Hello Friends!
It has been a while since the last update, Sadly there is not much to tell, I have some space issues in the workshop that have pretty much put a hold on my ambitions for now. But as anyone who has succeeded will tell you there will always be hurdles for you to jump over on your way. What news I do have is exciting, I have won an anvil from Matchless Antiques http://stores.ebay.com/Matchless-Antiques . Fellow Blacksmiths I must say that Steve the owner of the eBay store is ever the friend of the craftsman and if you have a chance to do business with him or purchase one of his items it is a good experience.
I have now a 130 lbs Anvil, I need a large log chunk to put it on but that will come. Also I have made arrangements with a local contractor to install some steps to the second story of my workshop so that my space problems will finally be alleviated.
It has been an exciting few months and with the baby coming time will be at a premium but we will find time for more developments along the way.
Next on the to do list is to re-engineer the hearth. I had originally made it with an aluminum base and while this might have worked well I have been recently blessed with a very solid steel base with much larger wheels and a lock so that my hearth can be more mobile.
What is a Hearth you ask? Well for those not fluent in blacksmith reading this. A hearth is where the blacksmith makes his fire. It is basically a box fireproofed with a hole in the center with tubing attached to it. This hole is where all the ash and debris is dropped and where air is forced into the coal to make it burn hotter and cleaner.
My Hearth is a stainless steel electrical box that I will line with firebrick, in the middle I have put a cast iron brake rotor and to that is attached 2" black pipe. This is all put on a steel angle iron cart and the 2" pipe is in a T shape so that ash can go down and air can come in from the side. I designed this hearth to be easily fixable made from parts that are readily available. Also I designed it to withstand more then just a steel fire. Ultimately I would like to do some work with titanium alloys and to do other things like smelt brass, copper, silver etc.
What else is new, Hmm, I have a new email for Singing Steel Forge, singingsteelforge@gmail.com also I am in the process of registering a makers mark with Anvilfire. A very good friend is working on the design for the makers mark and for what will eventually become the Singing Steel Forge brand.
I am very grateful for all those who are lending their support, materials, knowledge and assistance. Thank you ABANA for all your great articles and support for blacksmiths.
