TheNewbieForger

9 hours ago, gote said:

Your anvil height would kill my back. Read the thread about anvil height in the anvil section.

If you use longish stock you do not need tongs.

For a beginner it is better to use mild steel bar from a shop than to use scrap or rebar that in the US seems to be glorified scrap. Then you do not need to blame yourself for problems caused by difficult/varying material.  Oops Frosty already said that

I Read that the top of the anvil should be where your knuckles are when your arms are resting at your side,

Thanks for the input guys, I am currently looking into making a English side blast forge for cheap. I like they way they look and i like how the fire is. For now i will either stick with the oven or just make a bottom blast with the brake drum.

I see what you are saying. I'm not quite sure how I would do that with this stove.

37 minutes ago, Charles R. Stevens said:

If you can keep the fire ball down to about 6" across it will saves lot of fuel, an you really can't hand forge much more than 6" at a time. 

Atleast pull the center stove lid support and fill your stove with dirt.

So are you saying take out the center one and fill it from there back with dirt? Or the bottom portion of it? (where I am blowing the hair drier in) Cause there is a rack in there that you can turn to drop ashes down into the lower part, and that is where I had the coals sitting, that way I could get the airflow going up through the coals. Also little side question, is A 36 steel fine to forge with? 

Right now I do not have the material or money to make a new forge and a hold in the ground is out of the question since out backyard is mostly gravel with a liner underneath. So for the time being I'll have to use the oven, It seemed to work fine it was getting the railroad spike white hot so for now it will have to work. And the anvil I can already tell is a p.o.s so I will be on the lookout for a new one.

23 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

Using that stove as a forge will end up destroying it and you could sell it and buy a lot of tools with the money as it is...

The guy I bought it from had it on Craigslist for about a year and dropped the price multiple times.

Thanks guys I really appreciate the feedback, I am using a pair of channel locks right now to hold my stuff. Do you recommend me looking into buying a pair of tongs or making my own? And as far as hammers, I'm using a 4 lb right now, should I be using lighter ones or what?

Hello, I am brand new to smithing and I am excited to start the craft. I have a makeshift forge and i am in the process of building a anvil stand. (Pics of the forge below) I am looking for any tips/tricks that you guys/girls would be wiling to provide. I will post update pictures as I progress. **update**

Here is the anvil stand I made, I plan on reinforcing the legs and I left room for a vise on the other side. The face of the anvil is just about at my knuckles which i read is a good height. 

***update***

Started the first fire and started to smith a little, the forge worked fine just have to get used to the whole craft, I am going to be buying some rebar to forge with to get used to it. The forge heats the stock well which was a railroad spike in this case, I need to get used to holding the stock and holding it still. 

***update***

Started the first fire and started to smith a little, the forge worked fine just have to get used to the whole craft, I am going to be buying some rebar to forge with to get used to it.

****update*****

Here is the anvil stand I made, I plan on reinforcing the legs and I left room for a vise on the other side. The face of the anvil is just about at my knuckles which j read is a good height. (That is not me in the picture). As far the forge goes, I have already put sometime into it so I am going to test it out and see how it goes. I will post pictures of the first fire in the forge. 

6 hours ago, dickb said:

The picture is a little confusing. It looks like a top view of a cast iron stove. Is that what it is?

I don't think it's suitable . You need to do a little research on how to build a simple forge, Either on Google or here on Iforgeiron.com  .

It is the top view of a cast iron stove, I planned on using the grate as a platform for my coals then have a blower underneath.

Hello, I am brand new to smithing and I am excited to start the craft. I have a makeshift forge and i am in the process of building a anvil stand. (Pics of the forge below) I am looking for any tips/tricks that you guys/girls would be wiling to provide. I will post update pictures as I progress.