Crazy Ivan

I'm gonna be the reckless one and fully encourage you to go for it. Plenty of folks on this forum know about how I'm the 1st to drop everything (literally everything) and do something on a whim. It's by no means an easy way to make a living and I figure I'll probably be physically done by the time I hit 40 with not much of anything to fall back on, but I'm happy right now and for me, that's all that matters. If it is your dream, go for it and do it now. Maybe things work out and you will work 80 hours a week and barely get by. Maybe you will work 80 hours a week and do extremely well for yourself. Maybe it doesn't work out and you will work 40 hours a week for steady pay for someone else but be able to think back at how you went out on a limb, took a chance and dove into your favorite hobby head first and learned alot from it. Lots of what ifs out there but you won't find out unless you go for it. Very good advise and opinions above. Take them all into consideration and do what you think is best for you. Deal with any outcome you get as you get there. Doing what makes you happy is way more important than any other social standard of "being "logical" or safe. Thats what I do and while I haven't got much, I'm still getting there and I'm thankful for what I do have. Most importantly, I'm happy with where I am. Best of luck in your decision!

See: "cow pie theory" Try taking some clay and "forging" it. It moves the same way (directionally) as steel will. Thats a good way to figure out elongation on tricky pieces and how to spread the material with a hammer to get your desired result.

That is a fair price but with the welds on the sides and that bolt jammed in the hardy hole, I'd lean more in the $300 range. Make sure to check the rebound first though.

Many people turn their nose up at mild steel, but a nice big chunk of mild steel from a scrap yard ($.20-$.40 a lb) will do you well. As Thomas mentioned a nice hefty sledge hammer is great as well. I know at least one full time Smith who prefers his mild steel block anvil over his 200+ lb FISHER anvil which was nuts to me at first but once I used it, I realised block anvils are 100% sweet spot and a real treat to work on. Even if mild steel is used. I make and sell block anvils made from A2 tool steel and have 2 in the shop which I prefer over the Sodorfors often times. Don't worry about what you are conditioned to think an anvil looks like. It is just a heavy thing to absorb/return your hammer blows. Don't over think it and get something to get you started. Once you are rolling, you will have anvils fall into your lap.

That is the coolest swage block I've ever seen!!

Looks all Columbian to me.

It was iron originally, then carbon and alloying elements were added such as chromium, molybdenum, manganese, vanadium, and silica. Lol. I buy my tool steel from a place that buys out machine shops including all their stock and drops. This was a bar of new s7 stock.

Yesterday I was forging a small run of h13 drifts. I finished and started to make a 4140 flatter for an order and as soon as I hit the stock after the h13 I almost jumped for joy. It felt like playdough after 4 hours of tool steel lol.

Nope, just bump the wedge out with 1 tap of the hammer and the tool pops right out. It doesn't take any longer than pulling the hardy out. Bump with your hammer and pull it out. One move, two hands and on to the next one.

Even more stable is if you leave it as is and make a wooden wedge to drive through the gap and under the heel and wedge it down tight against the anvil. Zero play in the tool.

Depends on your experience level. If, as your name suggests, you want to make axes then 4140 is a good medium carbon alloy steel for axes and hammers, punches, drifts etc. Fairly straight forward to use and heat treat and will make good tools.

It is not as complicated as it sounds, but as you said, if you are not sure you are confident enough, instead of potentially ruining good tool steel, why not work with more user friendly tool steels or alloy steels?

Hi Tim, I'm a full time tool maker in Lancaster. Ain't that convenient! Lol Drop by the shop sometime. Pm me and we can figure out a day and time. I'm at the shop every day pretty much all day. -Pete

I've made hot cuts out of a36 and used it to cut a 1 1/2" thick round bar of 4140 steel and it was still sharp afterwards. If I can cut medium carbon alloyed steel with A36 without it deforming, it will be fine for your anvil. If you work at a proper forging temperature and don't strike the anvil with the hammer (you shouldn't anyways) then it should be fine. Brian Brazeal and Alec Steele among many other accomplished smiths CHOOSE A36 for their striking anvils. If it's good enough for pros, it ought to be good enough for you. I've made hot cuts out of a36 and used it to cut a 1 1/2" thick round bar of 4140 steel and it was still sharp afterwards. If I can cut medium carbon alloyed steel with A36 without it deforming, it will be fine for your anvil. If you work at a proper forging temperature and don't strike the anvil with the hammer (you shouldn't anyways) then it should be fine. Brian Brazeal and Alec Steele among many other accomplished smiths CHOOSE A36 for their striking anvils. If it's good enough for pros, it ought to be good enough for you. Btw, I just looked at your location. Your right down the road from me. Every single scrap yard around me sells willingly. I'm going to my tool steel scrap yard near Redding tomorrow to pick up some h13,a2,4140 and s7. Same place also has MASSIVE steel in their yard. It's called MOSES GLICK. Another good one is Saads in Columbia and there is also Rubin Steel on Fruitvalle pike in Lancaster. They all sell to the public.

"good, now heat it up and do it again"! A favorite of myself and JWS especially during our classes. I think it's pretty fitting for a blacksmiths work.

