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I Forge Iron

Charcold

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Everything posted by Charcold

  1. What are your plans for making money to keep the lights and water on?
  2. I will tell you the same thing I told most of my friends when they laughed at me being in college. Now that I have a good job, a house, a wife, good insurance etc. I am given the opportunity not only to not worry about money, but also have free time. I may not "do what I love" for a job, I don't know anyone who loves mechanical drafting. But I work a steady 40 hrs a week on the same schedule. I make enough money that my wife doesn't take all of it, she hands me back a bit to play with. With that money I've bought a nice blacksmithing kit, wood working tools, auto work tools and gadgets, and a wide range of stuff for my bees and garden. By not doing what I love for a job I've been given the opportunity to do what I love in my freetime. As compared to many of my friends who have not succeeded in life, have no spare money, have no house or area to play around with in their apartment they share with 5 other guys, etc. If you're lucky enough to do what you love for a living, I know we have plenty of professional smiths and people who love their jobs, that's awesome. Not trying to dog that existence. But you can still get more out of life even if it isn't in your 9-5.
  3. Another uneducated guess for powerhammer base. While completely dissimilar in shape and size I have a 80 lb power hammer base that i use as an anvil that's got a heck of a ring to it as well. The two small holes could be for pins that hold it in place. The end holes could serve a purpose for removing it and/or moving it around. Or could simply be handling holes from when it was forged. All just guesses, I'm sure someone will come along with more concrete insight soon.
  4. If I'm ever in the area I will stop by TP! @ Ali a sledge hammer head is what I started on as well, along with a piece of rail. The rebound on the hammer head was much better than the rail for me
  5. I will continue to try and clear Vulcan's bad name at all costs Mr TP!
  6. If you were in the states a Vulcan brand anvil might be a decent choice, they have cast iron bodies and are very quiet.
  7. I think it should be asked, are you looking to use granite because you want to remain entirely traditional, or because you think it will be the easiest thing to find. As you said you have a connection with a construction business perhaps you can find something better in steel, a forklift fork as TP suggested would outperform granite in every way I'd guess. It also is a known steel, whereas stone can be quite variable. If you're set on staying traditional perhaps consider learning on a non-traditional setup to acquire skills, then later moving onto a more traditional setup once you're more learned. Sometimes people say, "i want to be a traditional blacksmith...but i'm making my forge with a modern welder, modern steel, using an electric blower, etc" That doesn't qualify, BUT if it's what you want to do then that's ok. There are a variety of things that one could use as an anvil substitute you might not even think of, and i would guess most large pieces of steel will outclass granite in every way. but welcome to the forums, it's very cool to have someone from UAE!
  8. Youtube link is the best my google-fu could muster:
  9. At that price per pound it seems like you got a screaming deal. Interesting damage, but what's left of the face and horn look plenty service-able. How's the rebound with a ball bearing?
  10. A large chunk of drop will be a big improvement from your rail anvil. If your local craiglist is anything like mine the reason you can't find any anvils for sale except for a few is they go fast. The only ones left up there are the 5-6$/lb ones on my local, and they stay there a long time. Anything in the 1-4$/lb range goes FAST by me up here in WI.
  11. Wow what an awesome find! When we moved in we found some old cans of paint and a roll of carpet. Although later in the year we were pleasantly surprised to find a patch of shrubs were red raspberries and one lone tree was an apple!
  12. I was led to believe the Union destroyed all of these. I kid, no reason to drag that argument back up from the depths.
