[TheForge] 2004 Resolution, Intro & Advice Needed

[Carl Tappan]

Well, I work out of an 8x14 shed. Needs are something to heat the metal,
something to hammer it on, and something to hold it, i.e. a vise. If you
look around you can find a vise for cheap, and an anvil for a reasonable
price. Alternatively, you can buy a junky anvil from harbor freight for
about $100, but it is not nice. Some people use a big chunk of steel
sunken into a bucket of concrete, but for ornamental stuff that is not
ideal. A forge can be as simple as a brake drum with some holes drilled
into the bottom and an air supply, or an old propane tank lined with
refractory and with a burner installed that can be built simply.
information on that can be found at www.riel1.net, (hopefully I got the
address right). Nice to have items include an Oxy-Acetylene torch for
heating, cutting, and welding, and a MIG welder, not to mention a power
hammer but there is very little that you can't do without one. Regarding
electrical needs, you would do well to have at least a 20 amp 220 volt
circuit, but I wish I had installed more, to enable me to use bigger
toys :)
Carl Tappan

On Tue, 2004-01-06 at 13:54, Kirk & Bettina Wehner wrote:
> Hi & Happy 2004.  I've been an avid "Lurker" on the The Forge for a while now.  Thanks to all for the ongoing education & entertainment!  Ries, my initial interest was sparked by your mask that was exhibited at the Kaewyn Gallery in Bothell, WA a couple of years ago -- WOW!  
> 
> My metal work is nothing more than dabbling at this point.  However, my New Year's resolution is to set up an active shop where I can get a little more serious.  My past experience has been through blacksmithing classes.  I've made a variety of small to medium sized items  (sampler, table base, garden gate, etc).   We are building a new house in western Virginia & my dear husband has agreed that I can have a shop.  In trade, I agreed to a nice sized garage for his toys.
> 
> My question to TheForgeList is.....if you were building a shop & wanted to have good basic equipment for artistic metal working, what would you recommend in terms of size, equipment requirements, etc.  Sorry to say, money will be an issue, so I'd like to separate "must haves" from "nice to haves".  I'm looking for any advice including size of building, electrical & plumbing needs, hand tools, power tools, etc. 
> 
> Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks.  Bettina Wehner
> 
> --- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
> multipart/alternative
>   text/plain (text body -- kept)
>   text/html
> The reason this message is shown is because the post was in HTML
> or had an attachment.  Attachments are not allowed.  To learn how
> to post in Plain-Text go to: http://www.expita.com/nomime.html  ---
> _______________________________________________
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
> theforge mail list group photo site is
> http://www.photoaccess.com
> Login:  blacksmithblacksmith@hotmail.com
> password:  anvil
> ___________
> 
> 
> 
>