First forge update

[Saiga308]

irst off, thank you all so much for your help getting this forge up and running. OK, I took the tub off and used it for a place to bust charcoal up. Once I put enough charcoal on the forge it runs great, and it is much quieter now that I replaced the hair dryer with a squirrel cage on a dimmer switch. I also moved the Anvil closer and put a fan behind me trying to keep as much clean air coming at me as possible.
I do have some more questions,
I am using 1/2" round stock, any idea what type of steel this should be and how I should quench it? Water or oil?
I keep reading about soaking the charcoal in water before use to keep the sparks down, do I just spray it on, or do I dump the coal in a bucket of water?


Here are some pics
First off is the old tub and the charcoal bag, I am using an old plow share that I found 90% buried in the woods as my crusher, it works great! I wounder how old it is?
Photo 1

Here is the squirrel cage
Photo 2

Here is the new anvil location, the only ID I can find on it is on the base under the horn, it says T A80 4
Photo 3

I am working on my first blade right now, I hope to have some more pics tomorrow.

[larrynjr]

Though I've never worked with a coal forge that looks like it will do the trick. How hot did the charcoal get for you?