A DAY IN THE FORGE

Dont know if many of you ever spent a day working in the forge
but what would your choice be if you had to make 8/10 sets
Gas/Coke

gas , its a godsend , no xxxx and burnt shoes , far more control and more pieces in the fire at the same time

i prefer coke myself, its more work you get more dirty
but i like the feel of it

the most lenths of iron i have worked is 4 in the coke
but them days a long ago

it gives a more specific heat but IMO for everyday shoe making gas is better

i like the softer heat out of the coke Chris

i like to have 2 pairs on the go all the time , once you have the rythm going knockin em out takes no time at all , 3 sets an hour and time to drink your tea and a fag

got fed burning my arm , my eyebrows and chuffin shoes , then picking out the bogeys when at home or on the road really hacked me off , thank god for the ruskies and their gas

i think the gas can drain you over the coarse of a day

When making for stock Chris do you clip them
or do it on the road?

the vast majority are clipped and heeled ready to nail on , hammer finished , cannot be bothered brushing and rasping although mark likes the butchers block , we linish on site , we do what ever we need to do on site but like to think we leave home having done most of work

We most the time clip on the road
but the odd time we do some at the forge

how do take the bottom shoe out without spilling the pile on top ?

Practice

LOL

George i dont know much about fires but here is a pic
i will see if i have better ones

This is a pic the fellow sent me beforei bought it

The coal around the edge of the fire turns into coke, so if you've worked coal long enough you have worked coke.

We've got about 15 inches of snow so I'll probably be burning some coal all day.

Smitty is that a brooks anvil if so how do you like it, I've been looking at a 300 lb. one I may buy, but have only seen pics.

you dont want to work coal as i know all day
if you have 10 sets to make