Frosty

That's a tough one Ben. I think it's yellow pages time, I'd call a clock repair place first. I doubt they'll have anything that large but they might know who does or who might know who does. When you call, tell them you don't want to take up valuable time but you have an off the wall question. Askig in that general form first lets them know you respect their time but better yet you might have an interesting question. Lots of professional folk welcome something new, I've had super luck with the method. Best of luck and please let us know how it goes for you. Frosty The Lucky.

Okay, why not. My Father was a metal spinner and machinist, some of my earliest memories are of him babysitting me by sitting my on the ways of his spinning lathe behind the tail stock. He'd loosen the nut on the adjustment wheel a little so I could play with the free play, it'd been drummed in I couldn't move the wheel past free play or BAD things happened. Anyway I sat there driving my race cars, each one had a different sound and feel, gold, silver red, gray, white, etc. etc. Spinning at Dad's level really pushed the metals to the limit of movement in the shortest possible time so you get to feel the sound and vibration while watching the tool move the blank over the die. We moved out of that house when I was almost 4 and that was the last time we had a shop in the basement. Years later we had a garage in Southern Cal. where I spent a LOT of time. Working in Dad's shop was teaching me more than I wanted to know, made me my allowance and walking around money but the precision he bid to was no fun at all, every move was darned near exact. So, after watching an episode of "Bat Masterson" where he'd been robbed and left to die in the desert and instead made everything he needed to survive and kill the bad guys from an indian destroyed Conestoga wagon I was hooked. He made all sorts of important thing, clothes from the canvas cover, atlatl and darts from a spoke, etc. What got my attention was how he forged dart points and a knife in the coals of a fire using a broken hatchet as a hammer and a big rock for an anvil. That was it, I NEVER wanted to not be able to make what I needed so I wanted to blacksmith. Father on the other hand discouraged me actively. He was a depression era kid and seriously pragmatic, no sense in earning a trade that didn't pay. Mother was on the same side of course so there I was, I had the urge but no help at all. Not that my rebelliousness was kicked into high gear, well not till I hit maybe 12 or so but that's it. I taught myself blacksmithing because I never wanted to have to do without or be at the mercy of whatever. Then there's the playing with fire and beating things part I really enjoy too. It wasn't till just before the internet went public I discovered there were books about blacksmithing and then I discovered ABANA. I had a huge amount of bad habits and wierdness I'd taught myself to unlearn. There was one thing above many others I got from early days in Dad's shop, I learned a feel for all kinds of metal moving that's close to unrivaled except maybe by other metal spinners. Uh that's about it, my folks said NO and I get to play with fire and hit things. What more could a boy want? You asked. Frosty The Lucky.

That's what we call a "Handyman Jack." Pulling fence posts is a piece of cake for a Handyman. They're a fine addition to a person's tool kit, you can level a house with a couple, pull a truck out of a mud hole with the addition of some chain, or just about anything needing some serious grunt. Frosty The Lucky.

About clothing in a hot shop. Natural fibers only, synthetics have a nasty tendency to melt when contacted by hot stuff, then it sticks to your hide and deep fries you. And NO Nomex may be fire proof (sort of) but it still melts to you if touched by hot steel, clinker or most anything more than about 350f. Wool, cotton, hemp, leather only. Frosty The Lucky.

She looks like a fine anvil, ought to last your grandchildren's lives without trouble. I sure wouldn't try electrolosis, it isn't a decoration, it's an anvil. I'd maybe take a wire brush to it if she was really grotty but not otherwise. Hot iron and hammering will clean the face up beautifully. A little boiled linseed oil will do the body well, no more rust after it dries. I'd do it when I was going to let it set for a couple few days and maybe leave heat on it till it dried. If you get it hot enough working so she feels like a cup of hot coffee, Johnson's paste wax will protect the body beautifully. Seriously, she's in fine shape ad she's earned every scar she has. She's beautiful I'd be proud to build her a stand and put her to work. Frosty The Lucky.

Welcome aboard, glad to have you. Blacksmithing is a fine hobby, it's not really all that addictive, you won't start buying equipment, tools and such compulsively let alone make fast stops on the highway to pick up that luscious piece of steel just laying there. Oh no, it'll never happen, not in a million years. <grin> Do a search here for the TPAAT, it's probably the best method I know of for finding anvils and other smithing equipment. Frosty The Lucky.

Boily, got it. I held multiple certifications in the day though I never worked boilers. I got called sparky a lot. It's funny how a lot of folk think we who DO things with our brains and hands are kind of backward, old timey, or whatever but let something go wrong and who do they call? You and me, eh mate? Ain't it funny how a fellow with a broken widget suddenly becomes polite? Frosty The Lucky.

