... so decided to make a coal forge out of the thing using some two-inch black pipe - mounted it to an old lawn mower deck for portability...
... got about $35 total into the thing...
... the big expense being this electric Mini Blower we picked up at the local 'Rural King' ($20) - that thing is a heck of a blower at 600 watts/75mph velocity - thought it was going to be too powerful but it turned out to be perfect for the job - performs double-duty as well for cleaning out the shop - works as a small leaf blower too...
... here's the initial "firing test" yesterday - what a blowtorch! - although it looks similar it went a little better than for the guys at 'SpaceX' recently, and for a lot less expense - plus we got a lot of local coal available to supply the heat...
... got it burning to some hot coals in about fifteen minutes...
... further testing - we heated this railroad spike to orange-hot in about five minutes...
... had this 1/8 inch scrap steel plate to near yellow-hot but it had cooled to orange before we were set to take this photo...
... had a good batch of coke clinkers cooked up from the test heat so this morning decided to fire it up again and have some fun - that's that same railroad spike after about three hours of heating and hammering, then a bit of light surface grinding and wire brushing to shine it up - added an edge for slashing and sharp point for penetrating rib cages - put an edge on the pommel for throat slashing right (or left) crosses - will probably work as a throwing knife too - dressed it up with a rubber grip - didn't get too carried away and is still a bit rough - but will still kill somebody (just kidding)...
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