first time with fire in the forge

[ceas65]

well she's certainly ain't much to look at,

 

 but a smart man told me " metal doesn't care how it gets hot " so i threw on some charcoal and heated my first project  

 

 a little hook to hold an extension cord kickin around the floor   that went so well i decided to try something a little more tricky  this handy lil poker for my brake disc ... err i mean forge 

 

... then the wife gave me this challenge  

 

 a little bracelet of sorts , well they aren't master pieces i know ,

 

but with no real training, a hammer , an anvil and a brake disc .... i'm happy as a tornado in a trailer park .... can't wait to go for round two  

All of these were made with 12" nails i had found in a box i'd forgotten about 

 

 

 

Did i mention the kids had fun too. The 2 yr old helpin dad "fix" stuff and here's the 4 yr old was toastin marshmallows at the forge 

 

if every day at the forge could be as rewarding as today .... 

 

 

 

 

[Ted T]

NICE!!!!!

Just keep it enjoyable and Forge Forge Forge!

Looks like you are making good memories! 

That is just the cream on the pie when you include family!

 

My very best wishes for you as you move forward in the blacksmithing craft.

Ted Throckmorton

[ceas65]

thanks Ted , it means a lot sharing with the family, we all seem so busy trying to make it work ... we forget about the living while we try to "make a living":

and any type of praise for someone of your caliber really makes me want to try again ... and again ...   

[Frosty]

That is just SWEET! Forge up and working, projects looking good, kids grinning BIG, marshmallows toasting up nicely and the wife happy. It doesn't get any better than that, Brother.

 

Dum vivimus vivamus. Latin, "While we live let us LIVE." Oscar Gordon, "Glory Road" by R. A. Heinlein.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

[ceas65]

you're right Frosty , the only thing that could be better is if i had a clue what i was doing with the metal... but i'll get there ! 

[rustyanchor]

Nice work.

As you try more you figure out what works well and what doesn't. BUT have fun with it and maybe your 2 shop helpers will get the bug too. 

 

Mark

[Glenn]

Fill the deck with mud to bring it up to the top of the forge. This will allow you to rake fuel directly into the fire and to add more fuel for a deeper fire for larger projects. 

 

The drum is only about 4 inches deep and you need at least twice that for a fire. Add about 5 gallon of fuel to the deck and another gallon on top of the forge. It is NOT wasting any fuel but having fuel available to work with. Air controls the heat of the fire, NOT the amount of fuel you are using.

 

If you need a still deeper fire stack bricks around the rim and add fuel. Play with the set up until you get what works for you. If the changes you make are less efficient, then tear it apart and change it. No one said it had to work the first time. Different fire pot designs will give you a different type of heat. Play with different shapes and different depths. No one ever said you could only have one forge. (grin)

[ceas65]

glenn thx for the tips ... going to try some of them out tomorrow .... working on the air supply as i have only been using an air mattress pump from the top, also going to contact a neighbor about  brake disc or drum from a semi ... we'll see will add pics as  we can ! 

[beammeupscotty]

I hope you don't mind my saying so, but if that is your forging hammer you might want to consider dressing the face a bit.  I do it with a flap wheel on a side grinder then smooth it up on a 6" craytex wheel on a bench grinder.  All that irregularity on your hammer face transfers directly to your work. 

[ceas65]

well i took some good advice and got air directly into my fire pot

 

had it rigged out with a valve and waste gate ( that was a dumb idea )

 

removed all that nonsense  and REALLY got a good fire going

 

i filled the bed of the mower deck with clay and added about 1.5 to 2 inches to my fire pot 

 

made that "perfect gift " for the wife  a pair of spikes with a rope to keep her rows straight in the garden

 

 

and worked on a new hook ... with a twist

 

 

also did one half of a pair of tongs with punched hole in them all in all a good day of learning 

[VaughnT]

You'll find that there's nothing like having a good forge and anvil around the homestead.  Thousands of things to make, including all the tools you need for smithing, and each piece helps you to improve on your skills.

 

Best advice I could give would be to keep a little notebook filled with ideas for future projects and all the little things you've learned along the way.  Most times, folks forget the lessons learned during the last forging session and slow themselves down by having to relearn them.  You can make a quantum leap forward if you keep some simple notes on what works and what doesn't.

 

I'm really bad about repeating mistakes a few hundred times.

[swedefiddle]

Good Morning,

 

To make a SAFE working environment, I would add a little triangulation to your forge legs. Nothing worse than when you are having fun and Humpty-Dumpty falls down.

 

If you can't find a hand-crank blower to help you get air to your fire-pot, look for an old hair-dryer in the recycle. K.I.S.S. still works.

 

As Jim Coke says, "Forge on and make beautiful Things". :) :)

 

Neil