About the Kaowool or equivalent ceramic blanket. It comes in different temperature ratings a forge needs the 2,600f 1" 8lb. or it isn't going to last long, maybe not through the first firing. My NA propane forge will melt 3,000f fire brick under the burner is I leave it running at high psi long. Using a good kiln wash is a really good way to keep the kaowool good for a LOT longer. If you google "kiln wash" you'll find products and suppliers all over the place. Look for a company that maintains and rebuilds industrial furnaces, heating and such, they'll carry high temp. rated ceramic blanket. Better, they tend to LIKE fire the hotter the better so talking forges with the guys is a good thing. Not only will you learn good stuff they just might give you rems from jobs. Frosty The Lucky.

It looks like you bought too low a temp rated Kaowool, You really need the 2,600f 1" 8lb. blanket or higher rated. I run 2,600f 8lb Kaowool and my forge runs in the mid to high yellow heat in normal use. I can push the psi and melt the 3,000f firebrick floor but that's excessive for most anything the average person might want. The flux I use has made a spot about 2.5" diameter under the front burner melt at a lower temp so I have a puddle of goo after half a hour or so. the point of all that being my Kaowool lid is loving life unless someone roughs it up poking work in the forge. It looks like you built a Big T burner, what's the tube diameter? Don't worry, we'll get your forge squared away. Frosty The Lucky.

An automotive or pickup brake drum is more than enough unless you're doing darned large work. Old top loader washing machines are dandy, I like flipping the door upside down so there's a little rim around the edges. Just cut a hole so the brake drum rests on the rim around it, then you can ram clay on the table for a heat resistant table. I think front loaders are better suited though, gutting the washer first gives you some handy components for the resource store yard and plenty of room for your air supply, ash and such. What makes it better IMO the front door gives you access to the air supply and a not unhandy place to store forge tools. Controlling the air with a blow drier has one issue, the motor is cooled by the air flow through the drier so you have to redirect it rather than gate it. This just means a way to let the air blow but not blow into the fire pot. A "T" with a butterfly valve works well but a quick and dirty method is to just mount the blow drier so you can move it that way part of the air just blows past the tuyere rather than into it. I believe you want about 5" of fuel below the work with enough over it to keep air off and contain the heat. It just doesn't need to be big truck, big. An easy way to control the size of the fire pot you have is to fill it partially with fire brick. They're easy to shape, a little practice and a chisel has worked for a couple thousand years. What I found is easier is a carbide blade in a Skill saw, just don't hog the cut, slow and easy does the deed. Frosty The Lucky.

I have a C frame 100tn. punch that's rated for 1" through 1" plate. The web of the frame is 2"+ the inside and outside flanges are 4"x 8" and it's a 1 piece casting. Are you certified to weld heavy section? You might, just MIGHT get away with a heavy section box frame but I wouldn't put any money on it. Forget the preinvented wheels, this is a dangerous thing to play with, a failure could cost you more than money can buy. Frosty The Lucky.

Joel: For someone relatively new to blacksmithing you're doing darned well. It's also plain to see you like joinery that kind of thing isn't easy to do at all and you've done it so well. I like everything about it. Your Mother's going to love it, above and beyond how much Mothers love anything their kids make for them. I can see a forged flower tree somewhere in the future, that way you can make her planters anytime and she'll have a place that NEEDS another one. Frosty The Lucky.

Welcome aboard Anna, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you may be pleasantly surprised at how many of the IFI gang live within visiting distance. That's the relief hole and propane is NOT supposed to come out of it, it just vents the back side of the diaphragm so the pressure side can move freely. If propane is leaking out of it, that's exactly what it's doing, leaking. The reg is shot, time to buy a new one. I don't know what setup you're running but most forges don't need more than a 0-30psi regulator. Most of the people running a 0-60 do because that's what the supplier had in stock. That isn't something to worry about so long as it's a good reg. Frosty The Lucky.

Before you spend money you might want to hook up with the folk of the CBA. (California Blacksmith Association) They'll put you in touch with tools, equipment, classes and guys who can help in general. It's very common for guys to want to learn blacksmithing by making blades, there's a LOT more to making blades than hammering hot steel. Sign your nephew up here as well, there's a lifetimes worth of things to learn about blacksmithing, blades are one specialized part of blacksmithing. It's really difficult to learn the highly technical skills necessary for bladesmithing without knowing how to blacksmith. Don't get in a hurry and you'll find better quality tools. Look for an anvil in the 150-200lb. range is good advice. Remember he'll need a forge, bench, vise(s), hand tools, etc. LOTS of hand tools. Scraping, filing, sanding and polishing a blade by hand takes tools and if ye wants to use a belt grinder we're talking $ hundreds on one piece of equipment. Frosty The Lucky.

