4xdblack

I found this nice big chunk of steel, and seeing it I thought about the possibility of using it as an anvil. It would be better than anything I've currently got. The problem I'm experiencing is that the face of this piece of steel is not flat. In fact it is very rounded. Not rounded enough to use as a horn, but too round to use as an anvil. So, the question is... How can I flatten it? I'm already aware of hand-scraping, and using a backing pad disk on an angle grinder.. But are there any other methods? Perhaps a way to maybe forge it flat? The reason I ask is because I don't have the tools to do hand scraping, and I've already gone to the hardware store 3 times trying to get a stupid backing pad to work (you'd think there would be a guide on it... there isn't...).. So now I'd like to explore the possibility of some other options. So what can I do to flatten a piece of steel so that I can use it as an anvil? Thanks!

I've been searching for a while now but can't find any useful information. I understand the differences between the two steels, but how do I determine what type of steel I'm holding in my hand? I've got a lot of scrap metal down in my barn that I don't know what it belonged to or what it is used for, I'm pretty sure it's all steel, but I don't know how to tell if it's mild steel or high carbon steel, or something in between. Is there any trick to figuring this out or do I just have to find out the hard way?

Oh no worries, it's nothing as serious as that. It's a personal deadline I set for myself due to what's coming up this Saturday. Thanks for the advice though! The forge part is easy. I've almost got mine finished, but I gotta go buy a cheap thrift store hair dryer. I tried using the motor off an old inflatable mattress that I kept, but it's not powerful enough to pump air into the coals. Once I finish it and test it out and make sure I didn't totally screw up, I'm gonna try posting the results here on these forums. Also, I'm wanting to get into knife making specifically. I've always been a big fan of blades and weapons in general so that's the direction I'm heading. Though if it means being able to make enough money to upgrade my home-forge I'm willing to make trinkets too.

Alright, thanks, that's what I needed to know. I plan on upgrading as soon as I possibly can. I've been keeping my eye out for potential scavenging spots. The local yellowpages are crap so I haven't found any leads there. I'm trying to figure out something that I can make and sell using the materials I have, and put that money towards an anvil fund and upgrade to something worthwhile. And while I'm here... You say that H-beam is too soft.. Is there still use for it as forging material?

Can't seem to edit my own post. But I'm from Rayville LA. I got my start forging in Oak Ridge at Starr Homeplace.

My goal here is that I needed to have an ASO by this Saturday. I was going to make one out of what I think is a piece of railroad track, but due to circumstances I wont be able to get that job finished by Saturday. So now that I have the ASO, I'm wondering if I can modify it using material that I have and increase it's quality. I heard that someone put a piece of steel over the HB anvil and it worked fine for him, so that's what I'm thinking I could do. Which is why I'm here. I've gone through my barn and looked at every piece of scrap steel I could find and get my hands on (as a poor person who has to use trash for materials, I'm not new to repurposing things). So far nothing worth mentioning. Which is why I asked if using H-Beam or a blade would be thick/strong enough material to place over my HB anvil and make it worth my time. Thanks for the answers btw. Now I know I can't use H-beam or a piece of blade. Actually, I was just asking if there was anything I could use outside of JB weld and literal welding to attach a piece of steel to the face of my HB anvil.

Is there anything else I can use then? Or will I just have to suffer through with a cast iron anvil?

Hi, my name is 4xdblack. I'm a big fan of blacksmithing and I am currently working on building my own home forge from scratch. I call myself the Ghettosmith because I am one of the poorest aspiring blacksmiths to have entered the game, so 99% of my work is done using resources I've scavenged from my own trashcan, the ditch, and here recently my grandad's century old barn. And it shows. But I always live by the words "it's not what you could have, it's what you do have and how you use it". So now I am working on building my own home-forge using materials that I have laying around or can get for free and the few pennies I have to spend. But regardless, I am looking forward to the day that I get to start forging on my own

I recently bought the harbor freight 55lb cast iron anvil, and I already know how low quality it is. So I'm thinking about going down to my barn and finding a nice flat piece of steel to weld (and by weld I mean JB-weld) over the face. Thing is, I've gone through the barn multiple times looking for a nice anvil substitute without any luck. What I know I do have is a slingblade which I'm sure has a nice strong hardened steel blade on it, just large enough that if I cut it with my angle grinder it'll cover the face of my harbor freight anvil. The question that I've got in my mind right now is: Will a blade be too thin to work as the face for my anvil? Should I keep searching for something thicker? Or will the blade work just fine? Another thing that comes to mind is I've got a piece of H-beam that my neighbor gave me, if I cut a piece off and ground it flat, would the steel be strong enough to work as the face for my anvil? It doesn't have to last me forever... But I want to make sure I have something that will last me until I can get my hands on a decent anvil to work on Thanks for the help!.