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I Forge Iron

Show me your shop!


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52 minutes ago, jlpservicesinc said:

Here it is.. Till the New shop goes up.. 

That's a slick little setup. Look like that trailer must have started life as either a farriers trailer or food vendor. Does having your anvil on the trailer absorb much of your hammering force?

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10 minutes ago, Ranchmanben said:

That's a slick little setup. Look like that trailer must have started life as either a farriers trailer or food vendor. Does having your anvil on the trailer absorb much of your hammering force?

Here is the complete build..  Anvil is on the ground.. 

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8 hours ago, jlpservicesinc said:

Here is the complete build..  Anvil is on the ground.. 

To say WOW is an understatement. To do that rig justice I'd have to make up a word and I'm too tired currently for creative thinking. Great job. 

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7 hours ago, Ranchmanben said:

To say WOW is an understatement. To do that rig justice I'd have to make up a word and I'm too tired currently for creative thinking. Great job. 

Yes, it's a little extreme but I got tired of doing demo's in the old rig..Figured it was time for an upgrade.. :)

 

Here's the old trailer.. Of course the old trailer was very old (built 2004 IIRC) though I did a rehab on it in 2014 keeping the original roof..  2013 had to be careful where you stepped or you might go through the floor.. 2013 was a fun year as on the way home from the demo the rear plywood section that held all the lights was trying to race me home all by itself.

2014-09-27 14.20.56.jpg

2014-09-29 13.42.54.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here is my temporary setup. I have not been posting much while i take care of honey do's and cleaned this space in the yard.

The tools and forge go back in the garage at night.

I was tired of working on concrete in full sun. Now I just have to find out how to keep the feral cats from using it as a liter box.

Feel free to comment if you see a safety problem.

Mel

20170518_100405.jpg

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I assume you have 3 plastic trash cans and just pop them over the forge anvil and vise as rain proofing?

Only thing I notice is the forge is set up for doing small work but the anvil and vise seem far away from it. Is that an artifact of the photo or are they more than one step away?

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Plastic trash cans for weather protection. Good idea. To bad if i leave wood on the ground in a week it will have termites.

No they go inside at night. One step away hmm I will adjust as needed.

Thanks for the for the feedback!

Mel

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When I was using a "Under the spreading locust tree" set up the more I could leave in place the more often I used it and the more I got done each time. Living in the inner city security was a big issue so my vise was attached to a heavy welding table and the bolts were welded over.  My 91 pound anvil each time got carried from the basement, up the stairs, through the kitchen and out to the stump which was left in place... I used PT lumber for items that had ground contact.  

You might think of working on metal stands for your equipment and have that freedom to leave stuff in place.

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3 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

When I was using a "Under the spreading locust tree" set up the more I could leave in place the more often I used it and the more I got done each time. Living in the inner city security was a big issue so my vise was attached to a heavy welding table and the bolts were welded over.  My 91 pound anvil each time got carried from the basement, up the stairs, through the kitchen and out to the stump which was left in place... I used PT lumber for items that had ground contact.  

You might think of working on metal stands for your equipment and have that freedom to leave stuff in place.

My wife and I are only at this house for a short while more. Most of the household has been moved to our new place in NV.

In fact the next trip is for my shop stuff. I will need to build a permanent shop at the new place. 

New pic now one step away.

If I was going to stay here I would put some pavers under the stands.

Thanks for looking.

Mel

 

20170518_114129.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 1/22/2016 at 11:59 AM, Michael said:

I'd replied to this about 5 yesrs ago. Pic ssems lost but here's my corner of the patio setup. 104 # PW, pair of vises on stand, tool table, Tiger blower, forge table, grinder/wirewheel and power hacksaw. Not seen are a homemade swage block and the freon tank propane forge. 

IMG_20151118_135857885.jpg

This is my first post here... that forge (pan, is that the right word) is almost identical to mine.  Two questions... do you know who made it and how old it is?  Do I need to line it with clay of some sort?   If so, do I line just the rectangle part, just the bowl, or both?  Thanks!

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Hundreds of foundries cast forges that look almost the same.  If it's not marked you just don't know.

Most likely post American Civil War, pre WWII

I didn't clay mine. if you do clay it don't clay the firepot.  

Will you be burning coal or charcoal? If charcoal you may want to tweak it for better performance.

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37 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

Hundreds of foundries cast forges that look almost the same.  If it's not marked you just don't know.

