KYBOY

If you want to see used look at my old bruiser:p you got a nice anvil there.

I like it. The way you described its forging characterisitics Id say its a real nice anvil Id be proud to own it. Very good post.

You have to take life by the throat, then sometimes you have to choke it until it spits up what you want!

True enough..Ill hagle a bit on my prices espically where multiple items are bought but Ill not give my time and materials away. We operate a small farm, well really my wife "operates it" (I.E, she takes the money ). We sell some produce and poultry products. I think Ill have to seperate the clientell between the two.

What kind of work goes into a forged piece..Along with the price of steel right now. Say you have a piece that took 1 solid hour to forge and has 10$-$12 worth of steel in it. You ask $30 and people say "whoa, too high!" :confused: Oh well, I guess folks would rather pay $15 at wally world and replace it every year..:rolleyes:

I bought a homemade rail anvil at a yard sale for $10 last month..Thought it may come in handy for something(and it has) I took some 5/8" square stock and welded it into a square frame on the back of the anvil. Makes a nice square hardy hole. Put a #4 tip on my torch and knocked a pritchel hole in it too.

16'x22' but its got more than metal working equipment in it..

Well, fresh coal,fresh fire this morning and she welded like a charm After I calmed down and looked back at what I was doing yesterday its no wonder i couldent do anything..LOL, I felt foolish Thanks fellas. ;)

:mad: Just one of them days. The metal just wouldent listen to me tonight:rolleyes: Making a nice fire poker for dad. The design called for a forge welded handle. Got everything done and ready to weld. Dang if I just couldent get things to go my way tonight for some reason. Well theres a reason they say dont forge when your mad. By the time I was done I could have chewed that poker in two... You also have a habit of striking way to hard when you get aggrevated it seems, and it seems the more the weld dosnt want to stick the more aggrevated you get:p got it to stick, barely and just wasnt happy with it. So I stuck in the bending forks and it popped loose with a "PING"...So I just took a deep breath, cleaned everything up and set the poker aside. Ill get up in the morning, make a clean fire and try again.

Ive been a farmer most of my life. One of the honeryest,toughest most bullheaded creatures Ive ever had to deal with was old billygoats. Fightin goat forge..LOL, sides I just like the name.

Howdt and welcome...:)

What stock do you prefer to make your hammers from and about what hardness do you like for the face? I hear a lot of folks using 4140 and a few using O-1...

Before you spend a lot of money on a hammer and want to use something nice. Try one of the Nordic or Diamond rounding hammers that farriers use. get a two pounder and you will save a lot of wear and tear on your body. Farriers suppliers are everywhere ,,They used to be about $20 a piece. Likely more now.

I was going to say about the same thing. I bought a nordic 1.5 pound rounding hammer and love it. I use it for all my light work. Im desperaty searching for a 2.5 pound rounding hammer to forge with..I also keep a straight and a diagonal peen hammer. Im going to try a french and a swedish hammer when i get around too it. Boy I really want a 2.5-3 pound rounding hammer without having to give up my first born for it though:p

Some trap parts if Im not mistaken..:confused:

Some of the larger welders Ive worked with had stationary wheels on the back with free moving swiveling wheels on the front that would "lock" into position..May want to think about something like that..I fabed some like that on a heavy work table once..

Theres an excellent farrier school here in Ky if anyone is interested. Real farriers are rare in my part of Ky as many horse owners around here shoe their own. Just part of living in a very rural area..
Kentucky Horseshoeing School

Started welding when I was about 15..Most of my family were carpenters and wood workers as far as skilled labor goes. I was just drawn to metal. First time I took two pieces of metal and made one out of them I was hooked. Then around 9 years ago my proffesion changed to corrections(Prison work;)) majored in law enforcement in college. Worked for three different prison systems. Private,state and finally federal corrections.I welded for the Bureau for the first two years of my federal service.All the while still working with metal on the side too. Blacksmithing just being a natural proggresion in my metal working career. Blacksmithing is the pinnacle of metalworking in my opinion. Ive welded just about everything. Pipe,aluminum,stainless,structural..brazed and all that. I love it all but Im not sure any of compares to the feeling I get from a finished piece out of the forge.

Im with you on the farming. Feed prices are killing me. I have to go pick up about 500 pounds in the morning. Fertalizer ha went insane this year. Onnthe metal working side I have gotten a bit more stingy with the O/A and the O/P...

Lot cheaper if you can drive to the tiple itself. Of course thats easier said than done for some, just thought I would mention it. May be worth the drive to save on freight. We can buy coal by the pick up load for around $50(good coal too)..Thats eastern,Ky . Prices amy may be different elsewhere. We(eastern,Ky) produced almost 100 mil short tons last year so its plentiful here.

I made this one from 4x4's. It is rock solid and kills the ring very well.

Found this ASO gouged out of a piece of RR track today at a yard sale..Picked it up for $10..Didnt really need it but thought I may use it when I didnt want to abuse my anvil. I knocked a pritchel hole in it and welded some square stock on the back to form a hardy hole in case I needed to use a hardy in it..threw the stand together out of scrap laying around the farm..

Glenn I just sold 50 pounds fo those ingots on ebay for $50. I still have two five gallon buckets left to smelt and mold. Lead is high right now. My buddy owns a tire station and hooks me up. I cast a lot of sinkers:D But $50 buys....well a little steel anyway:rolleyes: 50 pounds will fit in a flat rate box too.;)

Just curious, how long do your fire bricks seem to last? The firebox in my forge is made from firebrick. Packed in with clay/dirt. Been using this particular forge for about a year now(couple times a week) and they seem to be holding up pretty good so far. They are the thicker firebricks. Ive been wanting to go ahead and fab a new forge with a large table and drop in firepot but I kind of hate to go to all the trouble of replacing a forge that is working just fine...

Ill probably use a drum in next forge but it will be a drop in firebox for a table. Not a stand alone. A saw two forges for sale this weekend with blowers. The guy thought they were worth WAY,WAY more than are though:mad:

Me too. Im a fan of rounding hammers anyway..