Show me your shop!

[SLAG]

Mr. Wil,

The good folks at SLAG Industries L.L.C. have reported and it is rumored on good authority,

that the anvil you were to receive has been delayed. Said anvil is being used as extra ballast  in one of their delivery vans. all in order to provide more traction for said van.

We have learned that delivery will be made when the snow melts.

Helpfully yours,

SLAG.  ceo

[Will-I-am]

 


 You know you’re an Irish dancer when you sit down and your feet are still dancing, but you don’t realize it until someone points it out.

[BsnNFrnt]

No dancing just 9 years worth of tool hoarding. 

[BillyBones]

Many do not know that it was Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzman  and Phil Lesh that put together the Rhythm Devils for the Apocalypse Now soundtrack. 

That hood is not as nice nor work as well as you think. It has been and is in the process of being changed. I am still using the 8" pipe but once we get a few warmer days, and the 8" of snow melts, it will be upgraded to at least a 10". 8" works for the most part, but if i get some green coal smoking it gets a tad smoky in the shop. Not to bad but still more than i want. Also depending on wind direction, sometimes if the wind comes in just right it will blow the smoke out of the hood. 

[LarryLowell]

Hi new to the forum and to blacksmithing. Been collecting stuff to put my shop together, and started organizing it and actually getting ready to fire it up and start playing around. I have an old coal forge, vises and just built a stand for my anvil, the shops a work in progress but coming together.

[JHCC]

Okay, that is waaaaaay too clean. Time to create some clutter!

Seriously, though, nice starting setup. Welcome aboard, and enjoy the ride!

[ThomasPowers]

Is your anvil 1 step away from your forge?

Also that hood will pretty much be useless as most of the air it draws will be from the open shop and not the hot fire which would drive the chimney effect.

Are you right or left handed?  I crank the blower with my hammer hand and use the tongs with my off hand.  That way you don't have to switch hands when you go to the anvil.  Also you would like to be able to work the steel in the fire while you are cranking the blower.  Set it up and do a cold run to see how the arrangement works for you!

[LarryLowell]

JHCC yeah I know, Im a hoarder so outside the shop its a mess, I just bought some pallet racks to store my stuff and organize everything. It will be dirty soon enough, lolol

[LarryLowell]

Thomas, I appreciate your tips, thanks.

 My anvil is about 3 feet from the forge as of now, and I plan on moving the hand crank blower to the other side of the forge and plan on putting a propane forge Im going to build where the smaller circle forge and blower are. My plan is to run a Y for two pipes for air one for the hand crank, and one for an electric blower, so I have options. Im right handed but actually ambidextrous with work. On the hood it will come down a bit more and Ill pipe it up and out, with flue pipe I have. I plan to do some brick work behind the forge and a little on the sides of it and go up to the hood, once heat generates it should start to draw the smoke, if not Ill play around with it some to get it working properly. I did intentionally leave the front and back walls open for air flow, but I figured Id have to play around with it after we fire it up thats why I havent finished the chimney or added any brick work yet. I do appreciate your advice though, Thank you.

Thomas, I do have a question, on my coal forge should I line it with fire brick or just leave it be, I have some brick, but Ive seen some people line them and others leave it as is. Not sure if its necessary or not, it is a heavier thicker coal forge than the little round one. 

[ThomasPowers]

If it's cast iron I would line the forge table, perhaps slanting it slightly so that it's level with the firepot so it's easy to rake coal into it from the table.  My RR Forge was lined with firebrick set in fireclay and has a cast iron firepot that sticks up off the floor to allow for this.  Got to see the same one as used by a professional smith who was in his 80's in the 1990's.

[LarryLowell]

The forge under the hood is a solid one piece forge probably 1/4 inch thick, it doesnt have an insert fire pot, its all one piece, I have four coal forges two are rivet type and this one thats bigger with the table and pot, the forth is an insert type, but I havent built a table for it yet. My thinking was line it using a thin set refractory with the firebricks on top of that, and lining the pot with the refractory cement/mud, but I was also thinking if I didnt need to why waste the money and material on it etc..., but I will now, I dont want to crack it, I was just curious is it was necessary. Thanks again

[Goods]

Just an observation, and could be camera angle, but that anvil stand looks really high. Is it just the camera effect or are you that tall? (Face height is usually between knuckle and wrist height, depending on personal preference and type of work.)

