Hello all.
My name is Mike Broach and I have been making knives for about a year and a half. Most of my knife work has been stock removal with just a little forging. Been using a piece of RR track as an anvil. I have a home made two burner propane forge an do my own HT. I use 1095 and some O1.
I have spent most of the summer enlarging my little 10'X12' shop to a whopping10'x24' with a 10'X12' open shed on one side for a forging area. Still working on benches and shelves. This time I insulated the shop and added a small window AC unit.(can't take the summer heat anymore)
My shop equipment consist of an O/A torch set, a Lincoln140 mig welder, a 2"X72" Coote grinder, a bench and a floor drill press, a metal cut band saw, and misc woodworking equipment.(all funded by my knife sales)
My biggest problem has been finding an anvil. A new one of any size is out of my price range. I have run ads in the local news rag trying to find a used one with no luck. This w.e. I went to an estate auction looking for some furniture and found a 70lb NC Tool Bigface Farrier anvil in like new condition. I got it for $100. I know it's too light, but it's a start. A friend is cutting a 10"X12"X2" of mild steel to go under it so I Know it will be better than the RR track.
So, thats where I am. I will probably be asking a lot of questions, so please bare with me.
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in Introduce Yourself
Posted
Hello all.
My name is Mike Broach and I have been making knives for about a year and a half. Most of my knife work has been stock removal with just a little forging. Been using a piece of RR track as an anvil. I have a home made two burner propane forge an do my own HT. I use 1095 and some O1.
I have spent most of the summer enlarging my little 10'X12' shop to a whopping10'x24' with a 10'X12' open shed on one side for a forging area. Still working on benches and shelves. This time I insulated the shop and added a small window AC unit.(can't take the summer heat anymore)
My shop equipment consist of an O/A torch set, a Lincoln140 mig welder, a 2"X72" Coote grinder, a bench and a floor drill press, a metal cut band saw, and misc woodworking equipment.(all funded by my knife sales)
My biggest problem has been finding an anvil. A new one of any size is out of my price range. I have run ads in the local news rag trying to find a used one with no luck. This w.e. I went to an estate auction looking for some furniture and found a 70lb NC Tool Bigface Farrier anvil in like new condition. I got it for $100. I know it's too light, but it's a start. A friend is cutting a 10"X12"X2" of mild steel to go under it so I Know it will be better than the RR track.
So, thats where I am. I will probably be asking a lot of questions, so please bare with me.