Rod Hart

Thanks Michael. I intend to do something with the rivet forge eventually. I want to give coal a try and like you said, it'll be another option for different tasks. I believe I read on here somewhere that you don't clay these pots unless it specifically says so in the casting. A good friend found the forge in his barn, along with some OLD files and rasps. I was actually really happy with the Christmas present. My wife is pretty supportive of my hobbies. She probably would be less so if she saw what a 2X72 is gonna cost eventually, haha.

Sorry for the delay Scott, had to run some errands and feed the kids lunch. Unfortunately there is no branding to be found. I played with it a while back and got it hot enough to forge with charcoal but it took a lot of work due to the wheel not spinning freely.

Hi Scott, I actually got a big bag of coal from my wife for Christmas. Not sure if I should be sorry or thankful for that one, lol. I planned on giving the rivet forge another try but I need need to either make some bearings to help keep the blower rotating freely or remove the blower and attach a hair dryer. The forge itself is also very shallow and limits what I can do.

Haha! Started to read the last part and was wondering if I forgot something. Thanks Brian! I'm a fortunate guy for sure, a friend of mine that I hadn't seen since metal shop at my old high school remembered that I was looking for a forklift tine and gave me one. If you were closer I would offer the leftover piece, it's about 100lbs. If I can get more time put in and find some people too meet regularly, I would probably use it as a travel anvil.

Hello All! I have been extremely busy and unfortunately it has affected my time in the shop. A good friend who is former LEO has helped me get back into serving my church and has got me back on track with some of my hobbies (fishing, hunting and bladesmithing). I work at a jail and have been slipping down a small rabbit hole of depression, nothing serious but I recognized the signs (apparently my friend did too). I am still scared to death of electricity, so the shop only has lights at this time. A kid my brother knows going to help me wire the shop. My small victories include making a stand for my forklift tine anvil. I cut it down to 200 lbs, mounted it in a box filled with sand to help level it and add some weight. The ball bearing test isn't that impressive (especially compared to my 200 lb Fisher) so I need to find a way to harden and polish the face. I will also continue the stand another 5 or 6 layers and add a magnet for sound. It still works pretty well, I hammered a preform real quick and started to work the bevels. I only used the Fisher's horn for drawing the tip (I got J. Neilson's DVD for Christmas). You'll also see my coffee can forge with a Bernz JTH7 torch. Unfortunately I made the mistake of adding a leftover piece of insawool to the bottom which negatively effects the swirl and creates a major hot spot. It still works and should be a sign to any new people that a useable forge is very easy to make. Coffee can, insawool, satanite and torch. My vertical forge is out until I find someone that will fill my 100 lb tank or I buy a new one. I've been off and on for years. I've also been a member since 2009. I bring this up for two reasons: 1. The beginners section has plenty of info, no matter how long you've been around. Someone always has a question you haven't thought of. 2. No matter what life throws at you, keep pushing forward and do what you love. PS. Pictures are courtesy of my 7 year old Daughter. The kids love watching, with safety glasses. Please excuse the mess in the background, I'm trying to clear out some stuff.

Thanks for the info James! I really like the Ameribrade and it looks to be quality. A video just came across my Facebook feed of the guys at Ameribrade balancing a quarter on the tooling arm while grinding. Apparently they reduced the vibration. The main incentive right now is the ease of attaching the motor and it's one complete unit.

Thanks Wes! I must've not been paying attention when I was looking at the OBM stuff. I'll check it out. I'll have to ask James how he likes the Ameribrade. I was actually thinking about cutting the list down to the OBM and the Ameribrade. I like the features and the design of the Reeder but I'm not sure about longevity of the aluminum construction.

Thank you all for your replies! Wes, thank you for clarifying. I like how the black looks and if it's been good to you, I'm sure it'll be an improvement for me. It's honestly the direction I'm leaning towards at this point. It'd be nice if they made an alignment tool like the Ameribrade comes with. Brian D., I think you were actually the one I saw posting about the OBM. I told my Dad that I wanted no less than 2HP. Thanks for the +1 on the OBM. Brian M., thanks for the comment. Another +1 for OBM. Charlie, I really like the looks of the Northridge! I like how it and the Reeder have the motor bolt directly to the frame, saves some guess work and looks clean. The only issue I have is that it's hitting the higher end of what I want to spend but close enough that I may have to think about it. Thank you! Joshua, I agree with your thought process. I do however think that there are machines favored by full time Makers that aren't what I "need". I could be served well by a quality machine that isn't as sought after and therefore doesn't warrant a premium. The reason I choose these three is because I can see the thought put into them, they have the features I want, and the price is where I want it. Thank you for making sure I don't blindly make a purchase without evaluating. I truly appreciate all the valuable knowledge shared on this forum. Thank you.

Thanks for the info Wes. I remember you talking about the OBM a while back, which is how it made it onto my list. It sound like a solid option and it is the cheapest of the three. They have a black oneye now that looks like it bolts together, not sure if there's anything else different. Wayne, thanks for the heads up on the VFD. I will keep that in mind. I'm looking for a pre-built setup but thank you. I would love to hear from people that have at least tried the other two grinders.it would give me a more unbiased assessment. Thanks for your replies.

