November 30, 20178 yr Hey everyone, I've been reading here for a while now. Just really got started in blacksmithing. I'm very excited to learn a new craft. I'm here to learn what I can and make no assumptions of my ability. My first experience with blacksmithing was the first weekend in November, I went up the Cullman chapter of the Alabama forge council and they let me hit on some hot metal and gave me a really good introduction to blacksmithing. He taught me how to make S hooks! From there I went home and built a cheap propane forge (Not perfect and I have since read a lot and am going to be making a V2 soon) I wasn't sure if I had enough air going in so I upgraded the inlet: The flame on the left of this next picture is with that cross and the one on the right is with the valve: For you burner experts, which one looks better? (I know nothing) Then I went to to the Tannehill chapter of the the AFC for their Christmas party and was gifted a piece of rail road to use until I can get an anvil. No worries, it will be used properly (vertically). Just need to get around to setting it up. Using a vice till then. From there I made a mistake with a shape: Then I wanted to build a small coal/charcoal forge out of a brake rotor... so I did: Used a $14 dollar fart fan from home depot as a blower and it seemed to work pretty well. I had modified a chisel to make a little fuller and decided to use this forge to take another crack at making a leaf. Then the wife asked me if I could try to make a knife. I don't care about making knives yet, but figured I'd give it a shot. Here it is in all it's poorly ground glory. I wasn't going for anything in particular, just a KSO (Knife Shaped Object). And that brings us the now. I'm learning and having fun. Glad to be here and am grateful there is such a good resource out there for new blacksmiths with just about all the info you could ever need and people who have done it before. I look forward to learning what I can from all of you! Thanks, -Josh
November 30, 20178 yr I'm surprised to see that Al. issues California plates ;-) Welcome to the addiction! It's nice to see someone taking action and you're off to a good start. What is the inside of your little gas forge lined with? I'm mostly a solid fuel guy so I'll wait for the gassers to tell you what's what on the burners but the flame on the left looks good to me. Do you get scale with one or the other, both or neither? Keep it up and keep the pics coming!
November 30, 20178 yr Exemplar first post! This should be stickied for reference. It's great to see someone who's clearly done his homework concerning the art. Also, you look just like a friend of mine... Any relatives in Finland?
November 30, 20178 yr Author 10 minutes ago, TwistedCustoms said: I'm surprised to see that Al. issues California plates ;-) Welcome to the addiction! It's nice to see someone taking action and you're off to a good start. What is the inside of your little gas forge lined with? I'm mostly a solid fuel guy so I'll wait for the gassers to tell you what's what on the burners but the flame on the left looks good to me. Do you get scale with one or the other, both or neither? Keep it up and keep the pics coming! Haha yeah that plate came with the car. It's a 1970 Datsun 240Z and the plate says T004TZ so I kept it. Thanks for the welcome! The little forge has hard fire bricks inside from tractor supply. It was more of an, "I want to forge now and I can have this today" thing. Both can get scale. 7 minutes ago, Meadowgrove said: Exemplar first post! This should be stickied for reference. It's great to see someone who's clearly done his homework concerning the art. Also, you look just like a friend of mine... Any relatives in Finland? Thanks! My family is from everywhere. I am the epitome of the American melting pot (I'm a mutt), so good possibility there is someone over there I'm related to!
November 30, 20178 yr There really are some burner experts here and I am not one of them! I started playing around with gas forges this year and the first thing I noticed was that with a neutral flame the work stays cleaner, like almost no scale. I built a couple of burners, bought k-wool, soft brick, hard brick etc. I ended up buying a Whisper Mamma and coting it with Metrikote. I like it a lot! Being able to kill the fire to go eat lunch or just to step out of the shop is nice. I used to do all my hot work for the day in one shot just so I didn't have to build a second coal fire in the afternoon. Now I have a lot more flexibility to be in and out of the shop. I love coal but I'm quickly becoming a fan of LP! You will enjoy having both.
November 30, 20178 yr Welcome aboard! Glad to see you off to a good start, not least in your enthusiasm and (perhaps more importantly) your willingness to learn. Looking forward to seeing more of your story! 43 minutes ago, Charles R. Stevens said: Welcom to Glenn's block party! @Charles R. Stevens, I just want to point out that this was your 6,666th post. There's a joke to be made there, but I'm not going to make it!
November 30, 20178 yr Author @TwistedCustoms I get more scale off the charcoal than I do with propane. Both are quite enjoyable. Hoping to continually improve the LPG forge as I go @JHCC Thanks for the welcome! You guys are a big part of the story so far!
November 30, 20178 yr 4 minutes ago, Josh Foran said: I get more scale off the charcoal than I do with propane. Charcoal takes surprisingly little air, but likes a fairly deep fire. Cut back on the blast, and use a couple of those firebricks on either side of your brake rotor to support a taller fire. 4 minutes ago, Josh Foran said: Thanks for the welcome! You're welcome for the thanks!
November 30, 20178 yr wow, you are off to a great start! and sometimes I will say this to encourage someone who needs encouragement, but I mean it, your s-hooks and everything else look great for a beginner, and even for someone a few months in or more! love to see how you are doing a year from now, keep it up. Littleblacksmith
November 30, 20178 yr 1 hour ago, TwistedCustoms said: I used to do all my hot work for the day in one shot just so I didn't have to build a second coal fire in the afternoon Just a tip when using coal. To keep the fire from going out when taking a break, put some wood kindling or charcoal in the fire and turn off the air. It will keep the fire going for a long time and when you get back pull in some coke and start the air to be good to go.
November 30, 20178 yr Author @littleblacksmith I had a good teacher! Thank you very much for the kind words! @Irondragon Forge & Clay the Cullman group did something similar during their lunch break. Worked great!
November 30, 20178 yr I do a similar thing with coke, when having lunch I stick a piece of firewood in there about 3-4" thick to keep it going. littleblacksmith
November 30, 20178 yr Am I in the lead? I don't feel that confers distinction but rather indicates logorrhea combined with internet access...
November 30, 20178 yr 20 minutes ago, Charles R. Stevens said: John, I'm trying to catch up with Thommas. But I had to cut a deal... ...with Yellin at the Frederick's crossroads?
November 30, 20178 yr But maybe not, he got mighty nervous when I told him I was a Ferrier and hobbled away!
November 30, 20178 yr That's a nice-looking blade, Josh, and rebar is not the friendliest stuff to work with. Welcome to the forum. There is so much to be learnt here and you seem like you're keen to get on with it. Keep us posted with your creations.
November 30, 20178 yr Author You curmudgeons and your high post counts! haha @ausfire Thanks man! Grinding is not so good, but it was more of proof of concept if I could make a knife shaped object haha. I have some better steel but figured I'd learn on the rough stuff. Thanks for the welcome.
November 30, 20178 yr Hi Josh, nice work, you'll have to come up and visit the Athens Forge. Our meeting date for Dec. has been changed to the 3erd Sat. 12/16/17 www.athensforge.com Al
November 30, 20178 yr 12 hours ago, Josh Foran said: @Irondragon Forge & Clay the Cullman group did something similar during their lunch break. Worked great! We actually just piled raw coal up. There was no wood or any other filler fuel added.
November 30, 20178 yr Author @PVF Al Yeah! I would love to! @Michael Cochran That's right! That way when we got back, just open up the blower and it kicked right back up!
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