Hello all. I just set up my stuff today for the first time. Little coal forge with a bunch of stuff I managed to find In my grandfathers pig house loft a couple years ago. First project was to try and make a hook for a pot hanger. I managed to burn up two pieces of steel before I got it made. Lol I’m going to try and load some pics

i Probably shouldn’t be so proud of it but I am

Hey, we all have to start somewhere! Hang onto that, so you'll always know how far you've come!

(We've got a number of Northeast Ohio blacksmiths here, by the way. Whereabouts are you?)

Nashville Ohio just south of Wooster

Welcome aboard JW, glad to have you.

Well, that ain't bad for a first time at the anvil, not aTall, ATALL. It's easy to burn your stock in a coal forge that's just part of the learning curve. Less blast, it's the air that makes the heat.

You ARE going to post pics of the loot you salvaged from the pig house. YES? We LOVE pics you know, try and stay on our good side. 

Frosty The Lucky.

 

Nashville Ohio just south of Wooster

Hence, Big Prairie. Gotcha. I'm up in Oberlin, but we've got other folks closer to you; @SReynolds is in Mansfield, I believe, and there are others as well. Try to connect with folks. You'll learn more in person in an hour than you will in a week on the internet. 

I was trying to post the pic of the rivet forge but for some reason it won’t load all I have is the bowl everything else I cobbed together. That pig house loft was really cool full of old tools and bits of steel and such also a whole bunch of wasps that didn’t seem to like me that much. Which is really strange since I’m such a nice guy. Lol

Welcome to the addiction. Sure you should be proud. You got started moving metal. Now to learn fire control, and paying attention to things In the fire.  you found the right place to learn. Also like JHCC mentioned, look for other locals and a local group. 

As for pictures possibly try resizing them a  little smaller maybe?  

Yeah, your pics are probably just too big. I do a save as and reduce them to under 200kb. Then resize the things in the window when I post so they don't make people scroll down and sideways to look at bits and pieces. Unless I'm feeling like messing with someone, then all bets are off. 

Frosty The Lucky.

Clean up the anvil I found in the pig house two weeks ago it seems pretty beat,but it seems to work fine. I’m sure it’s more capable then the person beating on it

I found this while cleaning

Ooooooh CLUES! . . . Sherlock?

Frosty The Lucky.

Here's that photo right-side-up. Looks like "J. Wilkinson & Son/QUEEN'S/DUDLEY". 

From your earlier photos, it looks like there's a chunk missing from the face. If so, take care hammering in that area. 

Yep there is a like 1.5 inch x1 inch chunk of the face that is broken off.I can’t imagine how that happened. I’m just going to work around it. 

Luckily it’s on the very front corner

Wise. Don't grind the face or do anything to it other than wire brushing, giving it a coat of wax or oil, and lots of smithing. Pounding hot metal will polish the face up nicely. 

I did buy the blower

See, someone with better eyes than I knows just what you have. Decent looking rivet forge too, did you make the legs or was that what came with? I'd weld sq. tubing to them that smaller sq. tubing would telescope into and make helpers to support long stock in the fire. They also make handy tong hangers, I put them on all my forges. EXCEPT my rivet forge which has factory legs that makes it a pure PITA to add anything. I use a free standing helper for long stock.

Classic modern traditional ducting connection between your blower and the forge. Well done. Mine still has the original clamp to connect the blower and tuyere which is nice enough, it drops in and clamps but it doesn't move. I'm stuck with the blower crank almost into the fire. With the ducting connection you can put the blower where ever is handy for the situation. 

I am a function over form guy. My first priority is the tool do what it's supposed to and safely, how it looks is a ways farther down the list. 

Nice. Enjoy.

Frosty The Lucky.

I did buy the blower from a local machinery sale. The stand I did weld up. The forge actual just sits on top. And the piping drops down through the center

 

That all looks awesome.  Nice set up, I love it.  I burned through three files and a rr spike the first time I tried heating something in my own rig.  How do you like the hand crank blower?  I have been thinking of getting one. 

I started with an electric blower back in 1981, switched to a hand crank pretty quick and then switched to a double lunged bellows each time felling that I was doing better.  After about 20 years of bellows, I moved 1500 miles and left the bellows to a friend and am back on hand crank when I use coal. (Coal quality out here hasn't incline me to build another bellows!)  Mainly propane out here as in many places it's a requirement that all fire using devices have an on/of "switch".

I see.  I am using a shopvac with a valve system to help regulate the air going through.  Although I seem to always have not enough or too much air.  I am also using charcoal, I am not quite intense enough yet to burn rocks.  I see the forge cranks a lot at the local flea markets so I will have to snag one sometime.  

  I do rather like how this guy has it all set up. Also great finds with the pig house tools.  I love old school antique tools, they're so great.

About all you need for charcoal and a side blast. Pump faster if you want to burn steel of melt fire brick...

Coal is a rock, so yes your forge is intense enough to burn rocks!

I have yet to melt a fire brick but I have definitely melted steel to my bricks.  Go to grab the foot long piece and a quarter inch comes out... oops.

Hence my liking for hand crank/hand pump. I get to daydreaming and poof, sparklers!

That is why I have been looking to switch to hand power.  I'm sure I have a bike pump lying around somewhere, or at least enough pvc to rig one up. 

Talking and cranking is also dangerous to stock!