BoardMoreThanUsual

Thanks Tim, I follow his channel and watch it every night after the mrs goes to bed. So much there I get lost most nights. I am still very new and in the " changing shapes" phase of the skill I will get to forge welding and other skills eventually. I am still figuring out what hammer tong ect I work the best with. Once I get that down then I'll branch out into the other skills. On a side note I just ordered some blanks from Ken's to make some better tongs. Progress that is what I am striving for. I will keep trudging along

Good to know thanks, been looking at the spike thread, there are some interesting things I may try as well

IFW, I saw the post after this post, thanks, these mini spikes cant make most of those things but I will look closer to see if I can make a "mini" version of any of them, thanks. Lee, a little of both I suppose, I am making j hooks with twists and with different tapers and that is interesting, but I have already 20 different hooks of various shapes and sizes that are not really good enough to give away , just keep them in a bucket and re forge them at a later date into something else? I guess that's the main question. And how many hooks are enough hooks, just keep making them till its second nature? And that goes with anything that I am making or trying to make.

So it has been a few since i posted, i have been busy in garage, making hooks imagine that. (what do you all do or have done with all your beginner hooks...?) Got a lot of stuff out of garage so now have room to actually work in there aside from the forge itself. yard/estate sales have been good to me , i picked up a bucket of what i thought was a bucket of old railroad spikes for 10 bucks, turned out to be just 20 old spikes and about 30lbs of 3/8 x 3.25" "new" mini rail spikes (just surface rust). so have to figure out what i can make with them other than 180 hooks. Suggestions welcomed. Also, got a craftsman 12" drill press gently used for a song, even has laser sights, and an old craftsman bench grinder that just needs new wheels. tried my hand at a mini rail spike knife i saw on BBF on you tube... its a knife like object not very sharp as i never forged a knife let alone sharpened one so thats a needed to learn skill. I dont plan on making more than occasional knife for household use so have time for that. some like pictures as i have read so ill post the 2 "knives" i did so you can see my work. the one on the bottom is my 1st attempt the other is the 2nd attempt. So progress yes. still get overwhelmed with what to do where to start how long to keep with a specific project ( how many hooks should 1 make before moving to something else for example.) Still looking for better tongs and hammers but what i have now works and figure unless i find a good deal my money is better spent on material fuel and or other tools i do not have.

Thanks Glen didnt even think of the tarp idea, I have one of those easy ups I can put up while forging, will just keep the forge itself not under it.

Another day in the garage today, sad to say it was not a success. I had a game plan of cutting 3/8" square stock to 6" pieces marking 3" and practice tapering till I could get a common result. Frustration set in at piece number 4. Common result accomplished... not a taper, more of a bent ramp. I stopped to save fuel and material and forced two of the pieces into j hooks with twisted shaft but not what the plan was. I belive my my problem is hammering angle so will make a note of that moving forward. I have reached out to an instructor that's within a couple hours drive just dont know if they are taking students. I also thing forging in the sun is causing a problem ,seeing the color, that will hopefully be resolved in the coming weeks with the emptying of the garage from storage, we shall see. Continuing to trudge along..

Thanks again all, I went to the supply house and got 3 lengths of steel and a couple shorts so I'm set for a while. I made 2 pair of the easy to make tongs and tried making a 3 rd pair of the "Africa tongs" . The easy make went well the other not so much. I ll spare you all the pictures but I was out in the garage/driveway for 4 hours today made a few more hooks of different types and sizes along with the tongs. Going to a local blacksmith thing tomorrow so hopefully I ll pick up some more advice tips and tricks. If they are half as nice as you all I'll be set. I'll keep trudging along.

Thanks I will look up and watch some you tube after the mrs goes to bed.

Yes that was them, looked like big tile nippers and couldnt think of a reason to buy them, they were 25 usd a pair think there was 4 pair. I'm on the email list so hopefully no one beats me to them the next sale

Thanks Stash for your guidance and basic show and tell it helped a lot. Irondragon I came across a couple pair at a local barn sale and thought to myself I cant use these things so I passed on them if the are what you are talking about. They have monthly sales so I will be going back to pick them up ,Stash also told me I should have gotten them. Live and learn.

Thanks , if a 2nd vise comes my way I can always lower this one for sure just a matter of cutting a 4x6 and moving 4 lags screws lower. Appreciate the input

Awesome thanks !

Thanks for the kind words all, I will keep at it and continue to try new things, I will keep the pieces I made yesterday as is to remind me of my 1st day. Hopefully I get a proper set of tongs this weekend to make things that much easier these old 12" pliers are not cutting it, making it harder than it has to be. We shall see. I will continue to trudge along.

Wow, after you said it I noticed the pigtail, yes it seems to be going the wrong way, one of the many errors, if you hadn't said anything I probably would not have noticed and continued to make them that way. Noted and will try to remeber for the next ones.

Well, my journey has officially started. Anvil (check), Vise (check), Hammers (check) and Forge (check). The weeks long journey to get the equipment to get up and running is over and i fired up the forge for the first time today. It was more difficult than i had imagined, seeing the color of the steel in the forge in the hazy sunlight, gripping the steel with an old pair of pliers and actually working the steel were all challenging. I did not let that stop me i just kept going. i wasnt out there long i just wanted to try. i made a couple things and that made me happy. i learned a little today made a few mistakes many of which i am sure i will make again. But i did it ! So here is what i made today, be kind, they are by no means perfect or good for that matter but they look like what i was supposed to be making so ill take that as a win.

Update: this is what i came up with with some input from mr Stash. it works for now eventually want to swap out the 2x for either a 2x6ish tube steel or at the very least put some 1/4" plate on top /bottom and sides of the 2x. thanks again guys for all the help.

Thanks, Now to figure out if it viable for my work area moving in and out of garage for now or just hold on to it untill I make a more permanent space

Thanks Frosty I'll see what tuns up online and or at the library.... I dont think I have been in one in 40 years

Thanks after reading I tried as suggested unfortunately most of the pic links are broken I'll have to figure out how to mount it. I'll figure it out eventually thanks all for the insight

Thanks Frosty i ll try and research what i can from that information

The man it belonged to was a pipe fitter /welder, the family was selling all his stuff. i was expecting him to say 100 bucks for the vise and when he said everything on my tailgate 35 bucks i just got out of there . As far as how its mounted yes it looks like something could slide thru that area and then get "clamped" down by the 2 bolts on the bottom

So, i picked up this vise at a yard sale along with other items in the picture for 35 bucks. i have googled and it seems its a wagon vise? maybe? my question after cleaning it up is there a standard way of mounting it so i can use it for blacksmithing or did i waste my money and just scrap it for the metal weight thanks in advance.

Thanks guys, I'll post the completed anvil and stand in appropriate forum when complete. Now to figure out the tool holders. Have some ideas but have to see what else I have laying around the garage.

Appreciate the response, the reason for diagonal mounting was the was absolutely no wobble in the anvil there, guessing with the hold down and silicone the wobble will be removed as well.

Hey guys and gals, This is the mock up of my anvil stand, as i have never tried blacksmithing yet, i was wondering if you all see anything in this mock up that would cause a problem. i want to make any changes before final sanding/grinding of stand. i will work on tool holders once i know this is all ok. let me know what ya think. The angle iron that i used is small this i know but it is what i had on hand, once i see that i will be continuing with this trade/hobby i will be swapping out any metal for a heavier guage. Thanks in advance,