Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - It's pointed...its metal...but not quite a weapon.

A. G. Maisey · 21st August 2008, 12:42 AM

My forge is a truck wheel, and the the blower is an old vacuum cleaner.Its lined with just ordinary garden earth, which is fine for general forging, but if welding, it is a bit easier if you create a fire hole using fire bricks, but its not essential, no matter what you use to line the forge, you're going to get clinker, so you just need to learn how to manage the fire. The earth is pretty clayey, so it bakes up hard anyway.Use fire bricks, and they do burn out and need replacing fairly regularly, use earth and you just pick up a bit from the garden. If you're welding, you need a good depth of fire between the job and the tuyere.

If you cannot get it properly mounted on a stump, you might like to consider sitting it in a bed of sand. I've never used this, but I know people who have, and they reckon it cuts noise down pretty well. A properly mounted anvil---on a stump--- really doesn't create much noise at all.Think about it:- what you are hitting is material that is already soft because its been in the fire, its not like you're actually hitting the anvil. When you're working at black heat there might be a bit of noise, but its not really excessive. You're going to be using 2lb and 4lb hammers mostly, and if you have a striker, maybe a 10 or 12 lb hammer, and you're using them on a big anvil. That's a lot different to using an oliver or a power hammer.Put it this way:- your blower will probably make more noise, and whatever you do, it won't be as bad as one of those blower things people use to clean up leaves.

Here are some keris blades I've made.

Scroll down to my name and click on the index pics.

http://www.kerisattosanaji.com/PBXIIempus.html

21st August 2008, 12:42 AM	#10
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,019	My forge is a truck wheel, and the the blower is an old vacuum cleaner.Its lined with just ordinary garden earth, which is fine for general forging, but if welding, it is a bit easier if you create a fire hole using fire bricks, but its not essential, no matter what you use to line the forge, you're going to get clinker, so you just need to learn how to manage the fire. The earth is pretty clayey, so it bakes up hard anyway.Use fire bricks, and they do burn out and need replacing fairly regularly, use earth and you just pick up a bit from the garden. If you're welding, you need a good depth of fire between the job and the tuyere. If you cannot get it properly mounted on a stump, you might like to consider sitting it in a bed of sand. I've never used this, but I know people who have, and they reckon it cuts noise down pretty well. A properly mounted anvil---on a stump--- really doesn't create much noise at all.Think about it:- what you are hitting is material that is already soft because its been in the fire, its not like you're actually hitting the anvil. When you're working at black heat there might be a bit of noise, but its not really excessive. You're going to be using 2lb and 4lb hammers mostly, and if you have a striker, maybe a 10 or 12 lb hammer, and you're using them on a big anvil. That's a lot different to using an oliver or a power hammer.Put it this way:- your blower will probably make more noise, and whatever you do, it won't be as bad as one of those blower things people use to clean up leaves. Here are some keris blades I've made. Scroll down to my name and click on the index pics. http://www.kerisattosanaji.com/PBXIIempus.html