snake hands jimmy Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 Howdy from Florida. I'm loving the community here so far. So much information to gather! I started beating hot metal about a month ago and still learning the fundamentals. I found an old 9/16" allen key in the shop so decided, "hey, if it's good enough for that kind of work, I'm sure it'll make a decent punch" For anvils I have a 24 and 55 pound cheapo cast iron anvils from grizzly. While I"m on the hunt for a proper anvil, these are serving just fine for now. I'm a knife maker venturing into the world of smithing but also I would like to learn the ornamental side of forging. Anyway, enough rambling I just wanted to drop in and say hi. I look forward to learning from you folks. Hope y'all had a great weekend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 Welcome aboard Jimmy, glad to have you. Yes, allen keys are excellent tool stock, punches, chisels, etc. especially. If you're already making stock removal blades you know what you want in a preform so that learning curve is covered. All you need to learn is how the steel moves on the anvil. Believe me you're not going to believe the difference a good hard steel anvil makes no matter it's shape. You'll love it. What are you using for a forge? We LOVE pics, tools, equipment, shop, yard, pets, landscapes, virtually anything you'd show a child and not have to explain adult things. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snake hands jimmy Posted April 22, 2018 Author Share Posted April 22, 2018 Thanks for the reply Frosty. I'll get some pics up soon. For a forge, I cut the bottom off of an old steel bladder tank and have my hand crank attached via pipes. It works well but my shower strainer is virtually melted now lol. I plan on welding some round stock together for a better grate. Right now it's simply sitting in a trench on the ground but I have a piece of thin sheet that I have cut a hole, same diameter as the tank, with extra flat space for extra charcoal. I am going to weld some wings onto my fire pan so that it will simply sit down inside of that hole and I won't have to bend over to place and retrieve my metal heh. For learning I've picked up the books, "New edge of the anvil" and "The art of blacksmithing" they are helpful but do somewhat lack in detailing whole technique. I came across a fella who recommended the ABANA pdf course and I'm loving how it sets goals for a particular practice run. "Reading drawing out currently" Any tips or trick you can give would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 With photos we can suggest improvements. Look into the JABOD and side blast forges. The set up is good for charcoal and the cost of the air pipe is small. No grate needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snake hands jimmy Posted April 22, 2018 Author Share Posted April 22, 2018 Here is a small project I just finished and one about halfway done. Please excuse my photography skills lol one is a letter opener and the other is a work in progress blade from railroad spike As for my shop and forge... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dickb Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 Good source of hardenable steel includes garage sale crow bars, digging bars Automobile jack handles, tie rods. You can ususally get struts from any shop that replaces shock absorbers and struts. Usuall for free, but don't try to disasssemble one of these by yourself. They are under a lot of stress and can blow you into the next county if disassembled the wrong way. Good source of low carbon steel is any shop that builds fences/railings. They usually have odd length pieces and/or scrap . Rebar is very common but not a good source, No two pieces are the same. It is great for one thing only, to be embedded in concrete. You will almost always get a good reception if you show them some of the things you have made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 Don't mess with struts! For the little bit of spring steel they're just WAY TOO DANGEROUS! Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dickb Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 They typically yield five or six feet of steel and are less tightly curled than automobile coil springs. So easier to straighten out. If not disassembled properly they will expand explosively and blow themself and you into the next county, Just ask the shop manage if he can remove the spring from the rest of the assembly. Most shops have a press designed for this purpose. Ask nicely and say thank you and you will be welcome back in his shop. Also show the shop manager some of you finished work, that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 Finally, a blade maker who wants to get into ornamental smithing! Usually, we have to twist people’s arms to get them to learn basic smithing techniques before they start trying to make swords! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snake hands jimmy Posted April 23, 2018 Author Share Posted April 23, 2018 Thanks for the advice, guys. I'm about to hit up a few local metal fab shops and recycling centers see if I can find some rejects or odds. I have tons of old time style tools I bet there is a wealth of good steel in my shed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snake hands jimmy Posted April 23, 2018 Author Share Posted April 23, 2018 I really should do more reading on the subject, seeing how I have only been able to reach a bright orange heat with my current setup but I believe I'm losing too much heat and burning more charcoal than necessary. Would lining my forge with plain old clay work well enough to keep in my heat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 With a solid fuel forge it's not so much keeping heat in as it is containing the fuel in such a way as to have a sort of centralized area of fuel getting the air source at the right place. And being able to get your stock into that fuel in the right spot to get the heat at its strongest point. Yes making a sort of bowl/ trench shape with clay will centralize your fuel and air to use less fuel and get better heat from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 5 hours ago, dickb said: They typically yield five or six feet of steel and are less tightly curled than automobile coil springs. So easier to straighten out. If not disassembled properly they will expand explosively and blow themself and you into the next county, Just ask the shop manage if he can remove the spring from the rest of the assembly. Most shops have a press designed for this purpose. Ask nicely and say thank you and you will be welcome back in his shop. Also show the shop manager some of you finished work, that helps. Thanks for posting a safe way to use struts. I just get jumpy when it sounds like someone is recommending something that takes special knowledge and tools to do or scrounge with seriously BAD outcomes for doing it wrong. We really push safety on Iforge. Thanks again, Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snake hands jimmy Posted April 23, 2018 Author Share Posted April 23, 2018 Thank you, sir! I will hunt for a clay pit close by and start digging.In your opinion should I do something to the clay to make it a sort of "refractory" clay or will it be alright to just repair it from time to time? I am able to find some reading material but I'm not sure how closely lump charcoal burns to coal for a comparison on construction methods (although I do plan on starting to use coal once I've tuned in my setup) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 Coal and charcoal are different animals as far as air supply and what depth of fuel work better. The nice thing about using clay is that it's not that hard to rebuild to suit what fuel you use. You can always try the coal in the charcoal setup and see how it works. Just know you'll need more air supplied for coal vs. charcoal. You can use just the clay, or you could mix in some sand. There are some different mixes you can make that have been covered before if you do a little searching. Try searching on your main search engine with iforgeiron after the subject. There are many good posts worth reading. There are many things that will work so don't get hung up on which one is best just try out what seems like it will work out for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 It doesn't need to be anything special, just dirt will work though clay packs better. It's not a refractory it just holds the fire like you were camping. If you go with CHEAP clay kitty litter then mix it with 2-3 pts sand to 1 pt clay and you're golden. The following video shows a side blast forge being used to forge an iron bloom. Not that anybody here wants to watch Scandahoovians forging on a boulder, of course not. It IS a good demonstration of one type side blast forge though. Whatever you do don't watch the other blacksmithing and refining videos in the menu! Note the bellows they're using, you can make them from virtually any sack. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7nzmhFwGoM Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snake hands jimmy Posted April 23, 2018 Author Share Posted April 23, 2018 Awesome. Thanks guys! I just got one of the longer horizontal charcoal grills so I will be getting that ready. For a side blast setup I will need to gravity feed water around the tuere right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 Only if you use a water cooled tue iron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snake hands jimmy Posted April 24, 2018 Author Share Posted April 24, 2018 15 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: Only if you use a water cooled tue iron. Outstanding! Thank you, Thomas. I have been avoiding side blast because I really didn't want to hook up water to it lol but if it won't corrode super fast I'm sold. I like the idea of the range of temp control you can get with side blasts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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