LeViAtHaN

Has anyone used this hammer? Craftsman 38262 40 oz. Blacksmith Hammer at Sears.com I was thinking about this for my first forging hammer. Was wondering if anyone might have any comments on it or if you might know of a different one in this price range that would be better to start learning with. Thanks in advance!

I assume when you say "people think YOUR an idiot", you meant "people think YOU'RE an idiot." That being the case, why did you open your mouth? Pot calling the kettle black? I couldn't care less about popularity. If the people here are only going to go along with what and who is popular, regardless of how rude, sarcastic, or opinionated that person is being in their comments, then I feel sorry for them. No one seems to be attacking the content of my posts, pointing out flaws in my point of view. Why is that? Are you trying to protect the popular people's right to be rude to the newcomers? As long as you're popular, it's ok to be rude, but if a newcomer does likewise, they should be booted? Kind of a double standard. You're not a descendant of Adolf Hitler, are you? Like your friend Dale said: ... Yes, that would make the most sense. He will most certainly post again. That little ruse of martyrdom was simply a tactic to make people mad at me for supposedly running him off the forum.

This is getting way out of hand. Dale- I found your comment to be rude, and sarcastic, so I responded likewise. If that is an attack by your standards, then so be it. Sounds like you can dish it out, but you can't take it.. And now you're playing the martyr... Can't post in the forum again because the big bad leviathan was rude also.. Need a tissue? As for Irnsrgn, same thing. I made a failed attempt at returning the conversation to the original subject of hammer shattering, and asked for ideas of a better way to illustrate the dangers of such. What did I get? Sarcasm. "Put fingers between hammers" Along with a slough of attacks on other shows. I really don't care whether he likes those shows or not, but when he says its a sad world because people do, I felt the need to remind him that his OPINION is simply not fact. Now that TH spouted off with "Fact based life is too much for some to handle." it is becoming clear that only followers are allowed to post here, and disagreeing with the clique on something as subjective as entertainment based television is the same as putting a bullseye on your forehead. Your statement is true, though, TH. I think that's why my posts ruffled so many feathers and are now being labeled as attacks, but not the posts mine were responses to.

Yes, that is rather lame.. Especially since the show pretty much invites criticism.. They know they foul things up and that's why they revisit some of the myths.. The response you got can be found in just about every fanbase of any show, though.. Just the way some people are.. I am a fan.. I'd even say that I'm a big fan of that particular show. Why? It provokes thought, not just gazing at the box. But, even as a big fan, I could really care less what other people think of them, or the show. Different strokes for different folks, ya know? What I DO care about is when people make rude comments about people who like the show, since I am one of them. I'll never understand how someone can say it's a "sad world" because people enjoy a television show that they don't.

No, that only demonstrates the dangers of putting fingers between hammer heads being banged together. Well, judging by how rich he became from doing his stand-up and sitcom that lasted for many years, I would say that there is a large number of people who enjoyed his comedy and found him funny. But since you didn't find him funny, those who do must be wrong. I never knew humor was supposed to be part of the tv show American Chopper. (If that is indeed who you are talking about) Again, judging by how much fame and money they have made while doing something they truly love, building custom motorcycles, there must be a lot of people who take an interest in it. Guess they are all wrong for being interested. Well, if they are so impressionable, why aren't they doing what they are told at the beginning of every episode of Mythbusters?? "Never try this at home".. And where are the parents of these impressionable kids? Out working at the forge after work, having no idea where their kids are or what they are doing? No, that's exactly what makes the world great! Not having to comform to someone else's idea of good entertainment. By the way.. Calling someone a moron in the same sentence as saying "stupid dumb" make you sound....... Well, you decide. I really don't know what is happening in this thread.. In all the posts I have read in this forum, everyone is kind, helpful, polite, and respectful. But here, all I see is people being harsh and rude.. What gives?

Wow.. I have to say, I am rather shocked by the negativity on display in this thread.. Sorry to point out how condescending that sounds. It's just a good thing you were here to inform (while insulting) people of the groundbreaking discovery you made regarding a television show designed to entertain, not educate. I only wish I were so clever that I could have figured that out on my own! The only reason I bothered to post in this thread was to point out that they had realized their failure (perhaps by angry viewers "in the know"s mail) and had taken the hammers to a real smith for a proper hardening. That being said, perhaps some of you know a better way to demonstrate the dangers of banging two hammer heads together.

