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I Forge Iron

Tools to set up shop


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Collected the tools you see on the pics and now getting ready too set up a dedicated area on the farm. The old corn crib seems to be a good building for it with a 20 by 30 ft floor area. I need to mount the post vices on the welding table or perhaps on a dedicated stand

I only have the rivet forge so will not be able to heat longer pieces. Next project should probably involve building a better forge and an exhaust system. What else would you recommend?

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Your rivet forge will heat more stock than you can hammer in one heat by moving the stock back & forth. I strongly suggest lining the forge with clay to prevent it from cracking due to thermal cycling and giving you a deeper fire pot. Looks like you have gathered most of the basics and your anvils look great.

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Your columbian anvil and the other looking like a hay budden or trenton look fine. You can make the forge work for what you need and its a nice collection of tongs. 

You are set, get to work. :)

btw, what is that beautiful creature vehicle in the background?

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Yes the larger anvil is a Hay Budden.

Thank you for the suggestion to line the forge with clay. To use it inside the building it needs to have an exhaust. I have a  duct fan I maybe able to set up to exhaust the smoke to the outside. Normal draft without a fan may not work? What is the experience here?

The truck is a Mercedes Unimog model 404 50 years old this year

It was a European military truck for most of its life

 

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If you don't mind cutting a hole in the side of the corn crib, an exhaust fan mounted just above the height of the pan should be plenty. (I'm talking about a 36" or better fan like you see in the gable of steel buildings, not a bathroom fan!) I don't know what kind of doors a corn crib has but a rivet forge, burning coal, would be ok in the center of a 20' by 30' covered workspace as long as you have some double doors propped open with a fan for circulation. Most of the smoke will come when you first light the forge, before the green coal starts coking. After that you just need enough ventilation to keep the carbon monoxide from building up. Venting depends a lot on how you want the shop layout but seeing as that is a portable rivet forge I would set it up in the center of the space and see how it goes with just the doors open and a fan to vent the space. If you plan on forging with the space buttoned up tight and trying to have some level of climate control, you will need a hood and a smokestack.

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Here are a few pics of the old corncrib building that could be used for a blacksmith shop. Should be easy enough to close it in and add hood and smoke stack

 Have several sections of insulated stack pieces 6 inch inside diameter. Not sure if that will draft enough. 12 inch would be better I think. Or leave the building semi open and use as is? Or as Twisted has suggested add a wall fan

 

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Beautiful area.. I love the traditional timber built homes..  

A would go with a stack any day over a fan unless using charcoal, charcoal used to be use with no stack and just gable vents at each end of the building..  I think this was the reason lots of smithies burnt down..  A stack is still the best option.. 10 or 12" will serve you best in both ease of use, cleanliness and confidence in the system..   The fan will just contribute to more dust and dirt in the shop..   A well designed stack will pull most the fines and cinder right up and out the building..  

If you can or want to you can just hang the pipe from the ceiling with chain or run it out the side of the building.. 

The rivet forge is excellent and it's plenty big enough for nearly any work you can look at from a beginner or even advanced smithing projects.. As pointed out line it with clay and if you have ability finding or making a ducks nest will help and most don't realize came with most forges..  The clay is lined then the ducks nest if put ontop of the clay and bolted in.. If your forge as 2 or 3 holes in the pan about 3 inches from the air grate it had a ducks nest and is missing which is typical..  Most don't know what they are and got scrapped or thrown away.. 

 

You've got a really good start on tongs and anvils and vise, cone....  That Columbian farriers anvil is a rarer one.. I've only seen this 1 in 42 years of looking..  Also, the Hay Budden is a mighty fine anvil.. Used 1 daily for nearly 30 years.. 

 

Can't wait to see how you make out.. 

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I would go with the building the tractor is in.  The old corn crib has a wooden floor and untold amount of small flammable debris most likely, if anything comparable to the one on  the corner of my barn. The tractor shed , you can always build off the side with enclosure or just a shed roof for future expansion.  Use the smoke house for its intended purpose.

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Thank you all for the comments. Very helpful

Regarding the Ducks Nest is that a circular steel plate bolted on top of the clay lining to create a fire pot of sorts. Is that  similar to using bricks to create a center for the fire to raise the fire up and save coals. Searching for it did not clarify much.

Yes the machine shed is also the corn crib on the sides of the building originally filled from openings in the roof. The machine shed in the middle has a concrete floor. Originally it was used for horse wagons as a drive through being open in both ends. It dates back to the early 1800s. The first deed for the farmstead was dated 1802. The first building was the log cabin with a live spring running through the basement used for drinking water cooling milk etc. Good to have during Indian attacks also

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Yes. that is the ducks nest. It's actually a cast iron ring, but one made from other materials would work just as well..   they are rare as I pointed out most got thrown away  as not many know what they are.. 

If you use firebrick you can raise the hearth leaving the fire grate and this will make the fire taller this will allow for longer pieces of stock to pass through the fire..   Some say use a convenience bend but I don't find them convenient at all.. 

If you are working in an area that is full of dust that is combustible I'd suggest blowing out as much dust as you can with compressed air.. and maybe setup some steel roofing and spay the area around the forge with some sort of fire retardant or white wash or with water sprayer before forging..   Forging itself isn't bad.. It's anytime you forge weld.. 

I've had several rag fires with forge welding... 

how long have you been collecting? 

Yes, please do on the Uni..  I almost bought one that had a front end loader and backhoe attachment..  What a great vehicle.. 

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See attached pic above for the 404 unimog ex Belgian military troop transporter 

When 15 years old I started working for a blacksmith/ truck/ machinery mechanic in Denmark. I worked mostly on trucks and farm tractors but also helped out in the blacksmith shop. Remember many times where we young kids had to use sledges to work the hot iron before it got cold. The smith would use his small hammer to set the tempo and we had to keep up

I have collected the tools over a 20 year period or so. Was too busy with in a  professional job involving much travel to set up shop. Now retired and still having the interest is what motivates now. I have made tools, fire pokers and the like from time to time by moving the setup outside with a forklift

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