K. Bryan Morgan

Here's my starter anvil, mounted on a good piece of wood stump, that's been squared off. It's good and heavy and has decent rebound. Got it for free. I also have another slightly larger piece of rail that I am going to square off. Put it on end either in a bucket of concrete or on a stump. It isn't much but it's a good start.

Finally got it done. Been busy getting the house ready for winter. Priorities you know. Made from a break drum, 1/8" floor plate and 20 gauge 2 x 4 studs. Very sturdy and easy to break down for transport or moving. 2' x 2' hearth. I'm using a hair dryer for air blast. I went to hook it up and get a fire going and work on somethings and as soon as I turned on the hair dryer. I got the dreaded blue smoke. Dead hair dryer. Oh well.

Avadon, my personal experience with making model parts is a little dated, however this is what I did. I made a 12" sq box 3" deep. sealed the joints by putting a 1/4" sq piece of wood with glued and brads. I used peg board for the top plate and a frame that folded over that, that was hinged. I always used polystyrene, got it saggy warm, placed it over the form, then turned on the shop vac. I always got great results. If you look at the modeling sites, like Scale Modeler, I'm sure they will have some great information for you.

Hope she gets a job soon Jimmy.

Prayers for your son are being made. I hope he is better soon.

Hey Seldon, I just moved here myself. I'm in the Fairbanks area though. I'm also one of the hobbyist/beginners Frosty was talking about. Did have a chance to meet him when I flew in to Anchorage. Unfortunately didn't have enough time to hit any iron though. Still planning to do that soon. Got my anvil jones going. Starting to shake. Huh? What were we talking about? Oh ya, hope to get together with some smiths in the Fairbanks/North Pole area too. :D

Thanks again Frosty, that was a great time, even if we didn't have a chance to beat metal. And, we will be down that way before to long. Renee has to get her certification test taken care of soon. I will call when we get the date set so we can plan a day of forging, chatting, and general mayhem. I have my tools now, just got a break drum to make a forge with and am looking for pipe now. May go with exhaust pipe if I can't find black iron. Which seems likely. I found a good source for coal here locally and even found a guy who sells blacksmithing supplies. So, the hunt goes on. The shed is almost ready too. Will post pics when I get it all set up.

Finally got a moment to post about the move. I was able to hang with Frosty for a little bit a week ago Saturday. It was great fun. Saw the goats the great big, and I mean great big dog. Very friendly though. Also was able to meet a couple of other smiths from the area, Trenton, we went out to breakfast, that was lots of good conversation. And also met with Richard and had a nice long talk with him and his very talented wife, and was able to receive a couple of rail anvils from him. All in all it was a fantastic welcome to the state. I'm currently looking for materials for a forge, will have that done this week sometime and of course I will post pics for everyone to look at. Probably will do a break drum forge. Also I am looking for fellow smiths in the Fairbanks/North Pole area to network, hammer with, learn from. I know there are some very talented smiths in the vicinity. I would like to thank everyone here again for the very warm welcome. Hope to be hammering with you soon. :D

Hi Don, Welcome to the site. I am in the same boat as you. I'm 51 and just getting started. Been doing the exact same thing reading till my eyes are tired and collecting tools. What Frosty says is so true, there is no substitute for just doing it. And as soon as I get to where I am going thats exactly what I am going to do. Reading and study is good keep it up. But there is quite a bit to be said for getting a fire going, getting the steel hot, and hitting it hard. I am going to be using the ABANA lessons to start off with. Here is their link. The lessons are in pdf format and easy to follow. Good luck and post plenty of pictures of your progress. [ABANA] Controlled Hand Forging

Found this on another forum hope this helps you.

Frosty you crack me up.... Welcome to the forums...its a great place to learn.

I would love to be complimentary but the pictures are so fuzzy I can't see much. You sure have been busy keep up the good work.

Jimmy, Mary, and Bill, Thank you so very much for the wonderful thoughts. Bill, I know exactly what you mean. Thank you for saying those things I know to be true, it's good to hear them. Services were earlier today and were wonderful. It's a great feeling to know that here at IFI there are so many fantastic people who care so much. And we don't even know each other but through the forum. I truly feel lucky to have found this this place. I would like to thank Glen very much for IFI and the wonderful people who are here.

Thank you, Neil, Tim and Anna Marie, Thomas, Frosty and Finnr. Your thoughs and prayers mean alot to me.

As some of you know my mother was very ill. Saturday morning August 8th at 2:45AM she passed away quietly in her sleep. I want to thank everyone for thier best wishes and prayers.

Awesome Junker, way to go.

Thanks for the incite Thomas, I'll do that. I will be working on it again tomorrow. Today kind of conspired against me. Hate when that happens. The part where you said to take the screw out of the screw box, I did that yesterday seemed like the right way to go about it. I hosed it out good with some AP-75 lubricant. and got all the grim and dirt out of there. Its not stiff anymore. Also the screw is in perfect condition. No wear or marring. So tomorrow I will continue with the clean up. Thanks for all the help.

Thanks John for the advice. I don't have a solid fuel forge yet but I am working on one. As for the bon fire idea, that would not be possible where I am. I may just get a propane torch and heat the bolts up as best I can that way. But like I said the bottom hinge bolt is peened over. It won't budge no matter what I do. The only thing I can do with that one is cut it. And I really want to keep it original. So, that all being said, I will call around to some auto body shops and see about media blasting to clean it up. I'll let everyone know how it goes.