Good setup. Expert tip😉 Next time put dry sand on board or clay platform on the ground. The fire draws moist from the ground on to itself that why you can't make it hot enough. The wind can actualy help you. Keep up my friend.
Thats a great tip. Thank you my friend. I was planning on making a small portable wooden box with clay. I didnt realise the fire/grund moisture issue:) this project im Completely green and have everything to learn.
@@RAMUNI-Viking Yea, small woden box would be perfect. Sand is much better, clay will crack over time. And you can easier position your stones in sand.
@@RAMUNI-Viking Fire directly on the ground has never been an issue for me. Sand on the other hand is a big issue. When you are just below welding temperature the sand melts and becomes a coarse sticky glasslike substance. It also crackles and sometimes shoos bits of hot broken sand out of the fire. Dirt is much better in my experience. A mix of clay, sand and fiber (horseshit, hay, flaxfiber etc) is optimal. 1/3 of each in volume. If you use dirt, Make sure to clean the dirt, especially for small pieces of flint. The sand in the clay will melt down a little, around the airhole, but not enough to become a problem. The mix will become hard like burnt ceramics (that is basically what it is). Yes, cracks might appear, but they are usually not a problem at all. And you can always put a little wet clay in there when it is cooled down a bit. The mix I was talking about is also what is found archeologically, both from forges and iron smelting furnaces. I have worked with this method for about the last 18 years.
Thank you. I need to remove the leather from bellows and attach it in a different way. But the setup works. Not i just need to build up Experience and confidens
Maybe an oddball thought but what if you coated the stitched seams with something like bee's wax to help seal them? Or maybe a bee's wax mixture kind of like how fabric could be waterproofed (like old school oil cloth)?
Hey Robert. And thank you for your input. Im pretty sure the seems Are quiet air tight but of course some sealing could make it Even better. The big airproblem is at the hinge where i didnt manage to make the leather wrap around nicely. Stitching the leather on to the board provide some pretty Strange angles and made it difficult for me. So ill try and fix that and of there is still an air problem i will try sealing the seams. All the Best :)
Great work my friend, what excellent fun! Is the hole in your nail header slightly tapered? With the smaller opening facing up? That should make it easier to remove the nail, as the nail is in contact with less of the header. I look forward to following along with your blacksmithing journey! Keep it up, and may the gods smile upon your efforts!
Hello Ingvar. I might be tapered. I never thought of that. But it is made with a punch so it might be. I Will try flipping it different ways next time:) and thank you:)
Good stuff! I like those little bellows. What if you use a pine pitch,( like a gasket) between the leather and the wood. Then stitch them together! I will try it and let you know the outcome.
Thank you Ian. The idea is good allthough it was not learning from the seams. They were tight and sealed with beeswax. The problem was the valves and the leather wrapped over the main hinges not done careful enough. Got Them fixed up and working good. Just didnt have time to record with them yet
Well my friend that was a very authentic looking setup, Thanks, but I watched you make the bellows and a few things didn't seem right, never seen a stitched set but cant see why it shouldn't work, you have to think where the air will go under load it will go straight to the seam, maybe tuck a small seam under and stitch thru two layers or lay a cut piece on it and sew thru, these will thicken the leather some and make a thicker cushion to clamp down when you sew, also use a locking saddle stich it will tighten up in the wood and each stich will be tighter, I notice you bag is not filling up as you lift to fill when you lower the bag should balloon under pressure, I don't think your valves are right, didn't you tack down 3 sides of the valve, it should be a flap of thicker leather but pliable and only tacked at the back, watch this video on saddle stitching bellows and how he does the stitch, Look at valves for bellows, Looking forward to see your revision and air in bucket loads pumping your fire hot, don't work cold steel it wrecks things. cheers hope this may help. ua-cam.com/video/XTIow0sLo5g/v-deo.html
hello Aussie:) thank you very much for the feedback. It was not the stitching that was the problem. i sealed them nicely with beeswax. But where the leather folds around the front part and over the nossle I wasnt carefull enough. And you are right: the valves didnt have enough movement. I recently redid them with more care - alltough for time saving i nailed the leather on this time, i redid the valves and was more carefull around the opening. They work great now. I watched the video you linked - its really interesting. I didnt know that type of seam. I will get back to the project after summer. thank you taking the time to write:)
@@RAMUNI-Viking Playing with reels and vid making, here is my Viking pump drill I made, cant draw so made the scroll for the Triskelion/Triskele. ua-cam.com/users/shortsNjiGClVI1j4
Such a shame that they did not work. Hope that next time you'll get it. :) I have a question, I began sourcing the materials for my man-portable forge, and I am wondering, how much do your bellows weigh? If you would be so kind to take their weight (as I want mine to be of similar size to yours) it would be really helpful for me, as given that I want my setup to fit onto a backpack, weight is a big consideration. Thank you!
