[TheForge] More questions...

Wed Nov 19 21:38:01 2003

Sam-

I'm no expert (a quick look at my humble pile would confirm that!) but here 
are a few tips:

1) Be careful of cinder block and other non-refractory bricks. The moisture 
in them can cause them to spall.

2) If you are going to make swords, build so that you can stick your work 
through the fire. In other words, you could have both ends sticking out of 
the fire with the center in the center of the fire. One forge I have is pan 
style rivetter's forge, with a sheet metal hood that is attached to the 
forge. This prevents long items from being heated in the middle.

3) The depth of the firepot can vary depending on whether you are using 
coal/coke or if you are using charcoal. I've found that I need to bury the 
piece deeper in the a coal/coke fire with a protective layer over it to 
create an oven. With charcoal I've found I need the fire deeper underneath, 
but not as much over the piece.

4) Tools: If you don't have a pair of tongs, a pair of pliers, channel lock 
or vice-grip style can work in a pinch. You can also check 
http://www.anvilfire.com/iForge/index.htm for demo's showing several 
different and relatively easy-to-make tongs. Basically I do pretty well 
with a hammer, a pair of tongs, and a wire brush. Those are my basics.

Aaron Silver

At 05:31 PM 11/19/2003 -0500, you wrote:

>I finally got a small test forge to work,it was made of 4 cinder blocks,a
>piece of pipe from a bicycle frame,and an old microwave fan that i ran
>off my drill.after a few hours of using it,i realized as far as forges go
>there was still a lot to be desired.but since i am unexperienced in the
>whole field,it was a good learning experience for me.some of the first
>mistakes i realized was that a cinder block setup is to deep,i really
>noticed that because i had the stupid idea to use an old set of needle
>nose pliers because i havent got any tongs yet,so i had to pretty much
>stick my hand in the fire to get what i wanted out.i know not to do that
>again.with this whole experience under my belt......i came up with a few
>more questions that i hope someone in the forge will hopefully answer for
>me.
>1.about how big(deep/wide ect.) should a firepot for forgeing
>knives,swords,axes,ect. be?
>2.how much coal should i use?anything i should do to the coal first?
>
>a list of beginning tools that i might need with some approximate prices
>would also be extremly helpful.
>Thanks.
>
>Sam.
>
>________________________________________________________________
>The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand!
>Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER!
>Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today!
>_______________________________________________
>http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
>theforge mail list group photo site is
>http://www.photoaccess.com
>Login:  [email protected]
>password:  anvil
>___________