Nicholas_Killmeier

What's the point of a blacksmith forum if not to ask these kinds of questions? So everyone understands, there are no blacksmiths here, or very very few. There are no craft fairs. There's flea markets, but it's not what you think. these are low end crafts at best, and most commonly just a garage sale someone put on a booth. I've gone to county and state fairs all my life and I've seen like 2 blacksmith booths in 30 years. Most fairgrounds have sort of a built in "old time tools" type of exhibit where maybe someone will do a demonstration. But they're not there to sell stuff. They're there to do a demo (which I would love to do, but that's kind of a different topic). Literally our "craft fairs" are mostly middle aged women selling Pink Zebra garbage. There are no knife or gun shows. Closest is Lehigh Valley which is once a year and 3 hours away. There aren't even farriers around here. I mean there has to be a couple, but horses just aren't that big of a thing here anymore. And that's kind of a different skill right? I have no interest in becoming a farrier. There's been a lot of awesome suggestions. "go figure it out" is just not a helpful response. Obviously time, trial, and error will be the most beneficial eventually, but I'm just looking for suggestions to get me started, otherwise I wouldn't have asked.

That's fairly interesting. I'm a musician and audio engineer as well. Years ago the first thing that got me started on this whole blacksmithing mess was actually casting solid brass bridges for my PRS guitars because I wanted to replace the aluminum ones. So I built a forge and experimented with casting a bit. Then I figured, I had a forge, why not an anvil? Downhill ever since haha. However as much as I'd like to make custom parts for my guitars, I'm looking more for items I can stock and sell probably on a website. I'd love to do custom guitar parts, but it's not something I see selling easily as a prestock (at least not short term, I'm sure if I cranked out 20 of those PRS bridges they would eventually sell, but I'd need a reputation of stocking guitar parts, which might be tough).

Cool thread! This was a Christmas order.

My original post had little to do with sourcing coal, it had more to do with coal vs propane consumption rates, therefore its emphasis in the title. The asking of "where to get coal" was more of a conversational development. I'm not putting my location in my header. I'm not even really that comfortable about using my real name to be honest.

I'm just south of Binghamton near the PA border. I don't forge every day either. I'm just trying to see if switching from propane to coal is reasonable.

Hi, I'm thinking about switching over to coal. I can get Anthracite locally for pretty cheap. Only Bituminous Coal I've been able to find was online and it's about $2000 a ton, which is insane. So I'm hoping some of you veterans can give me an idea of how much coal I'm expecting to chew through. I make knives and hammers for the most part. Thanks!

Thank you guys. I'm aiming for a prosumer level of smithing. I want this to be a great hobby that can self sustain, and if it goes well enough, maybe something that can fuel an early retirement. I'm primarily aiming for e-commerce. I'm in NY unfortunately. Gunshows don't really happen here. Fleamarkets are everywhere but they're all pretty bottom dollar stuff. I'd probably do the county fairs because they're actually pretty great traffic for all kinds of people. There's also a huge horse show circuit here, might do those. But primarily e-commerce.

Hey guys, I'd love to chat some of your experienced smiths about the business side of things. I've taken a few courses, including a tool making seminar. I'd love to start selling some pieces. But I'm just not familiar with the market at all haha. I make and sell knives quite a bit, and that's generally been my focus, but their return per hour invested is pretty harsh, and I just really enjoy tool making and spending more time on the anvil. If anyone that's experienced and would be kind enough to chat and help me out, please send me a message, it would be very appreciated. Here's some of my shop's heavier equipment, just to give a vague idea of what I have available to work with: MZ75 power hammer 30 ton hydraulic press Bridgeport knee mill South Bend 14 inch lathe 2x72 grinder Thanks, Nick

Thank you Klammer, I sent him an email

I'm meeting an ABANA affiliate this Sunday actually. I'll be interested in hearing what they have to say about it.

I'm in the same spot. Try craigslist and try to be patient. First day they're going to be mediocre at best, and probably put some dings in your top tools. I had the same guy come make a knife beveling hammer this weekend and he hit like a champ. We got the plug out in 4 heats. I think next time we'll be able to do it in 2-3. You can do the fullers with a guillotine helper and a 4+ lb hand sledge, but it's still like shooting a BB at a freight train.

Ya and the only place I can find them in 10lb boxes seems to be AirGas, and sometimes finding them in the right size is hard. Has anyone ever tried any of the equivalents? http://www.lincolnelectric.com/assets/us/en/literature/mc1437.pdf

I'm aware of the risks. It has a sway in it.

Hello, I'd like to get my my anvil reconditioned. Does anyone know where I can send mine to to get it welded? Would prefer within a 5 hour drive of upstate NY. I can do the finish work. I just need someone who has experience doing the welds. Thanks!

Unfortinaly it's not mine. I wouldn't take photos like that lol. I'm trying to get better photos of it. But I'm considering it. If it is a Hay Budden, I'll probably get it. If it's a no-name, I think he's asking too much.

Has anyone heard of Hay Dunner? Do you think he meant Hay Budden? Please see photo and let me know if you recognize it. I don't see any markings on it. Thanks

I left the center square inch or so flat on the flat side and then lightly rounded it out towards the edges, and rounded the edges so it can work as a fuller when tilted. It works awesome! Moves steel like a champ.

Nice! I took the seminar with Alec when he came to Canada. It was absolutely amazing. And his video series is definitely worth the money if you can't take the seminar. Just finished my first rounding hammer today with a first time striker.

Hi, I just finished my first 3.5 lb rounding hammer. The smaller one in the photos is a 2.5 lb I made in a seminar. Do you guys have any advice on how you like your flat side ground? I think this one is going to be a little unforgiving and I might put a larger radius on the edges. Right now it's about a 3/16 in radius, and I can tell already I'm going to be marking up my tapers with if it haha. I'm certainly no expert and I've probably only held a couple other rounding hammers, so I don't have a whole lot experience with them. Thanks for looking, Nick

Looks like good stuff man. Did you do a Brian Brazeal or Alec Steel class by chance? These look just like the tools we'd get from Alec's Evo class.

Hello, I know someone that is considering selling his Little Giant 50. However it was originally a line driven machine, converted to a motor, which is on top. So the thing is like 8 feet tall and it won't fit in my shop. Does anyone know how easy it would be to get that motor on the floor so it's short enough to fit in my garage? Thanks, Nick

I appreciate the opinions, but I'm still interested in getting some 2110 and 1105 or advice on equivalents. That gap is about 1/4 inch and looks like it's about 10 degrees slope to the dip. That's enough to fubar a knife bevel or pit a twist in the blade. I've worked on other anvils that were flat, and I can notice the difference. If I'm not dead center of that dip it will tend to put a little twist into whatever I'm working. Seems to be a pretty common theme with Mouseholes. I'm convinced some of them were built this way. There's another Mousehole locally that looks to have an identical dip, and it looks like it was never used. I understand it's not that big if a deal, and of course I can work around it like I have been, but if I can fix it for a reasonable price I will.

Mostly bladesmithing. It was caked in rust when I bought it. It took half a bottle of Loctite rust removal and 2 wire wheels to clean it up. The paint is there to protect it.

I'm located in NY.

Hello, I have an old 160lb Mouse Hole Anvil that I bought with a fairly deep belly that is becoming a little counterproductive to some of my forging. I'd like to fill it and surface it with some Stoody 2110 and 1105. Does anyone out there have some I can buy or can point me to a source that will sell it in lower quantities or point me to an equivalent? I think I need about 5LB of each, but I can't find it in less than a 10lb pack. Thanks, Nick