WyomingWhitetail

It worked fine running one burner. However all the heat goes up the burner tube that is not on. I don't really care about the paint but I don't like the valve getting that hot. In the future I might just swing the gas manifold off to the side to run just one burner.

The horn is just the end of the tine ( the thin end) that I cut to a taper, ground sorta round, and welded on. It's really thin so it's not something your going to hit hard however it works for bending hooks. I'm skeptical of how long my welds will hold it. I just filled a bucket with sakcrete and stuck the tine down in it to make a base. I doubt it will last long but I'll remount it in wood when the concrete breaks. I need to use it some more to see if there are some changes to make. It seems a little awkward right now but maybe I'll get used to it. I have another tine so I could make another one version 2.0 if I come up with some changes.

I made a whole pile of hooks the day before that non of them match. These ones I resorted to working all six through each step at the same time. I drew all of them out square, then rounded them all, them bent etc. That way I could compare them to each other as I went and get them more similar looking.

I recently got set up with a vevor 2 burner forge (which I successfully burned the paint off one burner trying to use it as a single burner) and an improvised anvil welded up out of a fork lift tine. I've done some forging before but have never had any sort of instruction. A year or so ago I found this site and through this site found black bear forge on youtube. I'm basically following along with his budget blacksmithing series. After practicing some hooks yesterday, today I managed to make 6 hooks that match close enough I can make a coat rack out of them. I'm happy with the results and even happier with the techniques that I'm learning now.

Thanks for the warm welcome guys. That's a nice looking anvil and gives me some good ideas, the fork section I have is not quite that big, it's the other end of the fork. I haven't measured it yet but I'm guessing it's around 5 inches by 2 inch in section. I have a machinist friend checking the scrap pile at his work, might be able to come up with something even better. I used to work at the same shop and they build parts for big mine equipment so heavy steel is the norm. 7 inch diameter rods for hydraulic cylinders and stuff like that.

I signed up and thought I would say hello. I've been playing with blacksmithing on and off for quite a few years but I've never gotten real serious about it. I hammered out my first knife when I was probably 13 or 14 using a propane branding stove. Shortly after that I built a coal forge out of a cast iron sink and an old furnace blower. Had a pretty good setup with that forge and my grandpa's anvil. I had no idea what I was doing but I was having fun. Through the years and the moves and life in general, most of the stuff disappeared one way or the other. The only smithing tools I have left are a couple pairs of tongs and a couple big post vices. I have a buddy who has a little shoeing forge and anvil and we get together once in a while to beat iron with that. Hoping to start getting set up again. Think I'll build a simple box of dirt charcoal forge and see if I can fashion a chunk of large forklift fork into a makeshift anvil. I don't have any grand ambitions of doing large projects. Mostly interested in some tool making projects in support of my other hobbies like hand tool woodworking and traditional muzzleloading. Also interested in making hinges, latches, and other accessories for my woodworking projects. Being interested in traditional woodworking joinery leaves me curious about traditional joinery used in Iron work. That's something I've never learned much about. Anyway I'm planning to mostly lurk around and ask a few questions to see if I can learn a little something. Matt.