Newborn to Blacksmiting in Ashville Alabama

[AlabamaAmatuer]

Hi all, I'm in the middle of building my first forge and getting my tools together. I have my hammers, my Brake-Drum, Concrete blocks, and an around 1 foot diameter, 6 inch thick piece of hardened steel that's a lot heavier than 30 pounds, to use as my Anvil. I still need my pipes, hairdryer, Coal, and Tongs. now that, is wherein lies my dilemma, I have read, and watched how to make, the tongs, but I have not a clue what to buy (or rather scavenge, I'm not broke but I'm not rich, just a High School Senior working a fast-food job till college) in the way of metal bars or "repatriated materials". Any help is appreciated, I'm looking for tips on places to find material especially, and if you're in Alabama, and have any techniques or spare/old tools you want to sell or throw out, let me know. I am in Ashville, Alabama.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Might I suggest a side blast forge as allowed to a brake drum/bottom blast. Generally easer and less expensive to build and much more charcoal friendly. 

[AlabamaAmatuer]

21 minutes ago, Charles R. Stevens said:

Might I suggest a side blast forge as allowed to a brake drum/bottom blast. Generally easer and less expensive to build and much more charcoal friendly. 

I'm interested, how would I go about building it?

[Glenn]

Go to the meetings of the Alabama Forge Council with a camera and notebook. You will be able to learn more in a day than you could ever imagine. They also have the tools you want for sale.

There are many tutorials available on IForgeIron on making tongs. Do not get intimidated, you are allowed to make mistakes.  Like anything else, practice is the key. First time you got into a car you had trouble keeping it between the ditches, now you drive everywhere without giving the process of the operation a thought. Tongs are easy enough to make after the first two pair.

Long pieces of metal do not need tongs. For short pieces of metal use vise grips, or weld a handle onto the piece of metal. After forging simply cut the handle off.

Curmudgeons are your friends as they have the knowledge you seek. Approach them with respect and you will get respect and information in return. If you have questions, show us what you have done (photos are good) and we can then suggest ways to solve the problem or improve the product.

 

Side blast forges:

They are nothing more than a container for the fire with a 3/4 or 1 inch pipe stuck into the fuel horizontally from the side. The pipe should be about 3 inches from the bottom of the forge.

[AlabamaAmatuer]

Thanks Curmudgeon man and Admin, If I am to use my Brake Drum (or, Two, as they basically just wanted to get them out of their scrap pile at the Autobody shop) how would I do so? I cant really find anything except monstrous forges online, and this isn't something I am setting up permanently, It's something I want to set up and take down after I'm done.

Unless, I wonder if I can do that sort of thing but with an Dakota Fire hole?? and a brake drum down in the hole?

[Charles R. Stevens]

And finally an illustration from another member

 

[Glenn]

At this point may I suggest you read the forges > solid fuel section of the site. There are many discussions there on setting things up.

Simple answer is to build a side blast forge as described above. One pipe and your operational. Leave an air gap between the hair dryer and the pipe in order to control the air blast to the forge.

Also look at the 55 Forge set up and modify it to your needs. This is nothing more than a piece of auto exhaust pipe put through a piece of plate steel in the bottom of a brake drum. The 1/4 inch round bars stick out past the exhaust pipe to keep it from falling through the hole.

 

Yes, it works.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Try site search on google for "side blast forge"

http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/26716-side-blast-forge/?page=2#comment-459263

After some light reading, some one like John B, Everything Mac, Thomas Powers or dare I say my self (and a bunch of others I left out) will probably give you more help than you want. 

Oh and buy the way, the unassuming gent who chimed in as "Glenn" is your host, and the man who generally pays the bills and the Curmudeons are the grumpy old farts that have answerd the same question tens of thousands of times, and lest you think they are mean and hateful remember they have "day jobs" and their time is worth $30 an hour or more, and they are sharing it with you for free.

recently they have been taking some abuse, so a little plug to be patient with their grumpiness seams in order...

