Mende

If there was such a place it would be in the central or eastern Europe. .. Czech Republic, rural Romania, Moldavia, Russia ( rural areas ) etc

Anyways ..the deal is. . light farrier's anvils are only good to ADJUST ready-made horseshoes in the field. ..so you need a bigger, blacksmiths only anvil if you want it to last more than a few months.

When making charcoal . .it is a bit safer to use resin free hardwood . .it burns way longer too.

resin loaded or chemically treated softwoods give off a lot of gas while carbonizing and burn fast ...

try using oak ..straight from the forest:D

The tongs I bought today were described as being "cast iron" :cool:

Do the actually make cast iron blacksmith tongs?:confused: i mean those could break even if you smack the iron you're holding harder than usual ..

i'm not sure about the quality ..

In fact . .in the future. .run from cast iron products . ..( except for floor mandrel cones)

Well, in the old communist countries. ., the ones with a lot of rural areas. . .It would be relatively easy to get quite a few very very old and very used anvils.

If you;re lucky ..you could also find some very heavy industrial cast steel anvils. . if you know where to look ( i don;t .. but i think i know some people who know some people ..)

the majority of anvils are under 70 kilos ( ~ 150 pounds ) and are very used. .and have a saddle shape going on, the predominant styles are the austrian type, stake anvils and czech and german copies.

All my forge parts i found rusting in the ground . ..or around the yard . ..

All the piping is thick gas pipes, with a cast iron tee. . .they are not threaded. . i just have an intricate sistem of steel wire and pipe collars holding them together. .all sealed with a clay and coal dust mixture.

The firepot if of firebrick and a limestone gypsum and fine sand mixture. .., the linings are made of firebrick and old ceramic tiles.

the tuyere . .well it;s made from a heavy thick steel pipe connector . .with a steel plate square with drilled holes welded on to it.

It;s all bodged up and I use a 2 dollar hair drier as a blower ( strong one too ..on the second setting it blows up the coal from my firepot . .altho it's pretty deep (12 inches deep))

Wrong.

An anvil does NOT need a horn to be useful, I'd take it in a heartbeat if for no other reason than to have another anvil for students. As it is I only have two quality anvils and a third would be a welcome addition.

Frosty

too bad I'm so far away then ..an too bad you're not here. . with a pick up truck, 2 tanks of gas and about a 1000 bucks you could get like 30 anvils from the mountain villages around here. ..not to mention the ones that are inherited by people that have no use for them and scrap em, you could get those for less than the cost of their scrap weight.
I got a 350 pound cast steel german style anvil for 100 bucks. .almost new :D

I believe he was describing what our "finished" blades would resemble when we were done.. not the steel we would use.

Yup ..your're right ..

Pick-up truck Leaf springs for big blades .. .and tool steel for small stuff . ..It's usually sold or found in hexagonally profiled bars.

You could also reforge old files . .raid old machine shops for those. .even if rusted through . .

BTW. .a cheap way to get the rust off ANYTHING if vinegar ..just keep it in a bath of vinegar for a day or two . .and even paint will peel . .let alone rust . .

you will also see the heat treated parts of the tools as they will be darker in color than the rest of the steel.

It does have a huge scar . .it was surely a horned ( horny ) anvil ..
It also appear to be a wrought bodied anvil with a steel face. .If I'd show you a pic of the "scar" you would know. .( too bad I don't actually have one)


i know it could have it welded ..but I don;t have the broken off horn.

Yes . .it still has the hardie hole. .. as well as the pritchel hole.

Anyways thanks guys. .but I think I'll just scrap it . .why keep it if its broken and if I have one twice as heavy .. made of cast tool steel. Right?

Can't you just get a welder's apron? or are you interested in doing farrier work?

Hey everybody!

I found a nice Austrian style anvil weighing in at about 70-100 kilos, but it doesn't have a horn ( bick/beak ). It's been ripped straight off . . I still cant imagine how . . . It doesn't look that punished to me . .so I guess it must have been a sand infiltration while casting it or something.

My questions are. . .Can I somehow put a new bick on it? Will it be cheap to make and attach it? What tools will I need ( if it's possible ) and considering that I already have a 150 kilo main anvil and a 50 kilo spare . .should I just drop the whole thing and scrap it?

It's said that only two blacksmiths ever ended up in hell ...one worked on credit . .one beat his iron while cold

Nice tutorial. .but i think that after getting your own shop ..all you have to do is try try try until you've developed your own style. . ..You might make a decent pile of "alternative rebar" for your concrete. . but if you follow some basic guidelines . .and just work passionately you might have something pretty unique. . .your own style of sword.

Hmm .. I only have stokers, carpenters and tanners in my family. Guess I'm the first to approach blacksmithing ( although not professionally ). Although I've been told that my great godfather was a blacksmith before being deported by the communists and his shop being confiscated . . he had the biggest pair of greatbellows I've ever seen.