Nick- Not sure if it was in the same episode, or a revisit of that myth, but I seem to recall them having no success, bending the handle, etc. and decided to take the hammer(s) back to the blacksmith shop and the smith heated them to non-magnetic in his forge, quenched them in water, and told them it had been hardened to the maximum possible hardness that the material was capable of. I'm pretty sure it was all in one episode. After doing such, I think I recall them breaking one of the heads off a hammer using their rig, but no explosion or shattering.. Mythbusters is one of my favorite shows and while they don't always do things 100% correct, they are pretty darn good imho..

Well, I have not yet built a forge.. Just trying to do my homework before I commit to anthing.. At this point, I have decided on a gas forge.. As romantic as coal may be, I think gas would be easier for a newb like myself to learn with.. I'd rather be banging some iron than trying to learn how to tend the coals properly.. With the reading I have done, it just seems it would suit my needs better.. So, my intentions are to construct a simple round forge, similar to the freon bottle design.. Not sure of the exact size yet as it will depend on what kind of scrap tank I find.. I want it to be big enough for general hobby work, but small enough that I am not using/wasting more fuel than I need to for the small pieces of stock I will be using to develop basic smithing skills. I am thinking 6-8" ID, and 12" +/- length depending on what I end up with for a shell.. Lining it with kaowool, then castable refractory.. Maybe coating it with itc when $ permits.. Nothing too special.. As for getting the refractory, thank you for the link, however I only wanted to have to order it as a last resort. Maybe I'm just being cheap, but I'd rather not have to pay for 55lbs of shipping (and have to wait) if I can help it and was hoping someone might know what kind of stores would carry it locally. Getting back to the original subject of blown propane burners, I guess what I should have been asking is how do you know how much cfm is enough for the task? I would probably be using a burner tube of 3/4" - 1".. I checked out your website, Mike (Nice knives!), and see that you have a pretty good size blower on your forge.. Would a simple hair dryer do the job on yours? I'm not against getting a real blower, but am trying to build a forge as cheaply as possible (who isn't?), while having it be big enough for me to have some growing room, and lasting a long time.. I know a hair dryer won't last forever, but replacing a $2 thrift store hair dryer is no biggie.. Probably one of those things where I just need to build it and tinker with it, huh..

I was wondering if anyone might be able to point me to some good information regarding a blower driven propane burner... Cheaply made, of course I have found literally tons of info on atmospheric venturi type burners, but for some reason that doesn't seem very appealing to me. Has anyone constructed a burner with something small & simple like a hair dryer for a blower? I have seen many mentions of a hair dryer for the blast in a coal forge, but almost no info at all on blower driven gas burners.. Also, any info on where to find castable refractory would be great.. Not a specific place, but what kinds of stores/supply co. carry that stuff so that maybe I could open up the yellow pages and know what to look for. Thanks!

Thanks for the good luck, guys! I am now the proud owner of that lovely anvil! Great guesses as to the brand, as it is a Trenton. All I can make out of the logo is ENTO and part of the N, inside a diamond shape on the back side of the body (waist?). On the foot under the horn are some numbers. 100^ 10047 7 is what it looks like to me. The ^ might possibly be an A, but looks almost just like a ^ the 4 could also be a 9 Anyone have any idea what year it might have been made? Or whether it is a german or american made Trenton? On the underside of the foot, there is an oval/jelly bean shaped impression. I haven't yet weighed it, but I am assuming it is 100lbs.. Unless the 100 in the bottom left means 112lbs? After a little work with a wire brush, I see that it has seen some use.. Minor hammer impressions on the face & horn, with a few chisel gouges on the horn.. Edges of the face are in excellent shape with 1 or 2 very minor chips.. Hardy hole measures exactly 7/8" one way, but measuring across the other way, it looks to be a slight tad under 7/8".. Kind of odd if you ask me.... All in all, I am extremely happy with my first anvil purchase! From the prices I have seen anvils go for, $1 a lb for a REAL anvil makes me very happy. Can't wait to start learning some basic forging techniques.. Now I just need to get myself a cross peen, and a forge.... BTW, if anyone is interested, I found this through craigslist.org.. About 2 months of doing a search for "anvil" every single day finally paid off.

Hello everyone! I have not yet posted an intro, as I am at this point, only a wanna-be.. I have been searching for a couple months now for a good anvil and tomorrow I might be scoring one for $100. Someone else has first dibs but that person is out of state, so I may get it anyway. All the owner knows about it is that it's roughly 100lbs and is probably over 100 years old by his best guess. Check out the picture, and if anyone has any guesses as to the brand, etc, please chime in. Also, wish me luck on getting it! :)