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I Forge Iron

What did you do in the shop today?


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CGL, nice work all around.. You can see the refinements clearly and your blade work is improving as well..  Nicely done.. 

I like the file work.. 

It might be time for you to use chisels to decorate your work.  Make a narrow face straight fuller for doing your file work. It's faster and be more crisp. 

You can then make then all different widths, sharp, serrated, wavy.. etc, etc.. Much like leather embossing chisels/punches. 

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Haven't done it yet so I guess it's more of what I'm GOING TO do in the shop today. Anyway had a long and productive talk with the landlord so I will try to build a new forge based on the MarkIII jabod today if the weather cooperates. I need to find some solid clay bricks somewhere though and pick up some kitty litter, so I'm off to Walmart for my essential items/meds as soon as the pharmacy opens. Hopefully there's bentonite litter in stock. There wasn't any the other day.

I also found out that the landlady's father had a blacksmith shop on the farm so if they ever clean out the barn I get first crack at any of the smithing equipment. It's been two years though and they haven't cleaned it out yet so this may be a lesson in patience. Hopefully it will bear fruit. 

Pnut

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Bentonite litter was in stock. I bought 50lbs due to the boards I have being wider than necessary and I would have to borrow a saw to rip them to size. No luck on the clay bricks. Im just going to make some adobe bricks and be done with it. Should be forging in the very near future if it doesn't rain, but severe T-storms are being predicted for today. 

Pnut

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Thank you Jennifer. I've been thinking about introducing some more elaborate chisel work. I used my little HF needle files for this. The fork will get the same treatment. Admittedly, I had to do a lot more cleanup on the knife shape than I aimed for. I haven't forged anything in about 2 weeks, so I was a little off. You get a lot of credit for me learning how to do all three of the items shown as well as most work I do.  I can't thank you enough.

pnut, it's raining here too. I hope you get to put your forge together quickly. Im sure you're having withdrawals!

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Yes I am. I got to help the fireman/ blacksmith I know a couple weeks ago. I met him last summer during the long dry spell we had when I walked to the firehouse to ask about some rules and regulations regarding my forge and  living inside the city limits. We talked smithing for about three hours until they got a call. Anyway he's invited me to his shop a few times so I haven't been completely idle but about as close as I ever want to be. I'm racking my brain to think of a workaround for my lack of clay bricks but I keep coming back to making my own which will take a little time.

Pnut

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Im glad you have a place to go and another smith to talk shop with. I don't know anybody personally that Smith's. If I talk shop, most folks have no clue what I'm talking about and  I feel like it's probably boring to them. But they are usually fascinated by it so I keep jabbering away ^_^

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He's an older guy which I actually enjoy talking to older folks but he seems to have some outdated ideas about blacksmithing but I don't mind. I do my own research so it doesn't really matter too much. It's definitely nice having someone to talk to but I try not to be too forward about it. If I see him outside of the fire station I stop by and have a chat that usually ends up in an invitation to his shop but I try to not wear out my welcome. 

I am sooooo looking forward to having my own forge up and running again:D:D . I need to restock the resource pile though. It's slim pickings right now.

Pnut

 

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On 3/26/2020 at 4:46 AM, Chris C said:

I wasn't trying to hook anyone, Frosty.  I was simply saying I was afraid to turn down the fuel because it might backfire.  The comment was made because I don't know how to vary the temperature in the forge and thought you/someone might make some recommendations.

Yeah, you're doing it again there is no way you're going to learn to tune a flame if you spend a bunch of time looking for a machine to do it for you. A gun burner has to be tuned real time ALWAYS turn the gas down first then turn the air down till you like the look of the flame. Turn the air UP first then the gas (This prevents any chance of a backfire) till you have the flame you want.

Manometers, pitot tubes, anemometers etc. are toys of little use in your forge. Nobody mentioned a barometer, how can you possible adjust a flame with crazy sensitive instruments if you don't factor in ambient: pressure, temp and humidity?

Just go out there and play with it, you'll learn to tune it faster than you can read the specs on one of those gauges or meters you're hoping will do your thinking for you. 

Stop fretting over the minor junk eye / ear tuning a burner is Easy Peasy and there are hundreds of examples of good vs. bad flames and discussions about same in burners 101. Ignore Youtube. Trust me on this, I won't steer you wrong.

Frosty The Lucky.

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On 3/27/2020 at 10:01 AM, Chris C said:

it was the capacitor in the box that needed replacing.  Got that taken care of and the pump still wouldn't work.  Seems the pressure switch went down on the same day

Well, you got it fixed!  We live in the country, and some friends nearby have a well also.  About 95% of the time their's goes down, it's either the capacitor or pressure switch..  They always keep a spare of each at home, so they don't have to go to town or be out of water for long (they are 15 miles from town).

CGL, your kitchen ware is looking first class!...you are talented.

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Welded up the doors for the new gasser. These will have 1” of ceramic wool on the outside and then 1” of castable on the forge side. 

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I’m playing with some ideas for hinges; I want something that can be dissembled easily for repairs. 

Still need to cut the hole for the ribbon burner and weld the bracket to hold it in place. 

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I love the look of the forge John! I’ve been thinking about building a new forge. I’ve been using my current model hard this last week due to the quarantine (The forge is on its last leg, and needs an upgrade). Are you going to build a NARB or blown ribbon? 

Anyways got some good work done in the shop, right before everything closed up I took a trip to Logan steel and rounded up some half inch square and made a sweet pull-bar out of it. The half inch square hook on nicely to the rafters, then on the bottom a 1.5 inch pipe runs through the hook. This is a good addition to the shop especially with gym closing down. 

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