Where to hammer?

[dothacker]

Thanks, and I don't plan on not listening or doing dangerous things so that won't be an issue. Great idea about egg cartons! I bet I could staple some egg cartons onto cardboard panels and use the panels as a quick way to setup and take down my workspace. Going to need to eat alot of eggs hehe. so hanging a simple curtain of cloth will help deaden the sounds by a small amount? I will see if we have old sheets somewhere. I'm guessing the general theory here is the more material between you and the outside the better as well as many protrusions from the walls as possible. Thanks again, don't suppose you know of any smiths near? I believe there is one in the Hancock Shaker Village a few miles away but I have no idea how to contact him.

Matt, by anvil I mean anvil shaped steel block. I know that ancient smiths used rocks because I had done some research with Japan once. Some actually still use them! :O Also, I keep saying I am more worried about cold working than hot at the moment.

[hammerkid]

Well You could talk it over with the neighbors ,A good time to beat on metal(HOTT). And make them a little some thing to take with ya
,Chris

[SLOB]

when I was younger and played guitar I had half stack amplifier that I quieted down with old carpeting I found. if you could rig up curtains with carpeting or heavy painters drop cloths around your work area it would greatly reduce the noise level. multiple curtain levels with space between them would help also.

here is a couple pictures of my anvil stand I just made. my anvil rang VERY loudly before mounting it. its truely amazing the difference.....although hammering out on the horn and on the tail is alot louder its at a reasonable level. I might try a layer of silicone calking under the anvil at a later time. I just wanted to try it out and didnt want to wait to run out and get a tube of calking until I knew I needed it. (I'm still undecided if I need it or not)

depending on the block of steel your using as an anvil, it could possibly be drilled and tapped for an eye bolt to chain it down to a stump or maybe tabs welded on to lag bolt it to a stump. that should quiet things also.

[Glenn]

Hancock Shaker Village

Hancock Shaker Village
1843 W. Housatonic St.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
(proceed to parking lot approx. 1/2 mile further west on Rt. 20)

Sat. May 3 2008
Heritage Metal Festival, 4th Annual
Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum, Bridge St, Willimantic, Ct, 9am-5pm,
A Day of Metalsmithing Demonstrations, including Blacksmithing, Pewtersmithing, Engraving, and Others.
For more information: Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum


August 16 &17, 2008
Hancock Shaker Village 15th Annual Age of Iron Weekend
Come see the iron men and women who demonstrate the art of blacksmithing and metal work. Forges and workshops will be set up around the historic Village for family activities and opportunities for you to try your hand at being the "Village 'Smithy". Co-sponsored with the Berkshire Blacksmith's Association.

Atlantic Coast Blacksmith Conference
The Ashokan Center, Olivebridge, NY
September 4,5,6 & 7, 2008

GS0003 Blacksmithing Groups
I do not see anything listed in Ma. but there are folks on the site from that area that could help you locate something.

Connecticut Blacksmith's Guild

Two events in your town, the one in NY maybe a bit of a drive.

[dothacker]

SLOB: Thanks for the ideas. My "anvil" is a 8" x 3" x 1" block of steel with 4 1/4-20 holes tapped in it.

Thanks for the info Glenn, but I was kind of hoping for more contact info, there is none on the site, maybe so I could confer with the smith by email. There is an admission fee and I don't want to waste a trip because of the fee as well as the distance and time it would take if you know what I mean.

[Glenn]

dothacker
You are on your own there, I can provide the wild goose, but it is up to your to chase it. (grin).

[dablacksmith]

for armor work you might think about some type of press.... If you have axcess to welder you can make some type of press useing a bottle jack .. for dies you can use wood for bottom die and various ball dies for top die (traler hitch ball and possably shotput ball ) it would be practically noiseless and is a quick and accurate way to move metal .. if you have metal shop try turning top and bottom dies of various diameters .. I had a friend that made armor for a liveing this way .. havn't seen him in years but I remember his setup it worked well and left the armor tough also (work hardened) I am kinda reading between the lines as you said cold working and hammering I figured armor... anyway good luck !

[dothacker]

A press eh? I am a machinist and possess all the tools and machinery to make something like that during shop hours. Do you have a rough sketch? I'm not quite grasping the concept of the dies you talk about. Yes, this is about armor mostly with a few other sheetmetal misc. items mixed in. If you can suggest shapes and sizes for dies I will try my hand at making a few and we will see. The noiseless part intrigues me highly.

[MooseRidge]

Armor?

Having made many elbow and knee cops using only a stump and a wooden mallet, the sound is much less... Depending on the stock used, your machinest tools would make more noise.... When it get to the rivet stage, some of the critical joints were steel, but the straps were held on with Tandy 2 piece rivets.... almost silent...

Much of this was done outside (and occasionally inside) barracks around the world.... ;-)

[MooseRidge]

Regarding a press, you form a positive and negative shape for the form you wish to make and, using a hydraulic jack, "press" the metal to form... VERY useful for adding fluting....