Most likely post American Civil War, pre WWII

I didn't clay mine. if you do clay it don't clay the firepot.  

Will you be burning coal or charcoal? If charcoal you may want to tweak it for better performance.

Thanks.  Too rusty to read if anyting is marked on it.  Anthracite coal.  Did some restoration on it this weekend.  had to secure the part the blower hose goes in, and build new brackets to support the firepot

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I'm brand new here, and just getting ready to start smithing.  Hope to hammer my first steel this coming weekend.  Not quite done with my set up.  Need to get some piping to go from the blower to the forge and arrange things just right, and I'll be set.

The anvil is 110# Columbian.  Got it at a farm auction a month or so ago. $85.  I haven't tried a ball bearing, but a hammer bounces very nicely and it sounds great.  Also got a beautiful Columbian 504 1/2 vise at that auction for $35.  I need a better stump, but that one was handy and should hold me for a while.

I have two Champion 400 blowers, given to me by two different friends.  Both were seized up with rust, but I got the shorter one going great, bent the crank out to its proper position, and put a new wooden handle on it.

One of the aforementioned friends gave me these two Hardy hole pieces.  The smaller one is too big for my hole so I need to file it down at some point.

That same friend also gave me the two tongs and the straight peen hammer.

Last but not least, that same friend gave me the forge table.  It is a heavy, cast iron beast.  My brother helped me fix it up yesterday.  We put a new clinker trap door (is there a proper name for it?) on the bottom, drilled out and reattached the part that the blower pipe goes in where the ball valve thing is, and put three new brackets to hold the fire pan on to the table.

PPE, another straight peen hammer, and a book with 40 beginner products will be here tomorrow.

Today I picked up 40# of antracite coal, a heavy ball peen hammer, some steel chisels, and some bar and flat stock.

I'll get the new blower air piping this week and make something (I'm thinking a fire poker/rake thingee for my first one) this weekend.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or critique.

anvil.jpg

blowers.jpg

hardy tools.jpg

tools.jpg

forge table.jpg

Edited by Leatherneck Donald
corrected one word
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Just my bit, (as a fellow newbie) don't bother with paint on the anvil the smoke from hot paint can be hazardous and your hot iron will burn it off and polish the face within a few days after you start hitting hot metal on it.  As to claying, the iron around the tuyere looks pretty thin?  The original firepot for my forge was 5/8" and the replacement I am using (Centaur Forge Vulcan) is about the same thickness of cast iron and I do not clay mine (other than high temp mortar at the joint between the pot and the ashgate).  If it is thinner than that and you are planning on a lot of welding temp usage (making damascus etc) it might be worth it, else keep it dry don't rapidly heat or cool the iron treat it like a cast iron skillet and you should be ok.  If you plan on welding a lot, cooling the forge regularly with water (generally a bad idea with anything cast) clay it.  Take all of what I say with a grain of "let me look that up" since all of my info on claying is from reading the forums and old catalogs.  

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Where is the heavy cast iron beast?  I have what's often called a RR forge and I think it's at least 3 times heavier than the one you show.  (Why subjective terms don't work well here for example I have a friend who considers 1" to be heavy forging and another who sent me pictures of them forging 40" diameter titanium...)

You have a nice looking set up. I like to use flexible metal hose to connect the blower to the forge as it lets me move the blower to suite the work. I get mine at the scrapyard; but truck repair places may have some or at worst the Al drier hose...

When I was visiting my sister in Manassas VA, I walked over to where they were putting in a new subdivision and found a long row of antique farm equipment buried in a fence row they were bulldozing out, Sigh.  Iron and steel can be found almost everywhere!

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Welcome aboard Donald, glad to have you. By leatherneck in your handle I take it thanking you for serving isn't out of order. Thank you.

Man you are off to a GREAT start! First you put your general location in the header! You'll be surprised how many of the Iforge gang live within visiting distance and you'll learn more in a couple hours with an experienced smith than days or weeks figuring it out yourself.

