ertwdan

Has any one out there built one of the Appalachian Power Hammers(Rusty, Dusty , Super Rusty) from the plans that they sell. I'm looking at making a junkyard-style hammer and I'm trying to decide if their plans are worth buying or should I look at a hammer like the Anvilfire JYH with a differential for the driver versus the Helve-Hammer style of the Appalachian. If anyone has any experience with building these....let me know...

Getting started in smithing in Canada eh?...well here's a few sources for the cheaper tools to get rolling ..Princess Auto has a not bad (not great) 70lb Anvil available that sure beats nothing. They also have several hammers and a good selection of vise-grips to get rolling. As far as coal, you can get smithing coal from Home Hardware anywhere in Canada...just get your local dealer to contact Len Dykesterhuis (I believe that's his name) at the head office in St Jacob's Ont...They provide the transportation for a local smithing supply place called Thak the Blacksmith....I've gotten a quoted price of $22/70 lb bag delivered to Northern Ontario....hope this helps.....

Well...I 'll be the devils advocate for this one.....firstly learn how to forge-weld....if you're short on time then start looking at the other method.....I use a Lincoln Handy Core Flux core welder.....this little 110 v unit helps me stick stuff that I either don't have the time or talent to weld in the forge.....the nice thing about flux core is that although you get a lot of spatter.....you don't have to worry about gas, rods, or any of that other stuff....just fire up the welder and pull the trigger (after you lower your helmet.....not like the guys on TV)....this can get you making passable welds fairly quickly....the only way to make good welds is like any other method.....good instruction and practice, practice, practice......that's my 2 cents worth....

I've used the name of Gravel River Forge since I started in a small 4' x 8' shop at my Dad's camp near the Gravel River on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Over the years I've contemplated changing the name to Superior Forgings, Superior Forge, Neebing River Forge (I live on this river now), Sleeping Giant Smithing, and Forgeron Superieur ( to reflect my French heritage - translation "Superior Blacksmith" but I figured that it would overstate my modest abilities). After all these incarnations, I finally decided to remain with the original name. However, my wife and I have discussed combining our interests by integrating her hobby of stained glass work into the forge and having a final name of Gravel River Forge and Glass.