ralphy

Welcome, Newbiesmith! I have hammered alot of sheetmetal on a I beam, but find an anvil,You will tell the differance. I started the same way, If I didn't like it , I was not alot of money. I made my own anvil from 1,1/2" & 2" plate steel, it weighs around 100lbs. My forge, home made as well, 14" & 12" pipe make the inner and outer walls with sand as insulater, three 1,1/2" pipe legs, 2" pipe "t"d togather with a $10 pawn shop blower. All the parts were scrap metal from a fabshop I used to work at. "HF" Dale speaks of is I believe Harbor Freight, You can get a anvil around $100, or a litter cheaper, don't have a store near you? Go online ( harborfreight.com ) Check out the "Blue prints"! Alot of great stuff there! Again, welcome to the site good luck, good scrounging,& good smithing! ;)

Finnr, nice job on the shroom! John, I like the ducks, would like to try to make some, good work! :)

Nice work Dr. Dean, I've never worked in copper, however, your fine example make me want to try! Is the stems tubing,and the petals copper sheet? again fine work!

Congrats, man! I haven't mastered forge welding yet, I look forward to seeing your finnished work! :)

Hey all, I took a r/r spike knife and melted two marbles into it, no explosion! I also took a cross made from square stock, broke the marble into pieces and melted them in the center, it came out nice. Sorry I gave it to my daughter's classmate, so no picture, but I can say it will work. A gas forge will give a cleaner melt though,but coal will also work! good luck. ;)

My condolences to you and your family, may your time shared with your granddaughter always be rememberd.

Looks great Peyton, I haven't tried anything like that, still making R/R spike knives, I want to make a spike tomahawk, however, I'm having trouble upseting the metal, and I don't have the the proper tool to cut & drift the eye. but in time I will. :)

Well, it looks like I'm to slow at typing, ha ha! Thanks Chaos, for the picture of the Rush Lamp!

Thanks for the input and encouraging comments everyone. I haven't thought about using a R/R spike, High Plains, And I got a lot of them laying around. Yours looks really cool! Julian, I have not seen or heard of what you describe, but would like to see one, hey maybe you or Yesteryear could make one for all to see;)

Thank you John, that was my first attempt at a mushroom,(1/4" pipe & fender washer). the other mushroom was made with 1/2" pipe & a piece of sheet metal 4" dia. the cone incense smoke rises up the stem and rolls out from under the cap. looks cool;)

Well I got the Pink Floyd music out, and meditated over a few cola's:D And came up with these. I hope the pics come threw ok.

hey everyone, one of my kids asked me to make an insence burner,sooo... the gears got turning and i took some pipe , i believe 1/4" and a fender washer. i drilled some holes in the pipe and made a taper , then chiseled & cuped the washer and welded it to the pipe "stem" it looked ok, but it didn't draft well. any how, does anyone have an idea or plan for mushrooms, and/or insence burners,(cone, stick, or oil.) looking forward to seeing whats out there. thanks.

Hey, Smithy, A friend brought me some "un processed" coal.(really big chunks) Anyway, I used charcoal for BBQ, grill, to start it. I used the back of a ball pein hammer to break it down to smaller pieces. just make a pile,start it, and then add coal after it's going well. ;)

Words can hardly describe your work, but Amazing is a good start!

I'm a millwright, but I cut, weld, machine, & smith also, and do paint & body plus mechanic. I love all of it too! To take a piece of metal and transform it in to something beautiful or useful is truley satisfying.

Leah, good point on the tank! I have seen tanks "defused" by pipeing exhaust gas from an engine for around 24hrs. more or less for tank size. Bwilloughby, Spooky is a cute "critter", I used to have one that had siamese coloring, fun animals! :)

i think anvilfire has plans for make you own anvil. thats where i got the idea for my first anvil. of course that does require cutting & welding, if that is not at your disposal go on line to harboefreight.com thay have a small anvil, 50lb. for around $100, hey it's a start.

maybe not the best choice, but if you could possibly get some 1" plate, and an old engine block , it might buy you some time till you get an anvil. stand the block on it's end and attach the plate to the top. use your imagination, good luck;)

Clark, & Thomas, I would like thank both of you for the help. I'm eagar to use it. however, home projects, & a new grandbaby, are keeping my smithing on the back burner for now. I'll be back on it soon though, again, thanks for the help.

hello all, I haven't been on in quite some time. I'm glad to be back, I just got an anvil from a fellow who was not using it, good price, "free". but I would like to know how much it weighs, it is 31 inches long & 13 inches high, it has an arm & hammer cast in the side and the number 30 on the bottom under the horn does tht maen it weighs 300lbs? it takes two strong adult men to lift it. thanks for any help and insight, this site is GREAT.:)

Welcome Dave, I too an from Al. I've been practicing smithing for about a year now and I also enjoy this site, hope to see some of your work soon!

welcome Daniel,you've come to the right place, the folks here are great, I live in south Alabama and when I say "Blacksmith" people here go HUH?? but I still enjoy this art. Again welcome, and enjoy.

Welcome John, I hope you enjoy this site, the people are friendly and informative, We all are here for one and other Ralphy.

Glenn, I work as a millright in heavy industry,and i fully agree that safety should be first and foremost. some of the welders I've worked around use a #11 inside and #12 outside a light inside is always a plus. don't breath the fumes, they are NOT good for you! If you must weld galvanized grind the area well!! and if you have a resperator wear it the fumes are POISONOUS, and will makes you sick at the least Every one probly knows this, but we all need a reminder now and then. thank you. Ralphy

Thank you for your kind comments and questions. Dr.Dean,the anvil was made from scrap from a former job, the main body is 2"x 6,1/2"x 20" to the tip of horn and 1"x 6,1/2"x14" side plates making a 4" wide body,the top is 1"x 5,1/2"x14" and the feet are 1,1/4"x 4"x8"plate. the weight? i dunno,,heavy, 100-150 lbs. I made my equipment because,i was interested in the craft, but I felt if I purchased an anvil and other tools and turned out to not like or do well, then I would have wasted money. So Ted, I been working at it for a little over a year and I do enjoy making differant things and this site and another called Anvil Fire, have been inspiring and educational . thanks for allowing me chatter on Ralphy.