kayakersteve

Well, this is the finished product of my first solid fuel forge. Here are a few pics and am looking for constructive criticism as I am still learning. It seems to work great and I can heat steel very quickly when it's hot. Want to upgrade to a real forge blower, but can't afford yet.

Just used tonight for first time, and boy was I ever impressed at the difference from my old cobbled together anvil I had been using. Amazing to work on a real anvil with crisp edges and nice rebound. Lots of fun. This is very addicting to a rookie like myself.

When I came across this, it was just the top portion - I ground it smooth and welded to two other pieces of steel bringing total weight up to around 130-150 pounds. Works fair, but not much rebound. The table is also pretty beat up. I just bought a new JHM Competitor (see avatar) so this will be my kids anvil to work on. Any ideas about the brand?? 3/4" hardie

Geez - Now seeing your responses, makes me want to buy this one too and just start my own collection.

Hello - Just wanted to share my recent find. I was recently looking at a 130 pound Fisher but decided against it for several reasons. Then I stumbled onto this JHM Competitor at 260 pounds - What a monster and I couldn't resist. It is in great shape and I feel I got a great deal on it as it is barely used. Here are some pics of my setup. You can also see my old anvil that I had to weld a new base to.

Here is the craigslist add for the fisher which has pics you can see: http://buffalo.craigslist.org/atq/3434674836.html

Thanks for replies - I ended up passing on this one, but it had 1882 on it and right below that to the left was a large number '4'. The other side had Fisher imprinted and above that was patent date of ? then 1877. I did however, buy a 260 pound JHM Competitor instead and just brought it home last night. I feel like I got a great deal on it even though it was bigger than I was looking for.

@pugman - Thanks for response - Does it weight 130#? I can get for 2.50 / pound but wanna make sure is a decent anvil.

I thought the number '4' referenced something regarding weight or model number??

Hey guys - I'm new here and have found a decent anvil (still need to inspect it in person). Can you guys tell the weight by the number? He thinks it weighs around 130# - Does this sound right? Anyone using this anvil? Happy with it??

I am using the brand 'smithing coal' - Does anyone know about its quality? I get 50 pounds for $5.00 around here.

Excellent tips so far. I had kind of figured the clinkers were they heavy metallic stuff - I guess I can just toss that in my driveway where I need fill? Any other use for it? As always, you guys are great!

Hello to all! I have been lurking for awhile and really just getting started into smithing (hobbyist). Real profession is medicine. I Have worked with a local smith, Mitch Fitzgibbons, from Mayville NY to learn the very basics. Now my son and I are plodding along trying to learn as much as possible. This site has been a great reference so far. I have built my own coal forge with hood and chimmney. The firepot is 4 inches deep and seems to work very well. My main questions at this point are about tending the coal. Specifically, 1 - I have been placing green smithing coal around the edges and slowly adding to fire as needed once seems to be coke - This is correct, I assume? 2 - After I let fire die out, I seem to have a mixture of very heavy stuff as well as very light stuff which looks and feels like coke. Is the heavy stuff waste? How do I discern what is good to keep for next fire and what needs to be removed? This seems to be my main issue now. Once I figure out how to post pics, I will get some up. Thanks in advance SteveB

This video makes me appreciate how much I have to learn!

Oakwood and OP - I know Mitch Fitzgibbons well. He has not been in active buisiness for a few years, but still does it on the side. My sons and I just spent a few hours with him last Saturday and learn a bunch about blacksmithing. He has a wealth of knowledge and seems to really like sharing it.