Justin Cole Joslin Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Hi guys. My name is Justin. Been interested in blacksmithing a while now. A few years ago I was fortunate enough to come across a great deal on a forge and anvil. Not long after I started tinkering I ended up having to sell my stuff due to losing a job but Im slowly getting back into it. My father and I built a great looking forge last week. Have a big chunk of steel as an anvil at the moment and should have a "real", if you will, anvil within a month. Just wanted to say hi and hope to get to know you and look forward to learning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Nice; though I would have mounted the brake drum from underneath to get rid of the lip around the firepot. One of my forges uses the expanded metal grate too. I sometimes have to remove it and hammer it to remove the fluxcicles if I've been doing a lot of welding in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Cole Joslin Posted May 5, 2015 Author Share Posted May 5, 2015 I was thinking about that. I can simply take the bolts loose and the brake drum will unbolt from the plate that holds the drum and airflow pipe together and lift out. I might change that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Justin, nice looking work.If your grating burns out, several have suggested other types; plates with holes, grates, screens, etc.. The cast iron drain grates I tried out burned out pretty quickly. Here's one type I'm using now. Made the ring from 1/2" mild steel square bar, diameter same as drum ID. Straight bars are 1/2" square bars, welded with 1/4" gap. I just drop it in the drum. It's heavy enough to not have to secure with bolts or welding. Has been working fine for quite a while now. Easy to make and replace if it becomes unusable, which I don't foresee anytime soon. If an inside bar burns up, just cut it out and weld in a replacement. Better than cast iron which is not easily welded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Cole Joslin Posted May 6, 2015 Author Share Posted May 6, 2015 Thanks arkie! That looks great. Thank you for the idea and pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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