Jedediah Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 So I've never used one of these forums before or been good at writing, so hopefully I do this right. I've always wanted to learn how to forge and cast metal. I've played around with casting aluminum a little bit with minimal success. But loads of fun. But when I get back home from work I want to start learning to forge. I have a general idea on what I want to build for a gas forge but no real good ideas on what to use to make it work well and I have a RR tie I'm going to try and make into a anvil. If there's anyone out there that could share some tips, tricks, and advice on materials,tools, techniques, ect. All would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Don't use a RR tie to make an anvil, the creosote is nasty stuff---use a piece of rail if you can't find a nicer solid chunk of steel The Complete Modern Blacksmith by Weygers has a whole chapter of turning a chunk of rail into an anvil and is one of the books I suggest for folks starting out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Welcome aboard Jedediah, glad to have you. Have we met? I live on Vine Rd. and silly buggers they are the Association of Alaskan Blacksmiths elected me president. Our next club meeting is in March, I'll have to ask the date my memory stinks. We're also hosting a 2 day Mark Aspery Joinery clinic June 11th. & 12th. Meetings are open you only have to be a member to participate in club business. There is usually at least one demonstrator at meetings and several stations for folk to work at. Clinics are pay to play of course and we're working out the fee for Mr. Aspery's clinic. Near the bottom of the Iforge opening page is the regional organizations section The Alsakan Association sub section is near the top. I'll PM you with more direct contact info if you wish. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedediah Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 1 hour ago, ThomasPowers said: Don't use a RR tie to make an anvil, the creosote is nasty stuff---use a piece of rail if you can't find a nicer solid chunk of steel Sorry about that I meant the rail not the tie. And I know what book your talking about I picked it up about a month ago it was what gave me the idea for using a rail And frosty that would be great if I could get the dates I'll be back home for a bit in March so hopefully it'll work out so I could go and any other contact stuff I'm sure would be very useful and appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Cool, it's a good time to hook up with the club it's going through a growth spurt. We went several years with the same guys and in the last year and a half it's more than doubled. You'll have lots of newcomers to the craft to work with, meeting demos are leaning towards basic skills sets and tool making. It's a GOOD time to join the gang and start the craft. Where are you in the Valley? WE may be neighbors, if not there are guys scattered from Willow to Palmer and an occasional from Sutton. Oh, one of our board members is a caster mostly bronze but he puts on the Art on Fire iron pour in June. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teenylittlemetalguy Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Welcome to the group! the next meeting is March 19th at Jims place in Anchorage. I am sure that coming from the valley there will be at least a car you can follow. while casting is not a Blacksmithing skill we are lucky to have Pat in the group and he casts for a living. very good guy. hope to see you at a meeting. if not March then the next one is May 14th at Pats in Palmer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Glad you're watching Tristan, I have the meeting and clinic dates in my book and I didn't have to remember to ask! Win win! Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedediah Posted February 12, 2016 Author Share Posted February 12, 2016 Bummer the 19th is 4 days longer then I'll be home for. But I'm out in the big lake area. And I think I met pat. He's the one with Artic Fire and bronze? I went in there to ask a few questions on casting. I do have one question. What's the difference between soft and hard fire bricks I've looked them up and other then the obvious one is harder then the other I don't really understand the difference? And are they even worth using for a forge? What's the pros and cons of using bricks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frozenforge Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 Welcome Jedediah The soft brick is much more fragile, better insulator, very light. Hard is much tougher, not as good of an insulator and heavy. Often hard brick is used for the forge floor for longevity and to soft elsewhere. E. J. Bartells in Anchorage has both types, I don't know about sourcing in the valley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedediah Posted February 12, 2016 Author Share Posted February 12, 2016 Cool thank you. I'll have to go check that place out when I get home. Now what about the ceramic blanket stuff kaowool I think it was called. What exactly does that stuff do or good for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 There are a bunch of threads here about building propane forges with many pros and cons of the different materials, sizes shapes, etc. Kaowool is a good insulator and so long as it's kiln washed properly it's reasonably robust. Soft or insulating fire brick suffers from thermal cycling and will heat check rather quickly. Hard brick lasts a lot longer but it has about the same R value as lime stone, approx R1 per foot. Not good. I have split hard fire brick as the floor in my forge over insulating cast refractory and while it's okay I wouldn't do it again. I think I'd go kiln shelf over 2" of Kaowool for the floor. Drop by I'll show you how my gasser is built and tell you all the things wrong with it. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedediah Posted February 12, 2016 Author Share Posted February 12, 2016 What is a kiln wash I've seen people talking about it but I haven't been able to figure out what it actually is. And I'd love to be able to come by and check out your set up that would definitely help me understand all this stuff a lot better then reading and writing about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 Kiln washes are coatings for the inside of kilns and furnaces to protect them from aspects of the environment. Ceramic and pottery kilns have the widest range of washes I've seen, different clays, firing temperatures, glazes, pigments, etc. all have their own high energy chemistry. Kiln washes for forges tend to be for 3 main uses. To protect against welding fluxes typically containing borax which is caustic at welding temperatures. Silica dissolves in caustics so flux eats most refractories. Another use is as an infra red reflector, the more heat you can keep IN the forge the less fuel you have to burn and the higher temperature you can maintain. Lastly (for the main uses) is as a stabilizer for ceramic blanket refractory. This stiffens it so it becomes more structural often called a rigidizer. It also encapsulates the fibers so they don't end up i your lungs, silicosis is a B-A-D thing. And lastly as an IR reflector it not only helps keep heat IN the forge it helps shield the blanket from heat and mechanical wear. Probably one of the best pieces of advice I have to offer is don't get in a rush and don't try to make the best or a perfect forge. The more you learn the more you'll realize why some of us old timers have so many old forges gathering dust. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedediah Posted February 12, 2016 Author Share Posted February 12, 2016 Well that was definitely very help full. Thank you. And I'm actually on beaver lake. But I am familiar with most that area Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 I guess that puts about 15 minutes apart give or take. Cool. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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