FredSmith

for the central Mn blacksmith meeting that is:)

This sounds great to me too! I'm new to blacksmithing as well, and am interested in going to a meeting to learn some stuff. What time do people start showing up for the Aug date?

I got a 4 in long piece of leaf spring from a ford f250, and welded on a shank to fit the anvil, then I just ground the top to a sturdy edge, and its worked fine for me.

Fred; that home made anvil looks lovely and will be so handy as a tooling plate when you move onto a different anvil---but probably already have a slew of tools that fit your plate!

Is that a tong groove on the horn? If so it was probably the top of a 2 piece cone or one of the hardy cones.

I believe that it was a hardy cone, but I'm not sure, and yes, the holes in it are very useful, I made a hot cut hardy, bending fork, and a light duty fuller, that all fit. Other kids in my class made a grill. I brought in some hot dogs after i finished my forge and anvil, and cooked them up on some charcoal. It was pretty awesome.

Thanks, I guess that I will wait until I get some graphite, and try easier things first. The casserole dish is made from glass, and almost an inch thick.

Hey guys show me your anvils!

Don't tease, it is just my first until I build up the funds to get a real anvil, I made my entire shop in a semester of advanced welding at school. The face of the anvil is a wear plate from a payloader. The base and middle part are beams that held up an awning in front of my high school. The horn was donated to me from my shop teacher, because he had an extra one to spare. It is easily over 100#, and does what I need it to for now !

HI, I'm new to blacksmithing, and i recently decided to try melting down some wire from a jumpstart cable that was broken. I think it is copper. Can I put the metal into a thick casserole dish to melt down, or will that not work? thanks