I will weigh them next time im in the workshop and get back to you. I kept the boards really thin so they are pretty light weight. Ill stay in touch Erik:)
@@RAMUNI-Viking And 2,5kg for the anvil, 1,5kg for the hammer and few assorted tools...Especially since I am a silly bastard and want to make a sort of a smith-adventurer kit, and I am making a small shirt of mail, much like Gjermundbu one, so with a few kilos of fuel, I am looking at about 20kg of kit, hah!
Hej Rasmus, fed video. Og jeg synes du har en super cool indgangsvinkel til det hele :-) Jeg har et par forslag til forbedringer på bælgene. Det er super svært at forklarer på skrift, og samtidig er alt baseret på en video. Men, for det første er det super vigtigt at bælgen er tæt. Jeg ville sige at hvis den er meget utæt, så er værd at bruge lidt tid og knofedt på at få den gjort helt tæt. For det andet virker det som om den har svært ved at fylde sækken op når du løfter låget. Det kan man forbedrer ved at lave enten en større ventil eller flere ventiler. Det er under alle omstændigheder vigtigt at man ikke skal arbejde for at få sækken fyldt op. Jeg har haft de bedste resultater med "komme af med luften" ved at pege de to mundstykke ind mod hullet, men have et mellemrum på 5-8 cm. Dvs jeg ville prøve uden dit mellem gevir-mellemstykke. Og derimod rette lidt på vinkelen af de to individuelle mundstykker. Svært at forklarer, men det er i hvert fald ting som har fungeret rigtig godt for mig. Venlig hilsen Jeppe Garly :-)
Hej Jeppe. Og tak for din kommentar og dine råd. Jeg tror første skridt er at få bælgene tætte. Så må jeg se om de trækker bedre ind og fylder sækken bedre når jeg løfter låget. Og ellers må der større eller flere ventiler til. Mht de to studser fra bælgene, så mener du at de ikke samles men bare blæser luft fra hver sin åbning henimod essen?
@@RAMUNI-Viking Ja, de skal ikke samles. Og de skal have lidt afstand til din avlssten. Ca 3 finger bredder-ish. På den måde vil de trække lidt ekstern luft (luft fra ydersiden af bælgen) med ind, sammen med det luft som bliver sendt igennem bælgen. Og der er også den fordel at de ikke bliver varme. Jeg har i mange år brugt de samme træspidser på et par af mine bælge og de er ikke brændt. Heller selvom jeg essesvejser og giver den fuld gas ;-) Jeg har også jernspidser på nogle af dem, og dem kan jeg røre uden at brænde mig, også når jeg giver den fuld gas. ;-) Det er bedst med et konisk hul i din avlssten. Det skal være mindst ind imod ilden. Og størrelsen skal sådan cirka passe med din tommelfinger. Den skal næsten gå igennem, men ikke helt. :-) Sådan er det i hvert fald med min tommelfinger ;-) I min smedje hjemme i garagen bruger jeg min fedtstens-avlssten. Men som regel bygger jeg hele essen op af en blanding af ler, sand og hestemøg. Det fungere som en drøm og koster ikke noget. Jeg plejer bare at lage min skråt op finger igennem og rode lidt rundt, for at lave luft hullet. I mangel på ler, så er fint at bygge op med marksten og god jysk muldjord. Men pas på flint, det sprænger og gør nas :-) Held og lykke med projektet, jeg synes det super fedt. Og det kribler i fingrene for at være med :-)
Very nice ax work on the bellows! Those side blast fires are tricky, needs a spot under the blast for ash to settle and some depth of fuel above.
Thank you John. I will remember this advice for the next setup:)
I very much enjoy seeing that you carved Loki with his lips sewn up onto your forgestone. Much like the snaptun stone I imagine.
Yes i think its like that:) and thank you. But it was not me Who carved the stone. It was gifted to me by friend Radu Who i believe carved it.
Good setup.
Expert tip😉 Next time put dry sand on board or clay platform on the ground. The fire draws moist from the ground on to itself that why you can't make it hot enough. The wind can actualy help you.
Keep up my friend.
Thats a great tip. Thank you my friend. I was planning on making a small portable wooden box with clay. I didnt realise the fire/grund moisture issue:) this project im Completely green and have everything to learn.