So Jackson, as you can see, you will get better responses if you do your own research first, then ask questions afterwards. Thomas and Frosty are both GOLDMINES of information among many other incredibly knowledgeable and skilled smiths who frequent this forum. We are all very willing to share what we know but you need to be willing to meet us in the middle. This trade is not as simple as ask a question, get an answer and move on. You really need to invest alot of time in learning and practice to be able to get anywhere. This forum is an incredible resource for those who are seeking info/help AFTER they have come up dry with a specific answer. Google is your friend. If you are just starting out, pull up a comfy chair, grab a snack and a cold drink and start reading the thousands upon thousands of hours of information on this forum. Start with the pinned posts. There are class sections with excellent details on most anything a beginner may wonder. We are here to help, but answering the same questions day after day gets old quick. Show us you are worth taking time out of our day to help you and you will find more help than anyone could ever hope for. Just meet us in the middle So Jackson, as you can see, you will get better responses if you do your own research first, then ask questions afterwards. Thomas and Frosty are both GOLDMINES of information among many other incredibly knowledgeable and skilled smiths who frequent this forum. We are all very willing to share what we know but you need to be willing to meet us in the middle. This trade is not as simple as ask a question, get an answer and move on. You really need to invest alot of time in learning and practice to be able to get anywhere. This forum is an incredible resource for those who are seeking info/help AFTER they have come up dry with a specific answer. Google is your friend. If you are just starting out, pull up a comfy chair, grab a snack and a cold drink and start reading the thousands upon thousands of hours of information on this forum. Start with the pinned posts. There are class sections with excellent details on most anything a beginner may wonder. We are here to help, but answering the same questions day after day gets old quick. Show us you are worth taking time out of our day to help you and you will find more help than anyone could ever hope for. Just meet us in the middle After looking at your profile I see you are 14. Same age I was when I started this trade. 13 years later and I'm still learning more every single day. I did notice you do not have your location listed in your profile however. You should add it since there may be a Smith close by who can help you along. If you live near me, I'd say stop by my shop whenever you want and I can help you out, but I don't even know which country you live in.

Any steel you buy, regardless of where it came from and the conditions it was mined in, is entirely insignificant. That industry does not rely on the few thousand dollars you may spend per year. Concious consumerism is not going to make any difference in this case. Just like coal, I am not a fan of coal mining at the extent and manner it is done. Especially mountaintop removal. I still chose to burn coal in my forge because the 3-4 tons I burn a year is not even a grain of sand next to the consumption of coal powered powerplants burning that same amount in minutes.

Passivation is the term you are looking for there. It's a chemical process.

Those grizzly 2x72 grinders really aren't bad. We have one at the shop with an 8" contact wheel and It does everything I ask it to. It operates smoothly, reasonably quiet, and is not lacking in power. I'm very happy with it. Our other 2x72 is better since its got quick change contact wheels and configurations and variable speed but I still love the grizzly. It's a shame the packaging is sub par and the shipping company was rough/careless. I wonder how much money they lose trying to pinch pennies on shipping.

I'm still "wet behind the ears" as some here might say at 27 years old. Even still I may as well be 70. Ive been working heavy, demanding jobs since I was 14 and already I've got the dreaded "turned around too fast" back problems. I throw out my back at least twice a year and get bed ridden for at least a week, more commonly 2 weeks each time. My knees are junk and often have a hard time sleeping because of them and my hands are well on their way out. I do my best to take care of myself but it may be too little too late as the damage has been done. Regular stretching and strengthening exercises do help along with a deliberate diet. Living with an incredibly skilled massage therapist (I call her a sadist but whatever) has its perks and I'm lucky for that. A message to all the young ones getting into a skilled trade...TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY! I'm too stubborn to let pain stop me but it sure would be nice to have been more proactive in my earlier years.

I used s7 for mine but I do not suggest it for anyone who is less than advanced as a weldor. S7 is a real bear to weld successfully and also overkill as a striking anvil. I just got lucky and found a perfect piece of it for mine and had the skill and knowledge to make it work. I have a thread of the build on here including drifting the hardy holes. "s7 striking anvil WIP" is the title. It turned out awesome but its definitely not anything I would recommend as a standard. As Biggundocter said, mild steel will work just fine in a thick enough cross section and forklift tines are great as well.

Looks all Peter Wright to me. If that 1sr number is a 3 that would put it in the 300 lb range. If marked in cwt the that 3 represents incriments of 112 lbs so 336 lb MINIMUM. that's a big boy. And for $100 you got one mother of a deal.

Mix beeswax, turpentine, and linseed oil as typical finish. Warm your hammer head (and handle while your at it) and give it a good coating/ rub down. Then apply a second layer but take coal fines and mix it in thoroughly. It will blacken the paste. Run it on over the 1st layer, let it cool and harden and it gets you pretty close to the look you're talking about.

Hubbard.

Best of luck to you and your family. I've been in your sons and your wife's shoes on that one. I think I've turned out alright. With your support, I'm sure they will both come out ahead. You're definitely not alone here brother.