LeoMeyer

Awesome first attempt. The handle is really well done.

Best,
Leo

Hello Fellas,

I'm working on a pair of tongs, and need a rivet to fasten them together. Where can I get some? I've checked the local Lowes, and all they have are rivets for rivet guns. Bah!

Best,
Leo

This sounds excellent. I'm heading down to the blood bank now to get my first $50.


-Leo

Hi Guys,

I've been reading the thread on true prices of hand crank blowers and have decided that I need one. I'm currently using a cool air hairdryer on my forge, but I want to go totally non-electric.

That said, does anyone in or near Ohio have a line on reasonably priced hand crank blowers? I've check everything from Craigslist to Ebay and found nothing. Well, I found one blower on Ebay, but it seemed way over priced based on the prices listed in our forum.

So, I'm willing to drive 4-5 hours to get this baby. Please, anyone in Ohio or surrounding states who knows how to get a blower let me know. I'd much appreciate that.

Best,
Leo

I don't have a blower (using a cool air hairdryer), but I'm wondering if anyone in Ohio, or surrounding states, has a source on hand crank blowers. I'm willing to drive 4-5 hours to get one if anybody has, or knows someone who has, one of these babies.

-Leo

Very cool Adrian, great lines and curves!

I've found that natural wood charcoal works much better than briquets. The brand that I've used is called "Cowboy Charcoal." All natural, with no nasty fillers, and it's very easy to break into little pieces.

Good Luck,
-L

Great looking forge! And your first projects are quite nice too. I may have to copy your watering can design.

-L

Guys, thanks so much for the advice. I've been hammering on the anvil for two days now and think that I'll just wire brush and oil it as Finnr suggested. I'm real glad to hear that this anvil was a good find, considering how new I am to all of this.

-L

I've been looking through the lessons on IFI for some projects to work on. I'm interested in simple, beginner items that will be useful in the workshop. Maybe hardie tools, chisels, forge pokers, etc. Any suggestions? I have a lot of RR spikes at my disposal, and the local scrap yard has loads of leaf springs and the like.

On another note, where do you guys go for new metal? I was reading about making tongs from pieces of flat bar and am thinking about give that a try. I know that TSC has some stuff in the welding section, but other than that what kinds of local shops would sell metal? And what number should I ask for other than mild steel?

Best,
-L

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I worked on it last night forging a coal rake, and it seems pretty sound. Good rebound, maybe 65%-75%. Think I'll just smooth the horn out for the time being.

Best,
-L

Very cool bracelet. I myself just started, and I have to give you high points for beginning with something that small. I went big on my first smithing attempt. Bravo!

Hey Everyone,

So, here's a picture of my "new" 1909 Fisher & Norris 200 lbs anvil. I found it yesterday at an antique mall. The guy wanted $279, and I talked him down to $200. I figure that a buck a pound at an antique mall is pretty good. It seems to be in over all good condition. However, you can see that the horn is pretty scarred up, and the edges of the face have some chips missing. I'm wondering if I can have it resurfaced somehow, as opposed to just grinding it down and loosing more material. Where would I go for that, and what process would I ask for?

Best,
-L

So here is a picture of my first smithed item, which I just made a few days ago. I'm only about two weeks old in the smithing world, but I can already tell that I'm in for the long haul.

The knife was forged from a RR spike, and this picture was taken after I had worked on it with the bench grinder for a few minutes.

Thanks so much for all of the helpful information guys. I'll do as you instructed and trying working with this stuff (in an even more ventilated location).

On a side note, I was walking around an antique mall this afternoon and came across a Fisher anvil. The guy was selling it for $279, and I was able to talk him down to $200. This is my first anvil! I mentioned in the previous post that I've been using a chunk of RR track.

I'm guessing that this Fisher weighs between 250-300 lbs. The horn is scared from what looks like cut marks. I figure that I can grind those out. The face is not bowed or chipped. The sides of the face are pretty close to 90 degrees on all sides; however, there is one spot that has a chip missing about the size of my thumbnail. Otherwise in good shape. I'll post some pictures later tonight.

Anyone have suggestions for cleaning this ol' girl up?

-L

Hi Everyone,

I just started smithing and have some questions. I built a basic break-drum forge with a section of 3" chimney pipe, elbow, and 2 speed, cool air hairdryer for a blower. It has worked great so far, but I want to improve on it. I have been using natural, hardwood charcoal to fire it, but yesterday I got some coal to try out.
Now, I live in a university town, and the university has its own power plant, which is coal fired (Southeast Ohio, so coal from West Virginia). A friend who also smiths told me that the plant uses "low grade coal," but I didn't ask what that meant.
Anyway, this morning I fired up the forge with said coal. Using small kindling I got a fire going, turned on the blower, and introduced the coal. Well, it gave off a powerful, thick yellow smoke. (I'm pretty sure my lungs are scared from the experience.) I thought to myself, if I press on maybe the fire will get cleaner. So, I let the blower go for another 10-15 minutes. It never burned any cleaner. Giving up, I dumped the fire pot out. I noticed that the coal got soft very fast, and gave off a thick tar-esque residue. Is this bad coal, or am I doing something wrong? Is there a secret to getting the coal burning with out smoke, is that possible, or does only charcoal burn with minimal smoke? I do mostly blade and small tool smithing at the moment, so can I keep using charcoal because it seems to get hot enough. Any help would be great.
Also, like I said I live in Southeast Ohio, and I looking for a 100-150 lbs anvil. Right now I'm using a section of RR track, which is ok, but the curve in the track makes it hard to keep things straight. So, if anyone lives down this way and knows about a reasonably priced anvil, please please please let me know.

Best to you all,
-Leo