David

[LarryLowell]

Goods, yes Im tall, so are my sons Im 6 foot 6, they are 6 foot 5, and 6 foot 4. The top of the anvil is about mid hand or about 2 inches or so above my knuckles with a closed fist.

[Goods]

Larry, sounds good, just wanted to make sure...

Looking forward to seeing your work,

David

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

If the forge is cast iron it definitely needs to be lined either with clay or bricks mortared together to prevent it from cracking.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

I have a similar forge , and it has been used outside since the late 70's, never lined it. Indoors it would be fine, but outside the lining can hold moisture, and rot the pan.

[LarryLowell]

Thanks for everyones advice, and input.

[Purple Bullet]

Here is my shop. I built it about 3 years back and in some ways I'm still working on it. I was 67 when I started it, but other than pouring and finishing the slab I did the entire construction single handed. I had an electrician friend help me with the electrical service. It was constructed safely and meets local code. I'll go through some of the details in following posts.

It is made of two 40' cargo boxes placed four feet apart on a chain-walled 6" slab. At the back end of these two boxes is a 20' cargo box. I cut out the box walls where the boxes join and cut several openings to the four foot gap area. I spanned the gap on top of the boxes with 2X6 joists and  plywood to make the 2nd story floor. I left a large area of the walls intact towards the back to be support for the stairs.

On the foundation prep you can see the internal chain walls that will be under the load bearing areas of the boxes. You can also see my home made tamper (a piece of plate with 1" square tubing welded to it - Ha! who needs a gym?) 

This is the part I couldn't hack on my own. I've done some concrete work , both with a mixer and without, so I know for something this big, call the pro's in!

[jlpservicesinc]

Very nice.. Not sure what you meant about "Chain" on the outside wall.. 

the rebar and metal mesh is excellent. 

[Purple Bullet]

Once the slab cured well, I drilled and installed 3/4" anchors where each of the boxes outside corners would land. When the truck delivered the boxes (one at a time) I used a jack to lift the boxes enough to put sections of pipe under to roll near where they were going to go. Then I removed the pipe and did the fine adjustments with a porta-power and a pinch bar. 

Each cargo box has a standard connector box at each corner, but I just made big washers out of 1/2" plate. If we ever have another tornado (one passed through here during hurricane Andrew) this is where we are going.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

That's an outstanding looking shop. I thought about using cargo containers, but the cost here was prohibitive.

[Purple Bullet]

Not all of my plywood was "first use" plywood. Originally I was going to weld up my bow frames, but according to our parish regs I would have to be either a certified welder or have a certified welding inspector certify the framing. I've passed welding tests in earlier career's but the only AWS certification I had was E-5 for underwater welding and that was a looong time ago. So I came up with a bolted gusset design that the inspectors and the engineer doing my drawings liked. I just wish I'd had my CNC plasma table at that time. 

[yves]

This is a very beautiful job, modern yet it seems to blend perfectly in the environment. Kudos to you sir.

 

[Purple Bullet]

Once I had the bowframes bolted together I had to fall back on some rigging experience. I never got a picture of it but I used a gin-pole to get the initial lift. At first my truck was the deadman and I used a cable comealong to lift. I had a hold-back that was just a loop running back to a line that would stay centered. I would slack it off, secure it and pull up on the come along until it got tight, then repeat the process. It was slow, but sure. I did a lot of leveling before I drilled the holes for the bottom gusset.

Once I got the first few frames up it was easier. Putting the roof on wasn't too bad. I used a couple of ropes to hold it up to a string stretched to help me keep it all straight. I had to use my climbing harness to get the screws in. One word of caution; don't try this unless you know what you are doing. With the right equipment and training it is safe. If you don't have the right equipment and training don't try it.

[Purple Bullet]

Thanks for all the kind words. Jlpservices - chain wall may not be the right technical term. Here in South Louisiana the soil is not the best. One way we compensate for that is by making the edge of a slab (and in my case, through the middle as well) a deeper trench and lay in rebar to create a reinforced area that helps keep the slab from cracking due to subsidence and traps soil under it. I've heard it called a floating slab but I'm not sure that is an accurate term either.