Howdy from East Central Missouri everyone!
I traded my guitar for a rivet forge, bought a 3 pound cross peen hammer from the hardware store, begged an anvil off of a buddy, found a set of tongs in an antique mall for 7 bucks, and have been steadily torturing myself with burns, sore muscles and struggling not to injure myself. I've been very fortunate to have a friend who has been doing this for some time, and he is seemingly always happy to show me where I'm screwing up the worst, and where I've achieved a small amount of success.
That being said, I don't think you could beat the smile off of my face.
I'm looking forward to talking with you folks. Have a good one!