J. Arthur Loose

-This is my studio-

This is my forge: it is based on Don Fogg's design. It is a pleasure to operate and my thanks go out to Mr. Fogg for making the design available to others. It is easy to construct and will forge a blade up to sword length; the burner is made from simple plumbing parts and the blower allows for complete control of the forge atmosphere for welding. I can drop a foot-long thermocouple down the inside of the forge and get very accurate temperatures for heat-treating smaller blades. The effective range is 1400 - 2000 F.

The treadle hammer is a modified ABANA design I built of solid steel. The hammer is 75 lbs. and is a solid piece of 4 1/2" shaft, as is the pedestal. I do all of my damascus on it- I can easily manage 1 1/4" x 1" x 12" billets. I am, however, looking forward to building a hydraulic press...

The anvil is a 120 lb. Titan from Nimba Forge. For an anvil of its size it has a very large face and is perfect for bladesmithing.

This is where I do my grinding and finishing. I have a 10" wheel, 2 x 72" N.C. Coote Grinder running on 1 Horsepower motor. I can not stop it if I try...

The buffing machine has a fan and filters for the air as buffing dust can be some of the most noxious. Behind the grinder is an 850 CFM dust collector with a 5 micron dust filter by Penn State Industries. I have constructed a spark arrestor out of a 15 gallon bucket with an inlet that drops vertically to within 4" the bottom and an outlet at the top. The bucket is filled with 2" of water. So far no explosions but be careful! Fine steel dust or wood sandings in a bag collector are explosive aerosols and my first 'spark arrestor,' failed to stop a glob of metal filings from going down the hole... I'm just glad the bag is in another room!

Between the dust collector and a Penn State 465 CFM .3 micron air filter the studio stays pretty damn clean.

In the background you can also see the fuel lines and controls for the upcoming salt tanks, an arc welder and a horizontal/ vertical bandsaw.

This is where I do most of my heat-treating. The Salt Tanks allow for very even heating in a non-oxidizing environment. They are digitally controlled and gas fired. These tools allow me to heat-treat sword- length pieces to within a few degrees F without any scale forming. This means I can forge to shape, finish, harden and temper with a minimum of clean-up and with absolutely professional results.

This is the jewelry side of things- there is a jewelry/ burnout kiln, a casting machine (built into the table) a rolling mill just above the rail anvil and the miscellany of the jeweler's trade. I do all of my grinding behind you and to your right, and most of my finishing at the bench straight ahead.

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