What tube for a small forge tuyere?

[tombear]

Finally picked up a suitable piece of steel to make the raised rim of the forge. Unfortunately it I'd a shallow U shape so I will have to jig saw the sides off but that's no biggy. It's the right thickness and I'll cut a wooden block to match the corners i want to bend into it.

pic when it is done.

atb

Tom

 

[tombear]

There was a few inches of the steel pipe I was kindly sent left over so I've just used a couple of rings cut from it to make collars for the comedy sized file handles I turned for two huge files I restored ages back.

Just the job thanks!

After drilling the pilot holes ( turning them predated having some drills with the no. 1 morse tapers which I can swap into the headstock thingy to put centred holes into handles ) I used a old tapered reaming bit in a brace to make the hole for the tang, it worked extremely well and I recommend anyone who does a lot of rehandling of files etc to pick one up.

ATB

Tom

 

[tombear]

Well I made the extension piece, from its top to the bottom of the cast part is 4.5 inches, it's sort of sprung so you can almost lift the whole thing by it. With a bit of care the fire won't get that close to to extension so I don't think there's much risk of it melting!

So what do folks reckon, a cut out at the front above the carrying handle or at step down on the sides from a point just in front of where the holes in the tuyere are and across the front or leave be?

ATB

Tom

 

[Tomteifi]

If you put your cut outs across i.e. side to side, you'll only have a very small area of fire that will get a small area of your metal hot enough to work(due to your pipe holes running longways down your forge) So, put your cut outs at each end and, if you're going to use any pieces wider than the space between the fastenings on the pipe entry end, just put a cut out wide enough to let them lay below the level of the fuel(in the fire not on it) i'd say about 75% down the wall of your extension on just the opposite 'free' end only. That will work fine.

Tom.

 

[tombear]

Cheers, I'm in tomorrow so i can get that done.

AtB

Tom

 

[Tomteifi]

whats your extension made of?

 

[tombear]

Just shy of 2mm thick mild steel. When I can find something thicker I'll up grade.

atb

Tom

 

[Tomteifi]

okay, should be fine.

 

[tombear]

Cheers! I've sawn the two verticalish sides of the cut out and folded it over to double up the part that will be rested on.

Just need some dry weather and spare time!

atb

Tom

 

[Tomteifi]

Looks good-good to double it up too. When you make your first fire in it-it'll be trial and error of course but try to pile it up as high as it will safely go in the very centre of the pot, as it gets hotter I mean so, when you put your piece in, it will slide directly into the hottest part-it'll heat up better and more thoroughly. Keeping the coals as low as you can around the edges will ensure your keeping the fire under control. A garden type plastic water squeezy misting spray will be handy for squirting around the edges too-helps to keep the fire under control and manageable-stops all coal/fuel burning at once and getting too big. If you manage to get a nice hot fire in the centre only and about 4 inches or so square-that would be a great start for you. Good luck and keep us posted.

Tom.

 

[Dave Budd]

I've not seen this thread before, so a few more tips for you (also my apologies if I say something that has already been mentioned!)

Your bellows look good, but they won't work with coke I'm afraid. Coke needs a pretty constant draft to burn and I haven't found even a pair of larger bellows to be much use unless I have somebody pumping them constantly. A hand cranked blower will work fine though. With bellows you really want charcoal,but even coal will work better

The bottom of you forge will want to be filled in to the level of the pipe and then up the sides so that you don't have a lot of wasted fuel and burn out your pipe on the first day. You can use wood ash or clay happily enough there

Your pipe (in this case more akin to a blast grate rather than a a tuyere as the air is coming through a series of holes not out the end) will work fine, but close off all but a couple or three of those holes. That large a surface area will give you a massive hot spot that will consume a lot of fuel and toast you in the process. Also the larger the hot spot, then the deeper your fire needs to be to make sure that you aren't heating in a highly oxygen rich area (this burning your steel and losing more metal to scale that needed).

one way I have found of cleaning ash out of a pipe forge like that (I hve had a couple or three over the years), is to put a large washer on the end of a bar and leave it in the pipe, so the washer is at the far end and the par is sitting where your bellows plug in. That way when you are done or the ash blocks the holes, you can pull the bar out and clean the ash out at the same time. Make sure though that the washer is a lot smaller than the pipe (say a 20mm washer in a 30mm pipe), otherwise the scale that will form on the inside of the pipe and the burnt ends of bar that drip through will block the passage of your washer.

the suggestion of damping the fire with water to limit the hot spot to where you want it is a good one, but I've found a dribble much more useful than a misty spray. Some folks use a tin can with holes punched in it, I use whatever ladle or coffee cup is to hand!