  13. I came by my Vulcan at the price of free as well! It's a newer one, 1942, and can be seen in my ava. Your #8 weighs 80 lbs. if that's something u hadn't gathered on the forums. Not surprised to see the scarred up face on the edge, mine has very similar damage. As Thomas said, no grinding/milling, at all. If yours is like mine, its got about 1/16" of the hardened face left on a good day. Keep it that way. If you have a ball bearing check back and let us know what the rebound is like, Vulcans surprise people given their cast iron body. That will come in handy if you have a wife/neighbors that don't like a loud ringing, Vulcan's give of a sick thud that doesn't carry. I believe the later emblems all had "patent" somewhere in the emblem, but i'd need to find a source for that. I think the "Vulcan" / (arm&hammer logo) / "Brand" ones were older. Overall, tough to beat something with a hardy, horn, and pritchel that weighs 80lbs for the price of free. Just make sure to lay down a sacrificial plate of steel/copper if you're going to to chisel work on her face, no need for new scars.
  14. can confirm the needles of steel, plucking them out of your arm is better than an eye though.
  15. I used one of those drill attachment wire cups and it worked just fine. Also if you are unaware my local Menards sells ball bearings for like 1$ each. It's not what some may prefer if they want a big old 1" solid ball, but at 78 cents or so you can get a smaller 1/2" bearing to at least test. I like how small it is because it fits in my wallet, and if i ever chase down a craigslist ad i'll have it no matter where i'm at.
  16. So cool to see a question answered so completely on a less than common anvil. What a beast of an anvil it is!
  17. I vaguely remember reading someone said they used a rubber mat under their anvil when i was researching styles of stands, but i cant recall results or if this was somehow connected to the anvil or simply sitting under it.
  18. I was going to suggest caulk as well. haven't tried it personally as my vulcan is so dead inside that it has no ring, but i've read a lot of people that have had good results with it.
  19. post your location, it's worth a heck of a lot more in the Congo than it is in Milwaukee.
  20. It's pretty amazing how clean the work surface is on that anvil. I will echo the "you'll come to love how quiet" it is sentiment, as will your neighbors/family.
  21. Add on to that the misconception that each ripple in a pattern equals one fold, rather than stacking layers by folding multiple times
  22. my power hammer is going to be made soon if I can find a way to cast iron 50 lbs. at a time into the anvil and machine a dye for it. Ryan, could you elaborate about this part?
  23. A quenching tale from the popular fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire: Do you know the tale of the forging of Lightbringer? I shall tell it to you. It was a time when darkness lay heavy on the world. To oppose it, the hero must have a hero's blade, oh, like none that had ever been. And so for thirty days and thirty nights Azor Ahai labored sleepless in the temple, forging a blade in the sacred fires. Heat and hammer and fold, heat and hammer and fold, oh, yes, until the sword was done. Yet when he plunged it into water to temper the steel it burst asunder. "Being a hero, it was not for him to shrug and go in search of excellent grapes such as these, so again he began. The second time it took him fifty days and fifty nights, and this sword seemed even finer than the first. Azor Ahai captured a lion, to temper the blade by plunging it through the beast's red heart, but once more the steel shattered and split. Great was his woe and great was his sorrow then, for he knew what he must do. "A hundred days and a hundred nights he labored on the third blade, and as it glowed white-hot in the sacred fires, he summoned his wife. 'Nissa Nissa,' he said to her, for that was her name, 'bare your breast, and know that I love you best of all that is in this world.' She did this thing, why I cannot say, and Azor Ahai thrust the smoking sword through her living heart. It is said that her cry of anguish and ecstasy left a crack across the face of the moon, but her blood and her soul and her strength and her courage all went into the steel. Such is the tale of the forging of Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes. "Now do you see my meaning? Be glad that it is just a burnt sword that His Grace pulled from that fire. Too much light can hurt the eyes, my friend, and fire burns."
  24. Man..... you guys joke but there's a real dandy on reddit spreading this misinformation to all sorts of newbies. telling them to align their forges and anvils to true north and claiming he can quench his high carbon blades in water using this technique, and has never cracked or warped a single blade despite having made many of them. Also spark tests are a waste of time in his opinion...
  25. The abana hand controlled forging program is a good step-by-step approach to learning. As others have said its less about projects and more about techniques when you start. focus on shapes rather than a usable item.
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