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Post by Alan on Sept 1, 2010 23:05:52 GMT -5
Anyone here doing it.
I'm in the process as we speak of accumlating the materials needed to build a forge as well as attempting to locate an anvil and hand tools.
My grand father, great grandfather, and great great grandfather on my mothers side were blacksmiths. My grandfather and great grandfather taught me quite a bit about it. I would love to learn more for self sufficiency sake. There is also an abandoned set of railroad tracks running through our property, an incredible amount of iron and steel via spikes and plates, pins, and more! Time to do something with it.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Sept 2, 2010 7:58:15 GMT -5
Make sure you talk to your ancestors about tools that may still be at hand! Maybe some are "hiding" in forgotten buildings? Maybe this would be a good adventure for the Gather coming up? A tour and archeological expedition. Any of your folk do leather work? Remember that Bunkie and I are wanting to break into shoe making!
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Post by plantsnobin on Sept 2, 2010 9:45:56 GMT -5
My great uncle has an anvil for sale, at least he still had it as of Aug 8. He told the smith at Springmill that he was asking $225 for it, I don't remember kind he called it.
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Post by rockguy on Sept 2, 2010 21:58:57 GMT -5
I think it would be a good thing to learn at least how to remove the temper from spring steel, re-shape or make new items, and put the temper back. There's a whole lot more to iron working but that one basic skill is reeely handy.
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Post by rockguy on Sept 9, 2010 10:20:09 GMT -5
I was hoping this topic would take off. Don't know a lot about it but I'd like to eavesdrop...
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Post by mickey on Sept 9, 2010 15:09:45 GMT -5
Anyone here doing it. I'm in the process as we speak of accumlating the materials needed to build a forge as well as attempting to locate an anvil and hand tools. My grand father, great grandfather, and great great grandfather on my mothers side were blacksmiths. My grandfather and great grandfather taught me quite a bit about it. I would love to learn more for self sufficiency sake. There is also an abandoned set of railroad tracks running through our property, an incredible amount of iron and steel via spikes and plates, pins, and more! Time to do something with it. I sold my anvil but still have my forge hammers and tongs. I even have almost ton of the old wrought iron that was used before mild steel came along. I used to work for a blacksmith and horseshoer when I was younger. |
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Post by Penny on Sept 10, 2010 4:59:46 GMT -5
Good luck with it, Alan.....and thats what i was going to suggest too Jo, was talk to some of the relatives Alan, you never know what you might find there.
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Post by orflo on Sept 10, 2010 5:40:13 GMT -5
I do some very basic blacksmithing: mainly forging all sorts of chisels and knives and some very small garden tools. I try to do it the old way, double bellows , charcoal and so on...
I'll take and place some pictures soon...
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Post by Alan on Sept 12, 2010 23:31:00 GMT -5
I will have a number of my great grandfathers blacksmithing tools and anvils secured here at the farm on the next trip to my grandfathers home in Clay County Kentucky as my grandfather promised them to me upon completion of my first homemade forge.
For now I am setting up a small brake drum forge which is movable (utilizing cinder blocks, fire brick underneat the forge itself) and two pieces of railroad t-rail as anvils, one placed upside down to provide a larger flat surface, one cut at a steep angle to utilize as a horn and conviniently is also a splicing piece complete with hole in the rail giving me access to bending metal. I have scavenged the farm for tools from my grandfather (on the other side of the family) which might be suitable to blacksmithing including many chisels, hatchets, small sledges, ball ping hammers, vice grips, and much more which will make excellent "do fors".
Luckily the Amish community sales coal in 50 lb bags for 11.00 and I will buy 300-400 lbs at a time at a slight discount (this will last me for a long time).
Having a railroad system that is currently abandoned in your front yard makes for excelelnt scavenging of wrought iron in the form of plates, spikes, and couplers.
When the whole setup is finished and running I'll take some pics and post on the blog (homegrowngoodness.blogspot.com)
For those looking to make a brakedrum forge (check google) if you are having a hard time finding "black pipe" in two inch measurement you can used galvanized if you burn the galvanization off in an outside fire pit or you can use vinegar and soak the pipes for 24-48 hours to efficiently remove the zink coating.
Please keep this thread going and post pics and tips if possible.
Thanks.
Alan
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Post by mnjrutherford on Sept 13, 2010 6:10:44 GMT -5
Any timbers available for scavenging from those tracks? We need materials for more coops. Oh yea, Mike's bringing the 24" chain saw. Remember talking about that last year?
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