Conference 7.286::home_work

I know that there are at least a couple of notes on forgery :^) over in the 
WOODWORKING_AND_TOOLS notesfile.  KP7 or Select to add it.  Check out note 
5.32, which is a directory of notes relating to metalworking - the notes will 
be listed in there.

Paul

    In the popular mechanics DYI encyclopedia thay have plans for a
    forge that  is made from sheet steel,fire brick, a small amount
    of black iron pipe and a hair dryer with a speed control(dimmer
    switch). It looks like something you could put together in no time
    and is supposed to get hot enough to melt brass and aluminum.
    I believe I could supply a copy of the plans if you're interested.
    
    -j
    

    Check out the catalog from Lindsay Technical Books; I don't have
    their address handy, but I'm pretty sure I've seen an ad for them
    in Popular Mechanics or a similar magazine.  They have some how-to
    books about blacksmithing that might be of help.  It's also an
    interesting catalog, regardless.

    Re: .2:
    
    	Why would anyone want to melt Aluminum in a forge?  Doesn't
    it immediately oxidize?
    
    	Andrew
    

    You might also want to check out Roy Underhills Woodwright series,
    he may have tucked something about forges in one of them.  I'd also
    suggest the Foxfire series of books.  I can't remember who they
    were publish by, but they dealt with life in the Appalachian Mountains.
    
    - Mark

    That would be great !!! My address is: Mario Balducci WFR1-2/E7
    
    Thanks for the help.
    
    Mario
    

    re: .4, melting aluminum
    
    You can cast aluminum relatively easily at home.  In fact, there's
    a series of books by a guy named Dave Gingery that starts with a
    book about building a charcoal-fuel furnace in a 5-gallon bucket
    for melting aluminum, and making sand castings, which you use to
    build a lathe, which you use to build a milling machine, which you
    use to build a shaper, which you use to build a drill press...
    I may have the building order wrong, but basically you start out
    making aluminum castings and end up with a complete machine shop
    that has built itself.
    His books are available through the Lindsay Technical Publications
    catalog (I'll try to remember to get their address.  The catalog 
    is amazing.)
    Brass is trickier - it melts at about twice the temperature - but
    you can cast brass at home too, with the right equipment.  
    

< Note 2409.5 by SEESAW::PILANT "L. Mark Pilant" >
                     -< Possible sources for forge plans >-

>    I'd also suggest the Foxfire series of books.  I can't remember who they
>    were publish by, but they dealt with life in the Appalachian Mountains.
    
    The Foxfire Series (9) volumes, is published by a New York outfit but 
put together by a high school in rural northern Georgia. They started with 
an English project and one teacher. The object orginally was to interest 
the kids in english while teaching them some useful skills and give them 
the experiance of publishing a magazine. The end result has been the 
magazine, 9 books, thousands of hours of tape recorded interviews with 
older people in a 4-5 state area, records, a working museum of rural 
southern life, a bunch of other high school spin off projects, and hundreds 
of kids who have done more and gone further than they ever thought they 
could go, all due to the success of the books and the magazine. I have read 
all nine books, and find them facinating for their view of country rural 
life and the ways things were  done.

   The way people used their ingenuity instead of money is amazing. They 
cover subjects from wagon building to making tools, forging, pottery, and a 
hundred other items we would find useful. Look for these books in either 
craft sections of the bookstores or ask a clerk, bookstores seem to put 
them in odd spots that I wouldn't look for them. Other point is, read the 
index carefully for the articles you want. Some of the series covers only 
specific areas. One dealt only with religions in the area, another with 
just pottery. The early books were more braod ranging.

    Sorry to get off on a tangent but these are well worth reading.....

    	Vic

I have a friend who made a forge from the rim of a truck tire and a plow 
disc, and has been making Damascus steel swords for 10 years.  The blower
comes up through the center of the rim, and fit into the hole in the disc.

We all thought he was nuts, until he showed us some of his work!

Bob

    I have a forge made from a tire rim and some pipe and fittings.
    Total cost was under $10 not including the shop vac air supply.
    It's located in Northboro Mass which I think is close. You are welcome
    to come over and see or use it.
    
    _Bill
    

    Lindsay Publications
    Box 12
    Bradley, Illinois
    
    has a pamphlet listed in their latest catalog, "How to Build a Forge".
    However, Bill's offer to see his shounds cheaper and probably more
    fun!