Jump to content
I Forge Iron

Setting up shop in a 12x7 shed


Recommended Posts

On 7/19/2017 at 7:36 AM, Yuppiejr said:

I also have a forge of this design likely from the same eBay seller, you will want to seal that kaowool insulation with something that will prevent the insulation particles from becoming airborne and trashing your lungs over time.  There is a bunch of good info on the topic over in the gas forge subforum.  

If you want to keep the mice away, get some pure peppermint oil extract and soak some cotton balls to place throughout the space.  I had a rodent issue with my camper and shed, this solved it in both (the cat option is also a good one, but ours has passed his mouse hunting prime so this is our best option.  

i have read lots about the kaowool, is on the list....i have purchase a few bottles of pepermint oil and put it to use the smell inside is offensive.

On 7/19/2017 at 10:55 AM, Daswulf said:

Just remember not to use rodent poison and cats. Rodents eat the poison then cats eat the poison in the rodents, poisoning the cats. 

My cats regularly come into my shop when I'm working to " inspect " it. :) 

i dont plan on using poison i quite enjoy the neighborhood cats, they are very cool and always visit when we are out on the deck/.

On 7/19/2017 at 11:43 AM, Scrambler82 said:

Out here in SoCal, French Valley area, Coyotes are the problem, yes we have Field Mice and a cat would be good but if the cat is left outside all night it needs a good retreat location or it will be the main dish on a Coyote plate.

I have found the electronic modules, that plug in a receptical, work well to keeps the little critters out side, then the snakes, coyotes, and hawks can eat better.

 

i have also purchase an electronic repellent with sound .

yea scrambler not sure what happened reposted.

I also came across a product while researching called Inspecta shield a spray on fire retardant, seems to be a good product and would be perfect for my application, has anyone had any experience or ever heard of it.  Was considering making a new thread about it, just to get more opinions...link for product below.

https://www.industrialsafety.com/Brooks-FRG-Fire-Retardant-1-gal-p/cc-frg.htm?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-snY2p2Y1QIVlgMqCh2GIgWMEAQYASABEgItBPD_BwE

you tube link for product as well:  

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/19/2017 at 3:31 AM, CHUCK M said:

I have indoor cats, but we do have 3-4 neighbor cats from the surrounding houses that I see in my backyard daily.

Barn cats rule. If you were to put out a little cat food your neighbor cats will happily spend time at your place hunting. Keep your barn cat well fed and healthy and they'll do better. 

I don't know why I didn't think of a barn or shop cat it's always been our preference. We could only use a bucket trap in summer and the mice moved into the barn to winter over. A cold weather bucket trap needs antifreeze in it and that just won't fly in the barn! A dip in -30f antifreeze water is almost instantaneously fatal, dead and frozen solid in seconds. Well okay, freezing solid probably takes a minute or two but. . . 

Thanks for the reminder Slag. I often need the obvious pointed out to me.

Frosty The Lucky.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, CHUCK M said:

 

I also came across a product while researching called Inspecta shield a spray on fire retardant, seems to be a good product and would be perfect for my application, has anyone had any experience or ever heard of it.  Was considering making a new thread about it, just to get more opinions...link for product below.

 

 

borax is a fire retardant also.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Has anybody Googled Inspecta shield? Kind of expensive but the MSDS says it's an irritant for the most part. 

Here's two more good search terms for looking into these things. "Data Sheet" and "MSDS" added to the subject you're searching. eg. "Inspecta Shield Data sheet", the MSDS was on the same hit list.

Frosty The Lucky.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rodents seem to be gone and thoroughly cleaned.  Led light installed.  Using about 3/4 of the the shed space for now, have some pretty big gaps between the floor and walls that need to be filled in , as well as around the windows.  Next up build work bench and spray fire proofing.

 

IMG_2592.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, trimming it out is an important fire precaution. If you don't have flammable scraps hiding in nooks I've found plywood is pretty fire proof. It takes a long time to get smoldering even with pretty hot steel and then it doesn't want to stay going. ON the other hand a box or two of borax is pretty darned cheap.

Looking good so far.

Frosty The Lucky.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Frosty said:

Yeah, trimming it out is an important fire precaution. If you don't have flammable scraps hiding in nooks I've found plywood is pretty fire proof. It takes a long time to get smoldering even with pretty hot steel and then it doesn't want to stay going. ON the other hand a box or two of borax is pretty darned cheap.

Looking good so far.

Frosty The Lucky.

This is the plan going to use plywood around the windows and going to silicone the rest of the area. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I covered my shed floors with sheets of 1/8 inch plate that I picked up at the scrap yard and most of my walls have old corrugated roofing tin on them. It was't all that expensive to do. I think I paid more for the rockwool insulation that I put in for sound and fire proofing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

57 minutes ago, mutant said:

I covered my shed floors with sheets of 1/8 inch plate that I picked up at the scrap yard and most of my walls have old corrugated roofing tin on them. It was't all that expensive to do. I think I paid more for the rockwool insulation that I put in for sound and fire proofing.

I have watched all of your build videos on YouTube, i plan on doing something similar in the future depending on how serious i get into it.  Trying not to get to crazy without even having swung a hammer yet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

So tonight's the night, going to be swinging the hammer for the first time!!! Here is some pics of the 95% competed work area, maybe went a little over board but starting out good.  I added a harbor freight special 1 x 30 grinder that I got for $40 that works better than I expected, tested it on the angle iron I used for securing the anvil.  Have a good variety of steel to start with and some railroad spikes, also bought a set of "rapid tongs" off eBay that just require some modifications and shaping, seemed like good practice at a fair price.  Lit the forge up once to soap the fittings and checked for leaks, after taping threads and assembling....flame seemed rough, I haven't done much research on tuning yet.  Going to start out with the standard j hook and s hooks.  Will post a thread in the project section if anyone is interested in following, again thank you everybody for the advice, and will add to this thread as the shop changes.

IMG_0304.JPG

IMG_0305.JPG

IMG_0306.JPG

IMG_0307.JPG

IMG_0308.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, mutant said:

Looks like a great smithy! Enjoy your new setup and let me know how you do with the rapid tongs. I've been debating getting a set.

Will do, going to wait a little so I don't screw them up.  On another note I feel like in am going to run into the same issue you had with the raised wooden floor, no pad underneath and have suspicion that there is several inches of nothing between the ground and floor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, CHUCK M said:

Will do, going to wait a little so I don't screw them up.  On another note I feel like in am going to run into the same issue you had with the raised wooden floor, no pad underneath and have suspicion that there is several inches of nothing between the ground and floor.

I get a lot of comments saying that I should cut a hole in the floor and place my anvil stand through it and also several feet into the ground. That's probably the best solution but I didn't want to do that. Instead, I was able to get a few 18x18 pavers wedge between the floor joists and the ground. It did help. I also made a hollow anvil stand and it's filled with sand.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, 51 Papy said:

Chuck

You might want to think about moving your vise out to the edge of your bench.  That allows you to put a long piece of metal straight up and down...guess what I did today.  Great smithy! Enjoy

Yea I thought about this after the fact, I made a spacer out of scrap wood and angle iron to solve this problem temporarily.

7 hours ago, mutant said:

I get a lot of comments saying that I should cut a hole in the floor and place my anvil stand through it and also several feet into the ground. That's probably the best solution but I didn't want to do that. Instead, I was able to get a few 18x18 pavers wedge between the floor joists and the ground. It did help. I also made a hollow anvil stand and it's filled with sand.

Exploring all options at this point but going to be a while before I do anything about it right now, thought about cutting the hole making the stand off the ground and also putting in a concrete pad, we'll see.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...