So first off, hello everyone. Life's crazy but I'm still around and still trying to get out in the shop as often as possible. I have decided to step up to a 2x72 from my 1/3HP Craftsman 2x42. I have some money saved and have narrowed it down to three choices. Oregon Blade Maker, Reeder Products Grinder and Ameribrade.I would love to hear pro, cons, personal experiences and recommendations. I have concerns with each. The longevity of the Reeder since it's made of aluminum (says they have steel inserts at wear points). The construction of the Ameribrade is 1/4" walled tubing and uses it's own type of tooling arm. I guess with the OBM I just concerned with the price. Would I be happy with it and will it doesn't what I ask of it? I'm still a hobbyist at this point and would like to keep the cost down but want something I can grow with for a while if I am able to put in more time. I like the thought of having two tool arm positions and the tension arm latch on the Reeder and Ameribrade are pretty slick. The bolt plate for the motor is nice but not a must. I'm pretty sure I have a line on a motor and my Dad says he may have a VFD, though I need to be sure it's suitable. Thanks for any input and as always, Thank You.

I have a minimal budget for Christmas this year. All two tongs I have now are really old and dont work all that well. I really need as close to a do all tong as possible for now and would like a hammer between 2 or 3 lbs. Obviously I will have to work up to collecting more tongs. I need something that could be used for the rest of the process after I shape the blade on the barstool. I would like some suggestions and if it could stay close to $150 or so. Thanks guys!

Thank you Geoff! I will do both things you suggested. I was thinking of grinding the spine down but then I would have still have the curve in the blade. I guess I'm feeling and gripping the tang and not taking the scales into considerationew. Thank you for the kind words, I may have forged the bevels too close again but time will tell.

It's been awhile but I'm still around. I am currently attempting to make a knife for a good friend of mine, he is a knife maker in Georgia and the one that inspired me to make knives. My forging is getting better (despite the absence of my cross peen).but I could use some help with this blade shape. I thought I had the piece the way I wanted it, but after some profiling I feel like it resembles more of a kitchen knife than a outdoor/bushcraft blade. I would like to hear your thoughts before I move forward and can't put steel back. The knife is 1/4" admiral 1084, 9 5/8"OAL, 5 1/4"Blade. Thanks!

I'll just leave this here...

Fired the forge up for the first time tonight. It was more of a test run to see if everything was functioning properly. I just used some lump charcoal from the store and a large nail from my attempt to build this year's KITH but did not have time. It heats up enough although I'm sure coal or coke would be better... and maybe a lesson on coal forge operation. I'm not sure if the wheel is spinning as freely as it should. It's not difficult at all to operate but the rotation stops not long more than a second after depressing the fulcrum. Overall I'm pretty happy.

So I bought a 52.5" serpentine belt and it works perfectly! A couple of adjustments and now I'm ready to try it out. I will have to do some reading again on coal forges as I decided early on to just use gas and skip the coal. Now my interest is peaked by using something with some history.

Yeah, this is cast.

I figured they were something like that. I'm going to talk to Erin Simmons since I know he sells coal, maybe he'll have coke. I don't see anything indicating that it's ever been coated. It couldn't hurt to clay it for the extra life and insulation, right?

It has a little grate with some 3/16" holes. It has almost no markings. The blower has 556 on one side and 557 on the other. There appears to be a U55 or U59 on the inside bottom of the pot.

Thanks guys! My Dad found a picture of something similar in a 1902 Sears catalog. I need a couple of new carriage bolts to install the blower. Is there anything I need to know before trying it out? Alan- The gear works pretty darn good. We took the gear off and lubed everything. It's fairly smooth for what it is. Justin- I was looking at that "doohickie" when we were taking everything apart. I was surprised that it wasn't rusted in place. Everything movedone fairly well but it's pretty darn great after we were done with it.

So a friend of mine gave me this coal forge that's pretty awesome. I would like to know about when it's made and who made it if possible. The blower was seized up so my Dad and I tore it apart and greased it. Everything works fine now. I just need to find a belt to finish the job. Thanks!

That's the first thought I had Dave. That's someone I miss seeing updates from. Robert, that is beautiful. What steel?

Thanks Caleb! I mainly want to get a good idea so I can place my post anvil, it will be the only thing I won't be able to move. I do like keeping the processes separate. Doug, I definitely don't like extra crispy. The press is definitely going to be an addition down the road so that is flexible right now. I already drew another configuration but I think I understand what you're getting at. You have your anvil positioned between you and the forge but placed to the side so you are always facing the forge? Gerald, the thought hadn't even crossed my mind. Thank you for that! I guess I was just so focused on the bladesmithing that I hadn't thought about asking any of the farriers or blacksmiths. Thank you all for your insight.

So my Dad and I are just about done wiring, running 220 and installing lights in my shop. I plan on cutting a hole in the floor for my fork tine anvil but before I do so I need to be sure that the shop layout makes sense. My shop is 18'8"×22'8". I used graph paper to get a basic layout and would like to hear your thoughts on it. Each square represents about a square foot. I don't have the press and haven't built the coal forge yet but I like to plan ahead. The metal shop table will be portable. 110 will be all over and the 220 is only ran to the shut off as of today. Thank you for your input.

Thank you! That is exactly the kind of feedback I'm looking for.