@@RAMUNI-Viking
Yea, small woden box would be perfect. Sand is much better, clay will crack over time. And you can easier position your stones in sand.
Ah i see:)
@@RAMUNI-Viking
Fire directly on the ground has never been an issue for me. Sand on the other hand is a big issue. When you are just below welding temperature the sand melts and becomes a coarse sticky glasslike substance. It also crackles and sometimes shoos bits of hot broken sand out of the fire. Dirt is much better in my experience. A mix of clay, sand and fiber (horseshit, hay, flaxfiber etc) is optimal. 1/3 of each in volume. If you use dirt, Make sure to clean the dirt, especially for small pieces of flint.
The sand in the clay will melt down a little, around the airhole, but not enough to become a problem. The mix will become hard like burnt ceramics (that is basically what it is). Yes, cracks might appear, but they are usually not a problem at all. And you can always put a little wet clay in there when it is cooled down a bit.
The mix I was talking about is also what is found archeologically, both from forges and iron smelting furnaces. I have worked with this method for about the last 18 years.
Thank you Jeppe. I am taking notes:)
Ok that is just awesome. Yes I'm extremely jealous. Well done
Thank you. I need to remove the leather from bellows and attach it in a different way. But the setup works. Not i just need to build up Experience and confidens
@@RAMUNI-Viking I pretty much learned to smith with UA-cam and trial and error. Now I can make some pretty cool stuff.
Maybe an oddball thought but what if you coated the stitched seams with something like bee's wax to help seal them? Or maybe a bee's wax mixture kind of like how fabric could be waterproofed (like old school oil cloth)?
Hey Robert. And thank you for your input. Im pretty sure the seems Are quiet air tight but of course some sealing could make it Even better. The big airproblem is at the hinge where i didnt manage to make the leather wrap around nicely. Stitching the leather on to the board provide some pretty Strange angles and made it difficult for me. So ill try and fix that and of there is still an air problem i will try sealing the seams. All the Best :)
Great work my friend, what excellent fun! Is the hole in your nail header slightly tapered? With the smaller opening facing up? That should make it easier to remove the nail, as the nail is in contact with less of the header. I look forward to following along with your blacksmithing journey! Keep it up, and may the gods smile upon your efforts!
Hello Ingvar. I might be tapered. I never thought of that. But it is made with a punch so it might be. I Will try flipping it different ways next time:) and thank you:)
I also am not very good at nails yet. Keep up the good work
Thank you. I will
Impressive sir!!
Thank you Christopher:)
Good stuff! I like those little bellows. What if you use a pine pitch,( like a gasket) between the leather and the wood. Then stitch them together! I will try it and let you know the outcome.
Thank you Ian. The idea is good allthough it was not learning from the seams. They were tight and sealed with beeswax. The problem was the valves and the leather wrapped over the main hinges not done careful enough. Got Them fixed up and working good. Just didnt have time to record with them yet
Well my friend that was a very authentic looking setup, Thanks, but I watched you make the bellows and a few things didn't seem right, never seen a stitched set but cant see why it shouldn't work, you have to think where the air will go under load it will go straight to the seam, maybe tuck a small seam under and stitch thru two layers or lay a cut piece on it and sew thru, these will thicken the leather some and make a thicker cushion to clamp down when you sew, also use a locking saddle stich it will tighten up in the wood and each stich will be tighter, I notice you bag is not filling up as you lift to fill when you lower the bag should balloon under pressure, I don't think your valves are right, didn't you tack down 3 sides of the valve, it should be a flap of thicker leather but pliable and only tacked at the back, watch this video on saddle stitching bellows and how he does the stitch, Look at valves for bellows, Looking forward to see your revision and air in bucket loads pumping your fire hot, don't work cold steel it wrecks things. cheers hope this may help. ua-cam.com/video/XTIow0sLo5g/v-deo.html
hello Aussie:) thank you very much for the feedback. It was not the stitching that was the problem. i sealed them nicely with beeswax. But where the leather folds around the front part and over the nossle I wasnt carefull enough. And you are right: the valves didnt have enough movement. I recently redid them with more care - alltough for time saving i nailed the leather on this time, i redid the valves and was more carefull around the opening. They work great now. I watched the video you linked - its really interesting. I didnt know that type of seam. I will get back to the project after summer. thank you taking the time to write:)
@@RAMUNI-Viking Playing with reels and vid making, here is my Viking pump drill I made, cant draw so made the scroll for the Triskelion/Triskele. ua-cam.com/users/shortsNjiGClVI1j4
Done great! I like it very much, as far as the temperature is concerned, is it perhaps because of the substrate if it is too damp? Greetings Ragnar
Thank you Ragnar. Good to hear from you. You might be right and I Will try and improve that for next time:)
Such a shame that they did not work. Hope that next time you'll get it. :) I have a question, I began sourcing the materials for my man-portable forge, and I am wondering, how much do your bellows weigh? If you would be so kind to take their weight (as I want mine to be of similar size to yours) it would be really helpful for me, as given that I want my setup to fit onto a backpack, weight is a big consideration. Thank you!
