Shop

My tools have yet to find a long term home. All of my things are set up to be moved. I had everything at my parents garage and some things are still there. The armoury was built at my Lady's mom's house and many of my tools currently live there. One day, they'll be set up for long term use at my own house. I just need to get a house, first.

Forge:

Picture

This is an old rivet forge. I got it for $85 from an antique tool dealer. After a day of fighting with the gears, I freed it up and now it runs pretty smoothly. The ash dump is just something I rigged up with sheet metal since the original was broken. The top just has a grate bolted on. The picture shows the old handle I made. I've since made a better one that does not rely on a small set screw.

Double horned anvil:

Picture

This is a 110 lb anvil that I bought from a local blacksmith. It's about the heaviest I'd be willing to carry to the backyard. It gets more use in the garage will cold metal. I'm not sure of the age or maker. I know a couple companies make similar ones, but this doesn't have a makers mark that I can remember. All it says on the bottom is "50". If anyone can ID it, let me know.

Leg vise:

Picture

This is an old family leg vise. Because I move things around so much, I made a wooden stand for it. Piling extra weight on the back helps keep it stable. There are a couple of nail-hooks in the side for forge tools and the small surface on the top I can set things on. In the garage, I also use it as a stand for my bench grinder.

Dishing stump:

Shallow dish Deep dish

This stump has a shallow dish on one side and a deep dish on the other. Some things are even pounded over the side of the log.

Inventory:

Very few things in here are actually purchased. The things that were are probably from scrap yards or recycling centers. Otherwise the things are found or scavenged from dumpsters. A lot of the sheet metal comes from a local welding shop's dumpster. They have to pay to get it shipped out, so they don't mind when I take it for free. Other things are found in the woods. Eventually I'll buy some cold rolled steel and make something shiny.

Metal balls, stakes, and forms:

Stakes Round forms

Since I don't have a modern welder, this section is still pretty rugged. I have a couple of ball hitches that are ground. I have a couple of jackhammer bits. The wide bit was used to roll the edge of my buckler. I use a cutoff from a round column with a base plate as a rivet anvil. I also have what looks like a huge ball hitch which works well as a round anvil. The top of the big eyebolt was also ground smooth. Check out the Blacksmithing page for more recent stakes and forms.

Other tools:

Wood lathe

The wood lathe was originally my grandfather's. It has a disk sander on the other side. Some more pictures of tools I have made are in the blacksmithing section.

Colvin Run Mill

A lot of the forge work I do is done as a volunteer at Colvin Run Mill. They have a shop permanently set up so I don't have to haul anything to the backyard. They also have a bigger forge and selection of tools. Here I give demonstrations on blacksmithing and answer questions for visitors. The things I make are either my own projects or they are for use around the site.

Picture of the shop from the outside

Double forge:

Forge 1

While there are two forges here, only one currently works. The other side had a cracked firepot that needed replacing. When we went to replace it, we found that the masonry was built around the firepot and the whole thing was cemented into place. The forge has a few less fire bricks on that side now and the replacement firepot would fit, but it's left handed. Who knew they made tuyeres that took in air from the right side? I bet we got a good price on that one. I tried putting it in backwards but the ash dump handle didn't fit. We'll get it running once we have the right tuyere. I think we burned through the last real clinker breaker recently too. I may need to make one when I get there.

Traveling forge:

Picture

The cart in the back is actually a forge on wheels. The bellows are in the closed section and the fire pan is in the front. There is also a tool box built into the rear. Honestly, I've never seen it used and I just step over it to get into the shop. It was made for civil war events.

S-hooks:

Basket full of s-hooks

People around here either have nothing better to make, or really like s-hooks. The shop is full of them. They hang all around the shop walls and ceiling. Sure, I've made a few, but I gave most of them away when I made them. Hardly any other smiths use the shop so I'm starting to wonder if they spontaneously generate. There always seems to be more.

The Millhouse:

Waterway Water Wheel

Here are a couple of pictures of the actual mill. It is under reconstruction currently. The waterway is new and a number of other major parts are also being rebuilt. The mill is still operational, it's just taking a break for repairs to the worn parts. I think that it will be operational again before the end of the year