elkdoc

I'm in. No touchmark yet, but that's not the point. Great idea, Glenn.

R.I.P. Mr. Jim... Didn't know him personally, but the warmth and generosity that he always got across, on such an impersonal medium as the internet, always struck me. The 'smithing community will truly miss him. :(

Very cool story. And great pictures! Thanks for sharing that with us! :D

If they are gonna leave that old post vise leaned against the wall, they might as well ship it to me! Methinks this horse is about to leave the farrier a "special present"... :shock:

That's a great site to browse Ed. I'm taking a coffee break and enjoying it alot. Thanks for the tip! :)

Same for me. I may be doing some lock-changing for the county sheriff's domestic abuse unit but I can offer up a silent prayer while I work.

What Hollis has said above concerning the localization of heat around the firepot really amazes me. It's true - I can lay my bare hand on the top of the forge extremely close to the fire and it's not hot. Cool even. Must be the nature of coal, the thermal properties of air flow through a firepot, and forge topography. It is kinda neat, though. That said, I built my forge out of a wooden frame with sheet of diamond plate for the top. I lined the top with firebricks, because I had access to some cheap ones (less than 70cents ea., if I remember correctly) and was sold a broken bag of refractory clay for nothing. I knew it wasn't really neccessary, but I liked the aesthetics of the brick top for some reason. A friend from our local guild built his forge much in the same way except he welded a brake drum in place rather than a commercial firepot. He used a piece of stainless steel grating for a tuyere and it works great for him.

Wow. This really put a dark cloud on my day. Will continue praying for Jim. Extra hard, and often.

Still praying for you, Ralph...

Very funny, Glenn. :lol:

Thought I'd show off a picture of my homebuilt forge, awaiting a hood. Pine and skip-planed oak frame, steel plate base, cheap firebrick top, OC blower, Centaur firepot. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. Now... If we can just get a hood and flue installed, some salvaged metal siding on the walls, and I'm ready to go! :)

Alright... You've got me thinking. Since my shop is small, ventilation is key. I guess a side draft is the way to go. I just had it in my head that it would be more complicated than my meager construction skills could afford. I suppose I could get rectangular ductwork and cut a hole in the side.

It's not that I'm completely against a side-draft hood per se. However, I do need something relatively inexpensive and easy for a beginner to build. :oops: I know that side-draft hoods draw better, but isn't there an issue with workspace?

Hey folks. Need some input on a decent hood design for my coal forge. I prefer an overhead hood. Any thoughts? Things to consider? Thanks! 8)

Bummer. I just read that over on anvilfire myself. Hang in there, PawPaw. Were here for you and you're in our prayers!

Wow. Thanks for all the stories folks! I've enjoyed all the insight into your shop names. The name of my own shop is still up in the air. It's nearing completion, but since it's just a weekend hobby shop it's really no big deal. Needs a name, though. If for nothing else but for the sake of fun. :D

I'm a living, breathing example that prayer trumps lymphoma. Will keep you in my prayers!

That's just too cool! 8) Would make some pretty killer drawer pulls!

Had to chime in here, as I've learned alot from your posts here and on anvilfire, Paw-Paw. Hoping and praying for a speedy recovery for you. Hang in there, bud. You'll be back at the forge in no time.

Love hearing these stories! When my brother was visiting recently and lending his carpentry skills to putting my out building on a permanent foundation for shop use I fed him a meal of Tex-Mex food. After going back to work in the shop he suggested that we call it the "Heinous Anus Forge". Wise guy... :wink:

Very interesting, so far. I have been thinking of incorporating my own Scots and Scots/Irish background into a name, but haven't come up with anything yet. I've also been kicking around "Burr Oak Forge" from Isaiah 61:3, the "oaks" of righteousness. Also, as a kid my favorite tree was the burr oaks and their huge, gnarly acorns. My grandad use to take me to a place near where I grew up to climb rocks and wade in the creek. I always picked up the burr oak acorns and brought them home. :)

Just read through the "why a blacksmith" thread and it got me to thinking. I'm constantly calling my wife into our home office to see something on one of the many blacksmith's websites. She recently remarked on shop names, and asked me if and what I was going to call my budding weekend forge. We've been kicking a few ideas around, but nothing has stuck. So... What's the name of your smithy and where did the name come from? :?:

I just shared this story with Glenn via private message, but given the turn that this thread has taken I'd like to share it here. My earlier post mentioned that I love to see the helping hand extended to new smiths. That's particularly true because I'm a beginning smith myself. I joined a local blacksmith guild last July to get into the craft, and have been greeted with nothing but good will and helpful advice. At our December meeting, I was picking the members' brains about forge construction, and mentioned that I wanted to build a brick-topped coal forge. A fellow member told me to follow him home and he'd give me something that would help me with the project. It turns out that he gave me a 38"x48'x1/4' diamond plate piece that worked beautifully as a table to brick the forge on top of. Too cool! I just finished setting an existing outbuilding onto a permanent foundation and I bricked in the forge. Won't be long now!

Congrats Rantalin on scoring a usable startup anvil, and no doubt a piece of steel that will be increasingly handy if you're ever able to replace it with a regular anvil. And major kudos to yesteryear forge for generosity. I've seen this kind of thing before, but I never cease to be amazed at the generosity of established smiths towards those who are just starting out. Very cool. Made my day to see, and I had no part of it! :D

Allright... After some more research it seems that didymium safety glasses are out. Looks like they're in pretty widespread use but it appears that they don't offer the IR protection we probably need. I'd hat to bake my eyeballs! :shock: Looks like it's back to good ol' green lenses. Hate that stuff, but whatcha gonna do? :roll: