Bill in Oregon Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 This is mostly pipe dreaming, but I have this vision of a small old-timey looking building, clapboard or board and batten sided with a steep gabled metal roof and a big barn door. I'm mostly a charcoal or propane guy, so it doesn't need to be big or have a hearth and chimney for coal. Anyone else daydream about such things? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry H Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 just everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted T Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Everything starts out as a thought! All of my buildings started out as thoughts in my mind. All of my tools and equipment I have built started out as thoughts in my mind. Now I would suggest that you think about how you will obtain the skills to bring your thoughts to life. It is all up to you. It takes Time, Effort, Money, Sweat, and Sacrifice on your part if you are serious about your dream. I wish you the very best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfshieldrx Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Almost, sorta, kind of like this? Bart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
34557564 Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 This guy's shop is my dream place- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPgESIYOVGI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewayforge Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 WolfShield, That is a PERFECT small shop! All it needs is a handforged bracket holding a sign! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfshieldrx Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Ridgewayforge: Thanks guy! A couple years ago my son graduated from college and we paid off our house. That's when the finest woman who ever lived said "Build that blacksmith shop you've been yacking about...". Nothing fancy. 4x4 posts sided with T-111. Dirt floor. Tin roof. I built a brick forge around a centaur forge cast iron pot. Champion 400 blower. 12 X 12 feet of solitude nestled in a wooded corner of our little half-acre. Glad you liked it. I'll see if i can find some pix of the not-so-neat interior. Bart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert hanford Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 I have something like that. It brings me great pleasure. It is not big, but it serves the purpose of having a nice little enclosed forge and actually we wired it with electricity recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric sprado Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Love his invisible striker who appears out of nowhere on demand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Here is mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfshieldrx Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Here is mine Nice! Mine is wired inside but still receives power via a long heavy duty extention cord. Only thing I use electricity for is lights and a small grinder. Everything else is me-powered...blower, a couple of hand-cranked drills, etc. bart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewayforge Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Harley, That is a sweet shop! I love the organized chaos on the outside. Looks rustic and splendid. WofShield, you sure are lucky to be told to go build the shop! Most of the time its more of a begging and pleading case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Seelye Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Harley, That is a sweet shop! I love the organized chaos on the outside. Looks rustic and splendid. WofShield, you sure are lucky to be told to go build the shop! Most of the time its more of a begging and pleading case. It really helps if your wife loves iron things. The first things I built were for the house or yard using a torch and a RR anvil. It is not hard for a woman who sees possibilities, to ask "so what kind of tools would you need to build me one of those?" I've seen pictures of Harley's work in his house. Lots of talent and sweat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill in Oregon Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 Wolfshield, very nice little shop; yours, too, Harley. Love to peek inside both of them. Puppy: That John Neeman clip was enchanting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 One of these days I'll have a nice little shop. I'm not too interested in building big things so I can do without room for that, but I sure would like something where I can work without interruption and keep all of the smithy stuff together. That Neeman shop is dreamy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 A lot depends on what you plan to do in it. Knifemaking can be done in quite a small shop; but if you think about doing ornamental iron---well lay out your shop on the yard and then take a 10 to 20' length of steel and start swinging it around your proposed equipment.... I was doing some stakes to hold wattle panels during the campout I was just on and just making a 5' long stake with some fancy bits on one end I kept running into the tarp and the poles that hold the tarp up---the tarp being 10' wide and 7' high. (The stakes hav a doubled back on itself section for hammering on, then h_o section with the o turned flat to hold a solar light and the h section to fit over the wattle panel and hold it in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 my 2 cents would build it bigger than you think that you will need. you will soon grow into it with the addition of tools. I would keep an eye out for stuff. I found where they were changing out the pavers at the entrance to a gated community and it was closer for them to dump them in my yard. sorted out the bricks and the sand. had enough to to the shop. wish my roof was taller but it works and I have a wall that opens like a door can back the truck in and unload plus it helps it keep cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill in Oregon Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 Well after thinking about this some more, and doing some Net searches, I am becoming very fond of the idea of building a small (e.g. 10 x 10 interior) smithy of cob, with a metal roof. We have some pretty serious clay soil, so most of the material will be the cost of my sweat, plus some sand, straw and horse manure. I'm thinking a floor of crushed granite, abundant here in southern Oregon. Nice thing about cob is that it tends to keep spaces cool in summer and warm in winter. And if it ends up looking sort of like a shapeless blob, that's cool too, as most of the things I forge tend to be shapeless blobs ... B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewayforge Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 I like that idea! You should pursue that. Keep us posted on your progress, it would certainly spur some of the newbies on to building their own, and for cheap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Blythin Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 I'm planning on building something similar at the end of the summer. I'll be doing a small (10' x 12'); Post & beam construction, the walls infilled with 'cordwood masonry' ... unsure of the roof at the moment. I like a metal roof, but am having the house and garage re-shingled over the summer, so may just ask the roofers to leave me enough to do the shed / shop to match. 10' x 12' is because that's the largest we can build here without a building permit. It's not that I have any issue with permits in general - but in Ontario, you need a stamped drawing from an engineer or architect, which I believe to be a complete waste of time & money for a small shop. I'll probably pour a pad next to the shed/shop, fenced in with a pergola over the top, to extend the shop outdoors in good weather. ... although, now that someone else has mentioned it, cob sounds like a great idea too. Hmm... will have to give that some serious consideration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yves Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 I live in a silo, 14 feet in diameter., . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Private Entrance Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Yeah, but think of all the attic space you have... ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
journey333 Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 I am in process of building an outdoor smithy up here in Central Oregon. Of course, that means that my ability to work will be limited by the weather quite a bit, but it is better than nothing. Eventually I will build a lean-to over the majority of it. But first I am building an earthbag wall between me and my cranky neighbor, hopefully keep the noise down and the peace up. Also, because I want to have a fence to keep people from just waltzing in to my shop/yard from the alley.There's the beginnings of it. 1st course laid--bags filled with gravel.I like the idea of cob, but our soil is too sandy. Hard work, but the dirt is free, and most of the bags were free too, repurposed feed bags I got by posting on craigslist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndersMJ Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 I'm building a little shop in the corner of my parents' barn. Convinced my dad that we needed a metal working area and that evolved... Probably going to do the ventilation system this weekend. I'm gonna lay some brickwalls to contain the sparks more. The total 'shop' area is probably around 16' x 16'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drewed Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Pricey, but ilike the looks of it:http://www.drpower.com/prdSell.aspx?p1Name=structures&Name=post_and_frame_kit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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