JHCC

And this, boys and girls, is why we make sure our molds are dry before the pour. (Apologies if this has been shared previously.)

We’ll have you making better mistakes in no time!

That's why you don't see Lutz there.

Be careful with that. The steel content of rebar is pretty inconsistent; you may get a spot that's high enough in carbon content to harden, and that can crack on you. I had this happen to me a couple of months ago when I was making an Andy hammer.

"Sharbok, when the forge overheated." "SOFA, when the steel burned."

Southern Ohio Forge and Anvil (https://sofablacksmiths.org/), hosts of the annual Quad State Roundup, which is our version of the Hajj.

Side Effect 11 (6a): Seeing what they charge for blacksmith's tools in antique shops and thinking "If I fake up a decent patina on some of my old tongs, I could make a killing."

Almost as good as a Mousehole, but quieter!

As Cosmo says in "Moonstruck", "Very good, unless something goes wrong. And something always goes wrong."

Depending on the shape of the steel block, you can quiet it down further by wrapping chains around the middle, adding a magnet under the heel of an anvil, or attaching it to its stand with a layer of silicone caulk.

IFI doesn't permit reposting of external advertisements, but before this gets taken down, let me just say that the edges of that are horribly mushroomed, probably indicating that the hardened face plate is missing and the anvil got a LOT of heavy use after its loss. You can probably get a hunk of scrap steel that works as well or better for less money. See the thread on improvised anvils, and save your money for decent tongs.

Handsome blade, Theo. Great work, as always.

Probably not good, especially the softer varieties.

Have you read the Burner 101 thread? Pictures would help.

Consider it a sacrifice to the learning gods — a burnt offering, if you will.

Not to mention the fire risk!

Funny you should ask: https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/25474-granite-anvil/ https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/49776-make-an-anvil/

Graphite would crumble under the hammer blows. What on earth gave you such an idea?

Looks like a good start. As for the size, the question is always "Too big for what?" In other words, what kind of work do you plan to do? If all you're making is nails, this would be too big. If the smallest stock you use is 30" square, it will be too small. I kind of like your air slots, and they should be fairly easy to clean out just by sliding the point of your poker around them. You may have a problem with them burning out over time, though. Don't enlarge them for now, as you'll get coals falling through if you do.

So hard to translate puns! "ReForge"? "Hungarian Irony"?

That's why we're here!

To quote @Mikey98118: In other words, Yes, you'd be asking for trouble. Beer kegs make decent slack tubs and quench tanks, though.

Adam Smith notes in The Wealth of Nations (1776): "A common smith, who, though accustomed to handle the hammer, has never been used to make nails, if upon some particular occasion he is obliged to attempt it, will scarce, I am assured, be able to make above two or three hundred nails in a day, and those, too very bad ones. A smith who has been accustomed to make nails, but whose sole or principal business has not been that of a nailer, can seldom with the utmost diligence make more than eight hundred or a thousand nails in a day. I have seen several boys under twenty years of age who had never exercised any other trade but that of making nails, and who, when they exerted themselves could make, each of them, upwards of two thousand three hundred nails in a day. "

My anvil got NO use at all from about 1991 through 2015. Don't worry, though: it may rust a bit, but it doesn't spoil.