RicelandMeadows

February 10, 2024

I am working through a bunch of changes here on the farm. We sold 99% of our butchering equipment. I am turning our old meat cutting room into a forge shop for my blacksmithing hobby. I will have more room to teach and share with others as I heat , beat and repeat.

The new (to me) stack was a gift from a friend. This new set up is called “side draft”. The chimney effectively pulls the green foul smoke from the burning coal away efficiently and quickly. The smoke was a real problem with my last set up, but this works very well.

We had to make a few modifications during the install, but the forge is now operational and ready to use. I just need a little free time to work in there.

As I made the move, I decided to hang up a bunch of my great grandfather’s tools. I remember him using a lot of them. I think its neat to share a part of family history with visitors and family members. Once I got most of his stuff hung up, I realized that I had more wall than stuff. This prompted me to hang up some of my “treasures” gathered over the years. I now have an eclectic mix of tools, pictures and “man stuff” adorning the walls of my blacksmithing man cave!

At first I was a bit embarrassed by my craziness, but hey, people like to go to a “Cracker Barrel” restaurant. I still have a bit more to do, but it is coming along well. Here is a sneak peek of my progress……

More to come. I’ll just keep forging ahead in 2024!