Asa Simons

Looks like it has made many wonderful things in its lifetime, Chad! Where did you find it? I finished a mini stake anvil for my brother’s silver smithing.

Hi all, I recently built a brake rotor coal forge, and despite all the controversy about them, it works great. I work in the main area of a barn, and when I use the coal forge, I have to throw open the big doors to let the smoke out. I get smokey every time I use it. The forge is completely portable, so there is no good way to mount a hood on it. Do y’all have any ideas on a semi portable coal forge hood? It would have to go out one of the big doors, because I cannot put a hole through the ceiling. The first photo is when the doors have been opened up, and the second is the outside wall of the building. Thanks for the input! Asa

Can we get a good broadside view of the PW, Chad? Today I got home and decided to work on a bunch of miscellaneous projects to finish all of them. All but the stake anvil are heat treated. The stake anvil is made of a rr connector bolt. I tried water, oil, and air hardening, but cannot find out how to harden it! If y’all have any experience, I would love to hear! The punch and hot cut were oil hardened, and the rr spike bowl adze in water. And yes, I know the hardy is twisted, it was my mistake, but the angle actually works better for me!

I would love to see y’all’s forge calipers, antique, forged by you, forged by someone else, whatever!

The C channel flanges are about 2in. The floor is so hard packed there that I dug a nice rectangle, dropped in the stand, and the dirt does not move. My shop is in the main room of a barn we use for storage. It’s a large room, and I can throw open the bay doors when I use the coal forge. The dirt is nice, though I have dug a depression where I work, just from moving around. And the “moon dust” gets everywhere. You can see in the photo that I shoved a bunch of dirt back by the anvil and wet it down, hoping to “reset.” The weight with the thin flange sitting on the vice stand in the 1st photo used to be my anvil. Served me for a long time. The cheap Harbor Freight anvil works great though!

Beslagsmed, nice knife! Love the farriers rasp! A friend helped me put together a stand for my new vice. The base is some heavy C channel, so I could sink it in the ground. It is sooo stable! Huge upgrade from my machinists vice on a stump!

Sorry it has taken me so long to respond! I tried some cold forging, lubricated everything, especially the thrust washer, and it works fine now. Finally got it mounted too.

I’ve tried the vice without the spring, and the screw works freely. The pivot too. I have already tried some cold forging.

Happy Monday, Ive recently acquired an Iron City vice, and I have noticed that the spring is very strong. Winding and unwinding is hard, and not fast. I believe that it is the original spring. What is the best course of action? Thanks all, Asa

It cokes very well. I rinse all the chunked up pieces before I use them, and it makes for a cleaner fire.

I pick them up off the hill side at local spot, not sure what kind of coal it is. I do NOT plan to keep doing this, there is a spot near us that sells actually good coal. The stuff I use is not super hard to light, it stays lit well between heats with no air. So I don’t need to worry about it being all different sizes when crushing it in a bucket, cus dropping a 12lb sledge would make a lot of difference in size. If I do use a heavy screen/grid, just bash it through till everything is through, no matter the size? Thanks for the input. Asa

Happy Wednesday, I get my coal in large chunks, and have to use a small hammer to break each lump into individual pieces. Is there a better way to do this? Thanks in advance. Asa

Can’t wait to hear how they work, Melted Socks! Hefty, I feel you. My first attempt at a miners candlestick was for a friends birthday, I worked for most the day, and it cracked. Wasn’t able to get it to him in time because I had to scrap it. I restarted and he loved it. Can’t wait to see how the belt buckle comes out! I did my second forgeweld today. No flux. My friend (same one that got the miners candlestick) helped me build a brake rotor forge with a hand crank blower, and for all the controversy about them, it works great. Clean, hot forging, easy fire management.

He was the first to greet me, and made me feel welcome. I’ll be forever grateful for his generosity.

lol! We all get busy!

Wow, thank you for all the input! The iPad died, so I wasn’t able to see replies for a bit, so sorry if it looked like I was ghosting y’all. I do lean towards more esthetic, hence why I enjoy ornamental blacksmithing. Part of what he says is “I can make whatever you can, but better and faster,” or “I can make cooler stuff” and yes, better is the trouble word, because “cooler/better” is determined by his perspective. If we both have our own end goals and passions, our perspective will be different .

Happy Monday, I have a friend whose dad has an extensive fab shop, and we have an argument. He believes that fabricating and metal 3D printing is better than forging on most fronts, in that fabrication is faster, offers more precise results, and there are more possibilities. I agree that it can be faster, and precise, but I think that in doing so, you lose uniqueness, and craftsmanship. Where do y’all stand on this?

Thank you for these resources! When I make one, I’ll probably post it.

Yup, I just don’t think it works best for how I want to mount it.

I bit the bullet! It is in great condition all around, spring, screw, leg, jaws. It’s bigger than I thought too, I guess thats a plus. I’ll need to make a new bracket. Very stoked!

What are y’all’s thoughts? I haven’t seen it yet, I know to look at the screw and other parts. It’s 100 bucks and close by. Might be able to argue them down on price.

Wow, I get busy for the day, look back at the forum, and “boom” there’s so many comments. There’s no way to really see how much oil there is, it isn’t the kind with the top that slides off. When I’m cranking it, oil does work it’s way into the shaft and by the fan blades. It does work though, and that’s what matters!

Yeah, I don’t know what kind of oil it is. I got the blower from a friend who found it at the scrapyard. He said he opened it up, cleaned it and filled it with oil.

Happy weekend, I recently got a Canedy Otto, Western Chief blower. The handle does not have a counter weight, and if I spin the handle and let go, It stalls pretty fast. Is this because I don’t have a counterweight, or is it just other friction? The gears have oil up to where the casting itself says, and the shafts are oiled. If it is indeed a counterweight problem anyone know where to find one/make one? Thank you in advance. Asa

Goods, did you forge them in gas or coal forge? I finished these relatively recently, sadly the tongs aren’t the correct scale next to the hammer.