mbaird

Yeah, looks like a pretty standard construction & assembly. Gorgeous, too. I saw these around Scotland a few years back, still in use today... they're quite strong!

Since you're doing it hammer & chisel, are you going from the inside (skull-side), outside, or both?

Looks great! Thanks for sharing

A friend of mine gave me a blower similar to the one shown in this picture. Took it home and realized that my forge table is too thick for the mounting angle.

Any suggestions or drawings for how to mount this on its own stand? I was thinking of a 4x4 post with a cutout, so the blower outlet would sit in the groove and I could wrap/screw some angle iron bands around it... but that's not very elegant. :unsure:

Thanks for the link & information. I'm only a couple hours from Jackson so I look forward to making it down and enjoying the company. See you there!

Looks really great. Nicely done :)

Hey there,
I'm new to blacksmithing and a recent resident of Mississippi, to boot. Can anyone provide some background on the Mississippi Forge Council, where you meet, what you do, etc?

Regards!
Michael

John,
Glad to hear things will clean up in time. I had a small sliver in one of my eyes a while back and was lucky enough to be able to remove it myself with a super strong magnet. I could actually feel when it was gone.

Encourages me to always keep a good magnet on hand, hah

Glad you made it through in one piece John!

Thanks for the comments Looking forward to doing more!

Well, here it is, my first official forged piece, from 1/2" mild steel round stock. I'd done some skewers and hooks, but those didn't really count!

The dog's head (adapted from the wolf head blueprint) on the end of the letter opener didn't come out perfectly, but I think it's OK for my second try.

Comments are loved! :D

Hey smiths,
I've already posted a bit but I forgot to actually introduce myself! Name's Michael, and I live in northeast Mississippi where I've been researching black- and bladesmithing for the last 8 months. Professionally I am an ex-Californian computer programmer who is now starting up a technology consulting business here in town.
A few weeks ago I had finally gotten everything put together and was able to start forging, so I've been doing that as much as I can as weather permits (outdoor smithy, and it's been wet here ). So far I've made a few skewers and I'm practicing scrolling now. After only a few forgings, I know that I'll be doing this for a long time to come.

Thanks for the IFI platform! So glad to be here!

Here's the section of their test report that's relevant to my order. 0.20% carbon by the look of it. Works for me at the price point :p

Hey guys,
Thanks for the input so far. I just talked to the supplier and he confirmed it was CQ A36 steel, but since it was a batch of 1/4" rounds, they didn't do a specific chemistry test. He's going to send over some more details after they do do a chem test to find out what's in it.
Not a big deal because the steel is workable, but since it wasn't that expensive and they're local, it's nice to have a rough idea of what's inside the steel. :)

Yes, I wish I had a caliper to check measurements inside and out, so all I was going by was the surface opening of the anvil hole.

Everything makes sense. Wish I had thought the problem through more, now that we're here.
Thanks for the advice though. I'll get everything fixed up.

sandpaper? a file? thats the problem with pre-made hardy tools, they are not really that familiar with you hardy hole. Better too big than too small, fo' sho'.

Agreed! :)

Might be you're right about that, UF.
I think I will try grinding it down a bit; thanks for the advice guys.

I'm 5'11" and I made a forging table and workbench 36" high, very comfortable for me.

It's hot-rolled, yes -- I asked for that because of the price difference. I'll mention A36 and see if that rings a bell for them.
Do you guys know of any pitfalls when forging A36?

Thanks for the great input so far :)

Hey all,
I'm not bashing the Blacksmith's Depot -- I have a lot of great tools from them so far. I did, however, get a 1" cut-off hardy that seems to be a touch too large.
I've got a Nimba Titan anvil, and its hardy hole measures exactly 1". The shaft of the cut-off hardy is just over that.
I've tried heating up the hardy shaft to hammer is out a bit, but I can't get it hot enough, plus it's kind of hard to hold onto. Does anyone have any recommendations on fixing this issue, other than sending it back?

Thanks!

I picked up a bunch of this round stock "commercial quality (CQ)" steel from a local metal supplier. They don't know exactly what it's made up of, or rather a specific metal type (like W1 or 5160), but they know it's a mild steel.
Does anyone here know what qualifies as commerical quality mild steel, or more specifically what might be in it?

Thanks!

I've just set up shop with a baker tent. The total price of the tent (flame resistant canvas and the extra awning wall) came to about $700, with free poles made from some saplings in the back yard.

Overall the tent works really well as a smithy. I had no problem figuring out which way the wind blows 90% of the time, and I set it up so the forge is near the front corner of the awning, in the open air region of the tent but still a great spot to get the smoke blown away. Sometimes during startup, with the heavier smoke and ash, things will get cloudy inside the tent, but it clears up within a couple of minutes and gives me a chance to go around back to clean off any foliage that may have fallen on the back of the tent.

In addition to that, the awning of the baker droops a bit in the middle. For the time being, I've been propping an 8' 2x4 into the middle of the awning to lift it up, but eventually I think I'll put in a secondary ridge board for a permanent fix. It could just be the way I set it up.

Anyway, I haven't worked in a constructed smithy before, but the tent works really well for me. The baker I chose is basically 11' wide by 18' long, so there's more than enough room for my 4' forge bench, double sink quench, anvil, 8' workbench, and stock pile. As far as winter heat goes, I've been out there in 40

I recently read a Popular Mechanics article (not sure if it was a recent article, I just read it recently.) about using a stainless steel double sink. From what they said it worked great.

I just worry if your sink is enameled like the one in our kitchen that the enamel will pop.

Kendrick

That's the article that inspired me to acquire this sink and use it for forging
It does have a white glaze of some kind, probably enamel. Maybe I can grind it off before use.

Why not just drill a couple of holes in the sink for bolts to hold the tyuere/ash dump?

What kind of bolts would be able to withstand the heat of the coal fire directly over the heads?

Hi there!
I have acquired a (very heavy) cast iron double well sink with the hope of using it as my first coal forge. I have managed to loosen and remove the drain attachments that were glued to the underside of the sink, but now I face the dilemma of needing to attach a coal dump and tuyere!
I am not sure how hot it will get on this part of the sink, but I have a feeling PVC and any PVC glue would not work well. I can't imagine being able to bolt something into the bottom of the sink either. Are there any suggestions out there for the construction of this idea? I can provide a picture tomorrow if need be!

Thanks in advance.