Crunch

Hey, all, I recently made an anvil hold-down dog out of some 1/2" round bar I'd gotten from the steel yard. I used it a few times and it seemed to work OK, but then for some reason it stopped working because when I hammered it down, it didn't "stick." I guess it got bent out and had less curve in it. 

My question is, should I use high-carbon (or even medium-carbon) steel for a hold-down dog, rather than mild steel, so that it can be hardened and tempered to have some "springiness" so that it will "stay put" after I dog it down? Or is mild steel OK for this?

I've never really forged any HC or MC steel yet, as I am afraid of overheating it and burning out the carbon. 

Thank you in advance. 

Yep, my father was a mech engineer and worked as a plant engineer running factories for various heavy industries, and he researched waxes because they wanted a food-safe wax to use on bone gelatine handling equipment. He told me that carnauba wax is the hardest, toughest wax known. I also use it, specifically Butcher's Bowling Alley Paste Wax. Works great.

Thanks for the info, Ausfire and SpankySmith, I never heard of that before!

Wow!

John B, 

How do you make it look like brass like that? Paint it gold and then wipe black paint over it to fill the recessed areas?

I've got a pretty nice 207# PW. It has very good rebound and rings like a bell, even though I wrapped chain around the base and then bolted the chain down to my steel anvil stand with grade 8 bolts. I may try gluing some rubber bits to it underneath to try to quiet it down some...has anyone ever done that? Does it work?

Will try to post up some pics soon.

Oops...sorry, ladies! No slight intended!

Thanks for the tip on the heel, Frosty, as well as the wrought. I think I found a piece of wrought iron recently. I may post up a pic and see if it's worth trying to do anything with it.

I appreciate all the help. This place is great!

Thank you very much, gentlemen. You gave me just the info I needed. Thomas, I like your idea with the rebar a LOT! As they say, K.I.S.S.!

I appreciate your help.

Hello, all, I'm a very novice "blacksmith" and had a few questions that I'm sure have been answered before but I'm not sure how to search up the answers.

1. Is it OK to work cold mild steel that's maybe no more than 1/8" thick (and never on edge) on my Peter Wright 207# anvil? I know I've read that you shouldn't hammer on cold steel on an anvil, but sometimes I need to shape some sheet metal cold and wanted to make sure this is OK. I would not be pounding on it too hard, of course, since it's just sheet metal/mild steel.

2. I need to make some "C" shaped brackets out of 1/4" MS (this would be heated before shaping, of course) to hold 2x4 lumber. I plan to arc weld the "C" shaped pieces to longer vertical pieces that would be pounded into the ground and used to hold 2x4 lumber to keep dogs from going under the house.

I had planned to use the corner of the anvil's top to make the first 90° bend, but I'm not sure how to make the second 90° bend since my anvil is wider than the 3.5" height of a 2x4. Should I put something into the hardie hole to hammer against after I start the bend on the edge of the anvil?

3. Is it OK to work metal on the "tail" of a Peter Wright anvil like mine? The tool steel top looks like it is a half-inch or more thick...

I apologize for these really basic questions, but I have no one to learn from around here.

The key word being "could," as in, "may."

Completely encased cracks...not so much.

We just don't want you competin' with us as we scramble to be first to grab that crowbar from the side of the road!

Yep, in welding, you can create cracks in the center of the material, where neither end of the crack reaches an external surface (yet)...

I barely qualify as an amateur hobbyist, but isn't this like arguing over how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

They're nice looking tools, thanks for posting.

Question: Do hold-down dogs like the one you made need to be quenched and tempered to make them "springy"?

Dyxlesic. 

Sorry if this has already been posted, it was new to me:

Pretty neat video of a BIG forging operation, looks like in England.

I need to rig up a jackshaft and a few step pulleys with a higher-horse motor on my wood lathe.

Also one of those foot-operated, spring-loaded bowling ball-in-a-spring loaded clamp gizmos, with the ball-and-clamp articulated arms to hold welding projects in position.

Like to build a belt grinder one of these days, too.

And a Babington waste oil burner. 

And a home-brew tree bandsaw.

As it is, I'll probably be lucky if I get around to making some anvil hold-downs and jigs. I have too many projects!  :P  

Thank you for the reply, Jacobd.

Great video and really nice project. Thank you for posting it. You make it look easy!

Neat video, thanks for posting.

Question: Would that have been iron at the end of that process, or would it be more accurate to call it "steel"? Would enough carbon from the charcoal have dissolved in the iron to make it steel?

My uninformed hunch was always that "iron" would be unworkable with a hammer and anvil, yet it seemed to work fine.

Would the material created in the video possibly be what would be called "wrought iron"?

I'm curious what the properties of the metal used to make the hoe would be.

Is 1018 typically much more expensive at the steel service centers than A36?

I never would have known to specify 1018 if I hadn't read this.

You might want to post a video on YouTube.

Given that the item was obviously defective, and that THEY are wrong for not refunding your money, regardless of whether or not it's painted – it's not as if they could resell a BROKEN anvil, after all, whether it's a POS or not, and it should never have broken in the first place! – I'd say you have a perfectly legitimate claim. You've been screwed.

There's  a guy I recently saw on YouTube who apparently bought a real lemon of a Porsche ... people are cross-posting this video EVERYWHERE to try to spread the word and help the guy out, and I wouldn't be surprised if it works for him (he wants his money back, and it seems to me he deserves it, considering all he's been through).

( Video removed off topic )

It might work for you, too.

Some will say you're better off forgetting about it and driving on ... but I'm one of those people offended by injustice, and I'll cut off my nose to spite my face to get some satisfaction when I feel I've been wronged.

Good luck.

Thank you all for the help fellas.

Hey, all,

I want to make an oyster culling hammer (see pic link below) out of a railroad spike.

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I plan to use the headed end of the railroad spike for the round "hammer head" of the culling hammer, and the pointed end of the spike for the flat 3/4" wide and edged "lever" end of the hammer.

My question is, when I go to "round off" and draw down the head of the railroad spike, how do I prevent getting cold shuts in it, where the sharp edges of the head of the spike get pounded inward?

Would it help to prevent cold shuts if, before forging, I take an angle grinder and grind off the sharp edges of the railroad spike?

Would it help to dip the hot steel in borax, and get it to welding temperature before drawing it down, so that any cold shuts got "welded" closed?

Are there any other tricks I should think about?

Sorry for the very basic question, but I'm a newbie and haven't found any clues.

Thanks in advance for any help.