Timoto Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 Hi all! I've just joined IFI and thought I'd introduce myself. I was luck enough to go to a secondary school (ages 11-18 for people using different school systems!) that had a propane chip forge and a decent set of metal working tools. I've always liked buidling things, but I got fairly hooked on metal working. That was 12 years ago and since then I've done bits and pieces of metal working (currently lucky enough to work somewhere with a reasonable set of mills and lathes, and a company that doesn't mind you using them for personal projects at lunch), but hadn't been near a forge since. Last year I finally realised that if you want to do something, you can't just wait for it to happen spontaneously and I found an "intro to blacksmithing" course up in the north of England (Peat Oberon's School of Blacksmithing). Was a great course and I started looking around to see what my best next steps were. After reading a lot of info, I've decided that the best bet is to build a forge and get started at home. So now I'm just in the process of building a Frosty T burner and setting up a beehive forge, based on the T-Rex Hut Forge design. There seems to be a huge amount of collected knowledge here, and I'm pulling together my amalgamated designs based on what I can get in England, during lockdown, so I'm hoping to share that at some point before I build it all, so hopefully i won't make a silly mistake. Anyway, sorry for my rambling! From my several months of lurking on the site, everyone seems great and I'm looking forward to spending time both here and out in the garden with some iron. (finally, I might not be able to give much help in the form of blacksmithing advice but I'm a PhD trained chemist with a decent knowledge of metallurgy so might be able to help out in that way?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 What kinds of things are you interested in making? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timoto Posted June 10, 2020 Author Share Posted June 10, 2020 I thought I'd start by trying to increase the number of tools i have (more tongs seems like a useful thing to try). But the eventual goal would be to slowly increase my skill with the aim of doing non-functional decorative work. I grew up in the countryside and there were always a fair few shows through the summer with a smith demonstrating the art by making iron roses, which have a certain appeal. I'm not sure how complex that would end up being, but it seems like a nice thing to aim for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 Might be a market for Ornate Garden Gates. Folks may be willing to dig deeper in their pockets for stuff on show for all the neighbors and passersby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timoto Posted June 10, 2020 Author Share Posted June 10, 2020 That was partly my thought behind the flowers - a nice stem to put in the front garden. I hadn't thought about gates, but that does seem like it could be fun. Lots to learn before I get there though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 Welcome aboard Timoto, glad to have you. Are you following a set of plans for the Hut forge or imitating it from online pictures? There is more to building an effective SAFE propane forge than making it look like one. Yes? Surely your goal isn't to make non-functional pieces is it? It's pretty darn hard to make things that aren't useful, you actually have to try. Things like lawn furniture are good learning projects and look nice. Shepherd, S and drive hook plant hangers, chair side, cup, bottle, etc. holders are simple, side tables are a step up in skill sets as they require basic joinery. Railings, gates and trellises are a step up in skill sets in that they're larger, more complex and require matching different elements. Gates of course require hinges and latches but those are basic hardware about on par with garden tools. Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timoto Posted June 10, 2020 Author Share Posted June 10, 2020 Hi Frosty, My plan was to draw up a set of plans for a hut forge based on a combination of pictures from the internet and plans for gas bottle forges. The safety bit is my main concern at the moment, both trying to make sure nothing melts/explodes/sets on fire, and that I don't end up with silica dust from an unsealed ceramic fibre lining. I think I've got some sensible drawings already, but I'm just trying to get it squared in my own mind before I subject other people to my ramblings. Thats a great order of things to get started in - I should probably start a list somewhere so I don't forget what I'm doing! Thanks to you and Thomas for stopping in and saying hi! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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