 

[tombear]

Cheers for that both, all easily doable. I've plenty of charcoal and can experiment with adding the coke as I learn what I'm doing. Luckily I do have a willing soul to pump constantly ( the lads relentless I've seen him dig continuously for four hours and the longest he stopped was to gulp down a drink, it must skip generations! ) and can fit a better blower when I get one or make something. I've seen plans for the sort POWs made for blowing into tunnels or forcing draughts into stoves.

Clay i I can get although I have most of the big tub of fire clay I got to seal the ends in so I'll use that up first .

It is really small stuff we plan to do on this, cloak pins, belt fittings, fire steels etc so optimising it for that would be good.

If we show any aptitude and or really enjoy it we will move onto something fixed out in the top back garden. This is all to get a taster for it on a shoestring. Courses would be great but we don't have the spare cash and unfortunately the kind folk who have offered to let us have a go are all too far for me , a non driver with childcare commitments, to get to. Not so long ago I could have gone on a night school course but they flattened the local technical college to sell the land for a motel that in the end never got built...

Thanks for for all the advice and encouragement and I'll keep you informed of how I get on.

ATB

Tom

 

[tombear]

Been tentatively offered a swap for my too big for me 1 CWT anvil for a William Parker of 57 lb which is the size i was looking for in the first place. From the photos it looks in better nick than mine. All depends if the guy like the look of mine, the pics showing the damage hasn't put him off. Totally the wrong reason but i like the fact the Parker was made in Attercliffe where a lot of my mothers family lived in Shef'.

I got the 1 CWT at a good price so IF it goes through i wont be losing out. Eeee i'll be able to pick it up without feeling like i'm rupturing!

ATB

Tom

 

[tombear]

Well me birthdays come 2 days early, the chap came over and despite the defects, which he was confident he could sort easily like the two creases in the steel plate, which I had worried would put him off he was happy to swap it for the neat little Wm. Parker Attercliffe 0 2 1 ( 57lb to you and me). It turns out mine was a 1 1 0 ( 1 1/4 cwt ) as he spotted a second faint one. Which explains why I thought I'd become weaker than I had, it being near 30lb heavier than I thought it was.

The welded on steel top is about 1/2 a inch thick, over twice what the one on the the other one, more like three times, and has just one small chip out of it. It's just the size I wanted and easily carried up to the shed and out to the far end of the back lot.

I'm chuffed to bits with it. It's small enough to fit in a big bucket so I will give it a soak in a oxcillic acid solution to get the rust off, wire brush it and take the power file to anything that needs smoothing down.

Any suggestions to owt else I should do to it to bring it up to standard?

The chap said he had a nice leg vice he could let me have for £30 as his mrs was getting him to clear out his spares and clutter. I'll ask him for some photos as the last one I saw they were asking 80 for.

ATB

 

[Tomteifi]

Yikes! Whatever else you, do not use a power file anywhere on that anvil. You don't want or need to 'smooth' anything out on it. You want to keep its original shape (and size) at all costs. Apart from ruining its originality and patina, you will reduce its weight(not good as it is very light anyway). A powered wire wheel all over it will do it no harm at all, just enough pressure to remove paint/rust and bring it to a decent shiny surface-done! Liberally coat it with either hot beeswax or beeswax/BLO/turpentine mix and use it. And don't worry about the face or horn-regular use and a quick wipe will keep that looking great too!

Tom.

 

[tombear]

Cheers! Glad you posted as I was going to attack it this morning. Nothing too dramatic , square off the hardie hole and sharpen up the edge closest to the camera in the pic.. The tops pretty flat as is.

i need to sort out ways I can peg it down, at first on the floor as I'll work Indian style on the small stuff planned and later on a section of tree trunk dug in.or more likely 2 sections of railway sleeper banded or bolted together. The thing is it can't be left where it will be used as it's not secure, hence my delight in something I can carry up stairs without a hernia.

I've read the top of the anvil should be at knuckle height off the ground for use standing.

im also reassessing the tools I've selected to use as I may have previously gone too heavy/ big for the work we will start with. strike-a-lights, belt fittings, arrow and bolt heads, box and chest fittings, cloak broaches, very small tools. Fortunately my habit of getting tools and restoring them even if I have no emediate need has stood me in good sted and I've quite a range of hammers especially if I raid the ones I did up for herselfs jewlery making kit ( still unused )

I'm on the look out for something like the Iron bick here,

http://anvils.co.uk/products/list/42

although if I see almost any of the strakes there I'll snap them up.