I can't think of a better argument to NOT cut corners. Were I responsible and hadn't done everything in my power to prevent it, jail time would be the minimum of my pain. Knowing that saving a couple hundred bucks meant more to me than two people BURNING TO DEATH would sure make looking myself in the mirror a HARD thing. Frosty The Lucky.

You know how to use the yellow pages? While I know where Kitsap County is I LIVE in Alaska, nor is Philly close, OR a reference to a baby girl horse. Be polite when you talk to them, maybe show up with a box of donuts some morning. Frosty The Lucky.

Not bad Brian. Extra insulation is one of those can't hurt, might help things, I generally call it good at 2" but wash mine with zircopax/kaolin. The bubble alumina won't hurt but adding another very thin and fragile bit of insulation is pretty marginal. A proper kiln wash will protect the ceramic wool far better and reflect more heat back into the chamber. You don't say what diameter the burner tube is but assuming you used Mike's basic design and used a 3/4" tube you need a 0.035 mig tip, then you can open the choke more. One of the benefits of using a naturally aspirated burner is in not needing to keep tuning it every time you turn it up or down. Mike's burners induce air efficiently enough just tuning with the choke will put you in the groove. The induction curve is pretty flat between minimum psi and around 25-30psi. so once tuned just adjust the fire with the regulator. You don't show or mention a gauge, a good one is a good thing. Don't worry about what psi other guys run for what, there are too many variables for their results to mean a whole lot to you. What the gauge will do is allow you to repeat temperatures with minimum hassle. Keep notes too, they'll really flatten the learning curve. By the looks of the pics your forge is running pretty cool, a good welding temp forge will be white the camera out yellow. That's Incandescent yellow. The dragon's breath isn't excessive, looks pretty good if a little too orange. All in all, just a little tweaking and it's going to ROCK. For right now, I'd open the choke up a LITTLE, say 1/4" or less and test it. Write it down in the note book. Change ONE thing at a time or you'll never know what did what. Frosty The Lucky.

I'm with you Glenn, I've found some really innovative ideas come from folk who were really new to the craft. We're listening Brokeandbored, what do you have in mind. Draw us a picture, we're just blacksmiths you know. Frosty The Lucky.

Try contacting heavy equipment repair and rental outfits, there are lots of good heavy steel parts on heavy equipment that make fine anvils. Frosty The Lucky.

Big jeep guy: Before you do yourself a permanent mischief (damage) close up your shop and take a metal shop extension course at the local college. What you did with your drill press is such a basic mistake I can't imagine you have enough shop skills to safely use anything we might tell you. I'm not being mean I don't want you injured. There are classroom days worth of things to learn before they'll let you do more than look at the tools in a shop class and that's NOT a mistake, it's the product of centuries of hard won knowledge. Please be safe. Frosty The Lucky.

Can't say much about brain fade, I dropped a tree on my head 4 1/2 years ago. It was really starting to get to me till a member here started a roast Frosty thread and it made me feel good again, like there was hope. I know about tendons, Dad cut tendons in his hands his to often, so I might be able to poke fun if I had a few details. Boily? Unless you're covered with boils I'm pretty clueless. Then again, when talking with guys on the far side of the planet, feeling clueless gets to seem normal. Frosty The Lucky.

Nice carving. Wood carvers and finish carpenters seem to be a pretty large demographic of folk who're smithing. Pretty much the same story, why spend LOTS when I can do a little hammering, grinding and heat treat and just make . . .It. Next thing you know they're trying to remember what all that expensive wood was for. Ain't it great? Frosty The Lucky.

Welcome aboard, glad to have you. I dearly do love a good straight line but seeing as you're new here I'll let the "Smothing" typo rest. Believe me, once you get to know me a bit more you'll appreciate how much restraint it's taking. <grin> Frosty The Lucky.

WAY too over thought! Just ram in some damp clay an inch thick give or take and it's good to go. Save the high end refractories for your gas forges. Frosty The Lucky.

Good GRAVY guys! This thread isn't what I expected at all. When I saw, "New blood", in the subject line I expected a report on an injury. But noooooo, you're talking about new smiths, meeting up, and world class PUBLICITY. You aren't leaving me much room for poking fun at you. <sigh> On a serious note, I LOVE the thread, all good stuff. Frosty The Lucky.