easilyconfused

I'm not 100% sure but the random pattern you're talking about is due to the metal's themselves being in a random pattern from the forging process.

Looks good for a start! One suggestion though, if I may, is that you may need to dress your hammer judging by the sharpness of the nicks. It may be the picture or I may just be out to lunch but they look fairly sharp. By dressing your hammer and smoothing out the sharp edges they put on a new hammer, you'll notice a HUGE improvement in the smoothness of your hammering. Of course, hammer practice is key too so you're hitting it with all the face, not just an edge too but that comes with time and there's nothing you can do about that. Those sharp edges though can become a stress point for cracks. Keep up the good work though you're doing great!

I've never used but I've read and heard good things about them.

Awww, I had one for the old stumped word: Iril, a river running through the city of Imphal. Oh well. like

Has anyone else noticed that once you bite the bullet on the first anvil, thats when you find other, better deals?

I've used both hardwood and softwood to make charcoal and have had no problem welding upwards of 1/2" and working 1" which has been my "patience" limit for time to heat and hammer. Goes through a lot more fuel with the softwood so I usually mix the two together.

My thoughts exactly. John, you seem to spend as much time saying you won't read the threads as he does making them, and your posts are wordier. He asked a valid question and, imo, should be allowed a valid answer. Would you expect any less? The only stupid question is the one left unasked, and if you ask me, the place needed some fresh blood to start making the forum more active. m_brothers, pay no mind to people like that. Keep asking those questions. I for one would keep looking around before buying new, especially for an anvil that small. I don't know about down there but up here, small anvils are relatively common on farms. Ask around too. You'd be surprised at what your neighbour has or who he/she knows that might be able to help you out.

I can't help but giggle at the irony when you read it. Posting on an internet site to e-mail a person to fix a computer problem. Now I know he likely has other computer access but to me, in my studying for the last of 5 midterms and finals burnout, this is funny.:D

I'm stuck in the city for school and my forge is 3 hours away and when I go home it's a rare time that I get more than an hour if I stay up at night after working on the farm all day. If I can work it, I try and get out to the local museum on a sunday and help out there to get forge time in. You're only limited by your imagination as to how you get your "forge" time in. Just don't look at it as a waste like everyone said. I didn't think building houses with my dad as a kid would have made a difference but when I took my first lesson a couple years ago I realized how much it did. Apparently being able to do the 1 swing/ inch of nail like good construction workers can do really helps you hit where you want, even at full power. Even if you can't make stuff you want to, look at the practice you are getting and, if you're volunteering at a museum like me, the good you're doing as a charity. Remember, it ain't always about yourself and that's what your mom is also trying to teach out here, irregardless of how "safe" you are. She's worried of the one accident and the neighbors losing everything. How would that make you feel to be responsible for that?

man, I had one of those at a garage sale only the wheel was flat from them not turning it when they sharpened but I didn't have a truck to get it home so I had to pass. The guy also had a nice hand post drill too.:mad:

If he'd spend less money on books and tools he would be able to, but then he wouldn't need to.

I'm a firm believer in honest critique rather than just saying "that's great!". At least they've looked at it enough to care to critique it. Plus, it's a good motivator to make that one thing they can't critique. On the other hand, you can always say "well at least the dog likes it".;)

Similar to never help a vet that walks in carrying cat gloves and a muzzle and everyone else is suddenly busy.

Not so much as learned the hard way as sage construction advice but "Never put your finger where you wouldn't put your....ahem"

If somebody gets you to go in and move a stubborn cow, it's because they've just about gotten kicked.

My parents were, and still are, firm believers in letting kids hurt themselves to respect things, to a certain extent though. No respectable parent would have their kid do something extremely dangerous but as the saying appropriately goes "The best way to respect fire is to get burnt". I remember many times I've had that happen to my shirt and dad would just tell me my shirt was catching, I'd pat it out and keep grinding. Or letting you get kicked by a cow when you weren't paying attention to where you were when pushing it up. This was back on the farm when I was a few year younger, although it still happens a few years later....are you ever old enough to know better, or am I just still to young to care?

If your neighbors BBQ, they can only complain about the noise, unless there are specific laws in your area against certain fire types and you are using something other than propane or charcoal. That's the one thing that gets me, blacksmithing is more of a fire hazard, using the same fuels as BBQing... After reading another thread, I think I see why.

Oh yes, that would stink. Have you ever put out the campfire that way? :o

I'd suggest looking through the blueprints and maybe borrowing a book on blacksmithing from the library. There are lots of beginner books that will teach you the different techniques and their common names.

I'd suggest 100% cotton gloves. I'm a hypocrite though and do use leather welding gloves because my dad got a couple 55 gallon drums worth when the welding shop closed down in town. They're usually because of cold metal not hot and only on my tong hand. One problem with leather gloves is they shrink when hot and keep the heat in as well as they keep them out. Translation, you're trying to pull of a burning hot glove that's shrunk on before you felt it get hot but it keeps getting hot.

Is that a new quenching medium? Or a christening?

Piping steam through an old radiator would be a good idea. Car or house would likely work and there are plenty around if you look.

You usually can get it where they sell the briquettes. If not there, the stores that sell BBQ's might have a better selection.

Failures are sometimes the best way to learn something. The true failure is not learning from them. Something to think about the next time you're afraid to take a risk on something that may fail; most of the greatest scientific discoveries have been accidental findings from a failed experiment. As for switching to coal, why bother at your stage? I enjoy the challenge of thinking around problems like this by picking apart the variables. Switching to a new fuel will likely lead to as many new problems and cost you money. If you can now achieve welding heat with this fire, start learning the nuances of your forge and charcoal. Once you learn how to control the fire, you can think about other fuels if you want, but if you have a steady supply of wood, why bother. IMO if it worked for how many generations of smiths, it can work for me too. Plus you're using a more renewable resource than coal when it's managed right.

I have a bad tendency of melting my projects at demos. Not used to coal and get distracted easily talking to people. Doesn't take long when some of the old boys get on the blower and get going the heat up their piece that's in the fire with yours.