I will weigh them next time im in the workshop and get back to you. I kept the boards really thin so they are pretty light weight. Ill stay in touch Erik:)
They Are difficult to weight on my kitchen scales but around 1,5 kilos each.
@@RAMUNI-Viking That IS pretty light! Thanks a bunch! :) Looking forward to another go at the forging, hopefully with more success!
But then 3 kilos and maybe 2 kilos or more in the wooden parts that holds the bellows in place plus pegs etc. It adds up
@@RAMUNI-Viking And 2,5kg for the anvil, 1,5kg for the hammer and few assorted tools...Especially since I am a silly bastard and want to make a sort of a smith-adventurer kit, and I am making a small shirt of mail, much like Gjermundbu one, so with a few kilos of fuel, I am looking at about 20kg of kit, hah!
Hej Rasmus, fed video. Og jeg synes du har en super cool indgangsvinkel til det hele :-)
Jeg har et par forslag til forbedringer på bælgene. Det er super svært at forklarer på skrift, og samtidig er alt baseret på en video. Men, for det første er det super vigtigt at bælgen er tæt. Jeg ville sige at hvis den er meget utæt, så er værd at bruge lidt tid og knofedt på at få den gjort helt tæt. For det andet virker det som om den har svært ved at fylde sækken op når du løfter låget. Det kan man forbedrer ved at lave enten en større ventil eller flere ventiler. Det er under alle omstændigheder vigtigt at man ikke skal arbejde for at få sækken fyldt op.
Jeg har haft de bedste resultater med "komme af med luften" ved at pege de to mundstykke ind mod hullet, men have et mellemrum på 5-8 cm. Dvs jeg ville prøve uden dit mellem gevir-mellemstykke. Og derimod rette lidt på vinkelen af de to individuelle mundstykker.
Svært at forklarer, men det er i hvert fald ting som har fungeret rigtig godt for mig.
Venlig hilsen Jeppe Garly :-)
Hej Jeppe. Og tak for din kommentar og dine råd. Jeg tror første skridt er at få bælgene tætte. Så må jeg se om de trækker bedre ind og fylder sækken bedre når jeg løfter låget. Og ellers må der større eller flere ventiler til. Mht de to studser fra bælgene, så mener du at de ikke samles men bare blæser luft fra hver sin åbning henimod essen?
@@RAMUNI-Viking Ja, de skal ikke samles. Og de skal have lidt afstand til din avlssten. Ca 3 finger bredder-ish.
På den måde vil de trække lidt ekstern luft (luft fra ydersiden af bælgen) med ind, sammen med det luft som bliver sendt igennem bælgen. Og der er også den fordel at de ikke bliver varme. Jeg har i mange år brugt de samme træspidser på et par af mine bælge og de er ikke brændt. Heller selvom jeg essesvejser og giver den fuld gas ;-) Jeg har også jernspidser på nogle af dem, og dem kan jeg røre uden at brænde mig, også når jeg giver den fuld gas. ;-)
Det er bedst med et konisk hul i din avlssten. Det skal være mindst ind imod ilden. Og størrelsen skal sådan cirka passe med din tommelfinger. Den skal næsten gå igennem, men ikke helt. :-) Sådan er det i hvert fald med min tommelfinger ;-)
I min smedje hjemme i garagen bruger jeg min fedtstens-avlssten. Men som regel bygger jeg hele essen op af en blanding af ler, sand og hestemøg. Det fungere som en drøm og koster ikke noget. Jeg plejer bare at lage min skråt op finger igennem og rode lidt rundt, for at lave luft hullet.
I mangel på ler, så er fint at bygge op med marksten og god jysk muldjord. Men pas på flint, det sprænger og gør nas :-)
Held og lykke med projektet, jeg synes det super fedt. Og det kribler i fingrene for at være med :-)
Tak for uddybningen. Det er guld værd for mig. Tak:)