EWCTool

The setup looks very nice. Along with the tongs, I like your forge. Some people do not like that design, but my first one was very similar. It lasted for quite some time and got the job done.

You could buy some blacksmithing books which tell you in detail how to do exactly what you want to know. I have my favorites and they really helped me when I was starting out.

Back in the very beginning of the Iron Age they only had two types of steel available. Cast Iron, which would be a cross between pig iron and cast iron, could vary from .4% to .2% carbon. With this much carbon in the mixture the metal could not be forged or it would crumble, although it could be cast rather easily. Gradually they learned how to refine the metal into pure iron or wrought iron. I use the term pure very broadly. To get usable steel you simply combine the substance with very high carbon content with the substance of very low carbon content. In other words you forge weld the wrought iron to the cast iron, this would produce a steel billet. Although it would be no competition to the steels of today, but in those first days of the iron age when they first discovered this process, it could be equivalent to the alchemists finding the ingredients to make gold. So yes cast can be forge welded to wrought iron to make a crude steel. I hope this helps.

We had a wagon that has dumped its last load. Turns out someone threw a large piece of firewood into the wagon and it busted a hole right through the bottom of the wagon. The wagon has seen better days and was beyond repair. Before I let my parents throw it away, I took it apart to save any usable metal from the wagon. I did not get much but I was able to save the axle that is a solid 5/8th inch bar of. The only problem is that it is galvanized. In chemistry class my teacher showed us how certain toilet bowl cleaners are acidic or basic enough to dissolve some metals, like aluminum. Would this be the same case when it comes to zinc, or should I just grind it off?

I agree with what everyone is saying. But my point is that even though we have all these advancements of technology, we are still putting hammer to anvil, just as it has been done for centuries now.

What do you think that the blacksmiths of yesteryear would think of how we blacksmith today. Would they be envious of all the power equipment that we possess? What would they think of all the new techniques that we have developed, gas forges, power hammers, ect? Would they think that we have gone soft, or would they see all the new technology that we have and be proud that we have found more than one way to put hammer to anvil. What do you think?

There is no question that a bad Indian blames the arrows, or if the old tools get the work done why fix what ain’t busted. But when you start a project, to ensure that you are producing the best product possible, you use the best material available, agreed. I am recognizing the fact that we are blacksmiths, and one fundamental principle that we must adopt in order to survive is that we must use what we can get. Therefore if most of us were designing the best anvil to work with, while ignoring design, cost, and unconditionally focusing on material, you would have to be crazy to not make your anvil from drop forged tool steel. From here I could agree that other factors may take president, so where some may care if the anvil is forged of cast, the design may be more important than the material to others. Or am I mistaken?

a coal forge of a specific volume would heat the shop just as fast as a gas forge of the same size would (it would depend on the temperature to determine the exact time it would take to reach temperature, but as far as we are concerned the times might as well be identical). It comes down to thermal energy. The more thermal energy the faster the shop heats up. The bigger the forge the more thermal energy is present. The temperature does not really factor in. think of it this way, it would take a torch much longer to heat the shop to temperature compared to a forge. Even though the torch is about twice as hot as the forge the focus of heat is about 5 cubic inches, where the forge is about 72 cubic inches. That extra volume allows for more thermal energy to be created in the same amount of time. Thermal energy is what heats the shop and the bigger the volume the more thermal energy created. A pot of coffee has more thermal energy than a cup of coffee of the same temperature. To simplify things a gas forge of the same size as your current forge would not keep the shop cooler. Even if you did run it cooler than the coal forge it would take longer to reach temperature, but minutes longer, not hours. The fuel is not the question but the size of the forge. Other than that you could wear lighter cloths to keep cool or get a fan. A smaller size forge would be cooler than your current size forge. I hope this helps

I use a Euro Anvil and it is cast steel, that anvil does the job very well. Because tools that are forged, as opposed to cast, have better qualities and would be better at their designated jobs then I would assume that these anvils would be heaven under the hammer. What do yall say?

