Buchan Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Hello, New to the site and new to blacksmithing. My name is Iain Buchan from the N.E of Scotland and today i finished building my brake drum forge, copied in the most part from Kevin Robinson on you tube. I picked up an anvil and cast stand at a sale last year for £120 and last saturday was at another sale and picked up a good haul of hammers, tongs, hardie tools and a belter of a leg vice for £180! Right place at the right time! Im waiting on a couple of bags of Smithy Breeze coming so when that arrives ill get to heating some metal! Cheers Iain B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Welcome; looks like you are pretty much ready to go. I forged Sat and Sunday here though it's getting a bit warm, got my travel forge set up on the front porch so I can use the shade. I'll probably have to start watering the yard though as students tend to want to light it. Let us know how the breeze works with a hand crank; I thought it was a bit easier with a powered set up. Does one of the back bricks lift out for long pieces to go through? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buchan Posted February 29, 2016 Author Share Posted February 29, 2016 Hello ThomasPowers, Yeah, i made the chimney cowl removable so the bricks come out easily for longer stock. I would really have to de-water our yard as its still miserably cold and wet over here....56 degrees north! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the iron dwarf Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 welcome, there are several members north of the border, im a long way south of you in England though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buchan Posted February 29, 2016 Author Share Posted February 29, 2016 Hello iron dwarf, that's good to know. Looking forward to talking to other members and getting help with some projects. I'm eventually i would like to make some gates for the house, but the first thing is going to be an axe made from an old ball-pein hammer! (gotta love Gary Huston for his brilliant you tube vids!) Get the old arm swinging again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Welcome aboard Lain, glad to have you. Nice kit you've gotten for yourself there, nice build on the forge too. A pass through for long pieces of stock on the fire is pretty important, it's good you thought of it but I suggest an easier faster way to open a rear door. You want to remove the mushrooming on the struck tools it will chip eventually and that is a rude way to donate blood and doesn't leave eyeballs very salvageable. Some guys suggest bringing them to welding temp and forging and welding the mushrooming back in proper shape, others recommend grinding it off. Whatever you do, don't use them, they're dangerous to you and bystanders. One last thought for you. You made a pretty nice ash dump on the tuyere and long enough to slip a bucket under and catch hot clinker and cinders. You're going to find a gate valve like that a little inconvenient and may jam as it gets dirtier making it hard to close. I made my tuyere from exhaust tubing as well but with a shorter bottom leg and my ash dump is the exhaust flap cap you see on heavy trucks. They come with clamps to they're really easy to install and welding a little extra length of rod on the counter weight makes it easy to flip it open with tongs, hammer, piece of stock, etc. The extra counter weight helps keep it closed against the air blast pressure however if flammable gasses collect in the bottom leg and ignite the backfire will just open the ash dump cap and not blow burning coals and cinder around the shop. Of course the flap cap closes right back up and keeping a bucket uder the ash dump is a really good idea. Back fires aren't as much an issue burning breeze or coke but they still happen occasionally and I'm willing to bet a beer you'll be burning coal sooner or later even just to give it a try. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buchan Posted February 29, 2016 Author Share Posted February 29, 2016 Hello Frosty, that's great ideas, it wouldn't be a problem to fit a door and change the ash dump. I didn't even consider a backfire could happen, thank you for the insight. I am a bricklayer to trade so i know how sore it is to be hit by high speed shrapnel from mushroom headed chisels and bolsters! I have in the past just buffed them down and i will do the same with the tools i just bought before i put them to use. Cheers Iain B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzonoqua Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Hi Iain, I'm going to amicably disagree with Frosty with regards to the gate on the ash dump, i've had one like that on my "temporary" forge that kind of became permanent for over 4 years, the occassional backfire didn't really do much but just ignite the gas but my fan had an open grate section on it where gases could escape, so maybe just leave the bolt loosened a little, but I will wholeheartedly agree with frosty, just keep a steel bucket underneath. I'd say you're hitting the ground running there! Also I think you might struggle with coke and again have to side with Frosty, so I'll share that beer with him, you'll be on the coal rather than coke soon enough!! With a hand turned blower, you may find it difficult to keep the coke alight... there's some fairly good forging coal out there at the minute, one of the sources is Scotland, can't recall off the top of my head where exactly it's from, but you can get on with plain old house coal, I think group C is the smallest, maybe mix that with the coke so you can keep the fire going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buchan Posted March 2, 2016 Author Share Posted March 2, 2016 Hi tzonoqua, thanks for the advice, i'm going to fire up the forge tomorrow. the local garage sells housecoal doubles which is small coal. I use it in the woodburner to make a good base for burning logs. I will mix some 50/50 with the smithy breeze for the first burn and let you know how it goes, i can always change the mix either way from there. Cheers Iain B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 I don't know what you're calling breeze, here it's what a lot or some of us call forge coke and it's like cigarette ash colored styrofoam. I've found if a LOT easier to light and it stays lit over lunch. We'd spread and wet it when we were finished to keep it from burning all the coal and breeze in the forge. We used it to light the coal. I'm curious. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzonoqua Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 hey Frosty, over here Breeze is definitely coke and will go out if not continually fanned, if you leave it over lunch you have to relight the fire.. you americans probably don't take as long for lunch.. lol I have attached a pic of a heart shaped clinker that came out of my forge when burning coke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Over here I am used to the term breeze referring to coke made in your forge from coal as opposed to "industrial coke" which is bought (or scrounged) and is much much denser and a pain to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buchan Posted March 3, 2016 Author Share Posted March 3, 2016 Frosty, I owe you a beer! This stuff is a bi**h to get going! I'll buy some housecoal an a bag of lumpwood charcoal to get a base going before adding the breeze. Sharp learning curve....... Cheers Iain B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 I look forward to collecting Iain. One of our guys burns petroleum coke in the cupola melter for the iron pour I'll have to see about bumming some and see what it's like. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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