hoovesandswords

Ahh okay. Once again, I apologize. I should have read that part more carefully, that was my bad. Hmm, that's a good idea. I know a few people in that business, I'll ask and see if they have some scrap. Everything not re-usable for weld practice in the scrap bin at our tech school is also free game, apparently, so I'll have a look there as well. I've dug up a bunch of rebar and various scrap from around our house too, since we live on an old farm. We actually live right on a highway (I know, a farmhouse on the highway. Go figure). Last year I found an old child's tricycle someone had left on the side of the road and then run over. Quite a shame, it would have been nice otherwise. I'll have to see if I can fix it up at some point.

Thank you all! I will check the hardware stores in my area if I can't find anything at Lowe's. I apologize for using the '@' thing, I wasn't sure whether I should quote every post or just type in a reply without any sort of quote or mention, and used that instead. I will stop using it. Thomas, my condolences for your loss. Thankfully I can say that I haven't had anyone close to me suffer to that degree, but being a welder, I do hear about it, and often. My uncle runs a structural welding company and tends to see a lot of that sort of thing as well, unfortunately. At any rate, I'm glad to know that my using that hardware won't be hazardous to my or anyone else's health. I'll still keep an eye on everything to make sure it doesn't become an issue.

@Charles R. Stevens @John in Oly, WA @ThomasPowers Ah okay! Thank you all for the information, and for humoring my beginner ignorance. I was really concerned about the zinc since I'd heard so much about metal fume fever, both from the welding side and the blacksmith side. I was also worried about the screws and brackets I have for reinforcement on the corners of the box, since they're galvanized. But since I'll be lining the box with dirt and fire bricks, I suppose it won't be a problem, correct? I'll double-check our Lowe's, I guess I completely missed the section with the gas pipe. Once again, thank you for the advice!

@Charles R. Stevens Very neat! I was struggling financially but I didn't want to put it off any more, so I went looking for cheap ways to build an effective forge and found that someone had posted a video of their box forge in action on youtube. It seemed like a great idea so I just decided to do that, got myself some wood and fire bricks this weekend. In my eagerness I forgot to check the all fittings I bought though, like an idiot, and a couple of them were zinc-coated so I'm having to return them and wait on getting it finished until I can find safe materials (which is surprisingly difficult; I know screws are pretty much all zinc-coated or galvanized, but I had a heck of a time trying to even find nails that would be safe to use). I had no idea that it was a part of a project like that, though! Very cool indeed. I have a friend who's just getting into smithing too, I'll be sure to pass the anvil information on to him so he doesn't make that mistake. Seems like common sense but then again, common sense isn't so common these days.

@Charles R. Stevens The forge I got mostly built today is actually almost exactly the same as the first one (the box + dirt one), save for the size! Thank you so much for the links though, I will definitely take everything into consideration for the future. Oh no! I just...don't understand why someone would do that. It seems like a really silly idea to permanently alter something like an anvil without knowing what you're doing.

Hi there! I have, thank you. It's quite sad that the 'no grinding on an anvil' thing had to be mentioned, it seems like common sense. Have you had many problems with that in the past? I am quite looking forward to reading through the other articles and posts on the forum, and soaking in all the knowledge like a sponge. Ah, I see! Nice to see someone else from OK. Thank you! I think I'm all set with mine, at least for now, but I am curious; what sort of forges do you have? Are they portable, like a rivet forge or something similar?

Hey there! I'm Jordan, a beginner blacksmith from Stillwater, Oklahoma. I became interested in metalworking when I went to a Scottish festival several years ago with my dance troupe and wandered over to the forges. It was pretty much an instant love, and after I was given the opportunity to smith a couple times, I was 100% certain that it was what I wanted to do with my life. I've decided to make metalworking my full-time job, as I'm currently in a two-year program at Meridian Tech for metal fabrication/welding, which I'm really enjoying so far (even if it doesn't allow me too much free time, haha!). I'm a member of SCABA and I recently went to the conference, which was quite an informative experience. I enjoyed the in-depth demonstration on forge welding, which was something I'd been curious about, and being able to meet and talk with other more experienced blacksmiths and craftsmen was invaluable. Everyone I've met in this association has been amazingly kind and willing to share their advice. I now have an anvil, and I am finally able to afford all the materials for my own forge, so I'm planning on putting it together this weekend. In addition to blacksmithing, I collect knives and swords. I have a major interest in antique swords, particularly nihonto, but I enjoy studying all sorts of historical weaponry. One of my absolute favorite books is The Archaeology of Weapons by Ewart Oakeshott; I carry it with me everywhere. I look forward to connecting with you all, and learning from the experts. - Jordan