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I Forge Iron

Mtnstream

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Posts posted by Mtnstream

  1. Is anvil snobbery an affliction or inalienable right? Someone did a fairly decent job welding this up (look closely at the welds), probably for a very specific purpose. Anvil?...maybe....absolutely if hammer was taken to hot steel successfully. Worth $40.00, now that is very debatable....not even worth $1.00 to me.

  2. Even simple bottle openers can be made using self-created slitter, punch, drift. All experience building tools to make. An example would be creating a taper on a punch or drift out of an old round stock scrap. Making my own tools is one of the most enjoyable things I do in my forge. Agree with Charles that an Axe head can make a great hardie tools. So my opinion....you are on the right track. Figure out what your project is going to be, what tools you will need, and then make your tools to get it done. I have to warn you though....tool making is addictive, you may have to force yourself to move on to the project! 

  3. 1 hour ago, the iron dwarf said:

    yes, its like buying a Stradivarius ( nor sure of spelling ) and thinking the varnish looks a bit dull so taking a sander to it and putting on a nice new coat of polyurethane varnish on it

    We are not talking about couple of hundred thousand dollars or more.  One or two thousand at the very most. I value my anvil, enjoy it, and sometimes am a little too sentimental about it. But, in the end it is just a chunk of iron that will be around and functional a lot longer than me that can easily be replaced if I want to work to get the cash. I don't understand why some folks ascribe otherworldly attributes to them. It can't feel, dosen't scream and won't cry no matter what you do to it. It hurts me more to see a couple of hundred usable anvils stacked in a "museum" just collecting dust than it does to hear about one being supposedly mistreated.

  4. In a thousand years someone will dig up my anvil, tools and propane forge...then they will find my creaky old bones laying against my slack tub with the fingers of my left hand firmly wrapped around a hammer. Will I have become an ancient traditional blacksmith that people spend inordinate amounts of time and energy to exactly emulate? Will they learn to forge left-handed because that was how it was done traditionally, with my example as proof? I think we often misinterpret and over interpret “traditional” because our collective memories are so short. We think of the Vikings as old or traditional when they are, in relation to the span of human history, likely as "modern" as us or any generation in between. Innovation and change are more traditional than a snapshot in time that we decide was the way things were done "traditionally".

  5. Lots of opinions on wedge fits. I prefer it....just hate a hardy tool that bounces around. I have never had a problem removing the tool from the hardy hole and long ago let go of my fear of breaking the anvil. In the end, whichever opinion you hold, I have found the jackhammer bits to make great tools.

  6. I have been forging a couple of farrier's rasps lately. They spark like med-high carbon, forge weld fairly easily and harden nicely. Fun to forge. I made a simple wrap around hatchet out of one and am happy with the results. I use it for kindling and plan to make a froe to match. I'll take a look at the name on them tonight, I don't remember it off hand. 

  7. Just my opinion...I would try to find him some mild steel or even high carbon (old farm implements) before working the stainless. Stainless can be hard to move around and fickle under heat. I find I am clenching my teeth whenever working it, a clear sign that I am not realy enjoying myself :)

  8. Great first project - get a coil spring from a junk yard, cut off 7-8 inches, heat and straighten, create hex taper for hitting end, create round taper for business end, mix up a beeswax and boiled linseed oil finish, repeat multiple times with different shaped punches. All great fun with useable tools as outcome. Teaches hammer control, use of anvil, how to move the steel, heating, etc. Very rewarding for a new smith. There are many youtube videos on making punches from coil springs. I have found nothing more satisfying than making the tools you use!

  9. My DIY propane forge is just a single burner (naturally aspirated) and does fine at 7400'....soon moving to 8600'. I think the interior size of the forge is what makes the difference, irrespective of altitude. One of my very early attempts was square and too large (2 sq ft). The one I use now is a half circle and less than a sq foot. Heats up just fine at altitude. Read the forge and burner build sections on this forum, lots of good information here.

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