Donniev

Ha, actually I noticed it earlier this week and have no clue where I got it from- I'm left handed so so I guess I prob pinched it at work or something idk

Can't wait to fire up the forge Sunday, looking forward to hitting some hot steel with this beauty! 2.5# (Does being excited about a hammer mean I'm old and "not cool"? Lol)

TV show: "If I don't do this perfectly, all the work I've already done is for nothing" cuts to commercial Me: yawn *changes channel*

I've also made a set of tongs based on technicusjoes video on youtube- they aren't pretty but they function. Don't be afraid to just drill your hole through the boss as opposed to forging it, then I used a nut and washer instead of a rivet. It's been mentioned that tongs aren't necessarily a beginner's project, but if you stick to it you should be able to get a decent pair. Made several failed attempts before I finally succeeded.

Next time try calling around to a local process piping/ HVAC company and see if they've got pieces they would sell you. That's the line of work I'm in and the shop always has tons of pipe of different sizes and lengths and mild steel of random shapes/thickness sitting in the scrap bin. I've messed around with some 2 inch schedule 40 and its not hard to move at all once I got it hot. Doesn't take long for the paint to come off, it's only there to prevent rust in the first place.

Called into a local u pull it and they wanted $35 for one. (Plus taking it off car and figuring out how to the spring safely) Called a mechanic 6 blocks down from me and said I can take whatever spring I wanted for free!! The two on the left look like 5/8, other 2 maybe 1/2 inch?

Are sparks a concern with the TS bags of coal, similar to using charcoal?

Guy has it on Craigslist for $250, Vulcan 80 pounder. Based on my search here that seems kinda high, but that's also without knowing how a hammer acts on it. Edges chipped off pretty bad. What would be a fair price to offer on this?

Finally got my first pair of tongs done, out of RR spikes. They're the furthest thing from being pretty, but they function. Yeah, I cheated and didn't put a rivet in them, I was having problems in my last attempts with getting a good rivet in. Someone said that tongs aren't really a beginner's first thing to build, and he was on point there. I'll post a few pics below of a few of my failed rebar tong attempts along with RR spike tongs. Any suggestions on something simple I could work on next would be appreciated, I really don't have anything in particular I want to aim at, other than something that will help me in gaining more knowledge in the craft. I love smashing hot metal though! Got 4 or 5 more spikes, might just get em hot and kinda see where they take me. Top piece of failed tong was converted into my fire poker

I'm in Lincoln Nebraska

Hey guys I've been a lurker for a few months here and finally created an account and thought I'd introduce myself. I'm a pipe welder, but I've always been intrigued by blacksmithing, and after watching Chandler Dickenson's videos on YouTube for a while I finally thought what the xxxx I'm giving it a shot. I'm glad I found this forum, there's a ton of dead forums out there for sure. I haven't done much to speak of yet, but I'm working on getting a pair of RR spike tongs right now. I'll post pics of my forge and "anvil" below but I do have a few question. There's hundreds of sites to buy steel on, which one would some of you suggest? Right now I'm just messing around with RR spikes, and after my pair of tongs are finished I'll probably just keep going and make another 3 or 4 pairs and continue to learn by trial and error (as everyone else does) I already am on my 4th try on the tongs (melted some, tried punching the hole in the boss while steel was too cold etc your general noob mistakes) I'm looking forward to getting those spikes hot and messing around. Wondering what kind of steel you would recommend to make a good pair of tongs when I'm confident in my ability to make a "good for a new guy" pair. I use coal for forge (xxxx it's hard to find in this state) because I live in the city so charcoal was out of the question to use as my fuel. Any general tips or constructive criticism is always welcomed. Thanks guys