Another question from me. You guys are really helping me out thank you so.. I am having a problem after I forge something and quench/cool it in the water, it gets rust or what looks like rust on it. I like the unfinished look but the rust color doesnt look good. I am having to wire wheel all the color off just tomake it presentable. Could this be from not wire brushing good enough before quenching? Any help?

You might try quenching, then dry the piece and put on a light coat of oil. See if that will help your problem.

Why are you quenching your work? If you are not hardening things there is no need to quench your work, and the quenching may cause other problems such as cracking and hardening areas so that drilling could be difficult.

I agree with JNewman, lay your work off to the side and let it cool, work on some thing else. This is why in a blacksmith shop every piece of metal should be treated as though it is hot. You learn quick that way and have less burns. Set a side an area for hot metal and always set your hot stuff there.

When you cool it, leave it a "little" hot so the water will evaporate off but you can still handle it. I wipe it down with an oil rag after cooling in water if I am not going to work it any more. If it the the last time in the forge I will cool it in peanut oil from a black heat for the final finish. When the weather gets warmer (the smithy is a mite cool this time of year) I will try out some of the laquer and spray finishs to see how they work. Beeswax while the part is still warm works good too. I remember reading a whole topic on finishs before the update. Search for it and you should find many good ideas. Keep hammering!

I have had funny colors show up when my slack tub was contaminated. They disappeared when I changed the water.
I had weird purples and burnt orange colors (I am sure it wasn't rust)