red, letting it cool and pounding it fine with a hammer. . This is used in the same manner as sand." I thought I would contribute this little piece of history to the converstation.

Thank you Jim, much appreciated. I will definitely check it out.

Hey there, I know I'm new but this is something I know Little about. There is an automotive product called Osfo. You just wipe it on with a soft cloth, cotton works well. It bonds with the metal forming a layer between the steel and the air. Then using a clear mat polyurethane, several coats, it lasts for years. I have used this on copper, brass and steel as a painter for architectural elements on buildings. It works very well.

Thanks Frosty, much appreciated. Good to be here.

Thanks Steve, I appreciate it. I had come to understand what your saying, getting used to how the iron moves, feels, responds to working will help me greatly. I have a few little starter projects in mind when i get ready to start, hopefully helping with that. Thanks for responding to my post.

Hi there everybody. I'm new to all of this and have been reading everything I can find voraciously. I don't have any tools, anvil, tongs, and the like yet, but I'm looking around for good deals. I have a background in drafting, construction/carpentry and feel these skills will serve me well. I love working with my hands. I did a stint in corporate America and really didn't like it very much. I have been studying technique, materials and tools for a while now and as soon as circumstances allow I will be setting up a forge/shop and get going. I am primarily interested in blade smithing but after reading and going over allot of the things on the site by Uri Hofi I am inspired to do other things as well. Making my own tools, decorative and structural pieces, who knows. Anyway, this is my first post and I hope to meet some great people and make new friends here. Bryan