LearningToForge

I wanted to go to a scrap yard, but I don't know what to ask for. They don't always let you rummage around. I don't know enough about car parts to know if something is available that would fit the bill. If not a car, what thick chunk of steel would I search for, as in the name. If I could walk around the junkyard, I could find something, but like I said, some of them don't do that anymore.

I finally got all the stuff together and made a rought railroad spike "knife." Much harder than it looks on YouTube. Or at least it's uglier than theirs. What do I do now? I took my angle grinder and got the rough stuff off. There's lots of indentations where the hammer hit. I switched from a cross pein to a smaller ball pein to try and hammer out some small areas, but it left the marks. I have a bastard file I just barely hit it with to see if it scraped it (it did :)). But now it's just a hideous frame that looks like a knife. What do I do now to finish it off? Thanks again for all the help. side note. I can say working with coal was interesting. Once they burned off the tar or whatever it is, they worked well. I think that's the coke. I don't know. I figure out when things got hot enough you beat on the metal, throw it back in, use the air (mine was a hair dryer), comes up to temp pretty quick, repeat. Once it got up to temp (30 minutes maybe), all I had to do was keep hitting it with the air for about 30 seconds or so, hit again. Bright coals.

Just looking in to propane forges, maybe a "micro" forge. The idea is for making knives or heat treating or whatever you do with a forge and stock removal. Are these suitable for a propane forge? http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200325974_200325974 Thanks for help.

I put it. Thanks.

I saw on some video where the guy made a brake drum forge from a brake drum :) and the flange he used was 2 inch black iron pipe. But here's my problem. First, it took me forever to find a 2in flange and I had to go out of county to get it. Second, I didn't have the money for the pipe, so now I can't get that. My question is do you have to use two inch pipe? They sell black iron in 1 1/4 or less at homedepot and lowes and I can get that all day. Thanks.

And that would make steel? That is an amazing discovery. Thanks for the information.

I'm in Georgia, near Atlanta, but any contacts are good. I'm doing research for a fiction book that involves metallurgy. Myself, I'm just a lay blacksmither, trying to make knives out of railroad spikes, but steel has been a mystery to me. Thanks. How do you add carbon to something?

Is it possible for a regular person to make steel? Or is it required to have the infrastructure of a steel mill? I am researching for a project and was hoping for answers and comments. I know I can buy steel, but am interested in it's manufacturing by the lay-person. Thanks.

I should have clarified. I just meant for my initial applications. In the future I would get a post vise. I can only get a machinists vise at the moment.

Wilton Vise 676 6-1/2" Utility Vise Is it the "correct" kind of vise for blacksmith work? Particularly putting on a stump (4x4s, etc.) and twisting a railroad spike knife. I know it will proabably work but is it a good investment for this type work? Thanks.

I have seen both horizontal and vertical implementations. Which do you recommend? Does the vertical method require a stand or just bury it in the ground? I'll lose a lot of space if I use vertical but horizontal seems more difficult to put on a stand. Thanks for any advice.

Is a machinist vise the typical vise you see in the store or is that yet another subset of vises?

Is a vice and a vise two different things? What do I get? I did a fair amount of searching for what kind of vice to get but didn't find it. I found an older thread but the images were all missing for some reason. I could go to a flea market but I don't know what to get. HF has some vices also. I don't need the best. I'm just getting started. At the moment all I need is something to hold a railroad spike while I twist it. Other than that I don't know what a vice/vise is used for in blacksmithing. Point is nothing elaborate right now. Thank you for any help.

I have a ferrier supply near me and I can get 50lbs of coal for $25. I have some hardwood charcoal but only one bag. I never cooked with it. I know I'll run up the money unless I make a lot of homeade charcoal, which I cannot do at the moment. Anyway, if you use coal do you wear a safety mask or anything? I ask because I read of all the toxins in coal. Also, in a brake drum forge, hair dryer motor for air, using coal, how many pounds do you think I would use? I'm assuming a measure of mistakes but hopefully not 50lbs worth. Thanks.

Is that the wheel of a car?

ahhh. I see. Thank you. I'll know what to do if I see them at the flea market now. Until then it's long channel locks or vise grips.

thank you very much

May I ask a newbie question? I thought annealing made things softer. Is that right? Why would you do that to the tongs? If I'm wrong....nevermind. Umm...what's nippers? What did the original look like? Thank you.

I think the hammer discussion is something way beyond me and not a regular hammer. Just starting out and curious what hammer is best to get for bladesmithing. Thank you.

Do you think that A36 will absorb too much of the hammer blows? Sorry. I just heard someone say it so I had to ask. edit: can A36 be harded in a coal forge and quenched with water or oil to make it harder?

I do not mean to be dumb but is that LxWxD (thickness)?

Thanks (everyone). There were a lot more choices at the steel place for mild steel (A36 I think). A lot thicker pieces too. I'm not so worried about scuffing it up if it will work. I just don't want to spend $30 and then mess it up so bad that I cannot use it any more. I have no idea what I'm talking about but I guess if it dents in too much I can't get a flat place on the anvil. One day I plan on getting a real anvil, so I'm thinking this would be okay for the short while (one year of less.) Not sure how much it costs yet so I have to look at that. I'm not sure where a scrap yard in the Atlanta area but I'll search. I found recycling places but they said they don't sell it. On the mild steel thing. Is A36 harder than the ASOs I see at Northern Tool and the like?

Hi, this my first post. Thank you in advance for any help. I am trying to put together my own forge "area" and I am not working on the anvil. I cannot spend hundreds on a good anvil but I was watching a video (purgatoryironworks on youtube) and he mentioned a piece of steel on a stump. I figured I could do that. Today I went to a steel place and found 01 and A2 steel. It was not big enough I don't think 4x2 1/2" $22 and another one was round with a diameter of about 3 - 3.5 inches, 3/4", $17. My question is will that work? Can I just get steel like this and fasten it to a stump with screws of nails (not through it just on the side to keep it from sliding. I read something on anvilfire that said the japanese, india, and the ancient greeks put a piece of steel on the ground and do/did not use a western style anvil at all. I am trying build a railroad spike knife before I move on to better, more costly steel.