Outsider_Looking_In Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Hi all, After a long time of lurking and idlly day dreaming and thinking I final have decided to get off my butt and do something. What started all of this activity was finding this in the wood near my house. Used as a bird feeder by the local pheasant keeper until it was replaced with professional, plastic feeders and discarded. By the time I found it it had rusted through in several places and the wooden legs had completely rotted away. After a bit of googling I found that while Zirconium wasn't poisonous, it could cause health issues if inhaled or ingested, so I gave the drum a wash out with water and soap on the off chance that there was any chemical remaining after all these years. Then the real work began. After nearly two hours of labouring with a blunt hacksaw, which was the best I had available (unfortunately) I finally managed to remove the base of the drum. You can see the cuts in the base where the bird feed dropped out of the drum but more about those later. After a long, cold drink and a sit down, I thumbed a lift into town from a relative (I haven't got round to getting my drivers licence, despite having been able to drive for nearly 2 years. Laziness and all that). One successful shopping trip later, I returned with a 5kg bag of lumpwood charcoal and a pair of these. I know that for a basic 55 forge that it is un nessisary to used refractory material, but I wanted to seal those holes, as well as trying to protect the badly rusted metal. I know that the ashes from previous fires will provide limited protection but there is nothing wrong with occasionally using belts AND braces (well, except as a crime against fashion). The cement is rated up to around 1250*c and should do the job. Although I freely admit that I am incredibly ignorant about the vast majority of blacksmithing and related subjects. As I type this, the fire cement is currently curing with a food fire and I am currently hunting through my Dad's shed for material that can be turned into a set of tongs. If I have done something wrong or you you have some useful advice, feel free to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Check with Dad before converting his material to tongs. Vise grips, or even large pliers can substitute for tongs. What are you using for an air source? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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