stevenlynnhall

Hey thanks, wasn’t sure if I should keep it in the same thread for easy continuation (also, kind of a progress record for myself as well), or in the appropriate section. From now on I will do that. I appreciate it.

Exactly! Lesson learned for sure… will be upgrading tomorrow…. Wish I would have found this forum before I built it. The design I think is fine for small stock. But the stock can’t be longer than the sunken area!!! the end goal WAS just making knives, but now I want to make all sorts of other things too. Also, I will be softening the edges on that anvil. I can now see all the little lines cut into the metal and they are harder to remove than the “rebar” texture!!!!!

Not sure where I should post an update…. but, today was a new lesson in failed design! the biggest flaw I found in the “washtub” / old grill to forge conversion that I made is it’s REALLY difficult to heat up the handle of longer material. My rebar practice piece is slowly becoming a fire poker. Figured that would be a good project since the big screwdriver still isn’t long enough… but the way my forge is designed I can’t get much further up than about 8” or so. I now asleep the upside of a flat bed of sand and I side addressed blower pipe into a mound of charcoal blocked off by some firebricks. This will be tomorrow’s goal! As I did use up about $10 in charcoal and still not done. On the good side, I got to do some work around the horn making the hook. That was fun!!! Oh, and most importantly I learned 3 and 4 pound hammers are not for wusses (and I am a wuss) so I bought me a 2lb hammer and it worked SO much better. Also, for everyone that’s ready to tell me to take some lessons… I have contacted my local chapter and am in the process of setting that up. Thanks again for everything folks, Steve

Ha! It’s the one I had (my day job is real estate) will update with an appropriate one when I can Preferably, working in my “smithy” lol

Yep, mine is very much like that washtub forge! I will be making another attempt when I get the time. As for the hair drier it is a small travel one that on the low setting doesn’t seem to push out a whole lot of air. I will see if I can slow it some more. As for the “mud”, it’s a mixture of drywall compound, sand, and perlite. A recipe I got from some YouTuber… it did snap crackle and pop a bit when it got up to temp. I think that was mostly the ceramic floor tile I lined it with. Thankfully, I have available a ton of bricks and access to some real fire bricks too. So I’ll be studying this forum’s recommendations for my “permanent” build.

Yeah, I think it was a bit much. It was 125# said he thinks it is a hay-budden…. but no markings and covered in thick red paint? the pain was old I could tell so who knows. I passed and he will probably sell it but I wasn’t sure enough as I had been thinking about just getting new that I know what I’m getting and I’ll have it forever! I’m thinking of either a rigid peddinghaus #9 or a Texas Farrier Supply similar weight and shape. any suggestions are also welcome as I only know what the interwebs have told me.

That’s disappointing about my forge! It got the metal bright yellow but it did seem to use a bit of charcoal to do it. the anvil is just a cheap vevor. 135# supposed to be cast steel. a local guy was selling an old anvil with no name on it But it was pretty beat up on top and not at all flat as well as covered in red paint… didn’t have warm feelings about paying $700 dollars for an unknown…. but I will be searching for “the” anvil as I go along. thanks for the input and will check out those forging ideas. This one was just a collaboration of YouTube videos and my own mind.

Guys, thanks so much! unfortunately, I read the “read this first” after posting… I did kinda look for something like that but didn’t find it until later. Saw the whole section on not using rebar! But I’ll admit I was really excited to just hit something and that’s what I had laying around. Lots of building going on here in Florida and it’s free and plentiful if you just ask at a job site. I planned on making some tongs with it as my first smithing project. as for the roof you can’t see in the picture but I do have some plywood over the anvil and forge/ old grill. But I have a heavy tarp I’m going to cover the whole space with. those bricks are over an actual slab. They look nice but I think they will go away for easier sweeping and I don’t want another thing in between my stump and the pad. good to hear I’m not the only one working out in the open. Southwest Florida is probably the best for that. also, learned a good lesson on lining my forge with the plaster and sand mixture with perlite. I thought it worked pretty good and I lined it with some floor tiles for a smooth surface to clean. Once up to temperature…. BOOM! SNAP! POP! I was kind of scared to go near it for a minute! Lol bit I got metal bright yellow and was able to move it if even just a little. I will be getting into contact with the local club and take some classes though. It seems like the best way to learn faster than making all the mistakes myself. Also, the reason I’m here. thanks again and after even the first day and first post I love the community. Would definitely buy a shirt or something if that’s offered to help the site out as it has already helped me!!! thanks guys!

Howdy Folks, My name is Steve. I’m BRAND NEW to forging and want to get into knife making (I know it almost is cliche but it’s mostly forged in fire that has sparked the fire). I’m setting up a charcoal smithy that is open air using a pergola in my back yard. I live in Southwest Florida. I would like to start with a question regarding an open air (outdoor) setup. Although I will be tarting the top eventually, I worry about my anvil and things getting rusty. Should I be? I also have a nice old post leg vice I will be setting up soon. my first “project” was to make tongs out of some rebar to get the hang of heating up and hitting metal…. In about 20-30 minutes I think I got like 4 inches of the rebar square just to practice. Is rebar always pretty hard to move or does it just look that much easier on tv? sure looking forward to reading tons of posts and seeing lots of knife pictures. thanks, Steve