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A simple hold down is an old motorcycle chain. One end fastened to your anvil base, the other end has a foothold. The tensioner is your foot, the adjustability is where and which link you hook onto the pin at the base. No Harley owners close by, Bicycle chain will work. Neil

what about just using gun blueing? Funny thing about the English Language, verbage. Gun Blueing is actually Browning. Gun Bluing is actually a semi-controlled rust. An Oxide layer that is then controlled with oil to stop/slow down the rusting process, at a particular pigment

Good Morning, Everyone has their own preference. If all you can afford is a Cast Iron anvil, then it is better than nothing. Fastening an anvil to a stump gives great bottom support, so does a steel anvil stand. Making a box, filling the box with sand, sitting the anvil on the sand, makes the quietest anvil, no ring. Just Magic, it is so simple and easy to adjust height. Neil

Good Morning, I woudn't build a fixed forge unles you are in a location where you will never move. You should post your location so someone close to you can offer some guidance. "ASK TWICE, CUT ONCE" You can build a coal forge that is way more portable than the Brick Forge. I would get some time forging under your belt before making a decision on a permanent fixture. You can use some of your bricks to make a propane forge. Neil

Good Morning, Take little steps first. Learn how to work a fire, Learn how to make many trinkets and tools. The tools needed to make your hammer are not magic or complicated. When you learn how and why metal moves the way it does, you will have already made your Hammer building Tools. There is no "One Design". What you make, will work. The secret of building hammers is in how and where you grind it. It is way less trouble and money to purchase your hammers, BUT, a piece of your heart gets built into every hammer you make. I stamp my signature, the date and weight on every Hammer Head I make, saves remembering. You can look back and see what you would like to improve on for the next batch. Some old pallet material makes wonderful Hammer Handles, seems like we get a lot that are built out of Maple. They work well!! Enjoy the Class. Remember that you learn more by using your eyes and ears, instead of your mouth. :) :) Neil

Drawing out a section to make a smaller section (whether tapered or not), it is best to go square because that is how our body moves best. A quarter turn of the wrist does not hurt the body, to make square section. It is easier for our eyes to see the progress and adjust for control. $0.02 :) Neil

I use snap ring pliers with the tips ground off. They make excellent, tiny scrolling tongs. Who cares if you upset the heat treat, Neil

Happy New Year, Looks real good John Neil

Make them from a coin. You can use a spoon as the hammer. Neil

can anyone tell me what this is? It looks in pretty good condition, painted. The pointy end is the horn, the other end is the heal or butt. It looks like an anvil to me. An anvil can be any shape, even a rock is an anvil. It looks not as round as a rock though.. :) :)

Hi David. There are a few excellent Blacksmiths' in your town. You should introduce yourself to them, they don't bite. John, Mark & Doug They have forgotten more than you will ever know. Try Western Canadian Blacksmith Guild (North, South and Saskatoon) Neil Gustafson

Welcome to this little world. Neil

Where to find the wire? Find a Clothes Dryer in the dump, remove the back panel and remove the Nickle-Chrome wire that is used for the heating element. Garbage or Gold, you decide. I have ceramic buttons with nichrome wire holding the buttons in place. Neil

Renato lives in Surrey, B.C. Canada. I have his e-mail and phone number if you want it. Russell Jaqua designed the Nimba Anvil and started making them. It is a real good anvil. They are still making them in Port Townsend Washington. Neil

Good Morning, I have a friend who makes/repairs saddles and harness. When I am building a Brake, he makes the strap with leather. It works dandy. Before Grant Sarver passed, I was talking to him about the 40" friction plate on his big Fly-Press. He used leather for the friction contact surface. He found it gave him a consistent feeling for a few years before he had to renew it. Neil

Old Truckers put some Methyl Hydrate in their air tanks. K.I.S.S. It stops the freeze inside the Air Brake Tanks, some travels through the system in a tiny vapour. Neil

Join the anvil to the plywood with silicone. Plain bathtub silicone sealer. It won't move, unless you take a knife or saw and seperate them.

Boots??? For Ear Rings????? :) :) :) Isn't Imagination a FINE THING!!! Don't need no stinkin' picture. The mind can see through it all!! Neil

If you use sand and the anvil sinks into the sand, just pick up the anvil and reset it to the sand. If you want to raise the anvil, just add sand. some people mount the anvil to a piece of plywood and sit it on the sand. It doesn't sink. If you fill the pail with marbles, that works too. The problem would be, "What if you lost a marble or two"...... :) :) :) :) :) Neil

There is nothing in progress that is free. The choice is, Do we Learn from the Hic-cups or not!!! If 'If's and Ands made Pots and Pans, then Tinkets would be Kings'. Glad you're still standing on the Dirt, Joshua!!! When you hear the lawnmower overhead, you're done!!! Till then keep on kickin' and tickin'. :) :) Neil

Drill a blind hole in the round bar, tap a thread and use a bevel screw from the back of the flat bar

Drill a blind hole in the round bar, tap a thread and use a bevel screw from the back of the flat bar

I buy it as 2 3/16". It will then have enough for machining to a finished 2" shaft for whatever it is needed. 1045 is used for shafting in the machinist world. All the local steel suppliers have it in stock. Neil

Nahhh, It's Sooooo Cooollll :) :) Neil

Put a splitter in the high pressure line. A log splitter is now a hydraulic pump. I have been using a log splitter I built for my father-in-law, for years. VW engine, hi-lo pump, operates another cylinder I have made with changeable jaws. No Box!! Neil