MrDarkNebulah Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 So I've been wanting to get out and forge for the past 3 weeks or so, and I've finally got my chance. And boy do i have a lot of updates from the three weeks. The thing was i couldn't actually forge until i fixed up my new forge, cleaned off my new anvil, and did some work on setting up my shop area before the ground froze. When i finally got all that done, i had a chance to do some forging. So here is my update, and asking for advice and critique and suggestions. Dont hold back! First subject to bring up is my new work space. Im making a roofed in section on the side of my garage. Seeing as how I'm just starting out, i don't really know how to outfit this area? How should it be organized? what do you guys recommend? How do you guys have your shops set up? I got the posts set in a couple days ago, which was perfect, right beforethe ground froze. It will be about 11' by 12'. darn i forgot to take the other picture but here is the posts set up and a random picture of the river in my backyard. Also, Im not sure who will be making more noise, me or the chicken coop ill be next to. Second thing, I finally got my new forge finished. It's a brake drum forge, and i have it set on a stainless steel top i made. It is made form two halves, connected by copper pipe. I designed it to be able to be taken apart, and it is a botom draft froge. IT isn't super sturdy yet, as it was made with the scrap steel I could find, and i could only rivet things together as I dont have a welder, but it worked very well. It is a bottom draft forge as well. I have those two pieces of steel on the sides to limit the are the fuel could go, which helped out quite a bit. This was also my first time forging with coal, I'm using tractor supply andesite coal, and it was completely different. So any suggestions or critiques on the forge and advice on using coal is very welcome. Now unto what I actually made today. I've been in desperate need of a fire rake, and I set that as my goal today. Big thanks to Everything Mac for the really helpful video tutorial he posted a bit ago, It really made it easier. I made mine out of rebar, and i think it came out pretty well for the 3rd thing I'veever forged. It was great to finally use my new anvil, such a satisfying feeling. sorry if the pictures aren't good quality, i was using my phone and it was cold out. I also still have my heart set on making a bottle opener, so I modified a small ball pein hammer to help make the tabs. I just made the ball part a bit smaller and more cylindrical. And finally, it was getting to be lunch time, so why not try to cook some hotdogs over the forge? It didn't end well... So all in all, Im very happy with today and it felt great to get back to forging. Sorry for the giant post and dump of info, but its been the cumulation of three weeks and I wanted to Share. So yeah, Im asking for any critiques, suggestions, and advice on anything I mentioned, and it would be a tremendous help! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 First suggestion beef up that forge table!! That looks as flimsy as it can get and stand in still air. Even if you don't light the yard on fire Murphy says the top of your shoe will be in exactly the wrong place when it goes over. No blast when you're grilling dogs, they like a gentle heat and some soak time. Oh no borax! Nice fire rake well done. Next session project suggestion = toasting forks with bottle opener finials. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 That hammer will make fine bottle opener tabs. A light rod wrap around the groove would make a serviceable handle. Pity about the snags. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JME1149 Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 I'd be concerned about the copper pipe giving way if it gets too hot. Also might want to consider changing the plumbing underneath to include an ash dump (install a tee where the elbow is now). Congrats on getting it up an running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Coke Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Greetings Mr. Dark, Best clean up your forge area of leaves and combustible material . Most of the forge suggestions have been covered by others.. One more thing .. Clean your anvil face.. Just this ol boys 2c.. Have fun.. Forge on and make beautiful things Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDarkNebulah Posted January 18, 2016 Author Share Posted January 18, 2016 Thanks for the tips guys. I've been meaning to add some more supports to the table, it is very flimsy. I just wanted to get it working. And the tee is the next addition as well, but the hardware store didn't have one yet. What do you recommend to clean up the anvil face, a wire brush wheel, or a flap disk or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Olson Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 I did the same thing for my ball pien for bottle openers but i retempered the struck end to just beyond blue thinking about the hammer hitting hammer rule and chipping. The face files easy now so i know i softened it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDarkNebulah Posted January 18, 2016 Author Share Posted January 18, 2016 Yea i made sure to anneal and then temper the struck end as well. Wanted to make sure to do taht after hearing some of the other guys talk about hammers shattering when being hardened and hitting them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Jim means keep the scale brushed off or it'll get embedded in your work. The anvil's face will smooth up the more you use it. Well, I'm pretty sure that's what Jim means I don't think he wants you to take a grinder to it. I don't. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 2 hours ago, MrDarkNebulah said: Yea i made sure to anneal and then temper the struck end as well. Wanted to make sure to do taht after hearing some of the other guys talk about hammers shattering when being hardened and hitting them. I don't know a lot about tempering so I annealed the whole lot. It's done dozens of bottle openers with no distortion of the ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDarkNebulah Posted January 18, 2016 Author Share Posted January 18, 2016 I don't know much either, but i know that colours show the temper, so i tempered the part that makes the tab to blue. I think thats how it goes, correct me if im wrong. 1 hour ago, Frosty said: Jim means keep the scale brushed off or it'll get embedded in your work. The anvil's face will smooth up the more you use it. Well, I'm pretty sure that's what Jim means I don't think he wants you to take a grinder to it. I don't. Frosty The Lucky. Ok thanks frosty. Yea i made sure to brush it off every couple heats, but i need to get better at it.Thanks for the clarification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Hammers aren't going to "shatter" they chip. Shattering is exaggeration but a chip can be bad enough. If you've ever heard high carbon steel chip you would've heard the "SNAP" sound. That's the chip breaking the sound barrier. It doesn't go very far maybe 3'-4' but that's plenty far enough to poke holes in you. Remember, your arteries are close to the surface and your femoral is right at anvil level and your brachial artery is inside your arm which puts it inline and exposed every time you chip something with a hammer. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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