Update: That time I almost had a forge fire at a demo in Knoxville

I was doing a demo at the county fair in Knoxville last month and had a brand new anvil stand made of pressure treated lumber. I didn't realize the wood had a coating that would catch sparks way easier than normal wood. After about 20 minutes of hammering, a spark landed on the corner of the stand and it started smoldering. I had to stop everything and douse it with a bucket. Has anyone else had a close call with treated lumber near their forge?

2 comments

2 Comments

miles725d ago

Man, that's a rough way to learn that lesson.

henderson.wesley5d ago

Back when I was still learning, I built a temporary forge stand out of an old pallet. Did not realize pallet wood is usually soaked in chemicals to kill bugs and rot. First spark that hit it and the whole corner went up like a torch. Had to kick the whole thing over and dump a five gallon bucket of water on it while the crowd at the demo just stared at me. Now I only use plain steel stands or concrete blocks. Treated lumber near hot metal is just asking for trouble.