Forging Ahead

I have been working with steel in sculpture for a number of years. Several of the pieces I have made would have benefited from being able to shape the heated metal with a hammer and anvil. I had a hammer and anvil, but I didn’t have a way to heat medium to large pieces of steel other than an oxy acetylene torch. This used too much gas to be financially feasible. Starting and shutting down the oxy acetylene torch numerous times was a real pain. So in December, I built a coal forge from spare parts. I used a truck brake drum/disc for the firepot, some old steel pipe and a broken BBQ grill. I got the coal for free. I ordered and have received a precut tong kit from Ken’s Custom Iron Store. I haven’t had time to build them yet. There a number of knockoff versions available, but I thought since he developed thee idea, he should get the business. Once it warms up and the snow melts, I should be able to build them. Looking forward to forging steel.