Jasent

Probably much easier and cheaper to find a post anvil of some kind than to learn and cast a 100lbs of cast iron.

This is my improvised swage block. Got some radiused ground in it and it has a non traditional hardy of sorts Cast steel tractor weight i just use it on a stump with lag bolts fencing it in. I often flip it over or stand it on edge so I don't fasten it down. Weighs about 110 lbs

Good luck to you Randell today I started working on my striking anvil. Got some practice hammer stock cut and almost got my hardy finished. I was going to drift it square but with the rain hammering down I wasn't going to get much done so I broke out the cold chisel and file and went to work. Little more work and it will be done. Now I'm cold, wet, and tired.

I agree. Love the look myself

Which is exactly why I cringe when some one talks of making a tool from rebar. You never know what your working with. I tossed the rebar punch and switched to a steel I knew that had worked well in the past and have never had the trouble again even with mild steel. I do not do a heat treatment on hot punches or drifts

Once it bent it just bent easier and easier each time. And would deform the cutting face faster and faster

Your results may very but when I made a punch from rebar it bent on me after the second punch and once it started bending it was hard to keep it straight. The next punch I made was from an old tire iron and I'm still using it to this day

What material are you using on the drift/punch? I've seen many of his videos but don't recall what your referring to. One of my favorite YouTube channels is DF in the shop. Check it out if you haven't already

Thank you. I like the looks a lot better too. I think my next pair will be much better

Well after trials and many errors I have finished my 7th set of tongs. They hold very well and feel good in the hand tho I did make some mistakes. Got my V a little to one side and that caused plenty off issues getting them to line up so I ended up hammering them flat and trying to form them around 1/2" round. The jaws don't look pretty but they do hold very well. I learned a lot on these and think my next set will be much much better. I like this style. Slitting is much faster than drawing out! This started as 1"X5/16" flat bar. I saw this demo on wcb"s YouTube Chanel

Completely ruined the tongs I was working on. Turns out the tire iron did harden in water just needed to be a bit hotter. Finished drawing out the reins and was about ready to punch when I got called to dinner. I put them in the slack bucket and shut down the forge. After dinner I fired it back up and went to mark my boss for the punch at cherry and they both cracked! Lesson learned.

I've lived in moose country my whole life. I've heard many many sounds from moose and never heard them sound like the bull in commercial. But they do make some strange sounds

Thank you @Tommie Hockett I can't wait to see them finished aswell

Things went a lot better today. Started my new tongs. Started life as a tire iron. Tested first and it would not harden, but boy was it tough to move. Hammer just bounced off at anything less than orange. Hope to finish them up tomorrow

I'm no expert but turning up the pressure helped mine stable out. How long did you run it? May clear up when it heats up

I used a hand torch to speed up the drying then kicked on the forge. Tried it wet and had same trouble as you

ALO. Anvil like object

^^^yeah that and a few drops of food coloring so you can see how much and where your putting it.

What pressure are you running at? I get stable fandom my t Buber at 9 psi but 12-14 psi is best in my forge? Are Y you using a 3/4"" t or 1" with 3/4" chase?

Thanks @ThomasPowers and @CrazyGoatLady. I will have a better day tomorrow. Headed out to the farm to get my tong stock and going to grab the rest of my tools as well Ive raised plenty of goats my self. Have the dings and scratches in my old Chevy to prove it. The kids love the edges of that old square body.

I'm not familiar with the barely twist. I'll have to look in to it. Frosty I'm not worried about impressing the ladies. This one is for me. Plus I like to hammer down the points a bit my self. I've broke 2 sets of tongs in 3 days so my next projects will be tongs. Round bit and some pick up tongs

Not a great day for me at the forge. Broke my favorite tongs Saturday and decided tonight I would repurpose a different set I made poorly. Ended up ruining them. Boss ended up too thin and bent the rivet. Tossed them in the scape bin and called it a night. Tomorrow I will start a new set as nothing went right today. Just one of those days.

I was thinking pinapple twist for the handle then reverse twists to jus before the hook. Thought about upsetting the head to a round ball. Work in progress

First steak flipper. These are fun. Soon as I get my vice set back up I'll do some nicer twists.

Put your location in your profile. That way it's always there instead of just in the thread no one will remember in a week the brake rotor can be used as a fire pot and so can a brake drum but the drums are often too deep and will need some clay to reshape the inside fire pot.