NBarbarino

On 11/9/2016 at 6:51 PM, Frosty said:

Welcome aboard, glad to have you. It is good to hear from folk with a realistic idea of the learning curve. Do you know what kind of solid fuel you plan on using? A brake drum is too large for charcoal and bottom blast forges aren't particularly good for charcoal either, very wasteful. Coal is a little better but a brake rotor is a better fire pot the smaller size is less wasteful of fuel and easier to control. Fire control is one of the more demanding skill sets involved in blacksmithing.

A few points about anvils. An anvil is ANYTHING you beat things on. Horns are a pretty recent invention and aren't universal, lots of professional smiths all over the world don't have horns on their anvil. So, don't get the idea you need to put a horn on the rail to make an anvil. With a little practice you can do virtually anything on the face you can on a horn some things are easier but it's not essential.

Standing the rail on end makes an excellent anvil for the increased depth of rebound. A 100lb. stick of rail laid flat on it's flange will flex under the hammer and about 2'10" of the rail isn't being used unless you have a REALLY big hammer. The same rail stood on end isn't going to flex at all, it'll be driven into the ground like a tent peg before losing energy to flex. All the impact energy from the hammer will be returned as the compression wave rebounds from the far end and the energy literally hits the work from below while the hammer is still smooshing the stock.

How about the size of the rail anvil's face stood on end? For all practical intents and purposes the anvil face only needs to be SLIGHTLY larger than the hammer face. There are lots of ways to straighten your work that are better than hitting it on the anvil face. Honest.

Charles Stevens has posted a few outstanding messages with pictures of possible ways to make a true multi tasker anvil from RR rail. I highly recommend giving his posts careful consideration before you start grinding. A few of the gang here have built some excellent stands for end mounted rail anvils. Remember, there are 2 ends so you can have LOTS of tools on one piece of steel.

Frosty The Lucky.

Thanks for the welcome, Frosty. I'll look into using a brake rotor instead of a brake drum. Seems better for fire control like you said. I think I'll start with charcoal and actual coal/coke where I can find it. I plan on taking pictures of the place I'd like to set up the forge and drawing some pictures so I can accurately ask for advice.

I checked out the vertical rr anvil and I love the idea. I'm worried that, as someone who has novice hammer control, if starting on a vertical rr anvil would just seem more difficult to learn on. But. I really love the idea and I see ALL the benefits. I think I'm going to make both. I have access to short lengths of rail and spikes. If I had a 6-7 foot piece of rail I could cement it into the ground about half way and have a decent anvil. Sound like a decent idea?

On 11/9/2016 at 8:14 PM, Daswulf said:

Appologies. It's in the topic  saw Pittsburgh in the post and got side tracked.  

anyway, where around Pittsburgh? You could always stop by and hammer in the shop. I'm usually willing to share the little I know. 

I grew up in New Castle, north of Pittsburgh but the family I visit is all around Penn Hills and Plum. Maybe in the spring time I could swing by on a visit. Thanks for the invite!

I do want to restore it and use it. I like old tools. BUT. If I can go to harbour freight and get a belt grinder for $30-50 then I might as well do that. In short, I think I'm both go pick up a new, cheap belt grinder and buy a new motor. I just have no idea where to look for such a motor.

My apologies about the foul language! 

Thank you guys for the advice. I also found this guy: https://imgur.com/gallery/VtHuj dunno if that's worth touching either. unfortunetly I don't have any better picture than that. I'm not even sure if it's a grinder! hah.

I'm really just trying to figure out if restoring it would be cheaper than buying a new bench grinder. It doesn't seem like it will be and it's rather unsafe anyway. Very neat, though.

I live on a farm house and the barn next to me is full of old equipment. The main thing that caught my eye was the belt grinder. The entire thing is rusted. Keep in mind I know next to nothing about these things. I would absolutely need to rewire it and clean it up thoroughly but I'm wondering if it is doable for someone who has no experience.

hopefully this imgur link works. if anyone can give me more info on this thing I'd appreciate it https://imgur.com/gallery/KvwwR

Thank you, gents. I should've clarified, I'm from Pittsburgh but I currently live in Illinois just east of Saint Louis. I visit PA frequently so I'll be sure to look out for tools while I'm there. I'll try to sketch up an idea for a forge here soon. Again, thanks for the welcome.

I was born and raised just outside of Pittsburgh, PA. Many of my relatives have been or are currently employed in a steel related industry. I haven't followed that line of work but metalworking has always been an interest of mine.

My first experience with forging was at 10 years old. I made a decent fire, threw charcoal on top and ran a pipe underneath it all so I could use an old hand held bellows to get up to temperature as much as possible. I threw on an old aluminum truck from a skateboard and made a mess of things as soon as it turned orange. I ended up with a large, broken rock and bits of deformed aluminum but I was so proud to have even brought it up to heat.

Since then I've largely stuck away from looking to build my own forge, mostly because I wasn't able due to location. Now as I've gotten older I've decided to finally pursue my dream hobby.

I have a 1.5ft piece of rail on the way and an angle grinder. Aflyer a weekend I should have a decent RR Anvil. I plan on using a brake drum and piping to create a forge. I have an almost unlimited supply of rr spikes that I will begin with. I am NOT planning on making knives for a long while. I plan on starting by thinning out the spikes and working on tapering. Once I've got S hooks down I'll probably make some candle sconces if I can. I'd love to make knives but I have a lot to learn before then.

I also have an antique belt grinder that I will post about in another thread. Most of my posts on this forum will largely be detailed questions. I am a complete noob but I have a decent idea of what I can realisticly accomplish and start to work with. Thanks for reading, if you made it all this way! I look forward to absorbing as much metal wisdom as possible.

Tl;Dr: Complete beginner looking to make a forge, anvil and start with the basics. Many beginner questions and threads to follow!