Old N Rusty

John B , you are welcome to come with a camera, take all the pics you want. Maybe next Saturday I will have a diggy camera there and photo all the fun.

You might want to straighten the reigns on those tongs, then see about sizing them as already stated. Do not quench tongs when hot working on them, let them air cool, they could break while working, if hot quenched.

Open forge went well this morning, Two new blacksmiths and the "old pro" Carl Zvonek came. we had two coal forges and a gasser hot. No one got hurt ,and NOTHING got stolen. I am willing to do it again next, and every Saturday morning.

Open forge went well today. We had two coal forges and the nat gas forge hot ! Two new blacksmiths and Carl Zvonek came. Carl is a very good artist blacksmith who regularly has a sales boot at the local arts market where his iron art sells fast. No one got hurt, and NOTHING was stolen. I am willing to do it again next and every Saturday morning.

You did not pay too much. My wife buys all the lil vises she can find at garage sales, I finally had to say ENOUGH pipe wrenches, those little red 4" vises complete, at a blacksmith meet tailgate no more than $30.

You the MAN ! JK doing all that talking/selling AND enough forging to heat up an anvil, AND then have enough strength to load it UP!!! Did you ever notice when you pull in with a portable blacksmith shop there is plenty curious folks that will help un- load and set it up.. then when the event is over there isn't a soul to HIRE anywhere around to load it up?

Move to the South.

Beware! the DARKSIDE of blacksmithing is summoning you! Sharp pointy thingys, weapons , ETC. are the cursed side of the anvil! Dwell not on tools of war. Make more decorative ironworks, things that make clients smile and appreciate the beauty of your work. Welcome back to the fire, there is much information to share here. I also thank you for your service to our nation.

Mark I sure hope you and all IFI that wants a... FREE !!! clinker! will come next Saturday, the last one in 2011.

The book "The Art of Blacksmithing" by Alex Bealer explains in great detail about building and maintaining a forge fire with coal.

I will buy it for $250.00.

Open Forge. Every Saturday morning in Baton Rouge. Arnold & Anvil Blacksmiths 6112 Pino st Baton Rouge La. (225) 927-9800. Bring your hammer, or we got plenty. All welcome!

A description is the best I can provide : a triangle 3/4" on the short leg 1-1/2" to the point. Forged from 1/8" W.I. thin on all three sides the middle left thick. It took a bit of practice and wasted iron before I found out what heat to work this material and especially when to STOP hammering. It forges best just short of welding heat. you must stop no colder than orange, it will crack. Lay the piece on the step of the anvil with the flat side away from you and with five sure hits on a 3/8" cape chisel make a star. then the point should be rolled down to form a hook and the wide end turned up and rolled almost closed to form another hook. I filed the edges smooth and wire wheel brushed the whole thing before the gun blue bath for a couple of minits then I rinsed it in water,and hot waxed it with beeswax.

Hey ! so sorry about no pics. The thing was small , dark , (gun blue + beeswax finish) , and gone as soon as I finished it. I asked no questions about the significance of the shape, I just made it as sketched. Besides our old diggy cam dont do close-up or zoom . One day, but most importantly I have very limited patience with computers, if I had half of the trouble posting pics as I read about here I would likely put a fist through this monitor.

Did not Wiley Coyote attempt to drop ACME anvils on the Road Runner?

Every year about this time there will be a customer wanting a hand forged Christmas gift, something unusual, something nice and done quickly. This year I was approached by a gentleman who wanted a small Wrought Iron pendant for his lady friend who is a practicing witch. It had to be made from W.I. as that is the "blood" of the Earth. Bet you dint know that. We settled on an arrowhead shape with a five point star chiseled into it. The point was to be bent down, and looped, to hook on a chain. The wide end was scrolled up and could hook on a chain, belt, or serve as a cloak hook. The pendant was about 1-1/2 " long and 3/4 " wide before bending. As it was so important that this be made from W.I. I showed the client the spark test using some old wrought plate from a 17th century French gate I had restored, we chose to make it from that. He was serious about wanting this made....$100.00 serious! Another job well done,and filed under WIERD.

Joshua ,you scored big time lucky! I have paid $50 U.S. for a REED vise that is the same size. These heavy old machinists vises are tough and can stand a lot of pounding, perhaps not as much heavy hitting as a blacksmiths post vise the same size, but a LOT! The jaws are parrallel and do not wedge like a post vise does,but for holding bending jigs and holding work for grinding or drilling, they are excellent. The bigger the better. For now the collectors (spit) do not seem to think these old vises are worth collecting, and they can be had cheap.

Blacksmith tools are getting to be pricey , The collectors (spit) have made buying any kind of tool outrageously expensive! Post vises are almost as hard to find as anvils, One kind of vise that you can still find used and relatively cheap is a BIG old machinists vise, a REED or COLOMBIAN, jaws six inches wide, parallel and square opening up to eighteen inches wide! Often they have been set aside because it no longer opens. this is a simple repair, tear it down clean it and you will likely find a pin holding a ring on the screw shaft broken. Replace it and the vise is good as new. Visit the oldest established machine shop by you, Hopefully they will sell one to you.

Hey homie! Drop by the forge anytime, especially Saturday mornings for OPEN FORGE! It should not be difficult to find our address as Arnold & Anvil is the ONLY listing under blacksmiths in the Baton Rouge fone book. Welcome!

I am gonna make me an inducing forge with my old bug zapper. Those things are MAGIC!

"More dangerous than a monkey with a machine gun". If you " just melt some iron" with a complete lack of training, or experience. You might find out what that means.

I intend to try, for an experiment , acorns and pecans. The pecans are the small native nuts, sharp on both ends ,difficult to crack, and not collected for food . They literally can be raked up, so many are dropped, Ditto about the acorns. I have never heard about anyone using corn or nuts as forge fuel, till I got on this site. I expect one will have to be very carefull about spilling FUEL around the forge , I have never noticed mice attracted to coal, clinker, or ash.

Find a forklift seller ,repair shop. You might find they will give you a piece of forklift tine. Great anvil material.

For treating the finished hammer handle , use sweat , lots of sweat and water from the slack tub. Oils and varnishes make a slippy grip, and not what you need.

What ever happened to gun racks for the back window in pickups? I want to make a very nice scrolly piece, and show it off with an AK- 47 complete with two banana clips taped together. .. be cool in da hood.