Cinder

Thanks for the advice. I do plan to only work on 1 project at a time. I have a 2 year old daughter so most of my time goes to her but she is actually interested in metal already, she takes 'her' 230 gram cross pein hammer and 'makes' things like daddy. Hoping she will be interested in it as she gets older. Currently im an alien in my whole circle of friends and family because im into most metal related hobbies like blacksmithing, casting, scrapping, pyrotechnics and bullion and coin collecting so it would be nice to not be alone lol. Not going to force the issue though.

Hi i'm Dan Totally addicted to the blacksmithing craft. I live in Sheidow Park in South Australia and am really looking for a blacksmithing group that is south of the city. I am a hobbyist for now.

Got this baby last weekend and am super happy. To the best of my knowledge it is a John Brooks anvil with a weight of 244 pounds or 110.67kg (Stamped 2 0 20) Thanks to some information i found on this site I believe this anvil is forged with a steel plate based on the handle holes. Looking for some help on the makers mark because the words 'Stourbridge' and 'SR' are stamped normally but the words that i think are 'John Brooks' are stamped upside down. Any help on understanding if this is correct or if this is common would be greatly appreciated. Also what does 'SR' mean?

Greetings from South Australia Hi my name is Dan and i'm addicted to blacksmithing. I have only been smashing iron for 2 months and produced 10 nails but love it so much don't see myself turning back anytime soon. I have been reading and researching for well over a year but took to the craft when i broke my ankle (still broken). My Anvil was a sideways hammer, my hammer was a smaller hammer and my forge was a propane torch. I have a real issue with this broken world of consumerism and capitalism in which products are only made to last 1 month past the warranty so i turned to blacksmithing to make something myself that will last a few lifetimes. Loving this site and hoping to get better educated and have fun along the way. This is a list in no particular order of the items i hope to one day make when I bed down the basics Pot Plant Holder Foundry Housing Leaf Keyring Letterbox lettering Tools Book Ends Arrowheads Treasure Chest hardware Door Handle Casting Molds Casting Tools Crucible Holder Park Bench Fry Pan Sword/Knife Happy forging p.s. my nickname Cinder comes from my all time fav SNES game character called Killer Instinct.

Excellent point Ben To quote Denzel Washington in The Equalizer: 'Progression not perfection'

Mate!!!! this is the most accurate mistake description EVER!!! I just started blacksmithing 1 month ago and have only made 10 simple nails so far to 'nail' some basic techniques lol but every single friend and family member i have offers me ZERO support and all of them discourage me from pursuing this craft and thats how i found this community Happy forging Cinder (Dan)