 

[AlabamaAmatuer]

Well, friend, I wasn't being rude, quite the opposite. I'm just clueless and confused as to the advantages, and ease of set-up of the side-forge over the brake-drum forge I will include a picture of below. And to assume and accuse me of such is, quite rude. I referenced to the Curmudgeons as Curmudgeons as they are titled, well, Curmudgeons, and Admins as, well, Admins, as they are titled, Admins.

Also, I'm not sure the Alabama page is active anymore as I went to check it out and there hasn't been a post in several months, and apparently some sort of falling out within the group?

Also, why is there water involved? and how is the work area set, per say? is it in the dirt?

Also, I just checked out the Forge page. wow, that is stupid simple to make, soooooo.... how much you think 2 brake drums are worth in scrap????

[Glenn]

We WERE NOT accusing you of anything, just trying to be helpful and steering you away from any problems that a new individual might stumble into unknowingly.

This is where we caution you against using galvanized items as a general precaution. The above image does not discuss the grate.

I use  single 3/8 inch bolt in most drums or 2 each 3/8 inch bolts in 3 inch or larger drums. I can burn coal dust or fines using this set up, or burn lump coal.

The 6 inch ash tube is short to my way of thinking. It should be long enough to hold some quantity of ash and should have some method to close off the bottom of the tube, with a quick and convent way to dump the ashes.

The Alabama page on the site was put up as a courtesy to the Alabama Forge Council. It is theirs to post to as they wish. You may want to go to their website Alabama Forge Council. Other events you may want to consider are the Appalachian Area Chapter of Blacksmiths (AACB) Conference May 19-21, 2016 and the AFC Fall Conference: 7-10 September 2016

[Charles R. Stevens]

I didn't intend for you to feel acused, sorry about that.

as to water? Is that my forge or the ilistration?

[AlabamaAmatuer]

No harm, no foul fellas. thanks for the page link, the tips on the Bolts, as i was wondering how the coal doesn't just fall through, and also in response to Mr. Stevens, the diagram not your forge, I think I will actually build a forge like yours, seems pretty awesome, only 1 question however, can dirt be used? if not I can get red clay and sand real easy, we have quite a few creeks that run around the property as well as plenty of hillsides rich with clay. oh and I knew that Galvanised metals release a gas with something to do with toxic vapors of Zinc? all I know is it'll kill ya dead.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Ok, that is an English water cooled tuyere. They use it on their commercial forges to prevent erosion of the tuyere, but it is a good cross section of a side blast forge. A simple price of 3/4" schedule 40 black pipe will work just fine, and is cheap enugh to replace (use a longer piece than you need and you can shove it in as it burns away) 

 

[Al Stephens]

Welcome, the Athens Forge of the Alabama Forge Council will meet Sat. May 28. Demo will be simple tongs using simple tools. For info see athensforge.com. Hope you can join us. 

 

[AlabamaAmatuer]

Cool, thanks for the invite but I may not be able to make that considering it is the day after my graduation. But I'll be xxxx bent on trying to get there. And as for the water and all, with the forge that looks like a gold tumbler filled with dirt almost, is water required there as well?

And what is the water pipe used for, as in why is it there at all? I suppose a really mean cup of coffee could be made but otherwise I don't quite understand why it is a material like PVC, and im also not too sure what a Tuyere is.

[AlabamaAmatuer]

Here is what I have so far, the brake drum on it's back(?) with the open area toward us, is the real rusty one. and the other is in much, newer condition. and I have 1 8 oz Ball-Peen, a 24 oz Ball-Peen, and a (24 oz???) Cross-Peen. which came from an Auto-Body shop and may I say,works great at pounding on your dented bumper.

[Glenn]

Definition of tuyere

1. :  a nozzle through which an air blast is delivered to a forge or blast furnace

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you might be surprised how many Iforge folk live within visiting distance. I kn \ow it's in your web handle but narrowing it down a little in the header puts where you are right there and folk won't be asking. Alabama is a decent sized state and who's going to invite someone over for a BBQ, project s/he needs another pair of hands with, etc. who lives a couple hundred miles away. Take a look at my header, that puts you within about 20 miles of me without posting my address in public.

