Chuckbuckeye

I thought about that but I need to acquire more metal do it .

I see . thanks ! Yeah I know the boards are a trip hazard but helps it balance a little better . Good thing you can’t see the rest of my garage . Lol I’m working on it . The legs will come off as soon as I can bolt it to the cement .

I just bought a vulan 8 anvil from a friend . Got it for $200 probably over paid a bit but he needed the money and I wanted the anvil. It’s in good shape . Some nicks and things but all in all a good looking anvil. However as I was cleaning it up I seen a raised 2 on the other foot . Was wondering if anyone knew what that means . Not sure why this is . Do they all have this ? I know nothing .

Thanks guys ! Well since my son can here me pounding away in the garage from the basement I’m sure the neighbors will appreciate it . Lol looks like I will try to get him down a bit but it’s a friend and is in a tough spot just wanted to make sure I was giving him enough for it and not too much . Now on to mounts !

So I don’t have a anvil yet but have a crappy make shift thing I made . I’m wondering if this Vulcan 8 is worth $240 . I have read that these are the bottom end of anvils but would it work better than what I have . Sorry I keep asking so many questions .

That’s hilarious and would love to try it out . Here is what I’m working with for now .

Well I was having trouble finding a salvage yard apparently there ain’t a lot of those left .... well I lucked out ! My dad had a couple sitting in his garage . Took the plate that I mounted the other tuyere off of my angle iron forge and welded it up to the rotor . Hoping to run into a nice drum soon. Going to test that tonight and see how she holds up . What’s a TPAAAT?

Ok thanks guys . I can’t get discouraged at this point as I am too excited to start ! Pretty sure my neighbors heard my “wheeew!!!!” Yesterday probably a block away . Lol I am going to stop by a scrap yard on the way home and see if I can get a drum or disc for cheap . I was planning on putting some angle around the sides of the whole thing to keep coal in there but wanted to test it out first . Thanks again ! Super helpful as always !

I was afraid of that . Could I just double up the on the angle iron? Would the refactory cement help? Or do I need to just find something else entirely ?

So I built this forge out of angle iron. Welded together . I got the air to it and made a sweet ash drop door . So I fired it up today after I got the chimney in place . It’s 12x12 then down to 10x10 and 8x8 in tiers . Welded together . So it’s all solid . As I was trying it out for the first time I was able to get the fire going and it got pretty hot quick . Was able to get the rr spike yellow ! So I decided to let the fan run for a bit just to see how it would hold up . I was watching and noticed the sides of my pot we getting almost red . So I shut the fan off . And put some water around it . So question is am I insane ? Is this a bad idea the angle iron isn’t super thick probably 1/8” thick . Also should I use refactory cement to prevent the sides from getting so hot or just use water down the sides. I feel like I should have my fire higher but not sure how to go about getting it above the second tier . This was just a trial run to see if it will hold up for a real run . I think I need to make some adjustments . I will have the wall blocked off shortly . Everyone here has been awesome with all the help ! I wouldn’t have gotten this far with out all the help ! Super excited to get going ! Thank you all !

Thank you guys . So I’ll get a little more in depth. I’m hoping to start out making knives and tomahawks and axes all the way up to swords . Obviously starting small. Hoping to get started soon . My coal is on its way . Super excited ! So I have made a table out of angle iron with a piece of plate for the top . It’s 2’x2’ . So what I’m thinking of doing is starting off with my coal pot being 12”x12” then taking it down from there . I have 1”x1” angle iron . So if my math is right I can weld up a “pot “ about 6” deep . I only have a little bit of plate so I was going to use that for the bottom. I will leave an opening in the bottom for my air . Should I use the refactory cement ? I feel like that will make it last longer . Also devising a clunker breaker .

So I have acquired a lot of angle iron. I was thinking of making my coal pot out of it and lining it with refactory cement . Is this a good idea ? Question 2 is how deep should my pot be ? I would basically weld up a box out of the angle iron and step it down until I got to about 4” square. I would then weld plate on that and cut out my hole for my blower .

Thank you everyone . I see I must choose my words wisely . Please forgive me as I am just starting out and literally know nothing . I see many of your points . Charcol could work as well as propane or any other source of heat . I’ve just read that coal gets the hottest . Which in my case is probably a bad thing . Lol. But I will try and do my best to not blow anything or myself up . I am amazed at the responses I get and how insightful everyone is . I truly feel that I am in a field that I can make progress. I’m from northern Indiana . And most of the people I know have no idea what blacksmithing intails . And to be honest neither do I . I have never done anything like this . I am very excited to start ! I am driven to do well knowing it will take a lot of time and mistakes . As a journeymen once told me “ If your not f****** up you ain’t learning “ with that said I will be asking a lot of dumb questions and seeming like an idiot . Thank all of you for your patience and absolutely great advice .

Yes I’ve read the read this first topic . Thanks for the info daswulf . I’ve been shopping on fb for a few days now and trying to join as many groups as I can . I had a lead in a 50# used anvil in OH . It’s a 3 hr drive and he wanted 275 for it . I have a tight budget and still need a forge also . I want to use coal and still stuggling to find a coal supply along with the forge . I know I can make one and it looks like I will be. I have a piece of railroad track that I will probably just mount to something heavy and use that . Still frustrating . Trying to start and seems everyone knows what they have in an anvil and forge and won’t let them go . Lol . I won’t give up . Thanks for all your help everyone. .

I live in Indiana USA. Lol sorry to be so vague but I have no clue on most of this stuff . I’ve been reading on how to tell a good anvil from a bad one . I know I don’t “need” one but it would help . Im sure there is a reason everyone has or gets one .

What is the pricing on a good anvil these days ? Price per pound ?

Thanks guys ! I’ll be reading in the coal forges . That’s where I’m interested in starting as it’s the cheapest and gets the best heat . I have a hammer but will be getting some more soon. Along with some tongs . Am I missing anything else ?

I’m new to blacksmithing . I’ve been reading for awhile . I have a good idea of what I need to get . I have a couple crappy welders and have a 3 g cert in welding but would really like to venture into smithing . I have $500 to get started . I need a forge and an anvil . I have a 4” piece of rail road track but haven’t mounted it to anything . I’ve done a lot of wood working and have all this e tools . I am a union electrician by trade . I need all the advice and help I can get as to go about starting . Please give me any feed back . I’m dumb or crazy or whatever . Help is what I need . Super excited to start .