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sam salvati;6501 wrote: No one's saying anything over there because all you can say to those photos is "holy shit!" LOL and you can't say that over there.

those are nicely tapered, very smooth, did you use one of those fuller/flatter tools (but
I imagine a BIG one) to get them so smooth?

I was going to say the same thing, only you beat me to it.:D

Michael, Can you burn coal where you are at? What you are doing looks great but you are definately pushing the equipment limits. 45 minutes in an NC six burner is a LOT of propane for one bend and there's not much room around that piece in the last photo either so that's going to take some time too. Did you ever see an old photo of a floor fire for big stuff? A couple of blowers and a bunch of coal can make a pretty efficient forge out of a plain old dirt floor. (Besides, you'd make Jack really happy using a instant psuedo side blast (draft) for your art, grin.) Smoke could be problem though. Please keep posting on your progress; it's fun to see your work. Steve G

Michael, Man you do need an overhead with the scale you are working at. Is that kind of equipment scarce where you are or just prohibitively priced? I couldn't justify setting up a true overhead bridge crane in my shop even though I snagged a manual one once for free on a root. (I traded it for a very nice 24" Grob band saw since it didn't fit my space.) Instead I set a single I beam for a monorail with two hoists for the welding area and then built a simple gantry unit for the rest of the shop. The only real cost was four decent castors for it. Could you do something like that or find a gantry on Craigslist? (I just sold a 1 ton Wallace aluminum adjustable for only a grand that way, they are out there.)

Somewhere around here I have an old picture of a large coal fire built right on the floor not in a forge. It's heating the corner of a big piece of work. I seem to remember a couple of air pipes into a big pile of coal and lots of flame and smoke but not what book it's in to scan. Not sure I'd try it on concrete. Steve G

This is a great thread. Danger, i enjoy seeing your work, and all the great comments and stories that come about when you show it. Keep it coming.

I want a big hammer 🙁

Thanks but no thanks. It if was free I couldn't afford it. I think a 7 is a 2250 lb tup weight?

Your right, I would like to have a 7b, I just need to buy some land to install it on and win the lotto so I can move and install it. A 7b is 58,300 lbs. Just the anvil is 21,000. She takes a 60hp motor, has 32" of stroke with 26" clear between the dies. Standard dies are 6" wide and 13.5" long. Also says it will efficently work 11" sq mild steel...