That's a good set of hammers to start with, I recommend beginners not try using heavier than 32oz till they've developed hammer control. It saves the frustration of making mistakes permanent with one missed smack. Using too heavy a hammer is also a good way to injure yourself. Good hammer technique is NOT about how hard you can hit it, it's how you hit it hard.

It sounds like you have an excellent anvil, should run about 185-190lbs SWEET. You'll want to grind a radius on at least 2 sections of the edge so you can shoulder work without making cold shuts. One radius on the near side and one on the far side. Start out with about a 1/8" radius, as you progress you MAY want larger or sharper but there's no hurry so get some experience under your belt then decide. At worst if you do something you really hate to your anvil you can flip it over. Unlike most blacksmithing tools and equipment this anvil gives you a "REDO" SWEET.

I usually don't recommend tongs as a beginning project they're more complicated than they look with a few fiddly bits to get right. No rule against just not a recommendation of mine. As suggested use long stock and you don't need tongs at all. I also try to have students not use tongs because they put you at another remove from the work. You will gather information about what the steel is doing through your holding hand and you want ot "hear" what the steell is "saying to you" as clearly as possible, especially in the beginning. How it sounds under the hammer will tell you more about temperature and movement than how it looks. The vibration you feel in your holding hand is another source of "sound" for your brain to interpret. If you've played baseball or done much bowling you know what a sweet smack feels like and what a strike feels like when it leaves your hand. Yes? It's the same blacksmithing, you feel everything under your hammer.

You've been anything but disrespectful but we're a little gun shy there has been recent a rash recently of Trollish behavior and we old farts are a little pricklish right now. You appear to be the kind of person we look forward to helping.

Frosty The Lucky.

[AlabamaAmatuer]

uh, why was I given a warning for saying Hxxx? And I would definitely travel a little to provide extra hands and learn me something, or just travel to have someone learn me something, though nothing more than 50 miles if it's just going to be like an hour of learning haha. also what kind of gloves are those heavy gloves I see people working metal wear?

How to edit the header?

[Frosty]

It's a family site and language is a major issue. Just recently Steve gave a beautifully concise list of the basic rules. In short: no pics or language you wouldn't want your 5 year old to read or see. No name calling and no trouble making.

Don't sweat it, everybody gets edited or gigged occasionally, nobody's perfect. A site policy is to tell you why but they're pretty brief about it and won't argue.

There's no rule we have to like each other, just get along publicly. If you really got to tell someone off take it off forum, PM it. a lot of us have become friends and do a lot of friendly joshing if someone takes it wrong we usually try really hard to make it right.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Glenn]

Headers can be edited by admins only.

As stated in the warning, IForgeIron is a G rated family forum. The simple rules are no fussing, no cussing, no personal attacks, and do not discuss religion or politics. The full set of guidelines are in the TOS. 

I do not recommend gloves for general blacksmithing. They can be dangerous. If the metal gets too hot to hold you can turn it loose and stop the heat. With gloves turning the metal loose DOES NOT stop the heat from continuing to transfer through the glove. Holes in a glove can lead to bare skin touching hot metal and wet gloves can lead to nasty steam burns. There are times when gloves are needed, such as for sharp edges, abrasion, and hand protection. If you are using general leather palm work gloves, cut the cuff off the glove for your own protection. Wearing the cuff is important during some activities, but generally cutting the cuff off is better. YMMV

[AlabamaAmatuer]

Oh okay cool, so basically im ready to go except Coal, my pipes, and a hair dryer. Awesome

Speaking of which, where do I buy coal?

[Glenn]

Contact the AFC. They will know.

[Frosty]

My last reply disappeared.

You can edit your own header by selecting your AVATAR, name, etc. Select "Edit Profile" form the menu that opens at the top of the page. scroll down to you get to location and edit as you wish. You can mess around with other stuff too if you wish. Save and it's a done deal.

I had a longish thing about the dangers of leather gloves but I think I'll let it lay. If you're burning solid fuels they aren't necessary, desirable or safe. I run propane so some protection from dragon's breath is necessary. We can get into that if you wish to start using gassers.

Frosty The Lucky.

[AlabamaAmatuer]

Alright cool, so I drew these plans up at work, I have bad handwriting