First Blog!

Finally it is done. The forge is up and running and I've even created a few things.... but there's a twist. Watch to find out!

Hello all, It looks like I'm going to have to build a place to work. Burning a coal forge cannot be done inside my garage due to zoning laws, and I can't leave the forge out in the elements to rust away. So, enjoy the video where I go over making a smithy!

Hello all, This time I've got the pieces of the forge laid out and am taking you through them and explaining what they do. In an earlier blog post I called the part that feeds oxygen to the fire a "tue iron." That was incorrect and came from me misunderstanding the people who were telling me about it. It is called a  tuyère and is pronounced similar to "tue iron." Enjoy!

Hello again, Long time no see! This time we are looking at some work I've been doing to get the forge up and running. First step, learn how to weld. Disclaimer: I have never welded before. As expected the results of my first time welding were pretty hideous but I have since watched numerous YouTube videos and have talked with a few coworkers that have experience in welding. My next attempt will hopefully yield better results. Attached is the first attempt. Enjoy!

Hello again, For my major project I chose to use my return to the hobby of being a blacksmith and document my journey and progress. I started smithing in high school with a friend of mine. Unfortunately then my short attention span got the better of me and I moved on. Ever since then I have often wanted to go back to it. So here I go. Forging metal into desired shapes requires only 4 things: the metal to shape, something to hit it with, something to hit it on, and something to heat it up with. Fortunately, I already have an anvil and a few hammers laying around and a few pieces of high carbon engine parts that are good scrap to start with. So, the only thing I lack is the heating element. First, I had to decide whether I wanted to use solid fuel (coal/coke) or gas. For familiarity and maybe a little nostalgia, I chose to go with a coal/coke forge. Additionally, rather than buy it I decided to make it. I'm using a side blast design with a water cooled tue iron. I got the des...