Countryboy39067

The face is really rounded and mushroomed. I'm thinking I may just grind off the dangerous edges and use it to dish out things like spoons. Any other ideas?

Lol!!! No this was when I fired it up the first time. I used the chainsaw to trim rafter ends and such. I may keep it there if that's the thing people think when they see it....

Why not? Turn crank with right, pull out steel using tongs in left hand, release crank and grab hammer. Makes complete sense to me.....but then again I'm odd!!! Lol

It's been done before. I intend to build one like that myself. Check out this link. http://igor.chudov.com/manuals/shop-forge.pdf Kevin

Thanks! I hope to get a larger anvil later but I'm pretty sure I could forge a lifetime with this one as is. Thanks again. Kevin

Firepot is 21"x10" and is about 4" deep. I got the design idea from The Complete Bladesmith sword forge. I can locate the fire anywhere within the 21" lenght with a piece of plate steel. The flue is 22" dia. 3/16 steel tubing. It's the core that a local sheet metal manufacture receives their metal coiled on. The table has room on each side. I use the right side for tools and tongs. I use the left to keep a heap of coal close by. It gets to welding heat with ease. I'm super stoked with this setup!!

Great find!! Post pics of her in action when it's all shined up. Kevin

I found this hammer in a rusted out metal bucket in the middle of my grandfathers scrap pile. My dad says he remembers using it like this. Looks like I get to learn how to heat treat hammer head. I'm thinking I could use the stake (handle) drift hammer eyes.

All I know is that it sharpened many plow points. My grandfather studied under a blacksmith for a short time in his youth. He had a stroke when I was young so I never seen him use the anvil. In short, I've learned most of my blacksmithing from books and this site due to his illness. The origins of this anvil are unknown but I feel so blessed to have it.

This is a picture of the anvil I inherited from my grandfather. It's in near perfect shape! Minor pitting but the face is flat and true.

I have a big door I open when I'm feeling brave........

Thanks. I'll soon add a cable to raise and lower it. It really keeps the weather and critters out.

I'm blessed in the fact that my closet neighbor is my sister and her family. She says she can hear it if she's outside. She's just tired of my brother-in-law dropping what's he's doing to come turn the crank on my blower!!! I dont ask him. It's like Pavlovs dog. I hit the anvil and he comes a runnin!!!

I'll post more pictures when I get all the tools set up and the floor graveled.

How else do we expand our craft without trying new ideas. Don't apologize for being bold. I went bold and boy did it work!!! Forge in construction In operation

Everything is 1/4 plate. The flue is 22". Fire pot is 21"x10" Forge in construction In operation Drafting

I took this the day I walled it up about 3 weeks ago. The plank wall to the right houses my yard tools and air compressor and the peak behind the smithy is my ATV/dirtbike shop.

Mine is a 55 gal drum with the top half removed. It may be overkill but it serves a purpose when other non-smiths start commenting on how they think I should do things. Give one loud mouth a good dunkin' and they tend to concur quietly.

The $50 Knife Shop starting on page 97 is the best example I've see on paper. I dont mean to sound rude but if you don't have a copy of this book, you need to get one! It's a great resource on how to make good knives and not spend a lot doing so. Kevin

This was the first book I bought! I got the hardback copy from Barnes and Noble about a year ago. It goes into great detail on types of steel and their chemical makeup, best forging temp, best quench temp, and best tempering process. It truly was titled correctly. It is the complete bladesmith!!

Any kind of oil or dish soap works. If you want to keep pure water in the tub. Sink a deepwell or aquarium aerator.

The last time I was there you and Brian welded some cable using a v block type hardy hole tool. Pretty cool technique. I've let my membership lapse and running low on finds so I may have to say thanks but no thanks. I stopped by the Craft Museum a while back. How do I find out when y'all demo there?

I also am a firm believer that every task has a tool and if you substitute a tool you substitute perfection. Just to settle your nerves I'll list my learning tools. iforgeiron.com, anvilfire.com, the $50 Knife Shop, The Complete Bladesmith, The Complete Modern Blacksmith, and Blacksmithing for the Homestead. I want to me the old blacksmith teaching the youth in my area.

Namido Jujitsu, White Tiger Hapkido and Tang Soo Do myself. I fully agree. I've been collecting info on bladesmithing while practicing basic blacksmithing techniques. I've made fire pokers, rail road spike split crosses, coat hooks, pry bars and one spike tomahawk. I think you could say I'm taking it slow and easy. No worries. I'm in this for the long haul. I took the baby step advice to heart and decided to make tools and such to improve my hammer control.

Steve I haven't made any knives from cable yet. I'm just asking questions and doing my homework beforehand. I visited your site a few days ago. Very cool work. What style of jujutsu do you teach?