melloman3000

Ah geez so good to be back. So much to post and share. As soon as I can get my pics from phone to computer I will definitely show some pics of the things I have done, accomplished, and lucked straight into.

dcraven in your post earlier with the three pictures, what are the last four things in the picture? Are they bottle openers as well?

Just checking to be sure. Chinobi you are quite the word smith as well.

I don't have a stand for my anvil yet guys. but Friday morning I am making a trip into town and if I don't have one at that point im sure I could rig something up. I probably should make a poker and rake. How(what kind if any) would I finish those? Or would I leave them unfinished.

So I found these on my front porch from my uncle who works at the Norfolk Southern railroad here locally.

So my uncle came thru with some rail spikes. How can I use these for "beginner" projects? I was thinking of making some "S" hooks this weekend but im not sure if these are suitable.

Also got my first anvil. Friday is looking better and better :D

Ok I can finally reply to this thread. I just received my first anvil(railroad track with improvised horn) for free. All I have to do is by my girlfriend Sarah's uncle lunch. It looks a little rough around where they cut the horn but I think im going to take a file or a grinder(if I can find one) and knock the rough cut edges off and then hopefully get rid of some of the rust. :D

Well I made my first purchase today. It was a Kobalt 2.5 pound cross pein hammer. I got it at lowe's for only $13. This hammer feels great. I'm hoping to see how it works Friday. The only thing I am unsure about is on the face? of the hammer it kinda comes to a point. I don't know if this will cause problems when I try to pound out my first piece of metal.

So good news, my girlfriends uncle has an anvil and all I have to do is buy him lunch and he'll let me have it. On the flip side I haven't seen it yet but it is a RR track anvil, but it has a horn. So it's looking more and more like I will be firing my forge up on Friday :lol:

Wow guys thanks for all the encouragement. Im going to try to have my forge set up by Friday. I'm limited on free time because I work with my dad in the family pizza shop. so I generally only get one day a week off. but after the summer fishing season im sure my forge and anvil will be my best friends. I'll have to ask him about the blacksmith shop at the railroad and see if I could get anything from there. So glad I found this forum for sure :D

Well I already have the forge part figured out I think. A buddy of mine is going to give me a fire ring(made from an old steel wheel I think) and im going to use the general basis of the 55 forge side blast version. Right now I am trying to decide whether I want to leave it on the ground or if not how to raise it up to a good height. I am talking to my uncle who works at the Norfolk Southern railroad here in southern ohio about obtaining RR track and maybe even some spikes if he can sneak them in ;). Now all I need to do is find a hammer and see where I stand from there. I was wondering what a good first project would be but that's a little ways away anyway. Once again thank you for the info( it really was here for the reading) Mainly what you guys have given me is inspiration and determination. And quite a good bit of jealousy after reading the posts about lucky finds. We don't have those kinda scrap yards around here that I know of and the area im in is pretty bad off so scrapping is a main source of income for a lot of people so there probably isn't much easily gotten ahold of. But where there is a will there is a way and I will be ever vigilant :ph34r:. Thanks once again and I will post pictures as soon as I have something to post.

You know I never even knew such a thing as quad state existed. I think ill work on getting my forge up and running and then look for a piece of RR track for an anvil. This is really REALLY exciting :lol:

Thank you for the info.

Ok so I just joined today and have learned a WEALTH of information. Im already pumped about building my very own 55 forge or something very similar. But what should I use as a blower? Does anything that moves air work? Also I have seen a lot of "anvils" made from railroad tracks, are these worth the time and money or should I save up for a real anvil. I found a few cast iron anvils online are cast iron anvils worth looking into. And where can I find tools? I know that's a lot of questions for someone who has only been here for a few hours at most, but I am very excited and want to begin working with metal soon. My girlfriend is "overjoyed" that I have found a new hobby/interest. :D