ATB

Tom

 

[Tomteifi]

You're welcome. Don't 'square off' the hardy hole either. Just measure it from underneath and find its size then obtain hardys of that size-they will work perfectly but not if you alter the hole. Leave the pritchel as it is too. And, don't sharpen up the anvil face edges either-no useful purpose by doing so-it'll detract from it. Take as close up a photo as you can of the anvil face from a side on view so we can see what sort of a top plate it has got and post it here. You don't need any sort of a 'sharp' edge on the anvil face- a gentle curve is all that's needed generally. As for holding it down-there are a number of things to be considered. It looks from you pic that it does have a top plate fitted-how does it ring when you strike it(softly only-do not smash it!) Have you tied dropping a ball bearing onto the face to check how much rebound is present? If not and you only have a hammer then try a light dropping tap with something like a small planishing hammer-that should bounce several times at least- a ball bearing should bounce lots. Also if it rings out loud and long like a church bell when struck that is a good thing and it will need fixing or it will deafen you and anyone else nearby. Don't drill through it at all. Old railway spikes are perfect at each corner for that job and obviously into wood. If you're leaving it 'freestanding' for now just drape a good length of old chain(heavy if you have it) around it several times-its all about deadening the deafening ring(pardon?)lol. The weight and mass of the chain should hold it in place for light work on the floor. Height for when you mount it more permanently needs consideration but as its only light work its not vital-generally in the area of being level with you holding a hammer you will use on it, on the anvil face and see that the hammer shaft is roughly horizontal-that's it. ps If your hardy tools are loose in the hole use tape on the shafts to give a nice snug fit.
Tom.

 

[tombear]

Aw, half the funs fiddling with things! But I know when to listen to good sense! I've chemically derusted it and wire wheeled it and coated it beeswax.

I'll do a pic of the join between the wrought iron and the steel later but there seams to be a change about I/2 a inch down.
When lightly struck with a small ball pein the plate rings, especially loudly towards the rear. When allowed to drop under its own weight the 1/2 lb hammer bounces about five times, it sort of speeds up to a buzz so it's hard to tell. The first bounce looks like about as high as its dropped from but can't be. It impressed me anyway!

The hardie hole, allowing for the chavelled edges is 3/4" square.

ATB

Tom

 

[Tomteifi]

You know it makes sense Thomas(you naughty cat-Tom and Jerry-like I needed to say it). Yep chems and brushes are good. The bees will be proud of you too! Sounds(s'cuse pun) like a good rebound-means its top plate is good and well fixed and will be a perfect surface for you to squash hot metal between it and a hammer! Don't whatever else you do, ever be tempted to use the phrase "Kiss me Hardy" while you are at work on the anvil! I bet it looks a treat-the anvil that is. BTW *** is a chavelled edge please? Never, ever heard of the word. Chamfered yes-chavelled-nope. I'm intrigued...

cheers

Tom.

 

[tombear]

Ah, sorry, it's a dialect word, East Midlands only as far as I know, means chewed up, rough, jagged. You can take the lad out of Darbysh' but you can't take the Darbysh' out of the lad....*

Anyroad, I'll down load the pic from the proper camera tomorrow as it does look rather well with the beeswax coating ( I make candles so I had some in the double boiler already) and I rubbed it into all the pits and scratches and,like the tart I am, wafted the blowtorch lightly over it so it looked pretty and smooth.

Just had a e from the guy who swapped with me with a pic of the leg vice he has spare, rusty of course but in working order and the spring looks solid and not corroded to nowt. 6 inch jaws, 42 inch high. £30, which seams more than fair. ' Now waiting to see when I can pick it up or him drop it off.

ATB

Tom

* Its probably to do with the lack of potassium in the soil. I'm only a generation away from when people were still suffering form Derbyshire Neck, a goitre caused by a lack of potassium in the locally grown veg' if I remember right. Back in the day the county was renowned for the men being " strong in arm, weak in 'ed ". It's probably why Little a John was supposed to come from there so they have been taking the ---s for a long time now. It actually does effect the brain, and not in a good way. Thankfully by the time I came along, 47 years ago today as it happens, most of the food was coming from all over the country, if not the world and any way there's suplements you can take, eat a banana etc but once upon a time the general bias towards being dim, easily tricked, easily angered and violent had a probable cause!

Here endeth the ramble