AggieBlacksmith

How did you find your first anvil?

Howdy, (I looked around on the forum for discussion on this topic but didn't find much). I'm fairly new to blacksmithing and want to acquire an angle grinder for shaping my railroad anvil, cutting stock, sanding, etc. I AM WELL AWARE OF THE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS NEEDED WITH THESE BAD BOYS as I have used them off and on before and have seen several of the horror stories described in the forum. That being said, what is a good quality brand of 4" angle grinder? What do YOU use and WHY do you recommend/not recommend it? Thanks and Gig'em!

@Daswulf The patina is really just an experiment. In the end, you're right, it won't matter at all, but I'd rather be looking at a forge with a nicer, black finish than a rusty old hunk of metal. Nice setup. And yes, I'll be using coal.

@ThomasPowers I agree regarding the oil finish. I've looked at rust bluing a little, but honestly it doesn't turn the metal very black. It's still at kind of a mid-range darkness grey color. What exactly do you mean by the scaling of the surface darkening though? Maybe I just need to call up one of the cast iron skillet makers and ask what their process is.

@Charles R. Stevens I've seen some examples of that and it's definitely given me some good ideas, but no demos that I have seen have tried to create a black finish from something shiny silver. Most steel that I've seen seasoned is the color of regular stock (dark, cold grey).

Howdy Yall, As much as I have searched, I haven't been lucky in finding an answer to this question. I'm going to be making a brake rotor forge for my backyard and from everything that I have heard, these things are made of CAST IRON. However, after I clean the rust off, the rotor is shiny silver. I DON'T WANT THAT. I like the cast iron, black, seasoned finish and would like my brake drum forge to imitate that. There's no way that seasoning it would get it from shiny silver to skillet-black either, so I'm at a loss at what to do. Any ideas? Thanks

Not fully but I definitely appreciate the explanation. I'll be researching it. To be honest, I'm aiming to do only light stuff, and for the time being I'd rather have the benefit of using a larger surface area than the benefit of minimal flexing. I appreciate your insight! Is the young man you know down here a college student?

Just added the location. I know what you meant

@Charles R. Stevens Thanks for all the resources. Why turn the anvil on it's side though? If mounted securely, built out of a big enough piece, and adding weight to it (maybe a couple large magnets) why would that not be adequate? Thanks all

Howdy, I have a birthday coming up and am looking to purchase my first set of blacksmithing tools (primarily interested in knife-making at the moment). I'm looking for advice on good, not-too-expensive brands of hammers, wire brushes, coal/coke, etc. I'm in the process of making a railroad-track anvil and a brake-drum forge (just to give you an idea of the tools at my disposal). Also looking for any general advice, recommendations, beginner-type project ideas, tips, etc. Thanks, and Gig'em