JoeYunker

Thanks for the reply Iron Dragon ForgeClay. I have some tongs that will hold it but it would probably take two hands to hold it closed. Maybe I can get my wife to hold it, I’m just worried it will wiggle around a bit in the tongs when I’m striking. Might have to modify another pair. I don’t know if I’m letting it soak long enough, I’ve been taking it out as soon as it’s yellow but that’s a good suggestion, I’ll let it soak longer next time.

Hey Thomas, thanks for the reply. I haven’t tried drilling holes but maybe I’ll try that next time. I was hoping to get it done on the anvil but that’s proving tougher than I expected. I’ll post a picture of the punch I’m using below. Im using propane, seems to be a very even heat. I don’t have anyone holding, that would be nice but with a hand punch it seemed like a bad idea. I need to make a handled punch with better tip geometry for sure. Having that and a striker will be helpful.

Hello again everyone, I’m hoping you all can give me some advice here. I’m struggling xxxx xxxx to punch and drift a straight, clean eye in a hammer. I’m on my second attempt. I’ve been using a hand punch I made from 3/4 h13. The drift I’m using was drawn out from a big pry bar. The first issue is the eye is crooked, which is certainly just lack of experience. The second issue is I can’t seem to drive the drift in far enough to try to draw the cheeks out and straighten the crookedness. I’ve realized that I need to be working very hot, so I adjusted the forge and I’m having a somewhat easier time, but I just can’t seem to get it driven very much at a time. I’m working solo for one, and two I don’t think the punch tip geometry is right. I’m not getting a clean plug either. Anyone have any suggestions?

My only education thus far has been YouTube, books and learning by trying on my own. It’s not the best way, but it’s what I have access to at the moment. I’ve made my first hot cut chisel, hammer eye punch, round punch and hammer eye drift. I’m trying to make some hammers with a hand eye punch. The first one is mystery material from some machinists parallels I got from a junk sale. The eye is pretty off and it took a few days just to punch it. I’m working on another one using a 1.750x4” round of 1045. It’s been much easier to punch so far, but without knowing the proper geometry of a hammer eye punch, no striker or striker anvil etc, it’s still slow going. If I were smart I’d have made a handled hammer eye punch first. Just a few photos for critique.

Haha, I won’t be a bad boy again Frosty, I promise! I don’t take it personally, I know a forum is a pretty tough to moderate. The fact the IFI is still going strong means they’re doing something right. I should’ve paid more attention to the rules beforehand. Glenn, I’ve seen the wood mentioned a few times, I’ll be using that one for sure.

Thanks frosty, yes, knuckle height is stuck in my brain but it makes perfect sense what you all are saying. I had no idea there was so much nuance to even your stand height depending on what you’re working on. I’ve got a lot to learn and I’m happy to be hear amongst you all that are so much more experienced. Smithing of all kinds just seems to be a great community so far. I’m happy with the anvil and stand at knuckle height for now, but like you said, it’s easy to make adjustments. I was standing on a block when I used my buddy’s anvil and it worked just fine, a little awkward to move around the anvil at times, but an easy solution. I’ll try making some adjustments and try wrist height. I have no doubt it won’t be my only anvil or stand. It will definitely last forever and I’m glad I went ahead and bought it. What a difference a stable base makes! The anvil seems like a great deal. Cast 1075 with a heat treated face. A little extra cleaning, grinding and chamfering seems to have been done by the person I bought it from, I don’t think it was manufactured in that good of condition. Did a little forging on it today and it’s like upgrading from a gremlin to a 2020 f150 for me. As far as the spanking, I just got a warning for using the @ symbol. Good to know, I’d like to be a contributing member of the group, and at the very least be respectful of the rules. Not a problem, just learning the ropes.

Thanks IronDragon, the stand without question will outlive me haha. The anvil will definitely serve me quite well until I’m rabid with anvil frenzy and buy a big honking peter Wright lol.

I’ve got a lot to learn! Thanks all for the remarks and welcome y’all. Here’s a pic with the anvil. I’m thrilled with it as of now, we’ll see how the anvil holds up.

What knuckle height do you recommend for bladesmithing? I’m a total noob, so I just went with the recommended buckle height. Cheap is good, this was my next option as stumps aren’t terribly easy to find here either. I was tired of fiddling with homemade options I’ve tried and ended up just pulling the trigger on this one. The anvil arrived today and I couldn’t be happier with the set up, it’s light years better than what I was using. Incredible how metal moves on a proper stand and anvil compared to an ASO and whatever I can make do with.

I should’ve mentioned that I bought an anvil to go along with it, so it’s measured from my knuckle height and made for that anvil. I’ve been using a friends and he’s taller, which sent me down the road of looking for a stand for this ASO I have. He had a good deal on what seems to be a pretty decent anvil for the price, so I bit the bullet and spent a little more than planned. Irondragon: I was worried I might get a spanking for sharing it. I didn’t want to infringe, but the guys been very helpful and I just wanted to help him out. I’ll take my knocks for it, I hope it isn’t blasphemous. I’m really not big on sharing or posting for my own sake, but man it’s awesome and I don’t know anyone else that would appreciate it. Thanks for the guidance, I really do appreciate this forum.

Hey everyone, this is my first post as I’m trying to learn enough through experience first so I have some real questions. I just received my new custom built anvil stand and I just wanted to share it. As I’m sure everyone knows, finding a good anvil stand and anvil is the first conundrum of blacksmithing. I’ve used an ASO till now on the garage floor, and I’ve also used my buddies NC anvil on his stand. Wasn’t thrilled with it and didn’t want to buy one for 500 that didn’t seem that great either. I stumbled across someone on Etsy that had a listing for custom stands. They had no sales, and you know how Etsy is, so I was skeptical. I sent a message asking some questions and he said to give him a call. He’s a blacksmith and a metal worker and knew that finding a quality stand for a fair price was tough, so he started fabricating his own. Long story shortish, I bought one and it arrived today. I don’t know the guy from Adam and I don’t get anything for passing this along, but he makes x xxxx of a stand and is just starting, so I wanted to help him out and possibly fill you all in on a new source. (name & sales name removed). Hope this doesn’t violate any forum policies, just wanted to support a small business and turn you all on to a new source. Thanks, I have learned so much here and I hope I have something to contribute one day soon.