Does anyone use one of these anvils? From what I have read they are supposed to be the best that you can buy, being they are the only drop forged tool steel anvil produced today. Is using one really the nirvana for any blacksmith?

I am a college student and am planning on majoring in chemistry. After College I would like to develop a career in metallurgy, but I am unsure if chemistry is the way to go. I do know that physics would apply to metallurgy as well, but my question is whether a chemistry degree could land me in position to take on any type of metallurgical occupation. I expect chemistry would apply to more of the extracting the metal as opposed to forming it, but I may be mistaken. If you have any experience in the field, your advice would be greatly appreciated.

A lot of those pictures are really interesting. They can almost give you a first hand look at steel making.

I bet it would be a good way to draw a crowd at a show.

when did they stop using that method? Would it be when gas powered chop saws and torches came about?

I know that site has a lot of things that would be very handy around the shop. I never knew there were so many similarities to the railroad tools and blacksmithing tools. I guess they are horizontal iron workers in a sense, so they would need many of the tools.

An axle is put under a lot and stress just being an axle, therefore the metal is metallurgically designed to overcome that stress. this makes it a very tough material and when you forge it, you will notice that it does not move under the hammer as much as other metals would. I have heard of people just heating the face to a cherry red and quenching in oil. Maybe they would temper the edges just because if it will chip 90% of the time it chips on the edge. I once read that someone made a hardy from axle shaft and quenched the cutting edge. They missed the metal and the hammer hit the quenched edge but because it is not a super hard metal and more of a tough steel it did not shatter. I also knew a professional blacksmith who once made a hammer from truck axle and he told me it was his favorite hammer. If it worked for him why can’t it work for you.

I like it. Does it preform like an anvil ought to preform? Or at least what you desire from an anvil?

In this video a couple of civil war re-enactors bend a rail just with a large bonfire. YouTube - Sherman's Neckties After looking on the internet I found this site that sells track chisels. http://www.rrtoolsnsolutions.com/catalog/TrackTools14.asp#79 Would they be the same chisels that we are talking about?

Back during the war of northern aggression, as some reffer to it, haha when Sherman was marching to the sea his men would pull up the rail and make huge fires to heat the middle of the rail up and then the men would wrap the rail around the tree. They were called Sherman bow ties. So just get a bunch of your buddies and build a big fire and you could bend the rail, easy as pie.

Does anyone know how the rail workers would cut railroad rail while on the job back before torches were around and way before gas powered chop saws? I seem to remember a conversation that I had with someone and I believe I remember them saying they used to use huge cold chisels and hammers and just chisel the top and eventually the rail would break. This conversation might be a figment of my imagination but if any one has any knowledge of this I am curious to know. It is tough to cut rail with modern technology but they did it back in the day I am sure so how did they do it?

People say railroad anvils are really not the greatest, and in all honesty they aren't. But in keeping with the oldest of blacksmithing tradition, "make do with what you have", you could make a very effective anvil that could last many years. Everyone has their own opinion and standards, but what you think and what works will matter more than anything at the end of the day. By the way, where or how did you manage to get 100 feet of that precious metal? Also I have heard that the scrap yards will not accept railroad rail from ordinary civilians. They usually have contracts with the rail companies, so that only the rail owners can sell the stuff. This keeps people from pulling up the railroads to try earn a quick buck. Again this is what I heard and I dont know if it is true or not.

I have heard of people using jack hammer bits for all sorts of tool projects, and I just recently acquired many from a silent auction. I know that tools are tempered for different applications and if something is tempered for use as a jack hammer bit, would it be too hard to use as a cold chisel? As far as forging goes, are there any tricks to forging and tempering them?

I made a very nice swage from an old sledge hammer head that I cut in half, and used a hand grinder to put the final shape on it. To finnish it off I welded a hardy shank to it. It is a very strong design, but you have to give up a hammer head to make one.

No it is round stock, some of them have threaded ends

The shafting was used for well drilling, and i checked and rechecked that it is solid. Earlier today I started forging a hardy from 1.5 inch axle all by hand. You guys with power hammers must be thankful.