On top of that you posted lots of pictures! WE LOVE pics! You are Sooooo going to fit in here. :)

Parts of your forge. The large rectangular part is the Pan. The round section that sets down in it is the Fire Pot. The cannon ball thing in the bottom is a Clinker Breaker and takes the place of an Air Grate. It should have a handle that extends to the edge of the pan that lets you turn the clinker breaker. This breaks up clinker and lets it fall down into the Tuyere. By positioning the opening in the breaker you can adjust the air flow through it. The blower is your main air flow control though and you can connect it to the tuyere with virtually anything, clothes dryer ducting is popular but I've seen cardboard ad duct tape. The tuyere is the structure under the pan connecting the blower to the fire pot. The horizontal section should be long enough the air flow will keep it cool enough things like duct tape won't be a problem. The vertical part aiming down with the flapper thing allows ash to collect without disrupting air flow. The flap is called the "Ash Dump."

Just because something has a square shank on it doesn't make it a bottom tool like a Hardy. I don't know what the large rectangular thing is and I can't imagine what I'd do with it standing up in my hardy hole. The smaller one might be a bottom tool but I can't see it clearly enough to say. Don't worry about it there's no telling what a blacksmith might have made it for or it might be part of something else entirely.

The hammer on the forge is a Cross Pein, the pein is at 90* to the handle. A straight pein is in line with the handle. Lots of guys make Angle Pein hammers and those come in left and right. ;)

You have a pair of round bit Bolt tongs. I'm guessing but they look to be around 1/2" dia. and are good for sizes larger. I don't know if there is any special features to the Strait Bit tongs but they LOOK like flat bits. The basic parts of tongs are the "Bits" which grips the work, the Reins or handles, The Boss and Rivet. The boss is the section the rivet passes through to make the hinge.

The paint on the anvil will go quickly enough when you start working with it but as said the smoke isn't a good thing. So remove it, the easy way is to heat up a piece of steel large enough to cover it an old frying pan will work. Then lay it on the face for a little while if it smokes the paint is cooked, take a putty knife and scrape it off. Done fast and easy. Beats the stuffing out of sanding it or or using a stripper.

Looks like you have a fine kit for a start pick something OTHER than rebar to work on it's not very good for anything but concrete. A coal rake is a PERFECT first project. Do a web search for examples, they're simple things done right and you'll need one.

And about searching Iforge, the search engine for the site is lacking use Google and include "Iforge" in the terms. 

Frosty The Lucky.

 

 

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Thanks all for the welcome and feedback!  I was going to jsut use a wire brush on my drill to get rid of the anvil paint, but Frosty's idea with the hot pan sounds better ;)

As for the heavy beast, yeah, I guess something I can move by myself can't be but so heavy.

Frosty - all the terms are great to know.  My clinker breaker has a weight wired on one end, and a clogged hole on the other.  Guess I need to drill out the clog and put some sort of stick or rod in there to use it.

I think I'm going to like it here!

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I have no idea what the rectangular holed centre tool was for...well it looks like it has a swage top so perhaps for rounding up a journal in a crank shaft shaped piece?

Underneath the rust the other one looks like a standard swage. It will have been forged to that shape so as you now have a heat source I would make like a blacksmith and forge the bottom half of the pin to fit your hardy hole. Don't forget that a minute at the anvil with hot metal can save 20 minutes with a file....and of course you can always file hot metal provided you are careful, but it is still much slower than forging.

I say the bottom half of the pin...if you do it neatly and leave a shoulder it will still have the top part of the pin full size for when you acquire your next and larger anvil. You can always do the final squaring up of the shoulders by heating the pin and driving it into the hardy hole.

Alan

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That is a later style forge and did not have to be used with clay.. It looks like someone did use clay at some point..  There was a short time frame before all the major players moved away from clay lined beds..  These pans are usually heavier than earlier models in thickness..    As you can see the pot is inset into the forge bed. Other thing that is funny is they started making the forges smaller.. Smaller with thicker beds.. 

While this picture might be different than the tuyere you have in your forge it will give you an idea of what it should look like.. I can't really tell from the photos you posted but it does look like there is a longer rod coming from underneath.. 

20160512_135821.jpg

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Donald, some here who burn anthracite coal may differ with me, but for someone just starting out, my opinion is that burning bituminous coal rather than anthracite would be much simpler for you.  Anthracite is harder to start, keep burning and doesn't coke up like bituminous.  You can search here on IFI about the differences in the two types of coal for smithing.  You have a fun road ahead of you and worrying about controlling your fire, to me, just gets in the way at the beginning of focusing on the basics you'll be learning.  All that is of course predicated on your ability to locate bituminous.  It can be hard to find in some localities and you have to use what you can get your hands on.

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