odblacksmith

Thanks,I was pretty surprised at how much weight it held in the end.I think it must be thicker wall sq tube than most grill stands,as i mentioned i added 1/2in sq tube for bracing just for safetys sake (theres about 40-50 lbs of hammers just on the one end) 

Here is a simple tool rack made from an old gas grill base.I ripped the wood planks down so hammer handles could fit between them,added some 1/2in sq tube for bracing and welded the grill in the center for a place to put hot tools,brushes etc;.As you can see it holds a pretty decent amount of tools and just about anyone with a welder could pull this project off,so i thought id post it here.

Welcome,I got started forging when i wanted tools that you can't purchase from the store.So tool making began early for me,also do you mean axes,froes etc; or do you mean anvil tooling like top and bottom sets?As far as anvil tooling goes as soon as i had an anvil with a hardy hole and proper sized stock i began making anvil tools,and from there i began wanting heavier hammers than you can purchase from the store,so on and so on.

everything depends on your equipment, ability, and drive imo,it can be very time consuming and at times discouraging but there is no better feeling than swinging a hammer you made yourself(or any tool for that matter) 

Aha! now Ethan,what is the weight of the baby? turned out very nice.Congrats.

Hey they got that ridiculous "Farmers meet" dating commercial on T.V. Why should we smiths have to settle...

Needs to be on the cover of something that's for sure,very nice work.

Thanks Alan,Ian,and Guns.

I think i may try to make some hardies from it ( but honestly the idea of a "wall hanger" appeals to me for some reason).

Thanks for all the input.

Not a bad idea,i have a brass harbor freight hammer but its only 2lb.I guess i might be over-thinking it could probably just use it in place of mild for cupping tools and such as well.Just wondered if anyone has found it useful for anything,(dont have a power hammer or id draw into flat bar for decorative work).Thanks Thomas.

So a while back i stopped at a local fab shop and was able to score some drops(about 50lbs of 4140,4130,some "unknowns" and a couple grades of ss).All of the drops were from 1.25 to 3 in' stock for tool making,question is what type of tools would be best to make from the 316.I know 316 isn't very harden-able but i like the idea of maybe a nice fancy stainless hammer,but in your guys opinion would it be better suited for bottom tools?top tools?the bar is marked 316ss on the end and was just wondering if it may have a bit of resilience for top/struck tools.Its about 2 1/8 or so round and like 16 inches long.thanks

another good option might be to take a 3/4'' drive socket, drill a round hole in your track slip the socket in the hole then weld it up.that would depend on if you have a welder or not so...just another idea.

oh and thats a very nice looking cross-pein shock.Ive been wanting to make one with a flared pein like that,nice work.

i got plenty of named hammers small ball pein named Tap-tap,even smaller one named Tink-tink,and my 5.9# rounding hammer named Thumper......oh and my anvil is named Al.

turned out very nice,i think it will last...to say the least.

are we talking sledges or forging hammers? i have a 10# plumb cross pein sledge,and as far as forging hammers go i have a 5.9# hand forged rounding hammer. Basically a lump of steel on a stick that i use to punch and drift hammer stock when i have no striker.

this looks exactly like my anvil except my anvil has no visible markings on it other then a 4 on the bottom (underneath the actual base) and a sort of "daisy shape" on the waist but that could have been added by who ever owned it before me as it could have been done with any ol center punch.the only things i know "for sure" about my anvil is that is a three piece anvil and it has been welded/repaired on the face because there are spots that wont rust,they just remain bright.but yeah mine has the same "fat horn and heel" and is supposed to be in the 80-90lb range according to the smith i bought it from.

im sure this has been covered,but as always there is more then one way to skin a cat as they say.here is a striking anvil i am working on it was my first "anvil" i started out using,a block of mild steel 3 inches wide 4 inches tall and 8.25 inches long (before modification) rough ballpark of the weight is 25 lbs.it had two 7/8" round holes on either end.i used a Corner chisel? to carve out a squared hardy hole rather than drifting it,this didn't leave much room on the end so i welded on a sort of "heel" with a gusset for support as well as a sort of side shelf i think they are called like what you see on some old European anvils.the pictures attached are the progress so far but there is much more to be done and any advice is appreciated.

this topic strikes a chord with me,i am currently 24 years old(about to turn 25).i grew up with an uncle who was a quadriplegic and shared a passion for cars with me that i will never forget.he passed away when i was 18 R.I.P Greg...he had a four car garage 2 stories high that we called the "Garage Mahal".long story short the usual story occurred when he passed,his wife and the women of the family decided where everything would go and an auction was set up.i was told by his wife that if there was anything i wanted to "just mention it " and it wouldnt be sold.again long story short there was all sorts of tools from automotive to blacksmithing and everything in between(no anvils except a rr track anvil which luckily i have)i mentioned that i would like the lincoln ac/dc stick welder he taught me to weld with,as well as the 1970 chevelle i had rebuilt the motor for(327 H/O) and a 1955 buick special with the 324 nail-head with 6800 original miles.....again long story short the only thing i have from his collection is the small rr track anvil and a timing gun.but the way i look at it this "loss" made me more aware of spotting old quality tools and respecting them.the one or ones that got away only make us more aware of what we should look for.great topic to follow.would love to hea others take on this.........ODblacksmith

couldnt find pics of the chevelle or buick but found one pic of the L79 engine meant for the chevelle