Fired Up My Old Forge

[Greg Pennell]

A few years ago, with the passing of my father, I inherited what was left of my great-grandfather’s forge. It had been out of service for decades, the fire pot cracked and broken, tossed in a corner of the barn. My father said he rembered playing with the tools and blower when he was a kid...and the old anvil sure shows plenty of evidence of generations of “ blacksmiths” beating on it 😆.

So, I started cleaning things up, and seeing what could be salvaged...the hand-crank blower seemed to work fine, but the mounting bracket to attach it to the cast iron forge was long gone, as was the air ducting. It took a little figuring, and some CAD (cardboard aided design 😆) but I made up a new mounting bracket. Then I cut out the remains of the old cracked fire pot, and bolted in a new one from Centaur Forge.
















Some wire brushing, and some high-temp grill paint, and things were looking better. I plumbed the air ducting with a piece of automobile flex exhaust tubing, and made a simple ash dump and clinker breaker.








And fired up yesterday with some good Kentucky coal.  I don’t think I’ll be Forge welding any barrels any time soon, but I think it’ll work for small projects, and to get me started learning a little about the craft.

Greg

[Robert Wolfe]

Looks good. Its ready for several more generations of use!

[marcusb]

Great restoration, and to have the family connection is priceless!

[David R. Pennington]

Hey Greg,
That looks like a great set up and good to see you are putting it back into service. I don't see any reason you couldn't get barrel welding heats with some good coal. Looks like that pot will give you enough depth in your fire, and that blower should provide a good blast. Good metalurgical grade coal is very desireable.
Before starting a barrel I would stock pile some good clean coke from previous sessions. Make sure you always have fuel in your fire under your metal to use up the air so you don't burn your work.
There has been a lot of forging done on that anvil, but she is still good for a lot more. Peter Wright or Mousehole? I have a well worn PW here made before the Civil War that is still a joy to use.
Happy Hammering!

[Greg Pennell]

Thanks guys!  It’s an on-going process, but it’s underway now, at least.

David, my first order of business is tool making...other than a couple of new hammers, and a few sets of flea market tongs, I don’t have much to work with.  So, chisels, punches, drifts, fullering tools, all need to be fabricated. I’d also like to find me a decent swage block somewhere this spring.

As for the old anvil, I looked it over pretty good, and the only marking I can find is what appears to be a ships anchor stamped on one side. I’d imagine it’s just a hardware store brand, probably dating to the turn of the last century. I do have my eye on a nice Peter Wright that my best friend picked up cheap...He doesn’t have any use for it other than a yard ornament, so I’m hoping I can talk him out of it.

At any rate, now I’m started...as long as I can eventually make a few triggerguards, buttpieces, and a few knives and tomahawks, I’ll be tickled to death!

Greg

[David R. Pennington]

Greg, I make my tools as I have a need, it is an ongoing process. I am always on the lookout for tongs and the like at flea markets etc.,. Always learning. From the pictures the anvil looks like it is a forged iron anvil with a steel face and I would guess it has good rebound. Enjoy.

[Robby]

Looks pretty darn good to me G, family ties are a big bonus!!!!
Robby

[okieboy]

 Some Fisher (Fisher-Norris) anvils are marked with an eagle holding an anchor. The anchor would be more or less horizontal.

[Greg Pennell]

Thanks Okie. This thing was so corroded that I could just barely make out what I think was an anchor. I tried making a pencil rubbing, but couldn’t tell much about it. I guess 50 years in a corner of an old barn is tough on things. I cleaned it up best I could, and it’s good enough just to know where it came from.

Greg

[Ky-Flinter]

Lookin' good Greg.  I have some of my great-grandfather's hand tools and always enjoy using them.  Good for you on bring the old forge back to life.

-Ron

[Curtis]

Nice work, made even better since it came down through the family!

Curtis

[gumboman]

Now that is cool. You are going to have some fun with that old forge.

[RED333]

Nice work on getting the forge back in shape and all. Crush your coal into smaller pieces, say about 1/2 to 3/4 inch. Makes for better packing around your work piece. All in all I likey!

[heelerau]

I would clay line that forge, I have used clay from the garden which is still working fine in my riveting forge. Great job of recommissioning your family forge!!  Have you any of the original tools to go with it?
Cheers

Gordon

[Greg Pennell]

Thanks guys.  Now that Spring is here, maybe I can find time to get back at it (if I can stop chasing turkeys... )

Gordon, the only original parts I could find were the forge, the blower, and the anvil. There were some tongs, and a few hammer heads, but they’ve gone missing.  I’ve started re-tooling at the local flea markets, and it’s coming along. 

Greg

[heelerau]

Greg, I had bought my big buffalo forge 30 odd years ago, the fire pot was no good, but enough of it left to get the boiler makers at work to make me a new one for a carton of cider ! I finally built my smithy last year, takes me a long time to do things sometimes, but do get there eventually. Tried to get a fire pot from a mob in Texas but could not even get a reply out of them. You will have a lot of fun with your forge.

Cheers

Gordon

[will payne]

Don't get burned! Have fun with your forge.